Reduction masticatory muscles, as a result of which the teeth rub strongly against each other, is a cause for concern for many parents. Bruxism is mainly a child's problem and more often the child grinds his teeth in his sleep. However, the disorder also occurs in adults. The disorder has causes and symptoms, which means treatment can be selected.
Bruxism - what is it?
Bruxism means contraction of the jaw muscles in which upper jaw touches the lower one with force and a characteristic creaking sound of teeth is heard. Most often, creaking is observed in children at night. It is less common to hear teeth grinding during the day.
The creaking person himself, as a rule, does not observe the violation. It is very rare when a baby wakes up from his own grinding of teeth. Bruxism can only be diagnosed from the outside by hearing the specific sound of teeth rubbing.
How can you tell if your jaw is contracting at night? To do this, you can pay attention to several symptoms that appear in the morning:
- Feels as if your nodules (the chewing muscles in the ear area) have been working for a long time, grinding hard foods such as nuts. Pain also occurs in the upper neck;
- Lack of feeling that you rested during the night, fatigue, drowsiness;
- Headache and even migraine;
- Unpleasant sensations in the sinuses;
- Unpleasant, often painful sensations in the ears, ringing.
Why does a child often grind his teeth when he sleeps: an overview of the reasons
If your child grinds his teeth, do not worry (we recommend reading:). The World Health Organization has not yet classified bruxism as a disease. However, this disorder is still a physiological problem, which means it requires treatment. To stop children from squeaking, you need to understand what causes the disorder.
Sleep disturbances (at night and/or during the day)
A common cause of teeth grinding during sleep is one or another sleep disorder in a child. If the baby talks in his sleep, suffers from sleepwalking or urinary incontinence, snores, coughs, this can cause involuntary contraction masticatory muscle. Watch your baby while he sleeps and talk to him about his dreams, because nightmares are common factor childhood bruxism.
Teething
When a child is teething, he experiences pain and itching. This forces him to involuntarily grind his teeth. A similar phenomenon is observed when baby teeth are replaced by permanent ones. However, please note that teething and loss of milk teeth lead to creaking more often during the day than at night.
Adenoiditis
Adenoids - nasopharyngeal tonsils - reach their maximum size in children at 3-7 years of age. At the same age, the baby begins to visit kindergarten and various sections where he encounters a large number of viruses, as a result of which he often gets sick. Often the adenoids are in an inflamed state long time. All this provokes nasal congestion and swelling of the nasopharynx. A child of 4, 5, 6 and even 9-10 years old experiences discomfort and responds by grinding his teeth in his sleep.
Formation of malocclusion
The bite is formed along with the growth of the child’s first teeth. Malocclusion is a violation of the natural closure of the upper and lower teeth. According to statistics, malocclusion occurs in 40% of the world's population. someone this problem doesn't bother. However, there are cases when, due to an incorrect bite, difficulties arise in speaking or chewing food (we recommend reading:). If your baby's teeth don't close properly, this can cause them to grind at night. For parents, tooth friction in this case is a signal to contact the dentist to correct the bite.
Stress factor
The child reacts very emotionally to the world around him. These emotions are not always positive. Negative stress and emotional upheaval cause anxiety, which manifests itself in different ways, including grinding your teeth at night. The baby’s nervous system is out of balance, and here it is necessary to eliminate the cause of his anxiety in order to cope with the involuntary closure.
Hereditary factor
A hereditary factor often leads to infants starting to grind their teeth at night. As already mentioned, involuntary friction is not only a children's problem. It also appears in adults various reasons. If one or both parents suffer from teeth grinding at night, then there is a high probability that their baby will also develop this problem.
What is the danger of teeth grinding during sleep in children?
Parents are concerned about the main question: is childhood bruxism dangerous and why does it occur? It should be noted that teeth grinding is not a symptom of any complex disease. Studies conducted with infants from birth to 8 months have shown that closure does not lead to severe complications and death.
However, the problem should not be written off so easily. Teeth grinding can cause the following unpleasant symptoms in a child:
- destruction of enamel, carious lesions and the development of dental diseases;
- formation of malocclusion;
- violation healthy sleep child;
- very young children can wake up from their own grinding, become frightened by it and cry;
- If several children sleep in the same room, the grinding of one of them can cause sleep deprivation for the others: grinding teeth, as a rule, interferes with the sleep of those nearby.
