As we know that our teeth have an enamel coating that protects our teeth and with regular eating or grinding ice cubes which are not only hard but cold also will affect the tooth enamel. The constant extreme temperature changes after or during eating ice will cause the enamel to expand and contract and this, in turn, causes tiny cracks and weakening the teeth enamel which further causes other problems like tooth sensitivity to food and drinks that are hot and cold, more prone to decay or cavities, can crake or chip your teeth, cause numbness while eating ice, can injure gum tissues killings crowns and sore jaw muscles, etc.
The study conducted by Medical experts and documented in the medical textbook proposes a connection between anaemia i.e. iron deficiency and compulsively eating ice people to the most common form of pica or pagophagia where the valetudinarian addiction to food that has zero nutritional value like mud, clay, dirt, spicy or salty foods, eggshells and charcoal or ashes, etc. A recent study indicates this condition is in 20% of women (higher in pregnant women) and about 3% in men.
Few tips to reduce your neighbour's habit of eating ice cubes directly which is affecting his/her teeth is:
a) Taking iron supplements: As the cause for such craving is the iron deficiency, you can ask your neighbour to start taking iron supplements and even include more iron-rich food in his/her diet. After a few days or week, the ice cravings the habit may stop on its own or go away after taking iron supplements.
b) Replace ice cubes with Slush/soft ice: As ice cubes are hard that can damage your tooth, one can switch to slushies' or shaved or nugget ice as they are softer than the regular ice cubes and would not affect the teeth or gum.
c) Switch ice cubes with fruit or vegetable crunches: As many are addicted to crunching and may feel the need to bite on ice cubes, you can replace or switch it with some fresh crunchy vegetables like carrot, cucumber or fruits like apple, pear, etc. In this way, they will get the cool crunching to feel and also intake fibrous material that is good for the body.
“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in." — Morrie Schwartz