Why does a 9-year-old child grind his teeth when sleeping?

We all know that before adulthood, children's bodies are always in a state of development, especially for children around ten years old. If the child shows any abnormalities, everyone must pay attention to it. Teeth grinding seems to be a very common thing, but sometimes there are many diseases hidden in it. Next we will introduce to you in detail why a 9-year-old child grinds his teeth while sleeping.

Teeth grinding is caused by repeated contraction of the chewing muscles, which causes the upper and lower teeth to collide with each other and make a sound. The contraction of the masticatory muscles is controlled by the trigeminal nerve. When the trigeminal nerve is excited, it will cause the masticatory muscles to contract, resulting in bruxism. Bruxism is a phenomenon in which a person's upper and lower teeth grind or clench against each other unconsciously while sleeping or awake in a non-physiological state. The most serious harm is nocturnal clenching and grinding of teeth. Since teeth grinding is often accompanied by a "crunching" sound, it is also commonly called "grinding teeth". Because it mostly occurs during sleep at night, it is also called "sleep bruxism". Nocturnal bruxism can be divided into persistent nocturnal bruxism and intermittent nocturnal bruxism, of which the majority are intermittent nocturnal bruxism.

People are in the period of replacing teeth between the ages of 6 and 13, and they will grind their teeth to adapt to the grinding of the upper and lower teeth. When the upper and lower teeth just erupt, the bite position of the teeth has not been completely determined, and there will be some inappropriateness between the teeth, such as unevenness or the new teeth are too sharp. At this time, the inappropriate parts of the contact between the teeth can be worn away by grinding. Therefore, for children who are in the period of eruption of deciduous teeth and replacement of deciduous permanent teeth, bruxism at night is an activity that is in the process of establishing a normal chewing relationship and is a normal physiological phenomenon.

However, if teenagers and adults who have passed the tooth replacement period often grind their teeth, it is a pathological condition.

The above content is an introduction to what is going on with a 9-year-old child grinding his teeth while sleeping. Of course, each child’s living environment and personal qualities are very different, so everyone needs to prescribe the right medicine for the right disease. If it only happens a few times, you can ignore this problem. Long-term teeth grinding may be a sign of disease.