Why do children grind their teeth at night? Bruxism, or night teeth grinding in children

Young children often grind their teeth in their sleep. Such sounds, of course, frighten caring parents. They immediately begin to suspect that something is wrong with the child, that he is sick with something. This phenomenon is medically called bruxism. The question immediately arises: is it dangerous, what is it connected with and how to get rid of teeth grinding?

Scientific definition

Unexpected teeth grinding in children often worries parents. They believe that the child has worms. This is not entirely true in reality, although a similar symptom occurs when helminths are present in the intestines. If the grinding is prolonged and frequent, then you need to seek advice from a specialist.

In addition to bruxism, teeth grinding in sleep also Other symptoms also appear:

• chattering teeth;
• drawing saliva into the mouth;
• slurping.

Basically, such signs can be observed during sleep in childhood. About 3% suffer from bruxism child population our entire planet. Doctors consider such phenomena to be a kind of attacks that occur with a certain frequency. These are convulsive contractions that occur in masticatory muscles Oh. As a result of the contraction, the jaws compress and unclench, which is why the grinding sound is heard. Such phenomena don't just happen at night in my sleep, but sometimes during the daytime.

Not only children can suffer from bruxism; the phenomenon also affects adults. The grinding noise usually lasts for a few seconds or minutes. Doctors believe that babies may grind their teeth due to sleep disturbances.

Main reasons

Many experts also point to other reasons why children grind their teeth. Most likely this is due to disorders of the nervous system. An unstable state of the nervous system in a child can cause involuntary teeth grinding. The famous pediatrician Dr. Komarovsky highlights the following: reasons why babies grind their teeth:

Dr. Komarovsky believes that overly emotional children may grind their teeth while sleeping. And this is often connected With big amount positive emotions per day. He advises parents to keep a diary to record these phenomena. Teeth grinding at night can occur during periods of a full moon or magnetic storms. During this period of time nervous system can react in a peculiar way and cause nervous excitability.

Prevention and treatment

This phenomenon can be observed in almost every baby at least once. If the creaking is short and rare, then everything will go away by itself. When a child grinds his teeth for a long time at night, then it is necessary to consult a specialist. The answer to this question can be given two specialists:

• neurologist;
• dentist.

Even if the reason is the child’s emotional imbalance, it is still necessary to visit the dentist. Due to excessive friction from the chewing organs, tooth enamel wears away. The dentist will be able to prevent tooth wear using special means:

• production of an individual mouth guard;
• use of special protective pads.

These funds help protect teeth from injury and abrasion of tooth enamel. If this is due to a lack of vitamins, then you should select the necessary complex for the child and quickly cope with the problem. This is mainly due to a lack of calcium or magnesium.

Grinding can also be caused by maxillofacial pathology and malocclusion. The child should be shown to an orthopedist, and he will be able to identify possible problem, correct it.

As mentioned above, children who are overly emotional or under stress may grind their teeth frequently. You should pay attention to the situation in the house and in other places where the child often visits. You need to communicate more with your baby and ask him what’s bothering him, how he’s doing.

Psychologists advise in the evening create psychological comfort in family. It is advisable at this time to protect him from watching TV shows, computer games, and not to scold or punish the child. It would be better if his parents read to him good fairy tale, take the whole family for a walk before bed, listen to calm music or just talk.

It is necessary to organize the child’s day, to rid him of excessive loads. It is important to spend more time in the fresh air and put your baby to bed 1 hour earlier. Experts have long noted that children may grind their teeth more often due to severe fatigue. Therefore, the task of parents is to properly organize the daily routine of their child.

Is it dangerous?

If the symptoms described occur frequently, constantly, parents should pay attention to this. Ignoring this phenomenon will eventually lead to unpleasant consequences. Dental problems include:

In addition to problems with teeth and gums, problems associated with nervous disorders may also arise. If they get worse, then this may cause defective development. Prolonged stress always has a bad effect on mental development. If nothing is done, the child may withdraw into himself and lag behind his peers. Also in the background nervous disorders Other diseases will definitely begin to develop.

