Cracked Tooth Syndrome: Clinical Diagnosis, Nursing Care, and Laboratory Considerations.
Abstract
Background: Cracked tooth syndrome (CTS) is a prevalent, diagnostically challenging condition with heterogeneous symptoms and variable progression that can compromise pulpal and periodontal health.
Aim: To synthesize contemporary clinical guidance on CTS encompassing diagnosis, nursing care, and laboratory considerations to inform patient-centered, team-based management.
Methods: Narrative integration of clinical history/physical examination features, adjunctive diagnostic tools (magnification, fibreoptic transillumination, bite tests, vitality testing, radiography/CBCT), etiologic and epidemiologic determinants, treatment pathways from conservative stabilization to endodontic therapy or extraction, and interprofessional roles.
Results: Early, structured evaluation improves localization and staging of cracks and enables timely stabilization. Direct bonded restorations and provisional external splinting relieve symptoms and reduce flexure; definitive cuspal coverage redistributes occlusal forces. Pulpal involvement or root extension worsens prognosis and may necessitate endodontic treatment with guarded long-term survival or extraction. Nurses augment outcomes through triage, education, and adherence support; laboratories optimize material selection, digital design, and splinting biomechanics.
Conclusion: CTS outcomes improve when clinicians pair rigorous diagnostics with staged biomechanical control and clear expectation-setting, supported by coordinated nursing and laboratory contributions. Early detection remains the pivotal determinant of tooth preservation.
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Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Yousef Mohammad Gh Almutairi, Noura Jaber Al-Asmari, Hanan Zaal R ALruwaili, Huda Daifallah Al Saadi, Mohammed Almutairi, Khalid Fahd Ali ALRushaidan, Abdulaziz Fouad Abdulqader ALNoman, Asala Hamdan Alruwaili, Fatimah Mohammed Eisa Alabbad, Saleh Mohammed Alghamdi, Norah Nasser Saleh Al Yami, Hamad Mohaimeed Hamad Alotaibi, Meshal Saleh Alenazi
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