Posted by Rick Denney on June 16, 2003 at 11:40:19:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Clean mouth... posted by So will on June 14, 2003 at 19:21:54:
The if you have dental work is the operative phrase, and then only when it is located on the ice-crunching surfaces. I've been chewing ice my whole life and I have had no troubles resulting from that. Recently, I underwent a series of visits to the dentist after having not been since my wisdom teeth were painfully removed 23 years ago. The cleaning was painful, but the exam revealed nothing untowards. Some dental work on my front teeth needs to be replaced, but it was a piece of crusty Italian bread that caused that failure (and contact with concrete that created the problem in the first place). And both my cavities needed to be refilled.
On the other hand, I had grooves in my teeth caused by over-exuberant brushing that needed to be filled. Thus, the brushing has thus far caused more damage than the ice-chewing. I now use a rotary powered brush, which my dentist says will prevent the grooves in the future.
All in all, it's not a bad record for a 45-year-old who avoids dentists, and certainly not made worse by chewing ice.
I've often wondered if ice chewing is the reason why I have so few cavities and other problems with decay. Even when flossing, I rarely find...er...things left unremoved by the ice. And I rarely find horribleness inside my instruments when I clean them.
But ice-chewing is annoying to some. And it isn't so easy to play technical literature when your tongue is frozen solid.
Rick "whose nervous habits seem to be annoying but otherwise harmless" Denney