In a hurry to reassure parents, we note that in the vast majority of cases, children’s teeth rubbing goes away without a trace and on its own. However, it is often a consequence of some other disorder in the body, so the problem of teeth grinding should not be discounted.
What should parents do: principles of treatment for bruxism
Since bruxism is not a disease, the treatment of this disorder does not include drug intervention. For the most part, treating teeth grinding comes down to eliminating its causes. What can parents do to correct night grinding? one year old child or teenager:
Daily prevention measures
Daily prevention includes the same points for treatment one month old baby, one-year-old or teenager. Prevention consists of eliminating possible reasons development of bruxism. These include quiet games before bed, conversations about the child’s emotional state, a review of the diet, and visits to specialists such as a dentist and gnathologist.
Many parents complain that their child grinds his teeth during the day. Is this related to the presence of pathology in the body or is it physiological process that does not require specialist intervention? Let's take a closer look at why children grind their teeth during the day and how to deal with it.
Causes of daytime teeth grinding
Doctors call teeth grinding bruxism. Pathology can manifest itself both during the day and at night. When examining small patients, doctors do not detect any abnormalities, but there are still some reasons why a child clenches his teeth tightly:
- Stressful situations;
- Sleep disturbances;
- Diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract;
- Teething period;
- Malocclusion;
- Heredity;
- Abrupt cessation of breastfeeding;
- Muscle spasm;
- Manifestation of aggression.
What is the relationship between nervous disorders and teeth grinding?
Children are very susceptible to nervous tension and disorders. What seems like a trifle to adults, is a real tragedy to a child. Parents' quarrels loud screams, noisy games before bed - all this affects the state nervous system crumbs. Trying to compensate for a nervous disorder, the body reacts to stressful situation grinding teeth during the day.
Inability to fall asleep for a long time or frequent awakenings at night - a symptom of disruption of the central nervous system. Such children need thorough examination from a neurologist. During nap the mother hears the child gritting his teeth. At the same time there is a terrible creak. During sleep, all processes in the body slow down: pulse, breathing and arterial pressure. If sleep is disturbed, the opposite occurs: nervous tension causes muscle spasms and jaw closure. At the same time, the pressure increases, the pulse becomes faster, and breathing becomes shallow. After stimulation of the central nervous system, the child wakes up. This explains frequent awakenings and short sleep duration.
Muscle spasms occur involuntarily. It is impossible to control this process. If there is a deficiency in the human body of vitamins and microelements necessary for normal operation CNS occurs muscle spasm, jaw muscles, in in this case, not an exception. A lack of magnesium, calcium and B vitamins leads to central nervous system disorder.
Heredity or teething
For many children, bruxism is “passed on” by their parents. This is also a kind of pathology of the nervous system, which is based on genetic predisposition. Hereditary bruxism has not been confirmed by doctors, so you should not rely on the fact that the dad had it and went away, and the baby will go away. Everything has its time.
Time actually plays an important role. Children's bruxism goes away by the time it reaches school age, but you shouldn’t let things take their course. It makes sense to seek advice from specialists.
Many mothers notice that the baby grinds his teeth while playing. Very often this symptom appears when the first baby teeth appear. The gums swell and swell, causing discomfort in the oral cavity. Teeth grinding is a desire to scratch your gums. If the reason is teething, there is no need to worry. Coming soon from bad habit only memories will remain.
Dental or respiratory problems
Malocclusion in childhood occurs very often. This is due to the love of the pacifier. By the way, children who prefer to “hang” on their mother’s chest all day suffer from malocclusion no less than artificial children. The inability to fully close the jaws leads to the baby grinding his teeth both day and night. A scheduled inspection by a specialist will help identify the problem.
Diseases respiratory system- one of the reasons why a child grinds his teeth during the day. Inflammatory processes lead to dryness and irritation of the mucous membranes, the body, trying to activate the work salivary glands, causes the muscles in the mouth to contract, the teeth, being a kind of obstacle, rub against each other, causing creaking.
