Dentists call teeth grinding (or grinding of teeth) bruxism. This is a fairly common disease – in adults it occurs in 15% of cases, and in children, especially small ones, every third is affected. There is a popular belief that those who suffer from worms grind their teeth in their sleep – but this is completely wrong. However, experts find it difficult to determine the reasons why bruxism occurs.
Some believe that teeth grinding is the result of sleep dysregulation, and put bruxism on a par with nocturnal enuresis, nightmares, somnambulism, and snoring. Others note that grinding teeth is associated with malocclusion, and as a confirmation of this theory, they mention a hereditary predisposition to it. Still others associate teeth grinding with a predisposition to stress, tension, anxiety, and the like. However, it should be noted that periodic short-term bouts of bruxism can occur in quite healthy people.
Although most children eventually “outgrow” bruxism, and in fact it does not threaten them, it should still be treated more carefully, especially if the child experiences muscle or headache after such attacks. In this case, it would be appropriate to contact a dentist (he will be able to effectively protect the teeth from possible destruction) and a neuropsychiatrist (he will minimize the likelihood of an attack). The help of a dentist is extremely important here, since it is obvious that long and frequent grinding of teeth leads to damage to the enamel, and in some cases to pathologies of the mandibular joint.