Cracked tooth syndrome (CTS) is where a tooth has incompletely cracked but no part of the tooth has yet broken off. Sometimes it is described as a greenstick fracture. The symptoms are very variable, making it a notoriously difficult condition to diagnose. Classification and definition
Cracked tooth syndrome could be considered a type of dental trauma and also one of the possible causes of dental pain. One definition of cracked tooth syndrome is "a fracture plane of unknown depth and direction passing through tooth structure that, if not already involving, may progress to communicate with the pulp and/or periodontal ligament." Signs and symptoms
The reported symptoms are very variable, and frequently have been present for many months before the condition is diagnosed. Reported symptoms may include some of the following:

Sharp pain when biting on a certain tooth, which may get worse if the applied biting force is increased. Sometimes the pain on biting occurs when the food being chewed is soft with harder elements, e.g. seeded bread. "Rebound pain" i.e. sharp, fleeting pain occurring when the biting force is released from the tooth, which may occur when eating fibrous foods. Pain on biting
Pain when grinding the teeth backward and forward and side to side. Sharp pain when drinking cold beverages or eating cold foods, lack of pain with heat stimuli. Pain when eating or drinking sugary substances.
Definitive options include:
Bonded intra-coronal restoration
Onlay restoration, either direct or indirectly placed (currently the recommended technique)
Crown restoration (though this is associated with a high incidence of loss of vitality in teeth with CTS)Teeth originally presenting with CTS may subsequently require Root Canal therapy (if pain persists after above) or Extraction

History
The term "cuspal fracture odontalgia" was suggested in 1954 by Gibbs. Subsequently, the term "cracked tooth syndrome" was coined in 1964 by Cameron, who defined the condition as "an incomplete fracture of a vital posterior tooth that involves the dentin and occasionally extends into the pulp." References


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