Abrupt weaning of a child from the breast entails a psycho-emotional breakdown. IN difficult period During life, children may develop temporary bruxism. The sucking reflex causes the child to clench his teeth, causing them to grind. After stabilization of the psycho-emotional background, bruxism will recede.
Very often, little rebels show anger or aggression, whether towards peers or adults. For some, protest is accompanied by hysterical screaming, for others - by tightly clenching their teeth.
What is the danger of bruxism, and who treats the disease?
If your baby experiences rare manifestations of bruxism, accompanied by short-term creaking, there is no reason for special concern.
If grinding becomes a habit, there is a risk of damaging the integrity of the tooth enamel. In children it is too weak and easily damaged.
Children who constantly grind their teeth may suffer from headaches and toothaches due to DC voltage facial and jaw muscles. This can subsequently lead to serious complications.
Your child grinds his teeth during the day, what to do and who to turn to? To identify possible problems, be sure to get examined by:
- Dentist;
- Neurologist;
- Orthodontist;
- Infectious disease specialist.
You may have to undergo a series of tests to identify or refute any pathology.
How to help a child
After you have been examined by specialists and the reason why your baby grinds his teeth during the day has been established, the doctor will give some recommendations to parents. For childhood bruxism it is recommended:
- For neurological problems, sedatives are prescribed, sedatives, as well as aromatic baths, vitamins;
- If the problem is with your bite, your dentist may recommend wearing mouth guards or guards;
- If teething, give your baby a latex teether. It does not injure the gums and relieves itching;
- Distract your child with toys and conversations. If you hear your baby grinding his teeth, interrupt his habit by offering him a treat;
- Going to bed should be 1 hour earlier than usual. Nervous tension can be relieved by sleep.
Walk more with your child. Reschedule your guests' visit to daytime. The child must rest. Now you know why a child grinds his teeth during the day, and who can help get rid of bruxism.
As practice shows, bruxism is a consequence nervous disorder, therefore, you should adjust the baby’s daily routine so as not to subject his body to overload.
Quite often, parents of a preschooler notice that he grinds his teeth. This can be observed in various situations:
- when the baby is irritated by something;
- when the child is sleeping;
- in tense emotional situations;
- while eating.
Parents, having noticed such a feature in their children, approach the current situation differently: some do not take any action, believing that over time the problem will resolve itself; others, taking advantage of the notorious opinion that teeth grinding is associated with the presence of helminths in the child’s body, begin appropriate treatment to eliminate them; still others take the problem seriously and seek help from pediatricians, dentists, psychologists and other specialists.
Why does a child grind his teeth? Is it really that dangerous? And what are the causes of teeth grinding?
Causes of children's teeth grinding
Experts call this phenomenon bruxism and associate it with a wide variety of reasons. Some of the most common causes of teeth grinding include the following:
1. Dental problems.
Children under 1-1.5 years of age can grind their teeth due to teething. Teething is quite unpleasant and often painful process. The baby's gums swell and cause him discomfort. As a result of this, the child may experience grinding of teeth - in this way the baby is trying to relieve painful sensations.
In children 2-5 years old, bruxism can be a consequence of an incorrectly formed bite. Incorrect placement of teeth in the oral cavity causes the child to try to “attach” his teeth into a comfortable position. In this regard, the characteristic grinding of teeth can be observed both during the daytime and during sleep.
2. Muscle tension.
Tension of the masticatory muscles caused by a lack of calcium, magnesium and other vitamins in the child’s body leads to muscle cramps and bruxism.
3. Stressful situations.
Emotional turmoil, strong feelings, and fears can also provoke teeth grinding, especially during sleep. In a similar way the child is trying to cope with excessive stress.
Therefore, parents should pay attention to those situations that can cause a preschooler negative emotions: admission to kindergarten, moving to a new apartment, illness and treatment in a hospital, separation from parents. If events of this kind took place in your family, then there is a high probability that this is the cause of teeth grinding.
4. Breathing problems.
The presence of adenoids and polyps in a child, frequent sinusitis and bronchitis contribute to disruption of normal breathing. Difficulty breathing, in turn, leads to bruxism.
