When Your Child Grinds Their Teeth Too Often
There are plenty of things to worry about when it comes to keeping your child’s smile healthy, such as teaching them good hygiene practices and helping them prevent cavity formation. However, some things are out of your control or ability to help them prevent, and the best thing you can do to preserve your child’s smile is to address them as soon as possible with appropriate dental treatment. For example, if your child grinds their teeth constantly, it may be a sign that they have bruxism and might need their dentist’s help to prevent causing their teeth extensive damage.
What constant teeth-grinding can mean
Bruxism can affect patients of all ages, and it involves the constant grinding of one’s teeth at all times throughout the day. In some cases, the grinding may occur mostly at night, during sleep. For children, bruxism can occur for a variety of different reasons, and they may not realize that constant grinding could be harmful to their teeth. The longer it continues, the teeth-grinding associated with bruxism can pose increasingly greater risks to your child’s teeth. For instance, their chewing surfaces may wear down, their structures may fracture or break, or they may be at a greater risk of being lost or needing extraction.
Why it’s important to address the problem
When your child grinds their teeth because of an underlying bruxism problem, getting them to stop takes more than simply telling them to stop. Bruxism is considered an oral health condition because it’s the result of one or more other underlying concerns. The only way to stop the constant teeth-grinding is often to address the problem that causes your child to grind their teeth in the first place. This may be a discrepancy in the alignment of your child’s teeth or oral structures, or it may be a combination of different factors.
How your child’s dentist can help them stop
Bite problems such as bruxism can become especially problematic for children if they impact the growth and development of their oral structures. For example, constantly grinding their teeth can force some of your child’s teeth out of alignment, or lead to damage that needs to be addressed in order to prevent tooth loss. In some cases, the dentist may be able to provide immediate relief from bruxism with help from a custom-designed oral appliance that your child can wear while they sleep at night. The nightguard will stop their teeth from grinding together at night and reduce or eliminate the risks of them experiencing tooth damage.
Learn how to help your child stop teeth-grinding
If you notice your child grinding their teeth often, it may be a sign a more serious underlying concern. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX today at 214-321-4880. We proudly serve patients who live around Casa Linda and all surrounding Dallas communities.
filed under: Family Dentistry