Chewing Ice Isn’t Nice for your Teeth

Ice CubesPicture a hot summer day. You’re on a road trip with the family. Your weekend get-away is well deserved, as work has been rough. You are deep into chill mode when you have to stop to gas up the car and get an ice cold drink for everyone to stay cool and hydrated. Your 42 ounce fountain beverage is really hitting the spot, and you down it fast, leaving a big cup full of half melted ice cubes. What better way to pass the drive than to chomp on cube after cube, cooling and refreshing you. Unfortunately, as you break the cubes into tiny, icy shards, you are putting your smile at risk. Chewing ice may be fun, but is the risk really worth it?

Tooth Damage from Chewing Ice

Ice is obviously extremely hard. While ice cubes may start in a uniform shape and size, they will melt at different rates inside your mouth or in a cup of liquid. This renders ice irregular in shape and size, causing extra danger as you chomp away. Biting down or chewing on the wrong sharp, icy edge can lead to tooth enamel damage, chips, or breaks. Enamel is designed to protect your teeth, but you still have a responsibility of protecting your enamel by not abusing your smile. When you make ice chewing a habit,  not only are you at risk for breaking a tooth or harming tooth enamel, but you may also damage existing dental work such as fillings, crowns, veneers, or dental bonding.

An Alternative: Let Ice Melt

Your mouth is a warm environment conducive to ice cubes swiftly melting away with no threat to your teeth. By all means, suck on ice cubes for a similar refreshing sensation to chewing on ice. After all, melted ice is water, which is crucial to your salivary gland production. You may have to concern yourself with prolonged contact between ice and teeth if you are sensitive to cold temperatures. However, the only truly damaging possibility with ice is if you choose to chew ice cubes.

Visit your Rolling Meadows Cosmetic Dentist

To schedule an appointment, call our 60008 dentist office at 847-259-8030. We are happy to serve patients in Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Skokie, Evanston, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, Northwest Chicago Suburbs, and Northern Chicago Suburbs.