3 Year Old Grinding Teeth at Night...

Hi S.,
My name is J. and I have a three year old son whp grinds his teeth as well. The sound makes me crazy too. Luckily he seems to go through phases when he grinds his teeth more...hopefully they will outgrow this soon....I'm assuining that they don't make mini-toddler-mouth-guards.

kindly,
J.

My 3 year old son also grinds his teeth at night....the sound is horrible to listen to!! I took him to the dentist when it started (about 20 months?), and he has been to a different dentist since, and they both said the same thing that your dentist said...BAH!! Glad to hear that he will grow out of it, doesn't help with listening to it now!! I am sure that a mouthguard will help if it continues when he is older, but he wouldn't use it now. Often, when I hear it, I will remind him not to grind (just talk to him while he sleeps), and that does help some in the short-term. When it really gets bad, I have given him tylenol as one dental assistant said something about kids grinding to help deal with pain of teeth coming in...and that does seem to help some too, again short-term. So far, the dentist has said he has not done any damage to his teeth, but I was surprised to hear that because it seems like he grinds so hard! Good luck!!

Hi S.,

My daughter who is now 10 did the same thing and, like you said, listening to it was awful!! She did grow out of it and her teeth are fine; her dentist thinks she may not even have to wear braces because so far her teeth are coming in nice and straight! This is a big deal to us because both her father and I needed braces (badly!)
Good luck!

My 4 year old does this periodically still due to sensory stuff but initially, she did it more intensely when teething. Well, at 3 teeth are all in right? Maybe molars?

I had my daughter bite down on her binki when little and now we have a rubbery tool just for that. There are these things called "chewy tubes" shaped like a "T" usually but also other shapes. Try it for any daytime stuff.

For night time, stay away to keep your sanity. I swear I have gotten nauseaous from the sound. iPod time? Have music on in her room? Our pediatric dentist at Children's has said the same. Most outgrow but some kids will continue. They probably won't do much with baby teeth but there is a point when they do something. Caps maybe? to prevent gum injury. I would check with your pediatrician or dentist before getting any kind of mouth guard. There may still be a choking hazard.

I work for an Orthodontist and have been in the dental field for 15 years. My daughter also grinds her teeth and it is very unnerving to say the least. Most children grow out of the habit when the permanent teeth start coming in..It can also be when they are all in so try to hang in there. Little children should not be wearing any appliance to prevent this. It is dangerous during sleeping and they will probably not keep it in all night anyway. Hang in there, it will more than likely get better. If it continues around age 10 you can consider a biteplate of some sort....Good luck..H. H

Hi S.,

I used to be a dental assistant....... did your dentist say he could make a mouth piece for her so it will stop her from grinding? She will wear her teeth down from all the grinding. She would only wear the mouth piece when she sleeps. Good luck.

C.

My son is having a sleep study this weekend. If you email me directly I will tell you what they say. He also grinds his teeth at night.
A.

____@____.com

My daughter did the same thing and I was told the same thing you were! She is now going to be 7 in July and I can't remember when she stopped doing it (I think around the age of 5). There was nothing that we could do for it except to keep track. We were told it was OK because it is her baby teeth and that if she kept doing it with her adult teeth (she still has baby teeth in the back were the grinding happens) then we would have to get her a mouth guard to correct the problem.

I completely agree, it is the worst sound to hear!

Hope this helps!

My 6 year old used to grind his teeth. He started at about 2 1/2 - 3 years of age. He stopped sometime last year. I hated hearing it when I checked in on him right before I went to bed. Thankfully-he grew out of it. He's fine now, and his dentist told me alot if toddlers to this (in fact her son was doing it as well). Yes, I would shake and shutter when I heard him doing this. You have to let it ride out and he will out grow it.

I just posted the same thing pretty much~only my daughter is only 13 months old!!! I know the feeling~it's awful! And mine only has a total of 8 teeth. I hope we both get some good advice. Just be pleased that its only at night~my daughter does it all day!! Good luck~and know that you aren't the only one :)

My son did the same thing! Our dentist told us to buy him a mouth guard (like for football) and had him wear that at night when he went to bed. He didn't really like it, but he did it, and after about a month, he no longer ground his teeth. I don't know if you could find one small enough for a 3 year old though, but the dentist might be able to do something for you there. Hope this helps! Good luck!

S. S.

Get a mouth guard. My daughter did it in her sleep and broke her teeth off down to the gums! She has had 4 dental surgeries and we are still dealing with horrible teeth issues. Her dentist never said it was common. Mouth guard at night. Teething tablets, sugar-free Popsicles, frozen fruits, crunchy veggies during the day...they are trying to get through the pain of teething.

They have a night guard for grown ups who grind, check for one for her. It would protect her teeth and your nerves.

S.,
Our oldest son, now 7yrs just stopped doing this last year. His teeth are well worn down and look funny. It drove me crazy too. There was nothing we could do, so I had to just let it go. He is now loosing his two front bottom teeth with the new ones poking out and they look great.
They get through it.
Don't worry.

Hi S.,

My daughters did that when they slept, and I agree, it is a horrible sound.

The dentists told us the same thing, that they would more than likely grow out of it, but if they didn't, they'd have to look at mouth guards, and braces, that type of thing.

The did eventually grow out of it, can't remember exact ages. My youngest still does it sometimes, but not nearly as bad.

Makes you want to grind your teeth too though, doesn't it, when you're hearing it?

If yours does it when she's awake, maybe give her something nutritious to chew so her mouth is doing something else. Celery, apple, carrots, cucumber, things like that.

I hope she stops soon, for her sake and for your sanity.

K. W

I read through the other responses saying she'll grow out of it and she probably will. In the meantime I can't believe your dentist is blowing it off unless they don't really care because they are baby teeth. I have a problem with grinding and gritting my teeth while I sleep. My teeth are really worn down and cracked, leading to dental bills. My dentist encouraged me to get an athletic mouth guard. I suspect it would be very hard to find one to fit a 3 yr old. But there is another option. My dentist finally made a custom mouth guard to fit my mouth (I have small teeth for an adult). Most insurance companies won't cover it and it costs about $250-$300. I changed insurance, my dentist ran a pre-approval and the new insurance covered the procedure. All I had to pay was the deductible. It never hurts to check into that option.