Chewing ice cubes -- good or bad?

[Tasaio]

Greetings

My apologies for making two posts at once, but this follows from the previous topic:

I find chewing ice cubes is an *excellent* substitute for chewing something worse -- say, a chocolate bar or chips. It's just water.

But dentists tell you not to, because it supposedly chips the enamel off your teeth. Also, I'll occasionally swallow an ice cube whole, without chewing at all.

Aside from chipping the enamel off your teeth, what are some of the side effects of chewing ice?

Thanks in advance

[pantera]

Two of my best friends are dentists, and they both demand that their patients not chew on ice cubes. Since they know more about teeth than I do, I gave it up, no questions asked.

Chew on a carrot stick, or a piece of celery, etc. I have a habit of juggling around grapes, radishes, peanuts, etc. in my mouth like they were gum.

[빈센트]

brainfreeze :P

[dalante]

i heard it means you're compensating for a lack of sexual activity....

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

I find chewing ice cubes is an *excellent* substitute for chewing something worse -- say, a chocolate bar or chips. It's just water.

Ever try sugarless gum? It's an *excellent* substitute for ice cubes.

Originally Posted by Tasaio

But dentists tell you not to, because it supposedly chips the enamel off your teeth. Also, I'll occasionally swallow an ice cube whole, without chewing at all.

Aside from chipping the enamel off your teeth, what are some of the side effects of chewing ice?

Well if you like chewing on rocks, then I suppose ice cubes are ok. Don't confuse ice with water. Ice is crystallized water and is very tough. Other than the enamel damage you mentioned, putting ice in your mouth may cause microfractures in your teeth due to the quick changes in temperature between hot and freezing (temperature under your tongue is 36.6 degrees Celsius, and ice is 0 degrees Celsius or less). This will weaken the structural integrity of your teeth. Of course I'm not a dentist, so if you want a professional opinion on this you should ask one directly.

[gberardi]

I heard that if you have fillings, the sudden change in temperature might cause them to easily fall out. At least, that's what I heard.

[John Wesley]

You people are scaring me. I'll never chew ice again.

[Nico Kempe]

Originally Posted by John Wesley

You people are scaring me. I'll never chew ice again.

me neither [insert worried smiley]

[Angela]

me neither, not even to compensate for lack of sexual activity

[skinnyninja]

Here is another positive slant on ingesting ice:

Cold Water Diet /70104/

[Erock]

Try just sucking on them. I'm a frequent ice chewer, and sucking on ice instead is a much more teeth positive thing to do.

Erock

[da1prophet]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

Greetings

My apologies for making two posts at once, but this follows from the previous topic:

I find chewing ice cubes is an *excellent* substitute for chewing something worse -- say, a chocolate bar or chips. It's just water.

But dentists tell you not to, because it supposedly chips the enamel off your teeth. Also, I'll occasionally swallow an ice cube whole, without chewing at all.

Aside from chipping the enamel off your teeth, what are some of the side effects of chewing ice?

Thanks in advance

You said it yourself--its just water. You're aware of the potential damage to your teeth but I'd wager that its possibly not as bad for your toofys than chips and certainly better than chocolate.

I've personally never liked chewing on ice, but I really don't see much downside if its a substitute for worse things. The "brainfreeze" risk notwithstanding I'd say chew away...

[samjbrowne]

My dentist advised me not to ever chew on ice cubes, as doing it puts tiny cracks in your teeth apparently. From my POV, there's nothing particularly great about chewing ice anyway....

[Jessica Adlin]

Speaking from experience, chewing ice can really cause tiny cracks in your teeth. Those tiny cracks can, over time, especially with continued ice chewing turn into BIG, painful, chip-off-a-chunk of tooth, very-expensive-to-fix cracks.

My dentist always warned me...

Finding a good substitute to ice chewing seems important. It is hard to give up a habit if you don't replace it with something else. Carrots, celery, gum...

Good luck!

[taylor2]

well-i have always heard the desire to chew ice cubes and eat ice is cause of anemia.and i always chewed ice and was and also my dentist told me"whatever u are doing to your teeth..stop! it's killing your teeth".i was always an ice chewer.good luck...taylor2

[ElizaJ]

Well, I worked with a woman once who chewed ice all day long. It caused wrinkle lines much like the ones that smokers get, and she wasn't a smoker. So, if you're a female and worried about wrinkle lines around the lips, don't chew ice all day long!

[Zach]

Originally Posted by Erock

Try just sucking on them. I'm a frequent ice chewer, and sucking on ice instead is a much more teeth positive thing to do.

