Why do chewing ice is harmful to teeth?

There are many reasons people chew ice, whether it's enjoying a cool summer meal, relieving boredom, relieving stress, or reducing calories. This seems to be a harmless habit, but chewing on ice is a very harmful tooth for several reasons.

We encourage you to consider what kind of damage your teeth will get when you chew the ice.

Worn enamel

Chewing on ice can wear the enamel on the teeth. The enamel keeps your teeth strong and prevents chewing, biting, chewing and grinding. The more it wears, the more likely it is to cause tooth damage, tooth sensitivity or tooth decay.

Ruin filler

Putting frozen ice into your mouth will cause the filler to swell. When the filler expands, it has a shorter duration. Therefore, chewing ice will cause more people to go to the dentist to supplement these things.

Damaged gums

Ice is hard and sharp, so it's easy to pierce and damage your gum tissue. Since the food you eat every day has put the gum problem at risk, there is no need to make the situation worse.

Cracked tooth

The sharp edges of the ice are also thought to crack the teeth. When you bite the ice, you put a lot of pressure on the small area of your mouth, and sometimes your mouth can't bear the load. Many times, small, inconspicuous fractures develop over time from repeated ice chewing, eventually leading to large fractures. To repair a large fracture, you need a crown and sometimes a root canal.

Increase sensitivity

Constantly chewing ice to expose the teeth to extreme temperature changes can damage the nerves inside the teeth. Chewing ice will increase the sensitivity of your teeth, so if you are already sensitive to teeth, chewing ice will only make your problem worse.


Cause headache / toothache / chin soreness / brain freezing


Chewing ice can also cause several other irritations to the body. Moving your chin down and grinding it on hard, fragile, cold ice can cause headaches, sore chin, and even brain freezing. In addition, if you stimulate the soft tissue of your teeth, you will have a toothache.

Lead to more serious potential health problems

The need to chew ice cubes may be related to more serious health problems such as undernutrition, stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder and developmental disorders.

A common nutritional deficiency associated with a strong desire to repeatedly chew ice is iron deficiency anemia. Scientists believe that some people need to chew ice because they want something cool to relieve oral inflammation caused by iron deficiency anemia. They believe that this will also make anemia patients more alert, because the cold will push better oxygenated blood to the brain and produce anti-inflammatory effects on the mouth caused by iron deficiency.

If you find yourself chewing ice, consider trying alternatives that are more protective to your teeth, such as cold drinks, popsicles or ice cream.