SINGAPORE – Mr Stephen Neo says he seldom eats nuts or hard foods, but even the occasional crunch takes a painful toll on his teeth.

He had an upper left molar removed after it developed a severe crack in 2016.

“When I bit anything hard or chewed meat, I could feel the spike of pain,” says Mr Neo, 58, a Grab driver. He admits he never saw the dentist regularly before getting the tooth removed.

Three years later, he had another cracked molar extracted at a private dental surgery, this time on the right side of his mouth.

In 2020, his dentists at the National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) discovered two more cracked molars – which were saved – one with a crown and the other with a root canal. But a third cracked tooth a year later had to be extracted in 2022.

His sixth and most recent cracked tooth episode occurred in 2023, when he bit on something hard – he cannot remember what exactly. He had to undergo a root canal and crown treatment, and is now considering dental implants for his three missing molars.

Cases like Mr Neo’s are surprisingly common.

Tooth cracks are typically incomplete fractures of the tooth and are similar to hairline cracks, says Dr Wu Siwen, head and senior consultant from the endodontics department of restorative dentistry at NDCS.

Cracked teeth are the second-most common dental problem after tooth decay at the NDCS and make up 25 per cent of all cases seen by its endodontists, she adds.

Such dental specialists treat the inflamed or infected nerves of teeth through various treatments such as root canals.

“Hence, the true prevalence of cracked teeth in the population is probably much higher than our data suggests,” Dr Wu explains.

“This 25 per cent figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg. It refers to patients who are motivated to save their cracked teeth through root canal treatment...