We’ve had parents come into our orthodontic office and report their children grinding their teeth, but they don’t really know how to confirm this condition or even if it’s something that needs fixing. As with any other concerning problem regarding your kids’ teeth, you might want to know how to confirm what’s happening to avoid any additional problems. In the case of a child who grinds their teeth, there is usually no question because of the noise that severe grinding creates!

Check out what to do about children grinding their front teeth or back molars.

How to Know if My Toddler Grinds His Teeth in His Sleep?

There are many ways you can pick up on your kid’s bad habit. One possible case is you may have heard from your child’s dentist that your kid is grinding their teeth. If you have any signs, your dentist looks for changes in your teeth and mouth over the next several visits to see if the process is progressive and to determine whether you need treatment.

The most likely scenario, however, is that you’ve heard your kid grinding their teeth, whether awake or asleep. Severe tooth grinding is loud and unsettling. Some people may think we’re blowing things out of proportion here… until they experience it themselves. You can oftentimes hear tooth grinding down the hall from the child’s room while they sleep.

What Causes Child Tooth Grinding?

Tooth grinding, otherwise known medically as bruxism, is only one part of the puzzle. A dental health professional is usually the first health professional you encounter that will point it out because the negative effects over your kids’ teeth are notorious.

When a dentist suspects your child suffers from bruxism, they’ll try to zero in on the cause with a general review of the kid’s medical history, current medication, overall dental health status, daily routines, and sleep habits.

Your child’s dentist will know about their problem with bruxism after detecting:

• Tenderness in jaw muscles.
• Broken, worn down, or lost teeth.
• Microfissures or other hard-to-spot damage on your teeth (that’s why we need x-rays).
• TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint problems and symptoms.s or health conditions.

How to Prevent My Child From Grinding His Teeth at Night

One of the safest ways to treat nighttime tooth grinding in children is to provide your kid with some sort of protective device, a mouthguard, made to wear at night to prevent excessive wear on the baby teeth or on the new permanent teeth.

There are a couple of important considerations when thinking about and making protective appliances for children’s tooth grinding. Let’s discuss those below.

Sometimes, parents are concerned that their child may be grinding their teeth because the dentist noticed unusual wear on teeth at a checkup. It’s important to understand that there are several things besides unusual tooth wear that can wear down a child’s teeth.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Nighttime grinding or clenching (patient is unaware that this is occurring, thus is unable to stop).
• Daytime clenching, grinding, or nervous habits that involve rubbing teeth together excessively (can be controlled with effort and training).
• Acid erosion, usually from stomach acid (acid reflux), excessive consumption of acidic fruits, soft drinks, or sports drinks.
• Nail-biting or chewing on hard non-food objects.

How Do I Know If My Child is a Tooth Grinder?

When a child is a serious tooth grinder, the parents know it. Severe tooth grinding is loud and unsettling. It can oftentimes be heard down the hall from the child’s room, while the child sleeps. In cases like these, it’s best for the child to have some sort of protective device, a mouthguard, made to wear at night to prevent excessive wear on the baby teeth or on the new permanent teeth. 

There are a couple of important considerations when thinking about and making protective appliances for children’s tooth grinding. Let’s discuss those below. 

Sometimes, parents are concerned that their child may be grinding their teeth because the dentist noticed unusual wear on teeth at a checkup. It’s important to understand that there are several things besides unusual tooth wear that can wear down a child’s teeth. 

These include, but are not limited to:

• Nighttime grinding and/or clenching (patient is unaware that this is occurring, thus is unable to stop)
• Daytime clenching, grinding, or nervous habits that involve rubbing teeth together excessively (can be controlled with effort and training)
• Acid erosion, usually from stomach acid (acid reflux), excessive consumption of acidic fruits, soft drinks, or sports drinks
• Nail-biting or chewing on hard non-food objects

Children’s Oral Appliances

If your child has audible grinding or clenching that’s hard enough to wear down teeth, a nighttime appliance may be the solution. These appliances are different from those we use for adults. They undergo special design considerations so that they remain wearable as the child loses baby teeth and develops permanent teeth.

The type of nighttime device we use at McDonald Orthodontics looks similar to an orthodontic retainer but thicker in crucial areas in order to hold the teeth apart. Because it is not big and bulky, kids wear them easily, and the multiple colors add a fun and personal element.

If your child has a clenching or grinding problem that concerns you, please call our office. Remember, no dental referral is necessary! Just give us a call to schedule a no-cost consultation with Dr. John.

Is There a Cure For Tooth Grinding?

No, there is no cure for nighttime clenching and grinding. It is a result of neural activity in your kid’s central nervous system, much like breathing. Intensity varies based on stress and other factors that generally remain throughout a patient’s lifetime.

Teeth grinding and jaw clenching can also be coping mechanisms for many kids undergoing unusual amounts of stress. Granted, many adults will have to consider many other reasons why they develop such subconscious behaviors. Those who have obstructive sleep apnea or fibromyalgia also are susceptible to bruxism. Children won’t have to deal with as many potential causes, but in any case, bruxism will result from situations that partially or entirely escape from the patient’s control and, thus, may not have a definitive solution.

About Clenching and Grinding

Let’s describe grinding: It’s gnashing teeth back and forth while biting very hard. The jaws actually move, dragging upper and lower teeth across one another.

Clenching can also produce significant wear, but it does not make nearly as much noise: little or none, in fact. Clenching is when a child squeezes their teeth together while sleeping, and they may move them slightly as if rocking the teeth against each other. Even this small movement can produce significant wear on teeth.

If you think your children are clenching, look in on them while they’re sleeping. Feel the muscles on the side of the jaw, below and in front of the ear. If they feel very firm and tight, your child is probably clenching in his sleep.

Severe clenchers will often clench and release over and over again, and you can actually see this activity in the muscles because it looks almost like the child has a heartbeat in his cheek.

Check what this feels like on yourself by laying your fingers on your cheek and clenching them firmly. You will feel the muscle bulge and become firm as you do this. This is what you’re looking for in your child.

Other Causes of Dental Wear

There’s another condition that causes severe tooth wear, and it isn’t related to clenching and grinding. This is erosion. It occurs when teeth are constantly in contact with a substance that’s acidic enough to dissolve tooth enamel slowly. Generally, erosion is the result of stomach acid percolating into the mouth while the child is sleeping. This condition is commonly referred to as acid reflux. It’s common for a dentist to find this condition, even when a parent has no idea it’s occurring.

Tooth wear from acid erosion presents a completely different pattern than the abrasion from clenching and grinding teeth. In rare cases, a child can have acid reflux and a clenching issue that creates severe wear and erosion over a short period of time because the presence of acid during clenching or grinding significantly accelerates the amount of wear.

If you suspect acid erosion, ask your child if they get a “throw up” taste in their mouth and, if so, how often. Once a month or more is a reason to discuss this with the child’s primary care provider.

Do Clenching and Grinding Make TMJ Problems More Likely?

The short answer is yes. But very rarely is clenching and grinding the sole cause of TMJ problems. Usually, TMJ issues are a combination of factors, including trauma, stress, and a bad bite (malocclusion), along with clenching and grinding.

Clenching and Grinding Can Make Orthodontic Problems More Difficult to Correct

Clenching and grinding during childhood can affect how permanent teeth develop and can actually limit the full eruption of teeth. Severe pressure can also make an existing crowding problem much worse because the excessive biting forces collapse lower teeth, increasing existing crowding.

If your child needs braces and is a clencher or grinder, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of our free consultation as soon as possible.