Agreed. I prefer to suck on ice instead of chewing it.

[tylersch]

I never knew it was bad for you, my dad and I have always chewed on ice. I don't know why I do it, but I usually try to suck on it instead of chewing it. haha, Maybe i'll try a 30-day test.

[gberardi]

I just wonder if 30 days will be enough to determine anything. How long does it take for teeth to chip from chewing ice?

And why would sucking on ice be any better? Wouldn't the temperature difference still exist as the ice slowly turns to water next to your teeth?

[febflake]

How the.. it's beyond me why anyone would WANT to chew an ice cube?!
Beyond the fact it should be basic knowledge learned at primary school and it just hurts, it just doesn't make any sense.. what could the benefits be?

Why not sip on boiled water (the 100°c kind) while we are at it?
Or make cookies with sand?

@gberardi:
because ice is being warmed through your lips and basically you are sucking water out of the cube instead of putting it directly in contact with your teeth ?

edit:
Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog: "I eat a lot of ice"

I googled about this a little bit and I suggest to pay more attention to this behaviour, it doesn't seem to just be an habit.

[Janae]

Originally Posted by tylersch

I never knew it was bad for you, my dad and I have always chewed on ice. I don't know why I do it, but I usually try to suck on it instead of chewing it. haha, Maybe i'll try a 30-day test.

I did a search and typed in, "benefits of eating ice." I know. I was laughing after I read all of the threads as well. I am certain that I will take heed this time. I seriously didn't think there was anything wrong with this too, Tylersch. On the contrary, I thought it was good for you hence the search I researched. At least I educated myself and now I realize what I won't be chewing anymore.

I actually picked up this habit from my mother so I've been doing this on/off for years (at least a decade). I stopped for a while because my teeth started becoming more increasingly sensitive to hot and cold temperatures. I started again a few years ago not even caring why I cease this habit for two main reasons: 1. It seemed to calm my nerves. 2. When I would chew ice I wouldn't need to eat food before, during or after I was doing it. It seemed to rid my hunger and I did this not because I have a problem with food but because I work so much and go to school so I just do not have time to eat at times. Ice was the answer to a lot of my concerns (so I thought).

Now, thanks to these messages from you wonderful people I really am going to stop. I actually just had to redo a leaky filling (these cause halitosis) because "somehow" the one that I had filled years ago started leaking. How in the world can this be a possibility? Now I am sure I know why!! Thanks for this website, Steve!

[SireneB]

I have a lot of experience with chewing ice. I've done it off and on all my life, partly because I thought it was healthier than other things I could be chewing. But I grew to crave it, so that, for example, when I came home from work the first thing I'd do was get a giant cup full of ice cubes to chew on.

I also chewed on other things, like pencils at work.

When I was in my 30's, my teeth were worn down from this such that my dentist told me I wouldn't have any useful teeth left by the time I was 40.

My dentist had told me to discuss with my doctor because he thought it was physiological. My doctor said it must be psychological, so to consult with a psychologist, and the psychologist said it was a dental problem. So I shrugged my shoulders about it, that was a really stressful time for me, and I chewed ice and pencils more than ever. When I turned 40 I still had teeth and I took note of that and breathed a sigh of relief. And continued chewing on ice.

When I turned 50 I changed doctors. I was having all kinds of issues like lack of energy and drowsiness despite plenty of sleep, feeling chilled a lot at work, and the most concerning, random muscle spasms in my arms and legs. The new doctor did blood tests and when I came back for the results, he did not let me out of the office before giving me an iron infusion - he said I was anemic and my iron level was dangerously low. I had read before that pica (chewing on things like ice) could be a sign of anemia ... and looks like that was right.

I had to have 4 infusions within a couple of weeks to bring my levels back up, and I completely lost any urge to chew on ice (all the other symptoms went away, also). Now I can have a glass of water with ice and I don't even think of chewing on the ice.

Unfortunately, now, I'm reaping the results on my teeth. They have lots of little cracks, last year I had 2 that needed crowns and now 4 more - they are just crumbling and break at random times. So yes, decades of chewing ice will
have a bad result on your teeth.

Good luck. An occasional ice crunch might not be a problem, but if it becomes a habit or compulsion - you might want to have your iron levels checked, and consider the future effect on your teeth.

[James81]

Originally Posted by 빈센트

brainfreeze :P

How, in the frick, did this person get a username like THAT? LMAO.

[Helesinine]

People are chewing ice cubes? Never heard of it!

These forums can be really enlightening!