Teeth Grinding
When you are grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, it’s called bruxism. Grinding is when you slide your teeth back and forth over each other. Clenching means you tightly hold your top and bottom teeth together. Bruxism is very common, particularly in toddlers and preschools. In most children, they outgrow it but some continue to grind their teeth into adolescence and even adulthood.
Causes of Bruxism
Bruxism can be caused by several different factors. In some cases, kids may grind because the top and bottom teeth aren’t aligned properly. Others do it as a response to pain, such as from an earache or teething. Kids might grind their teeth as a way to ease the pain. Many kids outgrow these fairly common causes for grinding.
Pediatric dentists also notice that children tend to grind teeth more frequently in response to life stressors. If the child is going through a particularly stressful exam period or is relocating to a new school for example, night time teeth grinding may either begin or intensify.
Children with certain developmental disorders and brain injuries may be at particular risk for grinding. Some children who are hyperactive also have bruxism. If the onset of bruxing is sudden, current medications need to be evaluated. Though bruxing is a rare side effect of specific medications, the medication itself may need to be switched for an alternate brand.
Symptoms of Bruxism
Lots of kids who grind their teeth aren’t aware of it, so it’s often siblings or parents who identify the problem. In general, parents can usually hear intense grinding, especially when it occurs at nighttime. However, subtle daytime jaw clenching and grinding can be difficult to pinpoint. General symptoms include:
Loud grinding or clicking sounds
Frequent complaints of headache or earache
Unusual complaints about painful jaw muscles, especially in the morning
Injured teeth and gums
Unusual tooth sensitivity to hot and cold foods
Helping Kids with Bruxism
Most kids outgrow bruxism, but a combination of parental observation and dental visits can help keep the problem in check until they do.
For bruxism that’s caused by stress, ask about what’s upsetting your child and find a way to help. If the issue is more complicated, such as moving to a new town, discuss your child’s concerns and try to ease any fears.
In case where the grinding and clenching make a child’s face and jaw sore or damage the teeth, dentists may suggest a specialized nighttime dental appliance such as a nighttime mouth guard. Mouth guards stop tooth surfaces from grinding against each other, and look similar to a mouthpiece a person might wear during sports. Bite splints, or bite plates, fulfill the same function, and are almost universally successful in preventing grinding damage.
If you have questions or concerns about bruxism or grinding teeth, please contact your pediatric dentist.