C.C.
I am a dentist and am asked about this quite a bit. It is perfectly normal, though very annoying to the parents when a child grinds his teeth. There is no reason to do anything unless it becomes a problem like one of the other respondents posted. A tooth that is ground is no more likely to get decay than a tooth that is not ground. A child does not get a cavity by grinding; however, the grinding could wear the tooth down to the nerve and a pulpotomy (a simple procedure that removes the nerve and thus any pain) may be necesary with placement of a stainless steel crown. This is VERY rarely necessary. Most kids will lose their teeth before it gets to that point. As an adult you can wear an appliance to prevent grinding but children would not tolerate or benefit from such an appliance. Most children outgrow this habit as their adult teeth come in fully, but not all of them. If the grinding continues into the teen years, an appliance would be beneficial. Hopefully, your child will outgrow this, or you can always buy earlplugs. :)