For severe fatigue in children hearing, vision and memory begin to suffer. In addition, immunity also decreases and soon the body becomes more susceptible to various infectious diseases.

When a baby's sleep pattern is disturbed, restless and short, he becomes unbalanced and capricious. The whole family suffers from this, primarily the child himself, as well as his parents. Timely diagnosis and treatment will help prevent serious consequences.

Officially, medicine does not confirm the connection between a child’s teeth grinding and the presence of helminths in his intestines. In practice, it has been observed that after a course of anthelmintic therapy, most children stop grinding their teeth. Also improving general state child's health.

Treatment for worms chemicals harmful because they are toxic. Natural remedies are the safest for children's health, so it is better to use traditional methods. Very effective in treatment pumpkin seeds and wormwood. The course of treatment is approximately 1 month, then you need to take a break and repeat it again if necessary after 4-5 months.

The symptoms of bruxism should not be taken lightly. Timely diagnosis and treatment will not lead to more serious consequences, will save tooth enamel and will not adversely affect the development and growth of the baby.

Scientists have clearly identified a list of problems that cause teeth grinding at night in childhood. Treatment when a child grinds his teeth in his sleep comes down to eliminating the cause - the provocateur, and only in in rare cases requires drug therapy.

Bruxism is a paroxysmal contraction of the masticatory muscles, the strongest in the human body. In children, the pathology is manifested by grinding their teeth at night; during the day (most often) the child strongly clenches his jaw. At the same time, 3-30% of children suffer from bruxism, periodic or constant. Episodes of grinding usually last 10 seconds or more. up to 1-2 min.

In addition to unpleasant sounds at night and the mother’s anxiety about the baby’s health, regular manifestations of bruxism are fraught with wear of the enamel and caries. Often children grind their teeth at night, have trouble sleeping, are distracted and sleepy during the day, complain of headaches and ear pain,

Causes of teeth grinding at night in children

There are two main groups of factors that cause bruxism: dental and neurological. That is why, if you cannot cope with teeth grinding on your own, you should contact a dentist and a neurologist.

1) Dental problems

Quite often very young children, whose baby teeth have just erupted, grind their teeth. This is explained by the fact that teeth are something new for a baby. With a grinding sound he tries to explore them. At the same time, itching during teething causes the baby to “scratch” his gums, putting various objects in his mouth or grinding his teeth. The child grinds his teeth both day and night - the situation is complicated by the fact that the baby experiences all the impressions violently in his sleep. Even a bright cartoon watched before bed can cause nightmares. At the same time, during the grinding of teeth, the baby’s breathing and heartbeat become more frequent, and possible twitching of the arms and legs. A similar situation is observed at 5-8 years of age, when baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth.

Also, night bruxism can be caused in a child by the following dental problems:

• Formation of malocclusion - chewing muscles experience increased tension;
• Wearing braces - foreign object causes specific sensations in the mouth, which in a dream are expressed by gnashing of teeth;
• Sharp fragment carious tooth or an incorrectly installed filling - injury to the mucous membrane, high blood pressure A filling that is too large causes involuntary teeth grinding at night.

A hereditary connection between the occurrence of childhood bruxism has been proven. Moreover, parents who grind their teeth at night most often pass the disorder on to boys.

If a child grinds his teeth heavily during sleep, then during the day pain occurs when chewing, and subsequently the bite may be disrupted due to deformation of the jaw bones and the connecting joint.

2) Neurological reasons

Stress is the main cause of teeth grinding in children. However, it is worth understanding that a child’s reaction to exciting factors is completely different from an adult’s response to stress. If most adults know how to express their emotions, then children experience unrest within themselves. Stress in childhood manifests itself crying frequently and hysterics, aggressiveness and gnashing of teeth - this is external sign unexpressed emotions.

Why does a child grind his teeth in his sleep?

• Quarrels in the family, bad attitude of parents towards the child (constant reproaches, comparison with other children, etc.);
• Elementary lack of attention from parents;
• Increased stress at school and problems adolescence associated with low self-esteem;
• Habit of chewing pencils/pens during the day;
• Frequent headache, causing tension in the masticatory muscles;
• Watching bright films and active games before bedtime;
• Disturbed sleep formula - grinding teeth in in this case belongs to the same category of pathologies as nocturnal enuresis, snoring, sleepwalking (somnambulism).