5. Hereditary predisposition.
In some cases, bruxism affects children whose parents also grinded their teeth at one time. However, this reason is quite vague and may be associated with a number of other provoking factors. Therefore, you should not rely only on heredity.
How to overcome bruxism?
First of all, parents should keep in mind that if teeth grinding in their children is observed quite rarely and lasts no more than 10-20 seconds, then there is no reason to panic. Perhaps this is a one-time phenomenon associated with excessive emotional stress. In addition, in most children who do not have problems with bite and are not observed by an otolaryngologist, bruxism goes away on its own by school age.
If parents often notice their child grinding his teeth, which may be different time days and under various circumstances, this is a reason to contact specialists.
1. Initially, you need to consult a dentist. If a malocclusion or other dental problems are detected, the doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment.
2. If everything is fine with the bite and position of the teeth, you need to undergo an examination by an otolaryngologist, which will help identify or exclude the causes of bruxism associated with difficulty breathing and the presence of adenoids.
3. It would be a good idea to consult with a neurologist and psychologist. The cause of teeth grinding may be related to muscle tension or a stressful situation.
4. The local pediatrician will help you choose the right vitamin and mineral complex to compensate for the lack of vitamins in the child’s body.
Parents should also remember that a calm family environment, lack of stress, respect for correct mode days contribute to a balanced emotional state of the child and, as a result, the absence of various problems, including grinding teeth.
The phenomenon when a child grinds his teeth is called medical practice bruxism. According to research, this problem is typical for every third and even every second child of younger and middle age. The nature of bruxism has not yet been fully elucidated: it is either a disease or a normal reaction of the body to some irritants.
However, there are several most likely assumptions why a child grinds his teeth during sleep:
1. This phenomenon may well be inherited. If at least one of the parents grinds their teeth in their sleep, then the child may also have a predisposition to bruxism at the genetic level.
2. Stress, mental, nervous, emotional stress may well cause night teeth grinding. If a child grinds his teeth, then it is very likely that something is bothering the baby. In this case, you need to contact a psychotherapist, neurologist or psychologist.
3. is usually accompanied by itching and discomfort. At this time there may be desire scratch your teeth and not only in your sleep. Therefore, during this period it is also observed, but in this case it is a safe phenomenon that does not require special measures.
4. The child grinds his teeth also as a result of an incorrect bite. Various types of disorders of the dental or jaw system often cause muscle tension and a strong desire to grind the teeth, as a result of which they grind against each other.
5. Sleep disorder, disturbances in the depth of sleep. Grinding of teeth in this case is on a par with snoring and enuresis.
Due to the incompletely studied nature of this phenomenon, it cannot be specific and effective. However, in any case, you should contact specialists such as a neurologist and dentist. A neurologist will help identify psychological reason teeth grinding, and the dentist will take measures to protect the teeth from destruction due to friction. Most often, a special splint is made that is placed on the teeth at night to protect them from friction.
Manifestations of teeth grinding can be very different. There are manifestations that are insignificant in duration, no more than ten seconds. They do not pose any serious danger to the child's body. When a child intensively grinds his teeth many times at night, lasting much more than ten seconds, then in this case you should seriously think about treatment. This primarily applies to children who suffer from bruxism for many months or even years.
Treatment of bruxism depends entirely on many factors: the time of development of the disease, the age of the child, the possible causes and nature of the manifestation of teeth grinding. Very often, it is quite possible to eliminate night bruxism on your own at home. However, if necessary, you should never refuse the help of specialists. After all, in the subsequent adult life the consequences of bruxism may well create some discomfort and difficulties in communication. In addition to severe tooth wear and damage to the temporomandibular joint, there is a very high likelihood of developing such dental diseases, such as periodontitis, caries and others. Very often, children who grind their teeth experience wear on their incisors and canines.
Sometimes at night what comes from the children's room is not the quiet snoring of the baby, but the loud grinding of teeth. Many parents begin to worry and look for an answer to the question of why their child grinds his teeth. The first thing that comes to the mother’s mind is that the baby has worms. This old myth still haunts the minds of many women. But medicine has long refuted the relationship between helminths and teeth grinding. However, doctors cannot name the exact cause of this pathology.
