What causes teeth grinding in children? How to solve it?

Many parents will find that when their children reach a certain age, they will unconsciously grind their teeth when they sleep at night. So what exactly is going on when children grind their teeth? How to solve it?

1. The intestines are infested with parasites.

In order to absorb nutrients, parasites will move around in the human stomach. At this time, the patient will usually feel nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and other symptoms. In severe cases, they may also suffer from intestinal obstruction and sometimes grind their teeth while sleeping at night. Especially roundworms. Because the intestines are stimulated by the toxins of roundworms, the frequency of peristalsis increases, causing patients to suffer from indigestion, stomach pain, and poor sleep quality. The toxins released by roundworms can also excite the nerves and cause teeth grinding. Similarly, the toxins released by pinworms, another parasite, can cause children to grind their teeth due to poor sleep. It is generally believed that parasites are the culprit of bruxism, but in recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards, bruxism caused by parasites in children has become rare.

Solution: For children with parasitic diseases, deworming is necessary; for children with rickets, appropriate supplements of vitamin D and calcium are required.

2. Being too nervous.

Exciting TV plots and overly exciting play can make children nervous, causing them to grind their teeth after falling asleep at night. Or due to long-term blame and criticism from parents, children may become anxious, depressed and uneasy, which can also cause nocturnal grinding.

Solution: Create a harmonious and happy family atmosphere for children, and avoid letting them get too excited before going to bed.

3. Gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Children may also grind their teeth at night if they eat too much at dinner. Because there is still a lot of food in the stomach and intestines, which increases the burden on the stomach and intestines, causing teeth grinding during sleep.

Solution: Control your child's diet appropriately, cultivate the child's habit of not being picky or partial in eating, and do not let the child eat too much greasy food.

4. Unbalanced nutrition.

Nowadays, many children have the habit of being picky eaters, which can easily lead to nutritional imbalance. The lack of calcium, phosphorus, various vitamins and trace elements caused by these bad habits leads to unconscious teeth grinding at night.

Solution: Children’s diet should be regular and quantitative. They should not overeat or be picky about food. Greasy, fried, and spicy foods will aggravate children's teeth grinding, and these foods are usually more irritating, and children are prone to getting sick if they eat too much. Parents can cook the food that their children don’t like in different ways. The children will eat a comprehensive diet and naturally absorb different nutrients, so there will be no nutritional imbalance.

5. Poor tooth growth.

When children are changing their teeth, if they are malnourished and lack calcium and vitamin D, their teeth will develop poorly, and the occlusal surface will be uneven when the upper and lower teeth touch, which will also cause bruxism at night.

Solution: Go to the hospital to check your child's tooth development. If the tooth surface is found to be uneven, the high points of the teeth need to be ground off and a dental pad should be prepared. Wearing it at night will reduce teeth grinding.