Grinding Teeth - Beaumont, TX

My little one did the same thing, a lot. Now it's rare.
She got her teeth early - 8 by the age of 8 months!
Nothing worked at first then I'd get so frustrated that I'd gently put my finger in her mouth to try and break the contact, then immediately distract her with something else. Sometimes it worked.

I hope you can look forward to it stopping soon. It has for us with the occassional grinding.

Both my daughters grind their teeth in their sleep. Their dentist told me there's really nothing you can do about it if they are sleeping but if they do it while awake, we should get them to stop. It's not a bad thing but it can wear down the enamel on their teeth. My 4 yr old just got a filling on one of her teeth because of damage caused by grinding. it cost me $100 (after insurance) and the dentist told me that she will probably wear through the filling over time. AUGH.

Good Luck,
J. R

My son will turn 1 in about 10 days and he does the same thing. I think it brings relief while he is teething. I also heard that they do that when they are tired. I put my forefinger on one jaw and my thumb on the other side (under the ears) and massage firmly in a circular motion. He seems to like that and it gets hiim to stop grinding for a little while. hope this helps!

My soon to be one year old does the same exact thing. I think they do it because they are still getting used to their teeth. Mine seems to be doing it less and less as the top teeth come in more.

Hopefully it is just a phase. I don't remember my 10 year old doing it at that age, but that was so long ago!

My 10 1/2 month old is doing the same thing. It drives me crazy. I hope it's just a phase.

My 2nd daughter did the same thing about 10 months old or so. It drove me nuts. I would always stop her but she would keep doing it. I asked my pediatrician and he said not to worry about it. It was just a phase she went through. It lasted for a month or so and she hasn't done it since. It's like she was discovering her teeth and thought it was cool. Hope that eases your mind.

My son did the exact same thing around the same age. I took him to the pediatrician to ask her about it and she said it was perfectly normal at this age since they are teething. My son stopped doing it within weeks.

I wouldnt say it was a phase but if she eats from a bottle shes gotten used to it and now that she has teeth its easy to tell that she is going to grind her teeth. And a pacifier will not do the trick it will just make her want to do it more.

Hi S.!

I am a Dental Hygienist with 9 yrs of experience. Don't worry, it is just a phase they go through. They do it more during times when teeth are coming and going because the bite doesn't quite match up directly and they do unconsciously. It won't hurt anything except your ears! :)

J.
www.mysilpada.com/J..furse

Hi S.!

I work for a dentist .....most kids gring their teeth. So, don't worry they usually grow out of it.

my little guy did that for a bit when his top teeth came in he did it for about a week or two and then stopped. I think he was just trying to see what his new teeth could do & he liked the noise. Once it wasn't new anymore, he stopped.

My "soon to be" 11 year old did the same thing when she was little. Her doctor said it was a normal phase, though I continued to worry about her oral health. She has since grown out of it for the most part, though I think she occassionally grinds in her sleep. Your pediatric dentist will be able to monitor the effects of her grinding and will let you know if you need to take additional steps to curb the habit. My mother still grinds, and has all her life...so you may want to keep the issue before the dentist as your girl gets older. I wouldn't worry at this point, though.

Great advice so far and just to calm your concern further all of my children (5,3,and 6months) have done this. He is just discovering his teeth and relieving pressure of others yet to come through. Just a phase, I personally think the pinworms thing is a bit far out there...but that's just me.

Good luck :)

We asked the doctor about this. And it is perfectly normal! They are supposed to grind the baby teeth down. Our daughter is almost 5 and has been doing it since about 1. So, no worries!

Hi, S.,
I'm a mom of 3 (24, 21 and 16), as well as a professional homeopath. Tooth grinding is usually a sign of pinworms. I'd check with an alternative practitioner if it turns out to be pinworms, because it takes a much longer term treatment than the anti-worm drugs can manage to truly get them under control. Usually an herbal treatment for a couple of months, in conjunction with moon cycles is a good thing. The critters reproduce/hatch in rhythm with the cycles of the moon. A lot of tests for parasites give false negatives. The best way is to watch to see if the tooth grinding gets obviously worse at a full or new moon.

Hope this helps.

I have a 3 year old daughter who also started grinding her teeth at about 17 months when I was trying to get the pacifier away. Anyway apparently she still needed to suck, so she still has the pacifier at night, but is no longer grinding her teeth once the pacifier falls out. Your daughter may still need to suck as alot of children do some longer then others. My 6 year old had 3 pacifiers round the clock until he was 3 or more & is fine with great teeth.

