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You might benefit from exploring what could be causing your ice-chewing cravings. For example, the American Dental Association suggests drinking from straws as a means of avoiding thoughtless chewing on ice – or switching to cold drinks without ice. If you can’t replace your habit, you could disrupt it. Though chewing ice in any capacity could harm your teeth, crushed ice could minimize the damage done than bigger cubes. Anything as hard as ice will be too hard on your teeth, and Grbic warns against reaching for hardy candy in place of ice.īurhenne recommends crushed ice, which is much softer. Unfortunately, if it’s crunching that you desire, you’re going to struggle to find a healthy alternative. If it’s the cold icy sensation you crave, Grbic recommends simply letting it melt in your mouth instead of crunching on it. Grbic says chewing ice can damage restoration work, like fillings, braces, crowns, and veneers – which can be costly to fix or replace. Important: If you have existing dental work, you should never eat ice. This part of your tooth is more sensitive and so if you have gum recession your teeth may become more sensitive which can make eating cold and hot foods uncomfortable. When your gums recede, the root of your tooth (aka what anchors your tooth to your mouth), is exposed. Gum recession occurs when gum tissue is eroded from genetics, gum disease, or a traumatic injury (such as prolonged injury).
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Chewing ice can also put pressure on your gums, which can lead to gum recession.
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“Every week we see at least one patient who has fractured their tooth because they ate an unpopped popcorn kernel, hard candy, or ice.”ģ. Beyond weakening tooth enamel, there’s always the possibility of fracturing a tooth, according to John Grbic, DMD, Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. Most of the time it’s the ice that breaks, but occasionally it’s the tooth that bears the brunt of the damage.Ģ. The American Dental Association explains that when you force two extremely hard surfaces together, one is going to break. “If your tooth enamel were to be damaged, your teeth and entire oral hygiene, including gums, would then be susceptible and even prone to more bacterial infections and diseases,” says Shahrooz Yazdani, DDS, from Yazdani Family Dentistry.