Hearing at least once how the baby grinds his teeth during sleep, most parents get scared and begin to worry. Doctors do not consider this phenomenon a disease, but in some situations it can adversely affect the health of the baby. Turning to Doctor Komarovsky, you can find out why teeth grinding occurs in a dream and what parents should do, who for a long time hear it from a crib at night.
Causes of squeaking teeth in a dream
A well-known pediatrician confirms that grinding teeth during sleep, called bruxism by doctors, occurs in every third to fifth child under the age of 6-8 years. Komarovsky notes that bruxism also occurs in adults, but in children it is diagnosed much more often, and in most cases in boys.
According to a popular doctor, the appearance of teeth grinding is associated with an involuntary contraction of the chewing muscles, as a result of which the child's jaw clenches uncontrollably.
Komarovsky calls the most common causes of bruxism:
- Emotional shaking, negative stress, or excessive fatigue. Due to these factors, according to the famous pediatrician, the child's nervous system goes out of balance, which is manifested by various symptoms, among which bruxism is also noted.
- Teething in children in the first years of life, as well as changing teeth to permanent ones. Komarovsky notes that the discomfort due to constant itching and pain makes children constantly rub their teeth against each other. At the same time, according to the pediatrician, this reason often provokes teeth grinding not at night, but during the day.
- Damage to the jaw joints or malocclusion. As statistics show, bruxism is a frequent manifestation of these pathologies.
- Heredity. In his practice, Komarovsky noted that the children of those parents who gritted their teeth in childhood, bruxism manifests itself very often.
- Sleep disturbances. Komarovsky emphasizes that bruxism often occurs in children who suffer from nightmares, enuresis, sleepwalking, sleepwalking or snoring.
- Adenoiditis, runny nose, or otitis media. A popular doctor notes that with such diseases, the child feels discomfort due to congestion or pain, and in response, grinds his teeth.
- Deficiency of calcium, B-group vitamins, magnesium and amino acids. According to Komarovsky, these nutrients are essential for normal muscle contraction. If there is a lack of them, the child develops a convulsive syndrome, manifested by bruxism.
- Insufficient load on the jaws. If parents give little solid food to the baby, this can also cause squeaking at night.
The relationship of bruxism with worms
Komarovsky confirms that the people have long associated teeth grinding with helminth infection. And nowadays he has heard more than once how the older generation recommends that in case of bruxism, immediately "expel worms". However, as confirmed by medical research, there is no direct connection between helminthic invasion and grinding teeth.
Komarovsky emphasizes that bruxism can appear both in children with helminths and in babies who do not have helminthiasis. Although, according to a well-known doctor, infection with worms can really aggravate the manifestation of bruxism, the exact same situation is possible in the absence of worms in the child's body. Watch a short video on this issue.
What should parents do?
Komarovsky calls bruxism a harmless phenomenon, which in most cases goes away on its own and does not require any treatment. However, if it bothers the child very often, the baby's teeth are at risk (they can be damaged and loosened). Then parents should show the child to doctors.
For the treatment of bruxism, a well-known pediatrician advises contacting a neuropathologist and dentist, since in most children, the causes of teeth grinding in a dream can be eliminated by these specialists. To prevent tooth enamel from being erased during the night squeaks of teeth, Komarovsky recommends wearing a special mouth guard.