3) Other reasons

Sometimes the dentist and neurologist do not find the cause of prolonged bruxism. Grinding of teeth at night can be caused by reasons far from dentistry and neurology. External and internal provoking factors:

• Lack of magnesium and calcium, which increases the excitability of the nervous system in a child - is usually accompanied by leg cramps, syndrome restless legs in children and grinding of teeth at night;
• Dry microclimate - insufficient air humidity in the room, especially during the heating season or hot summer;
• Nasal congestion during colds, adenoids;
• Early stage of development of epilepsy.

Consequences of teeth grinding

Although the phenomenon does not pose a direct danger, prolonged grinding at night leads to serious consequences:

• Grinding of enamel and the appearance of painful sensations;
• Development of caries, periodontitis;
• Loosening of baby teeth and their early loss, which leads to insufficient chewing of food and indirectly provokes gastrointestinal diseases;
• Constant biting of the cheeks explains frequent stomatitis in children who grind their teeth;
• Deformation of the jaw joint and bite;
• Insufficient sleep, causing the child to become irritable during the day, drowsiness and decreased attentiveness;
• Developing the habit of clenching the jaw, which continues into adulthood.

Treating a squeak - what should you do?

There is no need to sound the alarm if your child begins to grind his teeth heavily at night. Appeal for medical care necessary when bruxism continues long time. Just by observing her baby, a mother can determine the cause of the disorder. What to do if your child grinds his teeth in his sleep:

• Correction of the microclimate in the bedroom

Cool, humidified air is the key to deep, restful sleep for your baby. For this purpose, special air humidifiers are used. During the heating season, you can put a bowl of water near the radiator.

• Dietary recommendations

You should not feed your baby 2 hours before bedtime. Active work digestive organs may cause teeth grinding at night. It is also not recommended to spoil your child with sweets in the evenings. Chocolate bars- a carbohydrate “bomb” that releases a lot of energy. The gourmet may have trouble falling asleep and sleep will be restless.

• Eliminating irritants

Watching movies, reading scary bedtime stories and, especially, active games before bed negatively affect the depth of sleep. An excellent activity for a child before bedtime is reading funny and “not scary” rhymes, putting together puzzles and other calm types of games. It is also advisable to individually determine the time the child falls asleep and constantly adhere to this schedule.

• Relaxing activities

It’s good to give your child a light cheek massage before bed to relieve muscle tension. Some mothers use warm heating pads. A bath with pine needle or lavender extract perfectly relaxes and improves the quality of sleep in a child.

The doctor will check the quality of the installed fillings, identify abnormal bites and correct any defects found. Children who often grind their teeth during sleep are recommended to use special mouthguards. Synthetic onlays will prevent the abrasion of tooth enamel and reduce the load on the chewing muscles.

• Appointment with a neurologist, psychologist

A pediatric neurologist will determine the cause and severity of the child’s nervous excitability. It is not uncommon for children who are clearly nervous to be given a mild sedative (often medicinal herbs), vitamin complexes, Glycine (reduces nervous excitability, improves attention). Communication between a child and a psychologist is necessary when serious psychological problems are identified both in early childhood and in teenage years. Psychological treatment comes down to getting rid of childhood fears and learning to correctly express one’s emotions.

Important! Valerian preparations have a stimulating effect on some children. Therefore, you should consult your doctor about taking this or that drug.

It's easier to get rid of bruxism early age. Children's rattle teeth at night does not require serious medical intervention. In adults who did not eradicate it in childhood, it is often necessary to correct the consequences of the pathology.

Many people experience the phenomenon of bruxism (grinding teeth during sleep). Bruxism attacks also occur in children. Most often they occur at night, but it is possible that they can also occur during the day. Doctors do not have a consensus on whether bruxism is a disease, although it is unpleasant side effects the night rattle certainly has. Children develop neurological and dental problems. There are techniques to avoid tooth abrasion and make it more restful sleep. Often children stop grinding their teeth after their baby teeth are replaced with permanent ones.

