Sunday night I awoke to the sounds of Tyler grinding his teeth. This has been happening off and on since we moved to Mobile. I was told that it’s normal and kids will outgrow it, so I haven’t spent too much time worrying about it. But this time the sound was so loud and grating, I wanted to pull my hair out! Plus since we have to share a room for a few more months I decided to find out what, if anything, could be done about it. I decided to do a bit of research to see if I needed to take him to see his dentist. I checked several sources and here’s just some of what I found out about teeth grinding.
(1) Teeth grinding or bruxism is common in children. Most kids will outgrow the grinding, usually by adolescence or when kids lose their baby teeth. Generally, bruxism will not hurt your child’s teeth.
(2) Some kids who are hyperactive also experience bruxism.
(3) It often occurs during deep sleep or while under stress. No one really knows why it occurs, in some cases a child might grind their teeth when the top and bottom teeth aren’t properly aligned. Others may do it in response to pain, such as an earache or when they are teething.
(4) Three out of every 10 kids will grind their teeth with the highest incidence occurring in children under the age of 5.
(5) In some instances of nighttime grinding, the tooth enamel may wear down, teeth may chip, there may be an increase in temperature sensitivity or facial pain and jaw problems may occur. In most cases, however, children who grind their teeth will not have these problems unless the grinding is chronic.
(6) In these severe cases, your child’s dentist might prescribe a special night guard (they’re similar to the guards football players wear to protect their teeth).
(7) One way to help your kids control their grinding at night is to make sure they relax before bedtime. Taking a warm bath or shower, listening to relaxing music or reading a book are all ways your child can relax. If the bruxism is caused by stress, you will need to find out what is upsetting the child and help them find a way to work through it.
The most important thing I learned is that bruxism is a child’s natural reaction to their growth and development and in most cases it can’t be prevented. If the cause is stress-related it may be avoided by talking with your child regularly about their feelings and helping them to deal with the stress in their lives.
The information about stress has me concerned since the grinding started after Katrina. However, I feel more than likely it is because he is teething. He has already lost his two front bottom baby teeth and the permanent teeth popped up almost as soon as they came out. On a recent visit to the dentist he assured me his permanent teeth were coming in fine and everything looked ok. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask about the grinding at the time because he starts and stops and during this time he was not grinding. So for now I will simple work on making sure he relaxes before bed and also talk with him to see if anything is bothering him.