As experienced dentists, we know what can happen as stress fractures develop in teeth. Today, more people have teeth with small to medium sized fillings than in decades past. That is good. However, if those teeth start to show stress cracks, the part of the tooth that eventually splits away is large because there is more tooth. This is particularly true when the crack runs vertically up and down the tooth.
Unfortunately, a simple filling does nothing to help strengthen the tooth or stop you from getting a broken tooth. A filling sits within the fracture (almost like a wedge in a log). It is only a matter of time for the crack to grow.
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