What is the reason for adults to grind their teeth

I believe many people have had this experience: snoring, talking in sleep, and some people even grinding their teeth. However, many people know that baby teeth grinding is a normal physiological phenomenon. It is a stage of teeth grinding caused by the continuous contraction of the chewing muscles. Is it normal for adults to grind their teeth while sleeping?

In fact, some signs that appear in dreams may suggest that the body has some kind of illness, or is caused by excessive fatigue, excessive mental stress, etc. So is it normal for adults to grind their teeth? Does it indicate a physical or mental illness? Let's take a look at the reasons why adults grind their teeth below.

1. Types of Teeth Grinding

(1) Teeth grinding: Teeth grinding often occurs after falling asleep at night, which is commonly known as nocturnal bruxism. Patients grind or clench their teeth while sleeping.

(2) Clenching type: People often clench their teeth unconsciously when concentrating during the day, but there is no grinding of the upper and lower teeth.

(3) Mixed type: The symptoms include both nocturnal bruxism and daytime clenching of teeth.

2. Excessive mental excitement

This causes the excitation and inhibition processes of the cerebral cortex to lose balance, inducing temporary irregular spasms or contractions of the chewing muscles, resulting in nocturnal bruxism.

3. Parasites

Intestinal parasites can also cause bruxism. It’s best to check your stomach during the day to see if there are any worms. Adults have them too.

4. Overeating

Eating too much before going to bed can disrupt the digestive function and excite the brain cells that manage digestion, causing teeth grinding through reflex action.

5. Unbalanced nutrition

Especially for people whose meals are nutritionally unbalanced and who are picky eaters, it is easy to lead to deficiency of elements such as calcium and phosphorus, which causes teeth to grind back and forth.

6. Sleep time

It is best to rest on time at night, eliminate tension and release stress reasonably. If it is not necessary, please do not take sleeping pills at will.

7. Main hazards

Although nocturnal bruxism may not cause any temporary pain, it can cause severe wear of the occlusal and adjacent surfaces of the teeth in the long run, and may lead to the various complications mentioned above. Intractable bruxism can lead to destruction of periodontal tissues, loose or displaced teeth, gingival recession, and loss of alveolar bone.

The above points are a brief introduction to the reasons why adults grind their teeth. Through the simple introduction above points, I believe everyone has a preliminary understanding and knowledge of why adults grind their teeth at night. Therefore, in daily life, we should keep a good mood and not be overly nervous. We should also have a reasonable diet and not overeat. It is best to eat only until you are 70% full for dinner.