Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is particularly important in the treatment of childhood teeth grinding and jaw tension. Since children are usually treated conservatively, the physiotherapist is the first point of contact after the medical diagnosis. The physiotherapist will then first draw up a therapy plan tailored to the child’s needs, taking into account the diagnosis, the age of the child and the general condition of the child.

The aim of this plan is to eliminate the child’s problems. Ideally, this means that the treatment will stop the grinding of the teeth and that jaw tensions can be relieved in the long term. Especially children are therefore often treated with relaxation methods.

Depending on the age of the child, playful relaxation exercises are performed and manual treatment of the temporomandibular joint, for example with gentle massage techniques, is carried out. In addition to the physiotherapeutic treatment in the practice, the children and parents receive homework for home from the treating therapist. This can be relaxation exercises or small rituals that can be performed before going to bed to review the day, so that the child does not have to wait until sleep to process what has happened. In general, it is important in physiotherapy to also take care of the little patients in order to enable an age-appropriate treatment.

Exercises

For the treatment of teeth grinding and jaw tension in children, there are different exercises that can be performed depending on the age. They serve in particular for loosening and relaxation. 1) Counting teeth In this exercise, the child first moves its tongue from left to right along the row of teeth and counts the individual teeth.

Repeat a few times, starting alternately on the left and right. 2) Tongue circling The child sits with closed eyes on a comfortable surface. The mouth is also closed.

Now the tongue should move through the mouth in circular movements. Repeat for 1-2 minutes. 3) Opening the mouth In this exercise, the child should open the mouth slowly and in a controlled manner as far as possible without pain.

Keep it open as long as possible and then close it slowly. Repeat 3 times.4) Moving the jaw Open the mouth slightly during this exercise and move the lower jaw slowly from left to right and back again. Perform for 1-2 minutes.