Split Tooth Repair: Can It Grow Back? Treatment Options

Teeth cannot regenerate. Enamel, dentin, and cementum are acellular or have limited cellular activity (odontoblasts produce reparative dentin only). A split (crack extending through crown to root) does not heal.

Treatment Options (Depend on Crack Extent)

• Craze Lines (enamel only): Monitor; no treatment.
• Fractured Cusp: Onlay or crown.
• Cracked Tooth (coronal, not separated): Crown; if pulp involved → root canal + crown.
• Split Tooth (complete separation): Usually extraction. Rarely, portion saved with root canal + crown if fracture pattern allows.
• Vertical Root Fracture: Extraction.

Key Point

Early diagnosis (transillumination, staining, CBCT, bite test) improves salvageability. Avoid chewing on suspected cracked tooth.