Your child grinding teeth?

It is an unnerving or eerie feeling when you go into your child’s bedroom and you hear this rumbling, grinding sound and your child going gnash, gnash, gnash! while he is grinding teeth. Will his teeth not wear out? Will he bite his tongue or cheek? What can I do to stop it?

Relax, it is a fairly common occurrence! About 20% of all children below the age of eleven will grind their teeth at night, when asleep. The good thing is that the majority of them will outgrow this teeth grinding (also called as bruxism) in a few months to years.

Why do children grind their teeth?

The most likely period during which children gind their teeth are at two peak times – when their milk teeth emerge and then, when their permanent teeth come in. Most children stop this habit after these two sets of teeth have come in more fully.

There is a temporary mis-alignment of the teeth, and it is this that makes them grind their teeth against each other. Once more teeth come in, and the alignment gets better, the grinding stops.

The other causes that are postulated are:

• It could be secondary to an earache or teething – just like we rub a painful area, an attempt to massage it.
• Stress – it could be as simple as sibling rivalry, it could be upcoming exams, anything!
• Medications – if child is on any anti-depressants (not used commonly in children) or other uncommonly used medicaitons – do tell your pediatrician or dentist about any medications that your child is taking.
• Associated diseases – sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (manifested most commonly as snoring) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The cause and effect phenomenon is far from clear though. These are just associations.

Is there a reason to worry?

In majority of cases, definitely not!, since it is just a temporary phase and your child will outgrow it. You should bring this to the attention of your pediatrician, who may refer you to a pediatric dentist.

The worrying factors will be if:

• There is significant stress that has remained undetected as yet.
• If there is significant sleep disturbance, snoring or recurrent waking from sleep.
• If it persists beyond the stage where the permanent molars have already erupted. The first molars erupt by 6-7 years, the second molars erupt by 11-13 years and of course the third molars, the so-called wisdom teeth, come in between 17-21 years of age.
  If grinding teeth persists beyond eight years, the child may need to be under the supervision of a pediatric dentist, who at the first sign of damage to the permanent teeth, will either recommend preventive or corrective measures.

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