There are many signs that may indicate that someone is being bullied. According to research, 160,000 children skip school afraid because they are afraid of being intimidated or attacked by other students. Bullying starts at younger ages and more frequent and aggressive to teenagers.
Unnoticeable signs of bullying in teens
According to BBC News, research shows that teeth-grinding in teenagers could be a manifestation that they are bullied at school. This research was directed by the Oral Health Charity towards the parents and schools, wherein both must be aware and attentive to the problem since stressed and anxious adults might be also involved and affected.
On the other hand, many experts were alarmed about the burgeoning number of “bruxism” which is the medical term of teeth-grinding. This is because it can cause damage or worn-down teeth and interrupted sleep. Moreover, the sound grinding has been weighed against to the noise from a circular saw which is very distracting.
The Journal of Oral Rehabilitation published a study regarding bruxism, wherein 13 to 15-year-old respondents who experienced verbal bullying at school suffered from teeth-grinding, nearly four times than other adolescents.
Teeth-grinding may show whether child’s mental health is sound
Although grinding teeth may not that alarming, this could show an important image wherein the child's mental state is sound and can help parents identify for any sign of bullying in an early stage.
Aside from that, an oral expert from the Oral Health Foundation Dr. Nigel Carter mentioned, that "bruxism is something to look out in the UK". He also added that people might not be aware or conscious of doing it, especially, sleep bruxism.
Aside from sleep interruptions, bruxism can cause degradation of the dental health of a person since this can lead to worn teeth leading to sensitivity and pain in face and jaw, chipped or broken teeth and eventually loss of teeth.
However, in most cases, flat areas of teeth and frayed edges can be shown in grinders. This is because grinding of teeth is 40 times powerful than chewing or mastication causing teeth starting to become very thin and the common manifestations are constant headaches and sore jaws upon waking.
Ways to stop teeth-grinding
Although distracting and disturbing, bruxism is very manageable since there are available guard or splint made up of hard plastic to stop teeth grinding, especially during asleep that dentists can offer.
In addition, avoiding irritating foods like alcohol and sodas, giving up smoking and stress management can improve the problem. For adolescents, a prompt assessment must be done to check for impending bullying and proper counseling must be an offer to address the situation.
