Train Your Kids to Stop Chewing Ice

Chewing ice is a habit that many people have, and they often form it in childhood. But chewing ice, or at least hard ice, is very bad for their teeth and can indicate additional health problems. If you've noticed your children trying to chew ice, you need to train them to stop now. This will help keep their teeth a lot healthier and uncover those other problems so that you can heal them.

Have Their Iron Levels Tested

First, if the chewing ice is new and seems to be something they insist on doing, have their blood iron levels checked. Chewing ice is a symptom of pica, which itself is a symptom of anemia or an iron deficiency (those two are not necessarily the same). The specific condition of chewing ice is called pagophagia, and people who have pica may also chew on paper, dirt, and other non-food items. However, the condition may still be present even if the person is chewing on ice only.

If the ice-chewing is due to low iron levels, fixing those should lessen the need and desire to chew ice. It can take a while for iron levels to rise, so getting your child tested and treated as soon as possible is best.

Show Them What Hard Ice Can Do to Teeth

If pica and low iron levels are not the reason behind the chewing, chances are it's just a habit, especially if the child tends to bite right through hard candies, too. Older children would benefit from a lesson on what exactly the ice can do to their teeth and why even a little ice-chewing can have a cumulative and bad effect. Arrange to have them speak to a dentist who is willing to give them a graphic explanation because kids likely aren't going to really pay attention to vague information like, "it can create cracks in your teeth." Give them accurate descriptions, though, of exactly how the cracks happen and what gets exposed—you may just convince them to start dropping the chewing habit.

Monitor Ice Use

Call them out if you see them chewing ice. In fact, for a while at least, you may want to avoid giving them ice until you think they've kicked a craving for it.

Be Careful With Chewable Ice

Some fast-food chains offer softer chewable ice that is easy on the teeth. However, chewing this can make kids fall back into the habit of chewing all ice. If you think your child has gotten to the point where he or she can control whether they chew ice or not, then the soft ice might be OK to give them. However, if they still appear to have the habit, don't let them have soft ice either.

A kids dentistry can help you create ways to retrain the kids not to chew ice. By stopping this habit, their teeth will have a better chance of staying healthy and undamaged.