Introduction: Cracked teeth is one of the most common cause of tooth loss in developed countries. Objective: To analyze the literature on cracked teeth, mainly its etiology, diagnosis, prevalence and treatment.

Methodology: A compilation was made of articles published in the last 5 years using the electronic database PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. Abstracts and full texts were identified that included information on cracked teeth: "cracked", "teeth", "etiology", "diagnosis", "prevalence" and "treatment".

Results: Having knowledge of the etiology allows the dentist to detect it in time, thus avoiding the propagation of cracks and complications associated with it. Early diagnosis can be a simple restoration, if it progresses it is often necessary to treat the root canal and restore the cusp coverage. The number of cases has increased due to the lack of information for early diagnosis. The treatment of the affected tooth and its prognosis is generally difficult to determine. It depends more on the location, extent and magnitude of the damage caused by the fissure when diagnosed and the time of treatment.

Conclusion: Cracked teeth is one of the main causes of extractions. The use of conventional radiographs does not allow us to make an adequate diagnosis. There is a high prevalence of this problem in older adults, since most of the teeth are treated in some way, and the treatment of a cracked tooth depends on the complexity of the case.