Whether you’re chewing on the last remains of ice from your soda at dinner or you stock your freezer full of your favorite chomping ice, damage to your teeth caused by chewing on ice can be costly and painful. While chewing on ice may seem harmless, it can be bad for your teeth and can signal an underlying health condition.
At Reason To Smile, our experts have extensive knowledge of the effects of ice chewing on teeth and gums and we want to help you. Let’s discuss some of the side effects of ice chewing.
Why You Shouldn’t Chew Ice
While you may not see your ice chewing as a tooth issue, it could very well be doing extensive damage. Here are some of the problems we see when our clients chew on ice:
- Enamel damage: Did you know that enamel doesn’t repair itself. Because of this issue, you need to protect the enamel you have. Chewing on ice can cause enamel to break down and eventually lead to cavities and decay.
- Filling loss or damage: Putting freezing cold objects into your mouth causes fillings to expand and contract. This reduces the life of your fillings resulting in more visits to the dentist.
- Gum damage: Gums are soft and easily punctured tissue and are already subjected to the wear of daily eating. Chewing ice puts your gums at risk of additional puncture damage.
- Cracked teeth: Chewing on small pieces of ice puts pressure on small areas of our teeth and can result in cracks. Those cracks will eventually lead to larger cracks and bigger dental bills.
- Increased sensitivity: Constant exposure to extreme temperature changes can damage the nerves within your teeth. This can lead to increased tooth sensitivity to temperature.
Anyway you spell it out, chewing on ice is damaging to the health of your teeth and gums. Avoiding chewing ice is important to your oral health. If you chew ice on a regular basis, getting checked out by a dentist is an important preventative measure and could save you time and money.
Make the Switch
Experts agree that switching the habit of chewing on ice with something less damaging to your teeth is crucial. They suggest replacing ice with apple slices or carrots to achieve a similar crunch. If your desire to chew on ice is something more intense, you could have an underlying health condition requiring a physician diagnosis to treat.
Whatever your concerns, our caring team at Reason To Smile are committed to your overall oral health. We want you to have a good experience at our office. We can help you decide if your ice chewing habit is causing your oral health to decline. Call our office at (801) 618-3399 today!
