Some children always grind their teeth at night when they sleep, and their little teeth grind and squeak. Many people mistakenly believe that children grind their teeth because there are worms in their stomachs, so is this the case? Children grinding teeth at night is what happened? According to the scientific research of modern medicine, this paper will make a detailed identification of the discussion, so that the child night grinding disease finally to the truth.
People in the period of 6-14 years old will change the milk teeth, this period may be because of gum itching and mild grinding, but after the change of teeth also continue to grind teeth or grinding serious phenomenon during the change of teeth is a pathology. The grinding of teeth in children will affect the local development of the child’s body and destroy the beauty of the child’s teeth, and some children may even be introverted and depressed as a result. Sleep teeth grinding in children and adolescents have a higher incidence, according to medical statistics, up to about 15%. With the growth of age and the gradual improvement of brain function, its attack rate will decline year by year and will heal itself when it grows up.
I. Clinical manifestations of teeth grinding disorder
The clinical manifestation of teeth grinding is mainly rhythmic and intermittent jaw grinding or prolonged muscle clenching state. Nocturnal teeth grinding can produce enormous occlusal forces, far exceeding the forces of conscious clenching, so that the dentition, alveolar bone, periodontal supporting tissues and temporomandibular joints bear excessive loads. The most common clinical injury in bruxism is tooth wear, which can also lead to other symptoms of the teeth or supporting tissues, such as high sensitivity to hot and cold stimuli, tooth loosening, periodontal tissue damage, dental osteomalacia, cusp fracture, and pulp necrosis. Due to excessive force, patients with teeth grinding disorder often show fatigue, pressure pain, functional abnormalities and muscle tension pain in the masticatory muscles.
Second, the pathogenic factors of children’s teeth grinding
The cause of teeth grinding disease has not been completely clarified, the pathogenic factors found so far are mental factors, occlusal factors, neuromuscular dysfunction of the masticatory muscle system and other factors such as endocrine disorders, genetics, etc. Most scholars believe that the disease is caused by the synergy of multiple factors.
1.Sleeping posture
Children grinding teeth at night and sleep posture also has a certain relationship. During sleep, the whole body muscles are in a relaxed state, but when the child is in the prone position, the jaw will be subject to the pressure of the head. The lower jaw in order to get rid of the pressure, that can produce grinding, the formation of night grinding teeth. If the child constantly turns his body or changes his sleep position during sleep, he will also have a transient night grinding.
Given the relationship between teeth grinding and sleep posture, parents should be instructed to let their children develop good sleep habits and not to fix a sleep posture, otherwise it may not only lead to or aggravate the symptoms of night grinding, but also may have an impact on the child’s head and facial development.
2, genetic factors
Night molar disorder has a certain tendency of family inheritance. Genetic analysis shows that it should be autosomal dominant inheritance. Night grinding disorder has a certain persistence, childhood night grinding disorder often persists in adulthood, children and adult teeth grinding is positively correlated, genetic factors can not be ignored.
3.Dental abnormalities
Children are in the period of tooth replacement, with the loss of milk teeth and the eruption of permanent teeth, the occlusal relationship is relatively unstable, there will be some temporary occlusal disorders, such as temporary crowding when the permanent incisors first erupt, the gap between the maxillary incisors, the first molars in the upper and lower jaw to build the initial cusp-to-tip occlusal relationship, temporary anterior teeth deep overlap, etc., easy to appear interference, but this relationship will be adjusted with the gradual eruption of permanent teeth. Some children do have occlusal problems such as crowding of the milk teeth, anticlinal, inwardly inclined deep overlap, deep overlap, open, etc. These problems will not improve on their own with the building process, but will affect the development of the child. This intention to form chewing muscle spasm and contraction triggers teeth grinding disease.
4, craniomaxillofacial morphological factors
The craniofacial morphological development in childhood has a certain time pattern to follow, and reaches a more stable state in pre-puberty, while wearing removable prostheses, poor restoration of filling form, poor orthodontic program design, improper force, bad chewing habits such as lateral chewing, teeth grinding, etc., may cause the craniofacial development of bony deviation.
5.Spiritual and psychological factors
Mental tension can make the closed jaw muscle tension increase, especially the anxious, trying to relieve the feeling of depression in the heart by grinding the teeth, such patients have a long time of tooth contact, and the number of times is frequent.
6, neurological factors
After sleep, because the cerebral cortex is inhibited, the subconscious jaw closing reflex increases, muscle tension and the rhythm of contraction are changed, appearing clenching type and grinding type of activity, after waking up, teeth grinding is controlled.
7.Systemic factors
Gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine imbalance such as hyperthyroidism, zinc deficiency, blood pressure fluctuations, metabolic reactions, the role of histamine and some histamine-like substances in the process of tension in the body may cause nocturnal teeth grinding.
In addition, children suffering from rickets, due to the lack of vitamin D in the body, malabsorption of the mineral calcium. In order to cause the child not only in the formative years appear square head, the lower edge of the ribs turned out, chicken chest and other skeletal symptoms, but also sweating, night terrors, irritability and other neurological symptoms, grinding teeth at night is also one of the symptoms.
8.Intestinal parasites
Intestinal parasitic infections are common in children, and parasitic infections are common in roundworms. The activities of parasites and the toxins and metabolites they secrete enter the body and stimulate the corresponding parts of the brain of the sleeping person, causing spasm or continuous contraction of the chewing muscles, which can reflexively cause teeth grinding at night. Some scholars believe that teeth grinding in children is not related to intestinal parasitic infection, but there is a lack of strict control experiments and epidemiological investigation data.
Treatment of teeth grinding disorder
Due to the differences in the understanding of the etiology, most of the current treatment is symptomatic, and the treatment method is still based on the treatment of clenching plate, psychotherapy, muscle relaxation treatment, tooth adjustment and medication.
1. Psychological treatment
From the ideological point of view, the patient should be given comfort and guidance to relieve their concerns and stress, reduce tension, self-referral, muscle relaxation training, measures to relieve mental stress including biofeedback, muscle relaxation, psychological counseling, hypnotherapy, etc.. In addition, we should avoid drinking alcohol, smoking, tea, coffee and beverages before going to bed, improve the sleep environment, gradually relax and change our lifestyle.
2.Adaptation therapy
To adjust and grind a small amount of dental tissues, remove occlusal interference, establish the natural teeth’s joint balance, achieve the physiological balance between occlusion, masticatory muscle and temporomandibular joint, and eliminate teeth grinding.
3. Use muscle relaxation instrument
Excessive tension of jaw muscles is one of the causes of teeth grinding, and releasing excessive muscle tension in treatment is a necessary means to control teeth grinding. Commonly used methods include: the application of muscle relaxation apparatus, physical therapy, physiological function training of masticatory muscles, massage and audio-visual suggestion, etc.
4.Application of occlusal plate
Bite plate treatment for teeth grinding is faster than other physical methods, and can continue to relax the muscles. In addition to mechanically isolating the direct contact between the upper and lower teeth, preventing the occurrence of teeth grinding, avoiding the continued damage to the dentition and periodontal tissues, it can also cut off the abnormal dental interference, adjust the joint and jaw position, improve the muscle tension, so that the function of the entire mouth and jaw system can be gradually restored.
Growing children are under a lot of pressure due to the constant changes in various aspects, and the changes in tooth alignment especially increase the pressure, so once the transition period is over, most children will stop grinding their teeth. Finally, we remind parents that when they find that their children are grinding their teeth, it is best to ask a physician to evaluate and rule out possible systemic factors, and then return to the clinic on a regular basis for close observation and to give the child adequate physical and psychological support, which is the most appropriate treatment.