What are the causes and remedies of teeth grinding?
By now you might be familiar with all the noises that your little one makes and one of it is grinding of his teeth. It’s an obnoxious sound and as it becomes a persistent problem the more you start to worry.
The problem of teeth grinding in their sleep is quite common among toddlers and preschoolers. For most of them, this habit is short-lived and they outgrow it by the time they reach the age of 5 or 6. However, some children might continue with this habit in the later years of their childhood as well.
The medical term for the grinding of teeth is called bruxism. Most of the children learn to outgrow it and it often happens during their sleep or when under stress. No exact cause has been established for bruxism. Some signs to watch out for it include the grinding sounds, complaints of a sore jaw or its painful while chewing or eating.
Even though no established cause has been found out for teeth grinding, it might occur among children for the following reasons. In some cases, it happens due to the misalignment of teeth. The upper teeth might not be properly positioned with the lower ones. It can also be a result of the severe pain caused due to teething.
As a way to counteract or remedy the pain, they grind their teeth sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. In some cases, stress might be a cause of bruxism as well. Anger, tension or hyperactivity also might be another reason behind it.
While bruxism usually wears out or children outgrow it as they grow up it still might cause some dental problems for your child. It might wear down the tooth enamel, chip teeth and increase temperature sensitivity and cause severe toothache along with facial pain and other jaw problems.
Usually, children outgrow this habit but dentists and parents can play a big role in helping them out. If the teeth grinding is frequent you should probably visit a dentist who’ll provide your child with a nightguard molded to your child’s teeth.
Apart from taking your child to a dentist, you can help her out too. If it’s due to anxiety or pain bath them before putting them to sleep, read a story to her or play some soft music to calm her down and distract her.
It relaxes your child and helps them sleep peacefully. If your child is old enough to talk then try to find out what might be the reason behind her anxiety and do your best to assure them. You can gently rock them to sleep as well.
There’s no particular cause or cure for this problem. It’s just a part of growing up and hence can’t be prevented. It’s just another phase of your little one’s life and you have to wait for it to get over. If you feel it’s getting serious then seek medical help.
SUMMARY:
• The problem of teeth grinding in their sleep is quite common among toddlers and preschoolers.
• It might sometimes happen when they are under stress.
• In some cases, it happens due to the misalignment of teeth.
• It can also be a result of the severe pain caused due to teething.
• If it’s due to anxiety or pain, bath them before putting them to sleep.
• If it persists longer than, if required contact the Dental doctor and take his opinion.
Teeth grinding – what are the causes and symptoms
toddler grinding his teeth in sleep
toddler grinding
Malathi A Ganesh is a B. Com Graduate, NTT, M.A (Lit), PGDEA (PG in Education Administration), PGDCA (PG Diploma in Computer Application), DTE (Diploma in Teaching English), ICEPT (International Certificate in Education Preschool Teaching) from Singapore and B. Ed. She has been in the field of education for the past 20 years and has an experience of running her own pre-school She is the Founder & Director Academics of Smartkidz Educare India Pvt Ltd with 275+ play schools Pan India. She is an Educationist and a Child Psychologists by profession who wants to fulfill her dream of giving Quality Education to children in their earlier years. She is also into conducting positive parenting workshops, which talks about effective child rearing. She has conducted numerous parenting workshops in all her pre schools, schools and MNC’s.
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