For ice chewers, the age of long drives for hunting down a cup of ice here and there has been already over. Ice pops up all the year because compact ice makers hit the market. Chewing ice cools down in summer and refreshes the mind in winter. It is exactly a big gift! Nowadays, it also has become part of everyday life for most people and even they are crazy about it. However, there is still a hot debate about whether chewing ice will harm teeth. Are there any alternatives? Is Nugget ice a better choice? Go on reading to find out the answers.
- What makes you so indulged in ice chewing?
- Is chewing ice harmful to your teeth?
- How much do you know about Nugget ice?
- Will it be your first choice?
- How can you get batches of ice?
What makes you so indulged in ice chewing?
Have you ever got to that point when your iced coffee or soda is gone and you find yourself mindlessly chewing on the ice left in the cup? Or have you ever gone to a specific restaurant just for chewy ice? It must be enjoyable that you munch on ice in a restaurant or bar, holding a glass of drinks with ice cubes clinking around at the bottom. You can rattle off plenty of reasons why you are indulged in chewing ice wherever possible. For example, ice crunching helps relieve stress and satisfies hunger cravings without ingesting calories. Besides, it can quench your thirst and relieve dry mouth, already becoming a habit, and hard to get rid of.
Is chewing ice harmful to your teeth?
About the hot debate, Matthew Cooke, a dentist and associate professor of Pediatric Dentistry & Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences, gave the answer. He proposed that chomping on ice jeopardizes your oral health in a number of ways, such as cavities and cracks in the enamel. Although it is fact, it is still hard for ice chewers to kick this habit. Therefore, professor Matthew mentioned that it is advisable to consider softer alternatives, like pebble ice, which can keep on chewing ice and in the meantime protect your teeth. It is really big news!
How much do you know about Nugget ice?
Nugget Ice, also known as Sonic Ice or Pellet Ice, goes by many other names. Everyone knows it's the most favorable ice type, softer and chewy. Once Murphy said that “the magic is to have some ice left over once you've finished your drink for, um, snacking”. In fact, sonic ice is made of layers of flaked ice, creating pockets of air in the pellet ice. These air pockets make pebble ice so soft and chewy to munch on.
In addition, you will find it in most of the drinks because it chills them quickly, like iced coffee, tea, and cocktails. Therefore, if you want to choose softer alternatives, pellet ice is worth taking into consideration.
Will it be your first choice?
In order to find out the answer, we have conducted a test of the force of crunching on ice cubes, Nugget ice, and raw carrots, comparing the numbers on the pressure apparatus.
We try to conduct the testing under the same condition, reading and writing down the numbers. The test on three items goes on 10 times respectively.
The testing result is the average and presented in the table, which is more self-explanatory. The force of sonic ice is up to 64.5N/15.6lb, while carrots, a kind of healthy crisp fruits and vegetables, need 153N/31.9lb. In fact, due to raw carrots’ tenacity and sharp teeth, it is no need for such a big force to chew. But from the test, it could find out that the force of chewing Nugget ice is less than carrots’. The table shows that the ice cube’s bite force is 178.5N/41.2lb, much large than chewable ice. The average human bite force is 162lb. Chewy ice only needs 1/10 of human bite force. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that its bite force is the smallest. Now, will it ice be your first choice, if you want to protect your teeth as possible?
How can you get batches of Nugget ice?
Choosing chewable pellet ice is a win-win act, good for crunching ice and teeth health to the greatest extent. Therefore, it is a better and even can be the first choice for ice chewers. Although someone suggests that they can DIY it in just three steps, it only produces a small batch. To satisfy your hunger for crunchable ice, GEVI compact Nugget ice maker countertop provides you batches in a whole day, available for making delicious chewy iced cocktails in hot summer.
