How to effectively treat children’s teeth grinding when sleeping?

Many parents will find that their children grind their teeth while sleeping. When this problem occurs, parents can learn some methods of Chinese medicine diet conditioning, and also eat a piece of raw tangerine peel before going to bed, or drink the tangerine peel soaked in water, which has a very good relief effect.

1. Chinese medicine diet therapy

Make soup with half a pound of fresh wolfberry leaves (cook with the stems first), 20 day lilies (remove the stems), 2 to 3 candied dates, and 1 pig pancreas.

Eating a piece of raw orange peel or soaking orange peel in water before going to bed every night for 2-3 days can cure children and adults grinding their teeth while sleeping, especially for early stage grinding.

1 liang of raw Rehmannia root, 3 qian of Alisma orientalis, 3 qian of roasted licorice root, 3 qian of black plum, 4 qian of Cornus officinalis, 3 qian of Yunzhi, 3 qian of Paeonia suffruticosa, 4 qian of Chinese yam, 3 qian of Schisandra chinensis, 5 qian of Cyperus rotundus, 1 liang of Lingci stone (fried first), 2 qian of Juncus wickii.

2. Massage therapy

Parents can also rub their palms to warm them up, then place them on the baby's belly button and gently massage it clockwise and counterclockwise for 2-3 minutes each, twice a day. Massage can stimulate the baby's intestinal peristalsis, which is beneficial to the digestion and absorption of food.

3. Intestinal anthelmintic treatment

Ascaricidal treatment reduces the peristalsis of intestinal parasites and irritates the intestinal wall. Bruxism caused by roundworms may occur in children for hygiene reasons, but the chance of bruxism caused by roundworms in adolescents and adults is almost non-existent. Therefore, deworming treatments are not effective for adolescents and adults.

4. Drug treatment

The main focus is on trying to adjust dentofacial movement disorders and muscle tension disorders.

Topical botulinum toxin (BTX) is effective in treating movement disorders. BTX was injected into the masseter muscles on both sides of patients who bruxed their teeth for a long time. As a result, most patients stopped grinding their teeth immediately to 4 weeks after the injection, but some patients also developed difficulty swallowing.

Using L-dopa to regulate the central nervous system can significantly reduce the number of times people grind their teeth, but it can easily cause nausea, vomiting, insomnia, arrhythmia, and mental illness. It should only be considered when other treatments for bruxism have failed.

If the teeth are severely worn, it is recommended to use an occlusal pad to separate them to prevent further wear of the teeth. Patients cannot purchase it on their own and need to choose and wear it under the guidance of a doctor. The price of occlusal splint is about 1,000 yuan.