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Have you ever heard the term craze lines? Tiny vertical cracks which develop in tooth enamel, craze lines are shallow fractures. When the hard outer tooth enamel which surrounds the crowns of your teeth is compromised by vertical cracks, stains can easily develop. What you are left with is discoloration on your teeth in the form of lines which you cannot brush away. Craze lines on your teeth may not bother you, but they can be resolved if you feel self-conscious about them.

What Causes Craze Lines?

Craze lines are most often caused from stresses placed on a tooth. Common causes of tooth stress include chewing ice cubes, biting your nails, using teeth to as a tool (to open things, for example) teeth grinding, tongue and lip rings, or traumatic dental injuries. You can also develop vertical fractures as a result of routine use of your teeth. Some research has hypothesized that temperature changes are a factor in craze line development. Chewing an ice cube after drinking a hot cup of coffee is an example of a potential risk for a tooth enamel cracks.

Dealing with Craze Lines

The good news about vertical fractures is that since these cracks are only surface deep, there’s very little chance for infection to develop as a result. Over time, if you are rough on your smile, or you don’t follow through with good oral hygiene and dental checkups, cavities could be a concern. However, craze lines tend to primarily remain a cosmetic problem. On back teeth which are not visible, craze lines would generally not even present a cosmetic quandary. However, for front teeth, when vertical fractures affect the quality of your smile, cosmetic dental procedures are an option. Teeth whitening is an obvious solution attempt, since stains inside the cracks are the very reason craze lines are visible. For craze line cases which don’t respond to bleaching, dental bonding or porcelain veneers make reasonable solutions.

Visit your Corona Dentists

At Dental Associates of Corona, we provide comprehensive dental care for patients of all ages, as well as multi-specialty dentistry. Contact our 92879 dentist office by calling (951) 273-9580 to schedule an appointment today. We welcome patients from Corona and all neighboring communities.