Content:

Why is there an involuntary grinding noise?

Teeth grinding occurs due to involuntary contraction of the masticatory muscles. In the normal state, the upper and lower jaws touch each other and produce friction only during eating, when food is bitten off and chewed. At increased tone facial muscles upper and lower teeth They press against each other with force and rub, starting to creak. Attacks can be repeated several times at night.

If a child grinds his teeth in his sleep, parents may not even always be able to guess about it. For example, when he is already grown up, he sleeps in another room.

Causes of childhood bruxism

The causes of involuntary contraction of the jaw muscles can be:

• malocclusion or birth defects jaw joints;
• neurological and psychological problems;
• lack of calcium and magnesium in the body, characterized by uncontrolled convulsive muscle contractions;
• helminth infection;
• heredity.

Video: Causes and consequences of bruxism in children

Teething

In babies under 2 years of age, teething usually causes severe itching in the gums. The baby is capricious, clenching his jaws, rubbing them together, and furiously gnawing on toys.

There are special rubber devices, teethers, on which the baby can scratch his gums. This speeds up the cutting process. Often, after all the baby teeth appear, the child stops grinding them.

Often the reason why children grind their teeth in their sleep is the replacement of baby teeth with permanent ones. This usually happens after 5-6 years. Practically the same thing happens as with babies under 2 years old. Involuntary contraction of the chewing muscles is caused by itching in the gums.

Nervous stress

For some babies, this phenomenon occurs not only at night, but also during the day, when they experience mental stress. Sometimes they manage to control muscle contraction and refrain from grinding. At night in a dream a person is not able to do this; he grinds his teeth involuntarily. The occurrence of bruxism is promoted by:

1. Overload in the curriculum, intensive additional classes languages, music, various school subjects. The child has little free time, no opportunity to relax or play sports. In such cases, doctors recommend alternating mental stress with physical activity. Changing activities helps relax the nervous system, improve blood circulation, and reduce muscle tone.
2. Often stress arises due to a dysfunctional family situation: quarrels, lack of emotional contact with parents.

Stress and bruxism are interrelated. The result of your baby grinding his teeth at night can be chronic lack of sleep, weakness, exhaustion of the nervous system.

Advice: For the sake of the child’s health, it is necessary to maintain an atmosphere of love, friendship and mutual understanding in the family. Nervous stress due to family scandals or improper upbringing, have a serious impact on the functioning of all systems of his body.

Heredity as a cause of bruxism

If a child has been grinding their teeth for a long time, the cause may be heredity. If one of the parents has such a deviation, then most likely it will manifest itself in the baby. Bruxism is more common in boys.

The connection between bruxism and the presence of worms

Other factors that contribute to teeth grinding

The occurrence of this anomaly in a child can also be facilitated by:

• impaired nasal breathing due to nasal congestion and adenoids;
• colds;
• vegetative-vascular disorders, poor thermoregulation of the body;
• violation climatic conditions in the room where the child sleeps.

The opinion of Dr. E. Komarovsky on the causes of bruxism in children

There is an assumption that teeth grinding is a rudimentary sign, a reflex inherited from our distant ancestors. In prehistoric times, he, like other animals, had to sharpen his teeth to protect himself from predators.

Problems with teeth, lack of calcium and magnesium, as well as neuroses are the most likely, from his point of view, reasons for the baby grinding his teeth.

Video: Why does a child grind his teeth in his sleep?

E. Komarovsky claims that to strengthen the child’s nervous system great importance has full sleep. At the same time, parents must determine for themselves what time to put him to bed in the evening. The main thing is to provide him with conditions for healthy sleep.

The child should sleep in a cool, well-ventilated room with sufficient humidity. At the same time he will have free breathing, smooth deep dream. This will help relax the nervous system and muscles.

According to E. Komarovsky, normal relationships between parents and the psychological climate in the family also play an important role in the development of the child’s nervous system.