Teeth grinding is medically called bruxism. There are many reasons for its appearance. If a child has such attacks infrequently and lasts several minutes, then parents should not worry. But in the case when the creaking continues for up to 30 minutes and is repeated several times a day, it is necessary to seriously address this problem and try to find out the cause of bruxism in the child.
Why does a child grind his teeth?
Typically, teeth grinding appears at 2-3 years of age and gradually goes away, disappearing completely by 6 years of age. As mentioned above, real reasons Experts cannot establish the origin of bruxism, putting forward new theories. However, they have identified some factors that can cause squeaking.
So, most often a child grinds his teeth for the following reasons:
- Teething. During the period of the appearance of baby teeth, the baby experiences unpleasant, painful sensations in the gums. To relieve the itching and pain, he may try to scratch his growing teeth, which causes the grinding sound. In this case, bruxism goes away on its own, without outside intervention;
- Malocclusion. The formation of the bite occurs up to 3 years. A number of reasons, including heredity, prolonged pacifier or finger sucking, chronic ENT diseases, impaired growth of the jaw bones, can be a reason for the development of malocclusion. Sometimes the baby subconsciously tries to align his jaws in the required direction, which leads to bruxism. In this case, the dentist will help get rid of the pathology. At malocclusion Usually the child grinds his teeth in his sleep;
- Lack of calcium. Many experts observe attacks of bruxism in cases of lack of calcium in the body;
- Stress and nervous tension. The most common cause of teeth grinding is stress that has negatively affected the nervous system. The baby's psyche is very susceptible to change external factors. Events such as sudden weaning, long absence mothers, first visits to various child care institutions, divorce of parents and much more, can provoke overexcitation of the child’s nervous system. In such cases, the baby cannot calm down either during games or in sleep. Therefore, the child often grinds his teeth day and night;
- Hereditary predisposition. If one of the parents suffered from bruxism in childhood, then with a high probability the child will inherit this pathology as a natural reaction to all kinds of irritants;
- Various diseases. It is unlikely that teeth grinding is caused by worms. However, it doesn’t hurt to check your baby for the presence of helminths in the body. There is also a high probability of bruxism occurring with adenoids, polyps or sinusitis, which are accompanied by breathing problems and a lack of saliva in the mouth. If a child grinds his teeth, then at this time salivation increases, which alleviates his condition.
What to do if your child grinds his teeth at night or during the day
If parents notice attacks of bruxism in their child, then first of all it is necessary to observe him: how often they recur and how long the attacks last.
- In cases where creaking appears during teething, it is necessary to use special gels to alleviate the baby’s condition. If you notice that your child grinds his teeth during the day, then it will be effective to use environmental toys that he can chew and thus scratch his gums;
- If you have an incorrect bite, you should consult a dentist. It will help determine the reasons pathological development jaws: hereditary predisposition or acquired bad habits. The specialist’s recommendations will depend on the totality of information obtained during the examination and as a result of conversations with parents;
- If a child grinds his teeth, then it will be useful not only to consult a dentist, but also to check general condition baby's health. Based on the analysis results, it can be assumed probable cause the appearance of bruxism and prescribe targeted treatment. Usually correct diagnosis and therapy help to get rid of not only the underlying disease, but also the accompanying factor – teeth grinding;
- Whenever possible, protect your child from stress. As you watch him throughout the day, pay attention to his emotional condition. Parents may notice that something is depressing or worrying the baby. Perhaps he is hyperactive and experiences mood swings or is overloaded with activities. In this case, it is necessary to try to eliminate negative and stimulating factors and give the child maximum attention. If any reasons led to emotional overexcitation or stress, after which you heard that the child is grinding his teeth in his sleep, try to relax his nervous system before falling asleep. For this purpose, doctors recommend introducing compulsory evening walks, a light dinner and steam baths into your daily routine. soothing herbs. Listening to music accompanied by the sounds of nature by your baby will create a favorable atmosphere for the nervous system and sound sleep;
- Sometimes a child grinds his teeth and likes the sound it makes. In such cases, it is necessary to switch his attention. If the baby is smart enough, then you can explain what such entertainment can lead to.
As a rule, bruxism in childhood goes away over time. However, it is better to find out the reasons for its occurrence and help your child get rid of the habit that is destroying his teeth.
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