What are the treatments for children snoring and grinding their teeth while sleeping?

Careful parents will observe that many children snore and grind their teeth when they sleep. This is due to unconscious tension in the masseter muscles, which causes the teeth to grind up and down. This is caused by bugs in the stomach or calcium deficiency. In fact, children's snoring and teeth grinding can be considered to be caused by many factors such as tooth occlusion, sleep factors, psychological factors, pathological factors, etc., so teeth grinding while sleeping is not entirely related to bugs in the stomach.

Does it mean that children who grind their teeth at night have worms in their stomach?

I remember when I was a child, I would grind my teeth when I slept at night. When my parents found out, they would go to the doctor to get some "anthelmintic medicine", saying that there were worms in my stomach and I needed to "deworm". I believe many friends have similar experiences. So is it correct to say that "bruxism at night is caused by 'worms' in the patient's stomach"?

The concept of bruxism

Bruxism refers to the behavior of grinding or clenching the upper and lower teeth against each other due to unconscious tension in the masseter muscles. It often occurs when people sleep at night, which is called "nocturnal bruxism". Bruxism is a common sleep disorder associated with abnormal movements of the facial muscles. According to statistics, its incidence in children is between 6% and 50%. That is to say, if the highest incidence rate is used, one in every two children will suffer from nocturnal bruxism. So, what are the reasons that cause "nocturnal bruxism"? Is it really because of "parasites"?

According to the latest statistical analysis, tooth occlusion, sleep disorders, psychological factors and secondhand smoke are the main causes of nocturnal bruxism.

1. Dental occlusion factors

When there is an abnormality in the dental occlusion, such as a tight bite (overbite), an underbite (underbite), or a high point in the local bite (such as the eruption of new teeth, abnormal tooth development), and other tooth-related factors may lead to abnormal facial muscle function, thereby causing nocturnal bruxism. Bad oral habits such as biting lips, pens, nails, and using pacifiers for a long time can also cause abnormal movements of facial muscles and may also lead to "nocturnal bruxism".

2. Sleep Factors

Sleep disorders, such as sleeping in a noisy environment, sleeping with the lights on, insufficient sleep (<8 hours), snoring, mouth breathing, drooling, etc., lead to poor sleep quality. It is one of the main factors causing "nocturnal bruxism".

3. Social and psychological factors

Social and psychological factors. There is no evidence to support that "nocturnal bruxism" in children under 5 years of age is related to psychosocial factors. There is a clear correlation between "nocturnal bruxism" and nervous, anxious, and tense personality traits in children aged 6 to 11 years. Similarly, there is a clear relationship between the occurrence of "nocturnal bruxism" and psychosocial disorders (anxiety, conduct and antisocial disorders, etc.) in adolescents (12-17 years old).

4. Secondhand Smoke

Children who are frequently exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from "nocturnal bruxism".

V. Other factors

Calcium deficiency, parasites, genetic factors, etc. may cause "nocturnal bruxism", but there is currently no evidence to prove that there is a connection between them.