Question:
My 5 year old has been grinding her teeth in her sleep for as long as I can
remeber her getting all of her teeth. I have asked around and have gotten
several different opinions but all from people that have never really been
there or had this situation. I am worried this will hurt her baby teeth or her
adult teeth. The number one worry I have been told is maybe she is stressed
with the new baby brother or sister around sharing the attention. But I don't
really buy that because like I said she has been doing this now even before her
brother and sister came along. She is so loud that I can hear her across the
hall. It sounds really bad. Should I be worried? I have also read magazine
articals on this subject and they said that in the earlier years not to worry
but ages 5 and up, then there is a problem. Could use any feed back possible on
this subject from people who have been there.
Answer:
I don't have experience with a child grinding their teeth, but my
husband did. The dentist fitted him with a mouth guard that fits
snugly on his bottom teeth. It's made of something like a
rubber....sorry, don't know exactly what it is. My suggestion would
be to talk to the dentist and see if there is something like that you
can get for her.
My son did this for years! It was sometimes so loud I could hear him
when I was downstairs! How do they even DO that?
I asked dentists, read what I could, and ended up pretty confused. I
was insulted when people attributed it to his being tense or stressed
out, but who knows...His dentist was actually much kinder, saying
"some kids just do it, and .we don't really know why". At any rate,
he grew out of it, but not before he was 10 or so. He didn't do any
damage to his permanent teeth. His teeth are beautiful, straight (and
somewhat smoothed...)
I also have a 5 year old (a boy) who grinds his teeth. It drives me
crazy (he often ends up in our bed sometime during the wee hours of the
morning) and there have been a few nights when I've ended up on the
couch. I haven't worried too much about it since I know he's not
stressed, and the dentist doesn't see any reason to worry (yet --
regular checkups are important though). I've wondered if perhaps his
dependance on a pacifier from birth to 2 years old gave him the habit of
sucking or moving his mouth in a way that translated to grinding when he
got rid of the pacifier? Who knows though?
My 12 year old still grinds his teeth a few nights here and there. We
got a $300 mouthpiece made at the dentist's office a few years ago, but
he outgrew it and continued to grind. We finally went to the sporting
goods store and bought a few of the $4 sports gaurd mouthpieces that you
heat up in water and mold to the teeth/mouth so they fit. Works like a
charm. No more waking up in the night thinking someone is hammering on
concrete.
Okay, I can't find the original post, so I'll reply here. I personally ground
my teeth at night until at least age 25. My husband says if I still do, he
doesn't hear it any more. I didn't have any problems with my baby teeth or
adult teeth. In fact, when I had a crown a couple of years ago (I had a
filling fall out and had a root canal) the dentist I went to called all his
hygienists in to look at my "beautiful" teeth. My teeth are very straight and I
never had braces or wore any kind of guard at night. I guess I ground them
really bad because it used to drive my aunt nuts when I spent the night with
her and it drove my husband batty for at least 5 years. I did seem to quit
doing it when I switched to a low stress job and also quit chewing my cheeks
raw, so I am prone to think it was due to stress at least somewhat.
