Does children's teeth grinding indicate calcium deficiency?

Children, due to their young age, have lower resistance and are more susceptible to virus invasion, which may cause some adverse symptoms. Teeth grinding is a common condition among children. There are many reasons why children grind their teeth. Most of them may be because they are frightened, or they may have indigestion due to eating too much, or they may have parasites in their stomachs, etc. So, does children grind their teeth due to calcium deficiency? Let me introduce it to you below.

Does children's teeth grinding indicate calcium deficiency?

Teeth grinding is closely related to gastrointestinal dysfunction and roundworms, and has nothing to do with calcium deficiency. Currently, the infection rate of roundworms is relatively low, so gastrointestinal function adjustments can be made first.

Measures that can be taken now include taking probiotics and spleen and stomach strengthening medicines; avoiding cold abdomen; and if teeth grinding is severe, masseter muscle massage can be done before bedtime to relax the child's oral and facial muscles and reduce teeth grinding.

Causes of Teeth Grinding in Children

1. Mental factors such as excessive tension, excitement, fatigue, and fright can cause abnormal excitation or inhibition of the cerebral cortex, resulting in nocturnal bruxism.

2. Due to eating too much, indigestion, and indigestion, the toxins secreted by the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract stimulate the cerebral cortex after absorption, causing the excitation and inhibition of the cerebral cortex to lose the balance, resulting in nocturnal bruxism.

3. Intestinal parasites There are roundworms in the stomach. Ascaris parasitizes in children's small intestine, not only robbing nutrients but also irritating the intestinal wall, secreting toxins and causing indigestion. If a child often has a dull pain in his stomach, it will cause insomnia, irritability and nighttime teeth grinding.

Pinworms can also cause teeth grinding. Pinworms usually live in the human large intestine. After the child falls asleep, the pinworms will quietly crawl to the anus to lay eggs, causing anal itching, making the child sleep uneasily and causing teeth grinding.

4. Misaligned teeth, excessive use of the chewing muscles or long-term chewing on one side of the teeth, as well as poor tooth occlusion, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, can also cause nocturnal bruxism. Moreover, children with irregular teeth often have abnormal positions of their chewing muscles. When they sleep at night, their chewing muscles often contract unconsciously, causing bruxism.

5. Bad sleeping posture. If a child's head often tilts to one side when sleeping, it will cause incoordination of the chewing muscles, causing abnormal contraction of the chewing muscles on the compressed side, resulting in bruxism. When children sleep with their heads covered at night, excessive accumulation of carbon dioxide and insufficient oxygen supply may also cause bruxism.

Prevention of Teeth Grinding in Children

1. For children with nocturnal bruxism, parents should make sure they relax mentally, especially 1-2 hours before going to bed, and avoid doing any strenuous activities.

2. Pay attention to adjusting your diet, eat some easily digestible and nutritious food, and don’t eat too much for dinner.

3. If intestinal parasites are found, deworming should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.

4. If the teeth are unevenly aligned or the bite is disordered, correction is required.

5. If nocturnal bruxism cannot be corrected, you can go to the oral department of the hospital to make a "plastic tooth pad" called a bruxism appliance. Wear it between the upper and lower teeth when sleeping at night to prevent nighttime teeth grinding and protect teeth.