Why do children grind their teeth at night?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Probably, many of you have encountered such a problem as the gnashing of teeth in a child. Not only unpleasant for hearing, but also causing a lot of emotions, the sound often becomes the cause of a restless night for a caring mother. Heard that supposedly children grind their teeth at night, if there are worms in the body, parents panic. Meanwhile, grinding of teeth is a disease with an unusual medical name "bruxism". If the symptoms and name are precisely defined by science, then there are very different opinions about the causes of this disease.

Baby grinding teeth

Teething in young children is accompanied by a constant feeling of discomfort. The baby's gums itch, and in order to somehow alleviate their suffering, they involuntarily begin to grind their teeth. However, this behavior cannot be attributed to manifestations of a serious illness. Children grind their teeth at night, and sometimes during the day, until everyonemilk teeth will not erupt.

Bite formation

It happens that children grind their teeth at night and after all the teeth have erupted. This happens during the period of bite formation. Some features of the structure of the jaw part of the head can contribute to the development of bruxism. In this case, you need to contact your dentist. Only he will prescribe the necessary treatment. Most often, experts recommend using a special dental splint at night, which does not allow the teeth to touch.

Is it the worms?

Let's say your child grinds his teeth, what to do, mind you, absolutely all children can, regardless of age and the presence of parasites in the body. In this case, are the following actions justified: wake up the child in the early morning for the next test procedure, force him to take anthelmintic drugs, exclude certain foods from the diet? And all just because the child made unpleasant sounds with his teeth. And by the way, some children even like to listen to their own teeth grinding. So sometimes adults can mistake another baby habit for bruxism. As for worms or other parasites, their presence in the body of a child is not always manifested externally.

How to treat bruxism

Before choosing the most correct method of treatment, it is necessary to find out why the child grinds his teeth at night. Ways to get rid of bruxism directly depend on the causes of its occurrence. So,what to do if children grind their teeth at night:

- first of all, you need to seek advice from a specialist dentist;

- strictly ensure that there is no contact between the lower and upper rows of teeth when this is not necessary (at the time of chewing food, talking);

- an hour before going to bed, you must give up outdoor games;

- make sure that the child does not overwork;

- do not let the baby eat before bedtime;

- include calcium in the diet;

- very often the cause of bruxism can be the anxiety of the baby, so you should always discuss his problems with him, trying to dispel them before going to bed with a pleasant warm conversation.