My daughter is 7 and has been grinding her teeth in her sleep. I don’t just mean a little. I mean that it is almost constant and freaking loud. The other night she climbed into our bed after having a bad dream. She actually woke me up with the grinding.
Is this normal? Besides taking her to the dentist is there anything else we can do to help her? Thanks for the advice.
Mods: I am not asking in lieu of seeking professional medical attention. This is in addition to the already scheduled dentist appointment.
My 8-year-old son also grinds away at night, and has woken us up with the noise. It’s actually rather creepy sounding. I know with adults it can be stress related, but as far as I know, my son doesn’t have any major stress. As loud as it is, it can’t be good. We forgot to mention it at his last dentist appointment, but the dentist didn’t notice anything wrong with his teeth.
I grind my teeth in my sleep. I didn’t know that I did this until the dentist told me. It never came up when I was young, but as I got older, the molars wore each other down in an easy-for-the-dentist-to-spot way. Also, it tends to crack fillings, so that they have to be replaced. And if the hole left to fill is too big for a replacement, we go up to crowns.
Your dentist may suggest a bite guard to wear at night. They’re a bit expensive, especially when you’re talking about a growing child. As a warning - they smell like chew toys to dogs, so you have to keep them washed and stored out of reach. 'Cause that’s a really expensive chew toy to be replacing.
I don’t know if it can be hereditary, but both of my sisters do it, too.