My child grinds their teeth.  Is this a problem and if so what should I do?

You may be aware that your child grinds their teeth either because you hear them grinding or the child’s dentist advised you of it.  This process of grinding has the fancy dental name of “bruxism.” So, what will you hear if your child grinds their teeth?  It sounds much like two rough stones rubbing together, with added bonus feeling you get when fingernails run down a chalkboard!

What will your dentist see or how will you know if you never hear the child do it?  They will see flattened areas or “cupped-out” areas on the teeth which should normally be sharp.  This cupped area is called a “wear facet” and is caused by the eroding away of enamel that grinding causes.  They may also notice small chips or fractures on the edges of the front teeth.  Our teeth should resemble a true carnivore’s and not that of a cow!  Occasionally they may see enlarged muscles in the jaw from the huge amount of force that is exhibited.

Grinding in children is actually quite common and in most cases nothing to worry about.  Children and adults grind their teeth for many reasons, however, the complications from this are slightly different in adults than in children.  We’ll discuss that in a moment, but first let’s talk about why grinding occurs.

Common causes for grinding in children include some of the following:  A change in their existing bite due to the eruption and movement of the permanent and baby teeth.  This transition from baby teeth to adult teeth is called “mixed dentition” and, as you can imagine, is always in a continuous state of change.  Due to this rapid change, the body will sometimes make attempts by grinding to put the jaw in a more natural position as it relates to the jaw joint.

Other reasons can be from stress or tension.  Our kids are truly resilient, but make no mistake, they experience daily stress just as we do.  They won’t likely show it by telling you directly, just as adults don’t express our stresses by having a tantrum in from of our boss.  So children tend to act out, misbehave or some variation of this during times of stress.  Other children may have no behavioral changes other than grinding their teeth.  These minor and major stresses in life can cause the body to tense up at night and the jaws are no exception.  Kids can clench and grind their teeth just like adults, and like adults it may ebb and flow with the amount of stress they are under.

Some children grind their teeth for no apparent reason.  The same holds true for adults. Occasionally you find that a parent or sibling is also a grinder, or clenches their teeth, appearing to run in the family.  There are other reasons why adults may do it, but that is for another post!

So, now we know why, let’s discuss what we do about it.  Most often we do nothing about it at this age unless it is extremely severe.  Part of the reason is that the child’s mouth is changing so rapidly that it is difficult to make an appliance that fits for any length of time to help the problem.  If it is severe enough, a soft plastic protective guard may be made every few months to keep from damaging the teeth.

Once all of the permanent teeth are in and stable, your dentist may choose to make a custom acrylic night guard for your child.  This clear, hard, plastic guard is custom fit to your child’s teeth and has two purposes.  The first obvious purpose is to protect the teeth from doing damage to one another by the constant wear from the friction action of grinding.

The second purpose is to establish an ideal placement of the teeth and jaw joints during the grinding process.  The jaw muscles, jaw joints and often the teeth can become quite sore from grinding due to the constant tension created.  This tension can also cause headaches, neck aches, backaches and added bodily stress and fatigue.  When a custom night guard is designed, special features are built into it which minimize the amount of force generated on the jaw, muscles and teeth.  So, for adults or children suffering daily from these symptoms, a custom night guard can increase the quality of life significantly.

For an adult or child who has no symptoms at all, the goal is simply to protect the teeth from grinding away excessive tooth structure.  If left untreated, this excessive damage can lead to speedy tooth decay, fractured teeth, root canals and many other problems.  If your child still has many baby teeth and grinds severely, have an evaluation by your dentist to see if a temporary guard needs to be made so that the baby teeth don’t become excessively damaged.

Also, you would be wise to talk to your child or observe what stresses they may have in their life which may be contributing to the problem.  It is amazing how even little things can upset kids such as “Billy thinks my new favorite toy is stupid” or “Rachel is dating the boy I like.”  Remember, what seems trivial to us may have a large impact on them.  Sometimes a simple conversation can relieve a lot of tension for a child.

Tags: Adult Teeth, Attempts, Baby Teeth, Chalkboard, Chips, Continuous State, Cow, Dentist, Enamel, Facet, Fingernails, Fractures, Front Teeth, Muscles, Natural Position, Permanent Teeth, Rapid Change, Rough Stones, Teeth Grinding In Children, True Carnivore