Reason Chewing Ice Is Bad For Dental Health

It’s a common habit in many people that they chew on ice. Chewing ice is thought to be helpful in relieving boredom, cutting down calories, getting cool sensation during summers, and reducing stress. What’s dangerous here is that people think of it as the harmless habit, which it is certainly not. Chewing on ice can destroy dental health, and there are certain reasons to prove this point.

Therefore, it’s important that you take into consideration the damages chewing on ice can deliver before you decide on continuing with this habit.

The tooth enamel

When you chew on ice, you basically expose your teeth to the risks of getting your tooth enamel damaged. What is tooth enamel? It’s the very element which keeps your teeth strong and undamaged when you chew, bite, and grind your teeth. Thus, the more this enamel is damaged, the more your teeth with be damaged. At the end, you might suffer from tooth pain, sensitivity, cavities, and ultimately tooth loss.

Fillings

Fillings are there to protect your teeth from getting further damaged. But these filling are usually vulnerable against the extra coolness which comes from ice when you chew on it. This ice causes the fillings to expand, leading to adhesion getting reduced and then the fillings losing hold of the teeth.

Gum damage

When you chew on ice, it is usually broken into sharp pieces which can puncture and damage the gums. Hence, the gums become more vulnerable to several diseases which you surely don’t want to suffer from. Gums already have enough of tough tasks due to the foods that you eat on daily basis. So, chewing on ice can only make things worse.

Cracks in teeth

This one makes sense even to the person with no knowledge about dental health. The process of tooth cracking due to chewing on hard objects is a well-known phenomenon. But let’s discuss it in a bit more detail. When you chew on ice, you apply pressure to the small areas in mouth. This pressure usually leads to the small and unnoticeable fractures which occur on the teeth. Now, you might not be able to feel the vulnerability of your teeth but these fractures are dangerous enough to give you some seriously bad news eventually.

Increased tooth sensitivity

Besides the fact that chewing on ice can damage enamel leading to the increased sensitivity, this practice can directly cause tooth sensitivity by making the tooth going through extreme temperature chance. Hence, you should strictly avoid chewing on ice if you already suffer through tooth sensitivity because it will only make things beyond worse.

Issues related to jaw and brain

When you chew on hard crunchy ice, it can cause irritation in the jaw, leading to jaw soreness. This very process can also result in serious headache. When you chew on ice, you may be able to feel the freezing sensation running from jaw through cheeks up to the inside of your head. This sensation is commonly referred to as brain freeze, and it is quite dangerous besides the irritation it can cause.