It’s not like we are addicted to chewing ice. But rarely in summer, whenever we put some ice cubes in a drink, we use to put some cubes in our mouth.
But, after getting cavities, and fillings, we think twice before eating anything, and take perspective if this or that thing is going to hurt the teeth, fillings, or be harmful to teeth’ oral hygiene.
So is chewing ice bad or my teeth? Especially for someone, who is having a hard time with bad teeth and oral hygiene?
The shortest and straight answer to the question is ‘Yes’. Chewing ice is bad for your teeth, and if you are having a hard time with your teeth, like having fillings or dental restoration work, you should strictly not try to chew any crunch ice.
Chewing ice damage the enamel of your teeth, the protective outer layer that shields your teeth from decay.
And if you can’t stop yourself from chewing ice, or have a grown habit of chewing it on regular basis, you should seriously work on breaking this habit and find another way to replace the sensation of chewing ice.
These are some reasons one should not eat ice, and if you already are addicted to the sensation of chewing ice, should stop right away.
Visit Paragon Dental Centre if you are facing any issues with your teeth.
Why Chewing Ice is bad for Your Teeth?
Our teeth are not designed to crunch hard things, and eating ice is the same as eating hard food. Eating rice might not break your teeth, or might not damage or impact the teeth negatively for the first time. But if you keep eating ice, it will gradually damage your teeth, and with time you will be building cavities, and indulged in a myriad of teeth problems.
Eating ice might look refreshing, tempting, and crunchy, but in long run, you will be putting your teeth help on disarray.
Eating ice ruin Tooth Enamel
In simplest words, tooth enamel is a protective shield that protects teeth’ inner areas.
When you force two hard surfaces together, one of them will break. Well, most of the time, it’s the ice that breaks, but with time the outer protective surface will start getting damaged or dented.
If the outer surface which is called enamel is broken, damaged, or hurt, your inner teeth areas will be more prone to bacterial infections and diseases. In a nutshell, your teeth’ entire oral hygiene will be damaged.
Broken Teeth
Ice can break or chip your teeth…! It might look exaggerated but According to the Dental Medicine of Colombia University, it is not uncommon to break or chip the teeth by eating unpopped popcorn kernel, hard candy as well as Ice.
I am not saying that eating ice or unpopped popcorn for the first time will break or chip your teeth. But, it happens when you keep eating things like these, and at one time, your teeth will be susceptible to chipping or breaking, you can call it boiling temperature.
At 99 degrees C, water won’t boil, but after an increase of 1 degree C, water will start to boil. Would you say, that a 1-degree increase led the water to boil? No, it was a continuous increase in the temperature till it reaches 100 degrees C.
Damage Gums
Sometimes in the haste of eating crunch ice cubes the sharp edges of the ice pierce your gums, which leads to inflammation, bleeding, and various other teeth issues.
Plus, eating ice also put pressure on your gums and leads to gum recession. And if it happens, the root of your teeth is exposed, which leads to more sensitivity, which can make it hard for you to eat cold and hot foods. With that, even the normal things would be difficult for you, leave aside eating ice again.
What is a healthy alternative to Eating Ice?
If the ice sensation is what you crave, there are a few things or alternatives you can go with. But, if it’s the crunchy feeling, like breaking the ice in between your teeth, there is no alternative. Anything you find an alternative would be as hard to break for your teeth as the ice you already are crunching.
Find a crunchy Alternative
Well, at some level you have to control yourself to break that habit and stick to something less crunchy, but somehow satisfy your crunchy habit without putting your teeth and oral hygiene in disarray.
Find something like apple slices, carrots, and cucumbers, or try crunchy snacks. Well, these things are not hard or have any negative impact on teeth health, but people addicted to eating crunchy ice, might not feel satisfied with these. This is what you will have to control and break the habit with things like these.
Let the ice melt in your mouth
If it’s not the crunchy feeling that you crave, but the ice, you can easily get rid of the negative impact of eating ice on your teeth. The first thing you should stop is breaking the ice with your teeth, and letting the ice melt in your mouth. You will have the icy sensation without causing damage to your teeth.
Use Chew Gum
If eating ice all the time is a mindless activity for you, you can break it by having chew gum. This will keep your mouth occupied, along with zapping your bad breath. Well, again, it won’t be as satisfying as eating rice, as you are addicted to that, but that’s the way you will have to break the habit.
Why do people have cravings for eating Ice?
Well for someone who doesn’t ice might be surprising to know that people can get addicted to eating ice too. So what leads to those cravings, and is it some kind of disorder, or mental condition?
Some health experts linked eating an ice to iron deficiency that leads to iron deficiency or tiredness. It leads people more alert, and awake, and helps them get more focused, but more research is needed to aid this point or stance.
It can be a disorder. Yes, as per much research, some people can have a compulsive behavior of eating ice. It can be due to more than one thing like nervousness, stress, or emotional distress.
This condition is named PICA, but not everyone compulsive to eat ice can be diagnosed with this disorder. It requires professional expertise to narrow it down, why do you have this condition, or why do you find it compulsive to chew ice?
Final Thoughts
Eating ice in the summertime when you feel too hot once in often can be ignored. But if you find yourself tempted to eat and chew ice more than once a day or on regular basis, it is dangerous to your health. And if you have cavities, fillings, or have done restoration tooth work, you can’t be allowed even to crunch the ice cub once, it will hurt your fillings as well as restoration work.
We also mentioned how you can get rid of the habit. And if you can’t get rid of this, you can take help from a psychiatrist, if you feel like you find yourself engaged in the activity of eating ice all the time, or can’t help to stop yourself.