Video: E. Komarovsky about the importance of good sleep for a child and the necessary conditions to ensure it

Consequences of bruxism

The consequences of a child grinding his teeth in his sleep can be exhaustion of the nervous system, headaches, daytime sleepiness, weakness, memory impairment. The child’s tooth enamel wears off, teeth crumble, and caries appears. Inflammation of the jaw joints may occur. In this case, the pain radiates to the ears.

Video: Why children grind their teeth. Complications of bruxism

What to do if your child grinds his teeth

First of all, you need to visit the dentist: check what kind of bite the child has, what condition the teeth and gums are in. In order to prevent their destruction, dentists prescribe wearing special rubber protective devices, mouthguards, on the teeth at night.

A special massage and a warm bath before bedtime will help strengthen the child’s nervous system. In some cases, the doctor will prescribe sedatives.

A caring mother always listens to her sleeping child. Coughing, snoring, twitching of limbs - she watches all this, and if suspicious symptoms develop, she consults a doctor. When a child grinds his teeth in his sleep, this also causes concern.

People mistake the grinding of teeth for the presence of worms in the baby and begin to intensively fight them. But the cause of grinding is not always worms. The mother’s task is to understand why the baby began to grind his teeth a lot, and how to fix the problem? In medicine, teeth grinding, night and day, is called bruxism.

Causes of childhood bruxism

Childhood bruxism appears in preschoolers and children primary school. Child without visible reasons may grind teeth. In just a few seconds, the chewing muscles contract, producing a creaking sound. At night this phenomenon can repeat several times. Bruxism usually does not require treatment, but if it interferes with your child’s sleep or headaches and toothaches appear, it is better to see a doctor.

Bruxism happens:

1. Daytime - the child, while awake, begins to grind his teeth unconsciously.
2. Night - during daytime and night sleep. Nocturnal bruxism is believed to be more common. Why is this happening? During the day, the mother does not always hear the baby grinding his teeth. And at night, in silence, the sound of teeth grinding is much easier to catch.

Teeth grinding and worms

If you suspect helminthic intoxication, you need to get tested and start taking medications that affect helminthic individuals.

From folk ways the most effective are:

• Pumpkin seeds. They are ground into powder and given to the child, starting with small doses (at the tip of a teaspoon) three times a day. Then increase the intake to 1/3 spoon.
• The effective remedy is considered to be wormwood mixed with honey to remove strong bitterness. The course of treatment lasts at least a month. After 4-5 months, the therapy is repeated again.

Contrary to the opinion of grandparents, helminthic intoxication is not the only cause of teeth grinding. Doctors also talk about other causes of grinding in children.

The main causes of teeth grinding

A child grinds his teeth when he:

• Genetic disposition. Bruxism is inherited. Boys are especially susceptible to the genetic factor. The hereditary phenomenon goes away over time and cannot be treated. If it causes discomfort, you need to help the child and teach him exercises that relax the muscles. Regularly do warm compresses and special massages.
• Stressful situations, nervous tension, strong emotions are considered main reason why a child grinds his teeth during sleep or during the day. An excited nervous system causes spasms in which the lower jaw squeezes the upper jaw. An eventful day for a baby, emotional overstimulation can provoke bruxism, and at night the baby can grind his teeth.
• Sleep disturbances. Overwork, excitement before bed, active games, late going to bed, cause tension in the jaws, leading to grinding. Children's body requires good rest and falling asleep at the same time.
• Teething. When baby teeth appear in babies and when they are replaced with permanent ones, some children begin to actively grind their teeth, testing their strength.
• Adenoids, tonsillitis, sinusitis, polyps, leading to dryness of the larynx and nasopharynx, increase the risk of developing nighttime teeth grinding by 80%. To other symptoms of ENT diseases, constant creaking is added, as the child involuntarily moves his jaws in his sleep.
• Malocclusion. Teeth touching incorrectly causes friction and grinding. Bite pathologies cannot always be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, you need to visit the pediatric dentist regularly.
• Neurology and mental disorders. With such disorders, the child’s brain does not fully relax during sleep and affects teeth grinding.

