“This episode of DNews is brought to you by…the BuyPower Card from Capital One.Every
purchase brings you closer to a new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle.”
I love chewing ice.
What does that say about me?!
AM I GOING TO BE OKAY?!
Hey guys, it's Trace for DNews.
Ice chewing is a thing with records of it dating to the 1600s!
People do it for different reasons, like if your refill never came, or you just like the
crunch…
But one thing's for sure, it has NOTHING to do with being sexually frustrated.
Abnormal ice cravings are part of something doctors call pica, or the craving to chew
something with no nutritional value.
If it's specifically ice, that's called pagophagia, and the MAIN thing ice chewing can indicate
is iron deficiency or anemia!
Seriously, it's a symptom!
Of course, this is if you're chewing a massive amount of ice, not just a cube or two.
They're not sure why people who are iron deficient crave ice, since there's no iron IN ice cubes,
perhaps it's because they're crunchy?
Ice chewing can also be symptoms of emotional problems like stress, or something more serious
like obsessive-compulsive or developmental disorders.
Again, you'd have to chew more than what's in the bottom of your water glass to be diagnosed
with this, but anyway…
Though we don't know WHY people chew ice.
We know they do, and have for hundreds of years.
Dentists don't recommend chewing ice, because YES, ice chewing CAN damage your teeth.
You might not see the damage, but it's there, and it's cumulative over time.
Though they seem hard, tooth enamel is really brittle, and is about as easy to break as
glass.
The reason they DON'T break is because your teeth are made of microstructures of enamel
and dentin.
The microstructures keep microscopic cracks from spreading, but that doesn't mean they
aren’t any cracks.
A study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found human teeth can withstand
1000 Newtons of force, while other primates with crunchier diets have thicker enamel and
thus stronger teeth.
Those primates can crunch nuts and fruit pits, or grind thick plants, where we would literally
crack a tooth.
Add to that, the temperature shifts from chewing ice.
Your mouth stays around the high 90s normally, but introducing ice can drop that temperature
just as you crunch on the ice.
Colder teeth are even more prone to cracks!
Knowing people's affinity for chewing the cold chunks, a company called Scotsman Ice
Systems created an ice machine that creates an easy-to-chew ice nugget, it's more like
compressed snow.
You can find it at Sonic, if you're near one.
Bottom line, chewing ice doesn't hurt you, but it can damage your teeth if you do it
too much.
It can cause fractures, chipping, and cracking, not to mention increased temperature sensitivity
and decay.
Plus, dental fillings, crowns, veneers and such don't have the resiliency afforded to
natural teeth, so THOSE will wear even faster.
Enamel doesn't grow back, so next time you're chewing on ice, think of your old person self,
because they're probably gonna be pissed.
Are you like me?
Do you chew ice?
Why?
Did you ever think about it?
If you don't, why not?
Comments, leave one, that's why they're there.
I love you guys, thanks for watching DNews.
Let me know if you have any pressing science questions on twitter: I'm Trace Dominguez.
See ya!
Oh, and if you haven't subscribed yet, click that sub button, it's important to us, and
we're SO CLOSE TO 1 MILLION!!!
GAAH!!
Thanks again.