Maybe you know that irritating grinding sound if your little one happens to be a teeth grinder. Teeth grinding is normal in adolescents, or what we call, bruxism. Three of 10 babies, usually in response to stress, jaw growth, malocclusion, loss of teeth, or other discomforts, such as allergies, grind or clench their teeth. Children usually get out of teeth as they enter their teenage years.
Here are some reasons why your child might be teeth grinding:
Anxiety
One child who grinds his teeth while sleeping can be linked to negative emotions like stress and it may be a mechanism for coping that.
Teething
Teething has been related to grinding teeth in babies. They prefer to do so because it makes their pain better, even whileusing hands to soothe sore muscles.
Malocclusion
It is the poor alignment of the teeth which may irritate the jaw. Studies have shown that Malocclusion and Bruxism have a close link with 12.75 percent children who have both conditions.
Many children who grind their teeth to sleep don’t know that they do it. In reality, they don’t feel pain in their jaw, nose, neck or pain on their shoulders when they wake up in the morning. In most cases, if a parent or sibling have not asked them about it, the teeth would go overlooked.
Consequences of teeth grinding in children
Nonetheless, children wake up with jaw pain, shoulder pain, pain in the neck and headaches. Grinding of teeth can cause a variety of dental problems including broken teeth and gums to a misaligned jaw. Your pediatric dentist in Tinley Park will tell you that grinding teeth is not easy to handle. Dental grinding can have serious consequences, which can lead to tooth fractures and damage to the temporomandibular joint known as the TMJ when left untreated.
Signs that your child is a teeth grinder
The first step to help your child recover from teething is to identify and treat the problem. Teeth grinding signs typically involve: grinding sounds as your child sleeps, tightness complaints or jaw-pain, complaints of headaches, ears, or facial pain, complaints about tooth sensitivity,weared or loose teeth, and more.
Teeth grinding does not go away on its own and if not treated by a professional pediatric dentist, it will only lead to complications in the future. To get the best pediatric dentist near you in Tinley Park IL, check us out!