There are several signs that make it clear that the balance of the child’s psyche is disturbed:

• hunted look, hesitant gait, stoop;
• annoying movements - swinging legs, twitching eyebrows and eyelids, sniffling without snot, the child often coughs, clearing his throat when he wants to say something;
• crying with minor irritation and frustration;
• frequent clenching of fists;
• in his sleep he hides thumb into a fist;
• restlessness, absent-mindedness;
• night twitching of limbs, nightmares and awakening from them, crying in sleep.

If grinding is accompanied by the listed symptoms, its causes lie in stress or serious anxiety.

What is the danger of bruxism in a child?

When a child begins to grind his teeth, this often does not cause concern to parents. After all, bruxism is not a serious problem. But children suffering from night grinding of teeth differ from their peers in hyperactivity or, conversely, apathy, absent-minded attention, bad memory, disturbed sleep patterns, which in the future greatly interferes with their normal learning and development. If teeth grinding is left untreated and left unattended, physical health the child may get worse.

He will have:

• nervous exhaustion due to lack of sleep;
• improper growth of teeth;
• headache;
• tinnitus, discomfort when opening the mouth;
• eating disorders;
• loose, cracked, worn teeth;
• worn enamel, caries, periodontitis;
• diseases of the maxillofacial joint.

What to do if your child grinds his teeth in his sleep

When the mother noticed that the baby began to intensively grind his teeth at night, she needed:

1. Contact dental clinic. Pediatric dentist will appoint necessary treatment and determine how to protect tooth enamel from mechanical stress. A popular method of getting rid of enamel destruction due to bruxism is a dental splint. With its help, the teeth of the upper and lower jaw will not rub or touch each other.
   The doctor will suggest several exercises to relax the jaws and wean the baby from clenching his teeth. An excellent method of combating bruxism is jaw-muscle massage. Wet the cloth in warm water, and applying it to the jaw muscles in the morning, the baby will get rid of painful sensations.
2. Another doctor you need to see is a psychologist. He will examine the child and evaluate him mental condition. In this way, the causes of teeth grinding can be identified. Children often develop bruxism if they do not find support in the family, feel a cold attitude from a teacher or lack of understanding from peers. Having identified the reason psychological problem, it can be cured.
3. If bruxism is caused neurological diseases, you need to contact a neurologist. A child often stops grinding his teeth after taking vitamin complexes.
4. For ENT diseases, an otolaryngologist will help you get rid of bruxism. A child who constantly grinds his teeth may need to have polyps or adenoids removed.

Preventive measures to stop your baby from grinding his teeth are:

• muscle relaxation exercises shown by the dentist;
• establishing a daily routine and going to bed on time. If a child has difficulty falling asleep, you can give him teas made from soothing herbs, take sedative baths with essential oils. Decoctions of lavender, mint, linden color, lemon balm;
• It is necessary to monitor the baby's nutrition. Reduce consumption of sugar, fatty foods, fast food;
• A small child who grinds his teeth at night needs to increase the load on his facial muscles to relieve tension. To do this, he is given more solid food - crackers, bagels, apples, carrots.
• stabilize emotional condition child. Not allowed to play computer games and watch TV 2 hours before bedtime;
• increase the frequency and duration of walks in the fresh air;
• create a calm atmosphere in the house. Do not shout, try to avoid quarrels in the family. Surround your child with warmth and love. Try to improve his relationships with classmates, talk with the teacher and eliminate accumulated grievances and troubles;
• make warm compresses in the morning and put on dental splints;
• visit the dentist regularly.

Often parents are faced with the problem of their child grinding their teeth in their sleep. For many, this situation causes considerable concern - after all, popular rumor says that the child grinds his teeth because of worms. This opinion has some basis, but more often teeth grinding is caused by completely different reasons.

In medicine, teeth grinding is called “bruxism” and is characterized by regular attacks of sharp contraction of the masticatory muscles. As a result, the jaws tighten and the person begins to grind their teeth. This phenomenon often occurs only at night, but there are cases when attacks occur during the day.

