Toddler Grinding Teeth - Sparks,NV

As Julia and Deanna Leigh said, this happens with toddlers or babies when they have teeth.

Both my kids did that too. According to their Pediatric Dentist, this is NORMAL. Lots of kids do this, and its sort of a phase and it will stop one day. It's not really possible to make them "stop" since they do this as they are sleeping and are unaware of it. I would not interrupt your son's sleep when he does this.. .just let him sleep.

And no, a mouth-guard is not necessary. And at this age, they will not put up with it anyway.

Per our kids Dentist, unless the teeth is getting abnormally ground down or there are other complications... then there is no need to do anything.

Don't worry.
All the best,
Susan

Hi J.:
I agree with Deanna. Toddlers haven't gotten use to having what they sort of feel is foreign objects in their mouths.There were even a few times,that I witnessed my son putting his finger in his mouth and acidently biting it. lol little ones aren't sure what all those (chicklet) looking things are for, in their mouth! lol He will grow out of that,long before he does any dental damage.Let me tell ya,if I can't get my hubby to keep his mouth guard in at his age,you certainly aren't going to get your toddler to! lol.I wish you and your darlin son the best. J. M

My son's was very extreme and it turned out he was zinc deficient. If you feel it is excessive, you can have a simple blood test done to see. This is also quite common when kids are still teething and there is a great homeopathic remedy called Chamomila that helps with this.

J.,

According to my son's dentist it's normal, until around age 5 and then it could be signs of something else. You might want to put a call into the dentist and ask to talk to one of the staff and ask the question.

I was told to let it be and if he was in pain, he would wake himself up. At any rate, my son stopped doing it and his teeth are okay.

Good Luck!

My son did it for a while, and I think I read in the book "what to expect the 1st year" was that is was a lack of "one on one attention." I know call me crazy but once I started doing more things with him coloring,games etc. he stopped. I know you are really busy, but try it. I may help.

My son did the same thing. When he was a little older than your son and could handle it, his dentist told me to let him chew sugar free gum during the day and that would tire out his jaw and he would not grind his teeth as much at night. It worked. My son is now 11 years old and has no issues with his teeth and to date has yet to have a cavity.

Good luck.

My stepdaughter does the same thing! We took her to the dentist for this reason when she was three and a half, I don't think he understood how frequently she was doing it, but he told us it was normal for this to occur at this age & stage in growing. I honestly felt it was extremely underestimated, it seems to me it could cause damage and future problems. I've heard that once permanent teeth come in, the dentist would suggest a nighttime mouth guard if it were still happening.
If you saw that he was having any breaking or chipping, etc. you should try to move up his appointment (it could be an emergency situtaion at that point).

My 5 yr old has been grinding his teeth for years. He doesn't do it all the time. and his dentist says his teeth look fine. But, I do wonder if he'll be saying the same thing when the permanent teeth come in.

Gall bladder meridian, goes through the TMJ, so go to acupuncturist, reduce sugar, and massage jaw area

Is your son still teething? It's considered normal for kids at mixed dentition to grind their teeth. You can call your son's dentist and ask for an earlier appt. The dentist can make an appliance for your son to wear at night.

Please take him to a chiropractor. It may be "normal" but that doesn't make it desirable or
necessary. If you google "chiropractor children grinding teeth" you'll find several articles.
Here's a link to a pediatric chiropractor in LA. I can't them recommend one way or another
as I just came across the site. My chiropractor sees children. Give one a call, read about it.
It probably is related to stress. You should also try to talk to your son and get him to open up about what is bothering him.
http://kidchiropractic.com/?gclid=CNf_veyp95gCFRwDagodhFMnmQ