Good Luck
L.

1st) I a not a dentist - BUT I went through this with my son (13 months, currently has 10 teeth, 2 more coming in) Ditch the pacifier, it's more than likely a product of teething, she'll quit.

I would start at contacting a pedi-dentist. A phone call won't cost a thing and maybe they will have a solution. I grind my teeth and the dentist suggested a special made mouth piece for me to wear at night.

Hoep this helps!

I'm a 50+ Mary Kay consultant.

My daughter does that and I took her to the dentist on last Friday,and the dentist told me that it's normal and nothing to worry about.My daughter only grinds her teeth when she's sleep and don't feel bad it scared me to cause I didn't know why she was doing that.It bothers me when she does that cause I was like is that going to mess up her teeth.It may be a phase and she can grow out of it and she may continue to grind them when she gets older too.

I would not give her a pacifier she is way to old for that. It could just be a phase. She is discovering her teeth. Do not give attention to it. See if it passes in a couple of weeks.

Actually my one year old was recently doing that frequently. So I asked my dentist about it, and she said not to be concerned. It is a phase that you really can't stop from happening, and doesn't cause concern for harm because they are his baby teeth. And actually my little one stopped doing it soon after. So don't sweat it!

My 2yr old did it when she was that age too. It used to make my skin crawl. We just tried really hard not to react to it and eventually she stopped.

Grinding is normal. she is feeling her teeth and putting pressure on those that haven't erupted yet. Grinding also occurs when teeth don't meet properly. A good bite is nearly impossible until all teeth are in (both times). Don't sweat it. The dentist will tell you there's nothing to do. They only make mouthguards when all permanent teeth are in (and grinding has usually stopped by then). They outgrow them every time a tooth falls out or comes in. I just tell my toddler "ouch. be gentle with your teeth".
K.

My son did the same thing at about 1 1/2 years of age. It was really annoying to us, but he thought it was amusing. We just kept telling him "No" each time. He's 26 months now and has stopped since. He had a Binkie at the time and still does. He has stopped the grinding. Took a couple of months, but we persisted with discouraging it.

33yr old,SAHM, soon to return to working mom mode-NW area

S., I have a 6 year old that has grinded her teeth from the time she has been 3. We have resorted to using a mouth gard that the football players use. The soft plastic ones though, not the hard plastic ones. I don't know if you can use that on a one year old but I would ask your dentist. We didn't think much of it till she started losing her teeth and the new ones were coming in and we didn't want then to get grinded down. Good luck A.

I think it's a phase; My daughter (12 months) did it all the time for 2-3 weeks. I noticed it when her upper lateral incisors were beginning to erupt....... I didn't make it a big deal and it has past. She still does it every once and a while but not like that 2 weeks around her birthday!
Good Luck!!
PS - You may continue to notice this throughout growth. It usually stops AFTER all primary teeth are LOST. It is subconscious (especially during sleep), they are just trying to find a comfortable bite during to change of getting and losing teeth. DEFINITELY tell your Pediatrician and/or Pediatric Dentist at the next visit though!

Both of my boys (4 yrs, and 20 months) did this for a while. It seems like they both did it as they were teething, but also when they weren't showing any other signs of teething. I guess it just feels good for some reason! Both stopped for awhile, did it again for awhile, and then stopped again several times.

My daughter "clicks" her teeth together. She saw us chewing gum once and I guess she thought we were just clicking our teeth together, and now she does it all the time! I tell her to stop because she's going to make her teeth "ouch" but she'll do it again a few minutes later. I guess they just like the way it feels. New sensations and all that!

They grow out of it. Check it out at babycenter.com
My son did it for a while then stopped.

I have a one and two year old and I think all babies probably go through this phase- just testing out their new teeth. They usually stop doing it after a few months. I wouldn't worry about it unless your doctor tells you to.

I had a friend with a child that did the same thing. They didn't do anything to stop her from doing it and she just grew out of it. It is just a phase that some kids go through. They are fascinated with it for a while and then they find something else that fascinates them that they can do.

At this point - it's a phase. When my daughter was 5 to 7 months - she hit the grinding phase. It sounded like fingers down a chalk board. Oh geez!!! No worries.

Yes my 9 month old did the same thing. Only lasted a couple of weeks and he does NOT seem to do it anymore. I think he was just feeling and trying to figure out his teeth. He does have a whole mouth full!!! 8 so far and I think another one is coming in......