Bruxism is common in almost half of children and can be manifested not only by grinding, but also by clicking teeth, which last from 10 seconds to 5-15 minutes.

Why does bruxism occur?

There is no need to worry if this phenomenon occurs rarely and does not last more than 20 seconds. If your child grinds his teeth regularly and for a long time, you should consider contacting a doctor.

There can be many reasons for bruxism. Here are the most common:

• nervous tension;
• sleep disturbance;
• adenoids;
• teething;
• heredity;
• malocclusion.

Nervous tension

Stressful situations, fears, and worries are often the cause of a child grinding his teeth in his sleep. In the event that such problems were caused by some one-time event such as moving, rearranging furniture, resentment towards adults for swearing, resolving the issue will not be difficult. Over time, the child will forget his grievances or get used to the new environment, especially if you help him with this - for example, leaving a small lamp in the room at night.

Much the problem is more serious, in which the child’s nervous state is associated with a lack of parental attention and affection. Few adults readily admit their guilt, believing that the child is given enough warmth and care. At the same time, they rarely realize that even such little things as ignoring a child’s requests for a long time can easily create in him a feeling of forgetfulness, loneliness and abandonment.

That is why any parent should constantly monitor the child’s emotional state and often observe his behavior and state of mind.

Sleep disturbance

Another one common reason the appearance of bruxism is a sleep disturbance in a child.

This may occur as a result of:

• taking medications or stopping them;
• childhood enuresis;
• emotional excitability;
• changes in the daily routine, or when the period of wakefulness and sleep shifts;
• disturbing dreams, frequent nightmares;
• somnambulism.

To help your child cope with sleep disorders, you should follow strict regime day, prohibit watching television before bed, and also spend a lot of time playing games, especially computer games. Often, sleep disturbances appear as a result of quarrels, screaming and tense family situations.

Adenoids

Enlarged adenoids are a common factor in child grinding of teeth. Almost 80% of cases of this disease are accompanied by bruxism.

Teething

Teeth grinding can also be due to teeth cutting. During this process, the child's gums begin to itch, which provokes him to clench his teeth. Parents can independently check whether this is the cause of bruxism - just examine the child’s mouth.

Heredity

There is also a genetic factor in the appearance of this problem.

Bruxism can be hereditary, as confirmed by numerous studies.

If you detect teeth grinding during sleep in a child, you should ask your closest relatives whether any of them have encountered this phenomenon.

Malocclusion

A child may grind his teeth at night and with various disorders of the jaw apparatus, including malocclusion. Accurate diagnosis in this case, only a pediatric orthodontist can install it.

This problem is very serious and its solution cannot be postponed. Timely measures taken will help avoid pathologies such as:

• inflammation of periodontal tissues;
• abrasion of tooth enamel, which threatens increased tooth sensitivity and the appearance of caries;
• tooth fracture;
• improper development and growth of teeth.

Nowadays, there are many methods that can be used to eliminate almost all types of malocclusion, but you cannot delay solving this problem.

Treatment of bruxism

When treating children's teeth grinding, it is used A complex approach, which will depend on the specific cause of the disease. The most common treatments used in this case are as follows:

• elimination of pathology in the structure of teeth;
• the use of special mouth guards that protect teeth from possible damage;
• vitamin therapy, designed to compensate for the lack of vitamin B and microelements such as calcium and magnesium in the child’s body;
• treatment of adenoids.

If the cause of night teeth grinding is nervous overexcitement, stress or excessive anxiety, more serious treatment will be required. psychological work. They begin by finding out the cause of the baby’s state of mind.

Sometimes it's enough to find mutual language with the child, treat him kindly and understand his needs.

Prevention measures

A correct and strict daily routine is the most important measure to prevent the development of bruxism in children. The child should take a daily walk in the fresh air and exercise exercise, Healthy food.

The baby should go to bed in a balanced state, so you should not allow him to play or watch TV before bedtime. It is best to take a walk with him, chat, or offer to read a book. Often, a sincere conversation between a parent and a child before bedtime is the best measure prevention of any nervous disorders and emotional discomfort.

Video - causes of teeth grinding (bruxism)