Seven-year-old girl grinds her teeth when she sleeps at night

It is a very common factor for children to grind their teeth when they sleep at night. There are certain reasons for this, such as tooth occlusion, sleep, social and psychological factors, secondhand smoke or other factors, which can cause children to grind their teeth when they sleep at night. Teeth grinding is not good for people's teeth, so parents should find out the reasons for their children's teeth grinding in time and then provide treatment or conditioning.

1. Dental occlusion factors

When there is an abnormality in the dental occlusion, such as a tight bite (overbite), an underbite (underbite), or a high point in the local bite (such as the eruption of new teeth, abnormal tooth development), and other tooth-related factors may lead to abnormal facial muscle function, thereby causing nocturnal bruxism. Bad oral habits such as biting lips, pens, nails, and using pacifiers for a long time can also cause abnormal movements of facial muscles and may also lead to "nocturnal bruxism".

2. Sleep Factors

Sleep disorders, such as sleeping in a noisy environment, sleeping with the lights on, insufficient sleep (<8 hours), snoring, mouth breathing, drooling, etc., lead to poor sleep quality. It is one of the main factors causing "nocturnal bruxism".

3. Social and psychological factors

Social and psychological factors. There is no evidence to support that "nocturnal bruxism" in children under 5 years of age is related to psychosocial factors. There is a clear correlation between "nocturnal bruxism" and nervous, anxious, and tense personality traits in children aged 6 to 11 years. Similarly, there is a clear relationship between the occurrence of "nocturnal bruxism" and psychosocial disorders (anxiety, conduct and antisocial disorders, etc.) in adolescents (12-17 years old).

4. Secondhand Smoke

Children who are frequently exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from "nocturnal bruxism".

V. Other factors

Calcium deficiency, parasites, genetic factors, etc. may cause "nocturnal bruxism", but there is currently no evidence to prove that there is a connection between them.

The above are the possible reasons why children may experience "nocturnal bruxism". For each individual, we need to examine their teeth and analyze in detail their related physiological and mental state, living environment, etc., before we can find the main cause of nocturnal bruxism. Don’t give your baby “anthelmintics” just because he or she has nighttime teeth grinding!