Frozen gummy bears are trending on TikTok, but why?

Frozen gummy bears are trending on TikTok. Hundreds of videos flood users' feeds of people biting into cold, colorful candies – but a dental assistant told it Newsweek The trend could be harmful.

One video that went particularly viral is Kat Chao's contribution to the trend, which received nearly 45 million views and 3.8 million likes in just one week.

Chaos Video – on her channel @katchaomeow – largely follows the same pattern as others. It starts with her taking a crunchy bite into a few large frozen gummy bears, and then she demonstrates how to make them.

First she pours lemonade into a container. Chao uses 7up, but other versions used Sprite, Cola, Japanese cider, root beer and even vodka.

Gummy bears – and similar gummy candies – are added to the drink and then placed in the refrigerator overnight. During this time they will swell and absorb liquid until they are much larger and softer than before.

These gummies are then placed in the freezer for three hours or more – after which the frozen gummies are ready to taste.

The point of it all seems to be the sound of the bite, frozen but slightly chewy.

One of Chaos Video's commenters said: “My sensitive teeth could never do it” – and almost 27,000 people on the app liked the comment.

But that cold, crisp, smooth bite seems to be the main reason the trend has caught on; Second, it's relatively easy to try out a cheap, colorful, sweet food.

Many of the people taking part create ASMR content. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and refers to a tingling feeling that some people experience when they hear certain sounds.

Food ASMR videos focus on mouth sounds, with content creators getting close to their microphones to record the chewing sounds in vivid clarity.

Some people like these sounds, and the particular sound when people eat these frozen gummy bears seems to trigger an ASMR reaction in them.

Content creators who have tried the trend have admitted that the taste is a bit disappointing.

However, dental assistant Karen Coates said Newsweek that frozen gummy bears sounded “pretty dangerous” for dental health.

“The sugar levels are concerning,” she said. “If you use a full-fat drink and then add candy, it’s just sugar on top of sugar.

“If you want something sweet and frozen, you’re better off making your own ice cream from diluted liqueur.”

Coates said there could be five or six teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda, and people who try the trend could consume a similar amount of the gummies.

“As an adult, you should consume a maximum of about seven teaspoons of sugar per day,” she said. “With this trend, it’s very easy to exaggerate the amount of sugar you should consume.”

And Coates echoed commenters' concerns about tooth sensitivity, saying it could cause pain in some people.

“If it's too hard, [the gummies] could break teeth or even damage gums and cause problems,” she said.

Coates told Newsweek that she wouldn't try the trend herself and that if she wanted something cold, she would choose something with less sugar, natural sugar or fruit.

“At the end of the day, they're really empty calories and have no nutritional value,” Coates said. “It could potentially cause tooth decay.”

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