My beautiful 18 month old son has recently started a habit that I have no idea how to break. He clenches his jaw and grinds his front teeth together. It's not an anger thing because I find him doing it even when he is happy. I was told that a friend had the same problem with her son, but that he was just doing it because he was discovering his teeth. My son has had these teeth for almost a year now though and I've noticed that his two top front teeth have little chips in them now. How do I get him to stop this before he further damages his teeth?
Unfortunately I don't have any good suggestions for you, but I would love to hear what others have to say about this. We are having the same problem with our 13 mon old. He does it all the time.
Thanks!
A.,
My daughter would always grind her teeth when she was getting new teeth. I spoke to her pediatrician about it and he said all kids do it, and it is normal. However, you may want to talk to your pediatrician about it since your son has chips in his teeth. Just wanted to let you know that this is supposedly "normal" and all kids do it.
I don't have a miracle cure, but I have been where you are. Both our children have done the same thing at around the same age. There isn't really anything you can do - it is just a discovery phase that will pass. I've read that the sound it makes to them is interesting and they enjoy being able to produce the sound as they wish. Annoying and alarming to parents, yet perfectly normal (unfortunately!).
I know it's frustrating, and scary. My now-three-year-old has been doing it on and off since she was 2. In addition to it being a new, interesting thing for her to do with her mouth, we figured out that in her case it was also that she had a need to chew/bite and she was using what was handy, her teeth. She has sensory processing disorder and is oversensitive to some sensory input (so she avoids it) but undersensitive to others (so she seeks it out, such as biting/grinding).
If it seems like she's filling a need to bite/grind, I give her something appropriate to chew on (chewing toy, hard crunch food, teething toy) so she can get the biting input that she was craving without harming her teeth.
If it seems like she's just doing it for fun I distract her with toys, singing or anything she's interested in so she stops grinding.
She rarely does it anymore and if I see/hear her doing it I give her something appropriate to bite and add more crunchy, chewy foods into her diet and that seems to help.
For kids that continue to bite/grind and seem to need more oral input I highly recommend animals jigglers, which are rubbery vibrating toys you can chew on. You can find them here at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Jiggler-Fun-Facial-Massager/dp/B000...) although you can probably find them cheaper if you do an online search. They are a real help for kids who need more oral sensory input.
Good luck! L.
Again, our pediatrician told us it's normal, so we didn't worry. Even if his teeth have little chips, remember that these are baby teeth that they eventually loose anyhow. You could still bring this up with the pediatrician, but I don't know of any way to get them to stop. Sorry.
The advice for the chew toys.diet helps. My son actually ground two of his teeth down to nubs. We were told to gently redirect him, instead of the usual freak out mode I was in,
and give him something else to do. It is not a serious issue, and will pass. The bigger a deal you make out of it, the more he will want to do it. ALL children like to get a rise out of Mom and Dad. It is a problem if he is doing it in his sleep. The dentist just told us to give him alternatives, allowing him to chew on toys or toothbrushes even. Once he figures out you are no longer concerned, the novelty wears off. Best of luck!
W.
Yes, it's normal....I would maybe try to give him something to chew on as a distraction...
