4 Year Old Daughter Grinds Teeth at Night

Hello! I am a dental hygienist here in Knoxville. It is perfectly normal for children to grind their teeth. It is a stress relief mechanism. Unfortunately, they don't usually make mouth guards for children. It is something they usually outgrow.

My 5 year old grinds her teeth. The Dentist will give you a mouth guard if you speak to him/her about her teeth grindign. Hope this helps.

Talk to your dentist. I grind my teeth and found a mouth guard called Stressgard (Totalgard) online. It fits over my bottom teeth and prevents me from grinding my teeth into oblivion. It is a jaw thing. You can check with them and see if they have small sizes. If you have your dentist make a stent, it often costs a LOT of money - but it works.
R.

A.,
When my son was 7 he grinded his teeth also, we went to 2 different Dr.s and they said he has high levels of stress and anxiety, basically school made him anxious, schoolrooms with about 20 to 30 kids, all day everyday. It was too much for him, he grinded his teeth down so bad that his dentist had to remove some of his teeth and cap the other ones. So I decided to homeschool and now he does great, he goes to a co-op one day a week with small class sizes and we take field trips and many church activities keeps him socialized. Good luck, V.

talk to her dentist about a mouth piece. grinding teeth can cause TMJ a very painful condition, there might be some unevenness in her bite causing that too. Just a thought

I had the same problem with my oldest daughter when she was smaller. Their are some teeth guards at the pharmacy for grinding teeth. Try that as see what happen.

If it's loud enough to keep people awake, it may eventually cause damage to her teeth. I'd call her pediatrician and see what he/she says. Make sure you let them know that she's grinding hard enough to wake up people with the sound. Good luck.

You should consider a mouth piece. YOU can get one from the dentist but I also think you can get them from drug stores. The mouth piece would prevent her from grinding her teeth and causing pemanent damage. Also, is she under a lot of stress? That is usually the cause. I grinded my teeth during Nursing School and ended up with TMJ! Definitely consider the mouth piece! P.S. I am a wife of an Army Soldier! So I totally understand the life is harder part!

I belong to an autism-mercury yahoo group and teeth grinding comes up a lot.

The usual answer is that it is a sign of mineral deficiency and/or yeast overgrowth. One of the main mom's that helps everyone else has her own website at www.danasview.net . You can search it if you want.

Some of the things that have worked for others is zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium, vitamin b5, etc. You might try a quality vitamin/mineral supplement as a start and see if it helps.

Hey, A.. My 3 1/2 almost 4 year old daughter des the same thing. She's actually chipped 2 of her front teeth because of it. Her pediatrician has told us that most likely it is due to congestion caused by allergies. I would suggest talking to her pediatrician and having her tested for allergies. You might try giving her a decongestant or antihistamine at night in the mean time to see if that helps at all. We're looking at having our daughter tested. She has the tell-tale dark circles under her eyes, (that she got from me) that's a good indicator of allergies. Most doctors will tell you to wait until your child is 4, so you should be able to go ahead with testing.
Hope this helps.

C. G.
Tennessee

My daughter did too. I asked her dentist about it and he said there wasn't anything I could do. She's 20 now so that may have changed. It was so bad I thought she was going to break her teeth off. I used to sneak in her room and try to put the sheets between her teeth just so she wouldn't grind anymore of the enamel off. She finally outgrew it and didn't grind her permanent teeth and now she has beautiful teeth.

I use to do that when I was younger. My mom talked to our family dentist and they suggested a mouth gaurd. My mom found one like say what a foot ball player would were. Even though we did that when I was younger my teeth are chiped and you can see cracks. I have to be extra carefull with them now and after having kids didnt help.

Hope this helps!!

go to your family dentist or clinic and maybe they can set her up with a mouth guard or find out the reason she grinds her teeth.

You will want to take her to your dentist. They can fit with her a mouth guard to wear at night so she won't damage her teeth further. My youngest child (a daughter) did this and wore down the enamel on her back teeth by the time it was discovered. I was told it was stress related for her and they suggested I have her fitted for a mouth guard made in the office. You can now buy the mouth guards to wear at night in the dental section of almost any store and I would start with that.
I would suggest starting with your dentist first to see if any damage has been done to her teeth so you will know and take it from there. Keep me posted!

--- G.

Hello A., I wish I could help more, but my 7 year old has the very same problem. She goes to the Chiropractor, Dr. Wesley Stewart at the Rutherford Clinic on Memorial, which has lessened it somewhat. I had the same problem as a child and it took braces and regular chiropractic visits.

Oh yuk! I feel your pain on this! My son does the SAME thing. I agree with several responses, it does seem to come with congestion. He has ear and sinus problems and it does relate somehow, always has.

I did take him to the dentist in January for his 4 yr check-up. His dentist reassured me that he was NOT wearing the enamel off his teeth but that we would keep a check on it.

Good luck, let me know if you go with the mouthpiece or what not. I'll keep you posted on his check-up in July.

To be quite honest this is something that is a big deal for our family as 3 out of 5 of us are grinders. I hope this helps when I say that the biggest help has been no caffeine, lay low on the sugar, cut back on stress and most of all an inexpensive teethguard used for sports. The kind that you boil to get soft and then bite into that costs just a couple of bucks at Walmart did better for us than the 200$ ones from the dentist. I hope this helps as I have been a lifelong grinder and this really helped ease the sound and pain caused by it.

Hi A.,

I have a 4 year old son that ginds his teeth horribly. I have been to 3 dentists (one was a pediatric specialist) and they all said there was nothing they could do. They said a mouth guard wouldn't work because 1) the kids grow too fast, 2) he wouldn't leave it in and 3) they are expensive. My son has gound his teeth almost off...his front teeth are almost gone and he has hit the pulp on one of them. Still, they said there really isn't anything that can be done. They all said that baby teeth aren't as sensitive as adult teeth and he'll stop when his adult teeth come in.

Good luck!! I wish I had better news.

Good Morning,

I have that problem but I haven't done anything about it as yet. Take your daughter to the dentist and the dentist
can order something that she can wear in her mouth at night. I can't remember what it is called. I was told that you can find this also in a sporting goods store. Better yet, call a dentist and tell them the problem and I am sure they will recommend something that you can do. I have a great day and God bless.

1)they all need their own bed..thats a given.
2)she grinds her teeth because of stress of some sort.Get her to a dentist and have him fit her for a mouth piece for nights.If she does it during the day have her stop when she or you notice her doing it.

Hope this helps..
S. B

good morning A., my grandson who is 2 does the same thing. the dentist suggested a retainer for his teeth so the grinding isn't heard. ask your dentist about this so you can help your family rest. GOOD LUCK!

If you take her to the dentist, they have this thing that she can wear to sleep that will keep her from doing that. When my son was little he did that and ended up nearly grinding his teeth down to the nub. He had alot of nerve problems with them because of that. So if I were you, I would talk to a dentist anyway.