Why do babies grind their teeth at night? Main reasons

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

Every parent cares about their child's he alth with all their heart. As soon as one or another problem begins in a beloved child, the mother and father suspect the worst and sound the alarm. At the same time, babies often have standard problems that should not cause much concern. Many are interested in why a child grinds his teeth at night in a dream and whether this may indicate serious pathologies.

Bruxism (or teeth grinding) is a very common problem in children aged 12 months to 8 years. However, this phenomenon can be caused by a variety of factors. Let's take a closer look at why a child grinds his teeth at night.

Stress

You need to understand that the psyche of a child cannot be formed in one day. Accordingly, he cannot always respond correctly to certain life situations. Thus, due to minor problems in the kindergarten (if the baby is afraid of something or simply cannot get used to the fact that he does not see his parents for a long time), he may begin to experience stress. Excessive joy also affects the nervous system in the same way.

Therefore, if a childgrinds his teeth at night, the reason may be hidden in the imbalance of the nervous system. To prevent this from happening, it is important to ensure that at the slightest change the baby does not begin to behave nervously. To do this, you need to explain to him that the situations that cause him stress are not at all critical. If the child always feels the support of his parents, then he will feel protected, and therefore less nervous.

Sleep problems

If we talk about why a child grinds his teeth at night, the cause of insufficient rest should be considered first. Perhaps the baby is suffering from bad dreams. In this case, you need to watch him. If the child wakes up frequently, screams and cries, it may be necessary to visit a neurologist and start taking anti-anxiety drugs.

Also, sleep problems can occur if the baby is hyperactive. If the child is awake throughout the day and night, then this may well cause such unpleasant symptoms that make parents worried.

Adenoids

If a child grinds his teeth in his sleep at night, this may indicate problems with the nasopharynx. In this case, you need to visit a specialist and undergo a course of treatment. Many parents are afraid that the doctor may prescribe an operation and remove the adenoids. However, such measures are required only at the chronic stage of the disease. If we are talking about children, then they are most often prescribed a special set of physical procedures that quite effectively help get rid of such problems.

Heredity

Bruxism may well develop in a baby if one of his parents suffers from the same ailment. If a child grinds his teeth at night, then perhaps this is a hereditary factor, so you should check with the second half if she (or he) had similar problems in his youth or more mature age.

It is noteworthy that, according to statistics, such hereditary ailments are more often transmitted to boys than girls.

Tooth problems

If parents noticed similar symptoms in a baby, then this can be explained by a standard phenomenon. When a baby is teething, the gums begin to itch very much. In order to somehow alleviate his condition, the baby intuitively clenches his jaw and makes a grinding sound. Therefore, if a child grinds his teeth at night (in this case, gums), it is worth checking his mouth for swollen gums. If this is indeed the reason, then it is recommended to purchase a specialized cooling gel and a “teether”. Before doing this, you should consult with a pediatrician or dentist.

Another cause of nighttime grinding may be malocclusion. If the child suffers from an improperly formed jaw apparatus, then in this case it is necessary to conduct an examination by an orthodontist. The doctor will develop a therapy to correct the bite. However, it is better not to delay this issue. If the baby's jaw is fully formed, it may take years of wearing special braces to correct it.

Worms

ManyIt is believed that when helminths appear, children begin to suffer exclusively from anal itching. In fact, if a child grinds his teeth at night, this may well be one of the symptoms of an infection with worms. In order to exclude the presence of helminths, it is enough to pass feces for analysis. If eggs of worms are found in it, then in this case the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment. However, you should not use the recommendations of friends and independently purchase medications. In addition, if the baby has worms, then all family members living with him will also have to undergo an examination.

Fatigue

Very often, parents, trying to instill in their child talents and love for sports, enroll him in a huge number of various sections and circles. Ultimately, the baby does not have time to rest, and he begins to suffer from overwork. This leads to the first problem - stress. Therefore, if a child at 5 years old grinds his teeth at night, it is worth reviewing his schedule.

Chronic fatigue leads to a host of unpleasant symptoms. In this case, we are talking about increased nervousness and sleep problems.

Bad habit

Some children start grinding their teeth during the daytime as well. So they try to relieve tension. Therefore, you need to watch the child. If a child clenches his jaw forcefully when he is upset or angry, it is worth explaining to him that this cannot be done. Otherwise, the bad habit can become a more serious problem. For example, when inin a dream, the baby will begin to unconsciously clench his jaw. All this is fraught with negative consequences.

What is dangerous night grinding

Usually, when a child grinds his teeth at night, he does not notice it, but parents can hear characteristic sounds and become worried. There are a number of reasons for this.

For example, bruxism very often leads to thinning of tooth enamel. Because of such damage, caries will develop much faster, which will lead to early destruction of the baby's tooth. To avoid such a problem, you should consult a dentist. You may need to purchase a special night guard.

In addition, such nightly manipulations with teeth can lead to deformation of the child's lower jaw. In this case, when chewing or yawning, a crackling sound will be clearly audible. To correct this situation, it is necessary to take preventive measures to reduce tension in the jaw muscles.

If grinding continues for a long time, children (especially those aged 1-3 years) may develop neck and back pain later on. In this case, the most common cause of jaw clenching is stress or nervous exhaustion.

Another unpleasant consequence is spasms in the facial muscles. This means that bruxism can cause twitching of the corners of the mouth and even facial tics.

As the famous doctor Komarovsky says, a child grinds his teeth at night for many reasons. If a similar phenomenon is repeated several times in the dark, then it is worthconsult a specialist and solve the problem.

What to do if the child grinds his teeth?

As a rule, complex treatment is required to get rid of bruxism. This means that if a specialist prescribes medications, then the home environment is no less important for improving the condition of the baby. Also, experts recommend to save the child from stress, as this is a very common cause of teeth grinding. To do this, you need to communicate more often with the baby, walk with him in the fresh air. It is also worth limiting him to watching television programs and using gadgets that are popular today.

In addition, it is worth watching how the baby behaves during the day. He must rest for a sufficient amount of time. It is also recommended to exclude computer games and TV viewing. Rest means sleep or just free time that will not strain the baby's eye nerves.

In order for the child to sleep better and not experience discomfort at night, it is worth going out with him into the fresh air 15 minutes before bedtime. This will help your baby relax and fall asleep much faster. If we are talking about a cold winter, then during this period of time it is enough to periodically ventilate the children's room for 5-7 minutes.

Of course, you also need to monitor the nutrition of the baby. During the growth period, children need vitamins and useful trace elements. For this, it is not necessary to buy expensive pills. It is enough to ensure that there are always fresh fruits and vegetables on the table. It should also be excluded fromjunk food (hamburgers, chips, french fries, soda, etc.) In addition, you need to talk with your child every day and find out what worries him, what causes stress and other negative conditions. The baby should always be surrounded by care and love.

If parents follow all these recommendations, then after a while the problem will disappear. However, it is better to consult with a specialist and exclude more serious pathologies that can occur in the baby's body.