What is Occult Fracture When it comes to occult fracture, many patients who have had their teeth extracted due to the progression of occult fracture have a feeling of “I hate it when you don’t have to go to the doctor to get a fracture”. In this article, we will talk about the prevention and treatment of dental fissures. Occult fracture is a non-physiological small crack on the surface of the tooth crown, which often penetrates into the dentin structure, causing painful hot and cold stimulation or chewing pain or even pulpitis and other toothache symptoms. In severe cases, the crack may develop into a complete fracture of the tooth. Characteristics of occluded fissures Occluded fissures are most often seen in maxillary molars, followed by mandibular molars and maxillary premolars, with more first molars than second molars, especially near the mid-palatal cusp. The location of the occlusion overlaps with the developmental sulcus of the maxillary surface and extends to one or both marginal crests. The maxillary molar occlusion often overlaps with the proximal and distal lingual sulcus of the maxillary surface, and the mandibular molar occlusion often overlaps with the proximal and distal mesial developmental sulcus of the maxillary surface and crosses the marginal crest to reach the adjacent surface, or overlaps with the buccal and lingual sulcus of the maxillary surface. The pain characteristics of cryptocracks vary depending on the depth of the cryptocracks. When the fissure is mild and shallow and does not reach the pulp, the pain is usually only hot or cold, or occasionally caused by biting into a hard object when eating, but it does not last long. If the fissure deepens to the pulp of the dentin, it may cause a short period of severe pain after biting, and when the pulp becomes inflamed, it may show the pain characteristics of pulpitis. When the fracture is complete, the pain may be too severe to bite. Diagnosis of occult tooth fracture Early occult tooth fracture often manifests as discomfort in biting, fixed biting pain, and pain from hot and cold stimulation. Typical chewing pain is often the main complaint of patients, i.e., a sudden and severe soreness while chewing. With the development of crypt fracture may be accompanied by clinical symptoms such as pulpitis and periapical inflammation. Diagnostic method Combined with the medical history, percussion test, occlusion test, staining test, probe probe, etc. can be performed. X-ray examination: proximal, distal and mesial occlusion often cannot be shown, but buccolingual occlusion may be shown. Prevention of occult fissures 1.Cultivate good eating habits and minimize biting hard food. 2.Regular oral examination, if there is occult fissure can be preventive adjustment, filling, too sharp, too steep tooth tip to be adjusted grinding. 3, pay attention to the early symptoms of occult fracture, timely consultation, to prevent further development of occult fracture. 4.Patients with heavy deep overlap, heavy tooth wear, especially those with nocturnal molar performance, can be appropriately fitted with occlusal pads. Treatment of occult tooth fracture The occult tooth fracture will not heal on its own, if it is allowed to develop, the end is the occurrence of tooth fracture, serious cases have to be extracted. Therefore, it is important to treat occult fissures actively. Depending on the depth of the fracture and the symptoms of the fracture, the treatment methods are different. 1.Adjustment: Adjustment is an important step in the treatment. In the early stage, if the symptoms of cryptoconjugate are mild, we can just do the adjustment and observe. Other treatments should also be done in conjunction with bonding. 2.Filling treatment: For teeth with cracks that only reach the superficial layer of dentin and do not affect the pulp, the cracks should be abraded and the cavity should be prepared, and the hidden cracks should be covered with filling material to prevent further development of the cracks to the depth. 3, If the hidden fracture is deeper and the self-conscious symptoms are obvious, even affecting chewing and eating, root canal treatment should be done as soon as possible, followed by full crown protection, and attention should be paid to protection before full crown to prevent the affected tooth from fracturing. Some teeth are extracted during root canal treatment or before full crowning due to complete cracking. Other teeth may be extracted due to fracture of the crown and root even after a full crown. This should be taken into account by both the patient and the doctor.