When you have a blatantly obvious problem with your tooth -- like if it gets knocked out during a game of basketball with your friends -- you know that you need to get to a dentist right away.  However, serious tooth problems aren't always this clear-cut.  If you have a cracked tooth, it's a big problem, even if the damage isn't as obvious as some other types of dental issues.

So what should you do if your tooth cracks?

As soon as you realize there's a problem, you need to make an appointment with your dentist.  This is one of those situations where time is of the essence.  The longer you wait to take action, the more damage you're going to suffer.

Unfortunately, though, it can take awhile before you even realize there's a problem!  Unlike chips and big fractures, most tooth cracks aren't visible to the naked eye.  But cracks in your teeth don't have to be big in order to cause big problems.  In fact, your tooth may look perfectly fine -- but may actually have a tiny crack that's making it painful to eat, sip on hot coffee, or guzzle down an ice-cold bottle of water. 

If it's so tiny, why does it hurt so much?

Underneath the hard layers of your tooth is pulp that contains the tooth's nerve and all of its blood vessels.  If those hard outer layers get cracked, they can rub up against the pulp and irritate it.  Eventually, the irritation can become so severe that the pulp is incapable of repairing itself.  Even worse, if the pulp gets irritated enough, it can cause an infection that spreads into the gum tissue and bones that surround the tooth.  When you look at it that way, it's easy to see why you're in so much pain!

And don't expect that pain to go away on its own.

No matter how small, a cracked tooth won't heal itself.  In fact, it will only get worse over time.  That's why it's so important to make an appointment with a Los Angeles emergency dentist as soon as you start to experience symptoms.  Yes, taking over-the-counter pain relievers and chewing food on the other side of your mouth can give you some temporary relief, but neither of these things is a long-term solution.  If you suspect that your tooth is cracked, you need an experienced dentist to examine it and determine the best treatment for it.  In the meantime, write down all of the things that make the pain worse.  Your dentist will need all of the evidence he can get to efficiently diagnose and treat the problem.

That's because dealing with cracked teeth can be anything BUT efficient!

Teeth cracks are tough to diagnose because they don't show up on x-rays.  Making things even more complicated, it's not always clear which tooth is actually affected!  If you're dealing with pain that comes and goes, you obviously know the general area where the problem is located, but you may not know which specific tooth is the source of the problem.  In fact, erratic pain is the tell-tale sign of a cracked tooth.  You may feel perfectly fine chewing one day, and then you may be in dire pain the next day.  Because there's usually no rhyme or reason to the way a cracked tooth hurts or looks, even the best dentist in Los Angeles might have to take a couple of appointments to get to the bottom of the problem.

What happens once you've been diagnosed with a cracked tooth?

It depends on the crack!

If your dentist caught your crack early, he may be able to repair the damage by bonding your tooth with a special resin material or installing a crown over the affected tooth.  In some cases, a simple filling is enough to stop the crack in its tracks.

But if the crack has made its way into the tooth pulp, the treatment isn't quite as simple.  Odds are your dentist will need to perform a root canal and then cap the tooth with a crown to give it some added protection.

Unfortunately, if your crack is big enough to have split your tooth into two pieces -- or if the crack has spread all the way to the gum line -- the tooth will likely have to be extracted.  If you're extremely lucky, the tooth can be saved with gum surgery and a dental crown, but these cases are rare.  Most of the time, split teeth can't be saved; the damage is simply too severe.

Most of the time, the crack begins at the crown of your tooth -- the part that comes into contact with your food when you chew -- and spreads towards the gum line.  However, in some cases, the crack actually begins deep inside the tooth, at the nerve.  Typically, these cracks don't cause much pain, so it can take awhile before you realize there's a problem.  Most of the time, the pain that eventually develops is located in your gums or in the bones surrounding your tooth because they've gotten infected.  Unfortunately, by that point, it's not always possible to save the tooth.

Even if your cracked tooth doesn't have to be extracted, it will never fully heal.  Unfortunately, teeth aren't like bones.  A fracture in your tooth won't ever heal as good as new like a fracture in your leg will.  However, an experienced dentist can come up with a treatment plan that eliminates the pain and prevents the crack from getting any worse.

What can you do to avoid getting a cracked tooth in the first place?

First, it's important to remember that your teeth may be strong, but they're not invincible. Some things that you probably don't give a second thought to -- like clenching your teeth, grinding your teeth while you sleep, or chewing on ice cubes -- can create enough stress and strain to crack your tooth.  Even eating something really hot and then following it up with a big gulp of ice water can crack a tooth.  Or, a bite that's just a little bit out of alignment can put enough pressure on your teeth to crack them.  And, of course, playing contact sports without a mouth guard can definitely put you at risk for cracking a tooth!

Contrary to popular belief, though, teeth cracks don't always develop all at once.  Yes, it's definitely possible to chomp down on something hard and immediately crack your tooth.  However, cracks can also develop slowly over time as your tooth is subjected to frequent, repetitive stress.

The best thing you can do to avoid cracked teeth is to see your dentist on a regular basis.  That way, he can spot any changes in your smile before the issues have a chance to become serious.  Plus, having an ongoing relationship with your dentist means you have someone to talk to anytime things don't seem quite right with your teeth.