Review Article

or perhaps if such flexure causes fluid movement within odontogenic processes.[2] Eventually, the stress plane fractures completely, resulting in a tooth piece separating completely along this stress plane. Sometimes, however, a single traumatic hit[3] can simultaneously initiate a tooth stress plane and also completely fracture that stress plane. The biomechanical and periodontal prognoses and the treatment requirements of a cracked tooth depend on what aspects of the tooth are intersected by the existing partial fracture of the stress plane, or would be intersected if the stress plane completely fractured. A tooth stress plane or fracture plane may be completely supra‑gingival and may or may not intersect the pulp chamber, or may intersect the pulp chamber (potentially causing pulpal necrosis), a furcation (potentially causing tooth root disconnection), a sub‑gingival aspect of the root surface (potentially causing chronic periodontal inflammation), or a tooth root (potentially destroying the root or making it impossible to endodontically seal[4] the root). Variou