grinding teeth help

[luvmyfam444]

My dd grinds her teeth at night but not real often. Probably just a few times during the night.

What can be done? Is there anything I need to watch out for? or is it somehting she'll grow out of?

 

[Sleepy]

She probably won't grow out of it. I have been grinding my teeth since I was a kid. I am now 38. My son also grinds his teeth at night. The only solution is to get a night guard.

What should you look for? Well, if you don't get the night guard, this could develop into a serious case of TMJ, which I have. I can't open my jaw very far and the right side pops if I open it too much. The years of grinding has worn down my canine teeth. I mostly grind on the right side. That tooth is worn down so far, my dentist told me I should be 70 years old. My grinding was not diagnosed until I was about 30. The dentist also said the grinding could have something to do with my frequent migraines/headaches.

I suggest the night guard. I will be getting my son one once he has his braces removed.

 

[RNMOM]

I am on my second night guard. They are very expensive from the dentist. Like 350-500 expensive. I am still grinding down the tops of my bottom front teeth. It needs adjusted.

Frankly, I think I am going to try the ones you can get at drugstores/walmart. They run about 20-25 dollars and are able to be adjusted to your mouth. I think it is like the ones the football players use where you boil it and after it cools a little you fit it to your teeth.

Talk to her dentist for advice. Some dental insurances do cover the mouthguards.

 

[teskak]

talk to the dentist the mouth guards are cheaper than crowns they can fit them & adjust when necessary. The problem with the chemist ones is that they are much softer & you would be swallowing the plastic you grind off.

Word of caution, for some reason dogs love to chew them and indeed Rover customised my first one (actually made it more comfortable)

 

[bicker]

I had a hard guard about 15 years ago, but couldn't wear it. It was just too uncomfortable even after numerous attempts by my dentist to customize it for me. I have one of the soft guards on backorder right now from drugstore.com. I'm literally wrecking my teeth so I have to do something.

 

[PatsMom]

Grinding will eventually destroy teeth. I have ground my teeth since I was a kid. I was first treated for TMJ by a military dentist. Got my first night guard and actually had to wear a plastic splint during the day too. But it did resolve some of the pain issues. And the headaches which were constant by that point.

After leaving the service, I stopped wearing my night guard. Within a few years my molars were breaking. For no reason, chunks of them would just break off. The years of grinding had fractured them. I had extensive treatment for TMJ that included reconstructive surgery and realignment of the teeth (braces). Took years, tons of money, and tons of pain. And I still grind my teeth! I am currently using a nightguard that was made by the dentist. It was pretty expensive but seems to work.

If my DD were grinding, I would have her at the dentist to talk about it very quickly. Perhaps some intervention now could save her a lot of grief later on. At least getting used to the night guard concept young would have her in the habit before she did permanent damage to her teeth. If I had all the money I've spent trying to save my teeth, I could probably pay for her college without borrowing!

 

[DawnCt1]

Here is a good article on Bruxism in Children.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/teeth/bruxism.html

 

[ajk912]

This may be YMMV type of thing but I grind my teeth too and I asked my dentist about it and specifically asked him if it would destroy me teeth and he said NO. The worst that would happen is my teeth may hurt (as they do now).

It could have to do with the level of grinding..I don't think I grind as bad as some of you guys..I can open my jaw fully, I don't get headaches/migraines, etc.

 

[bicker]

I would get a second opinion, just to be safe.

 

[sorcerormickey]

I've been a teeth-grinder all my life as well. Never found a night guard that I was comfortable with. I cracked one of my wisdom teeth from grinding and had to have it pulled.

I seem to grind more when I am stressed or not sleeping well. It comes and goes.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Dawn's info is exactly what we were told by our dentist. Most kids will grow out of it.

DD had this problem when she was younger (you don't say how old your child is). The dentist said it was probably just changes with growth and misalignment. DD11 no longer grinds her teeth.

Let your dentist know so they can monitor. Make sure there is no pain or other problems associated with it. Ask yourself if stress could play a part and then be dealt with. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much!

(I do grind my teeth, but I know that is different from kids. I have yet to find a mouth guard that I can sleep with.)

 

[mykidsand_i]

Some kids do not grow out of it and it causes a LOT of problems when they get their adult teeth in...obviously it's not a huge deal if they are grinding on their baby teeth. My 6-almost 7 year old- daughter has 4 adult teeth and has not stopped grinding. She would wreck her adult teeth if we didn't do anything about it.
My husbands uncle is a dentist, so we called and asked him what to do.

He said "forget about the expensive teeth guards that dentists try to sell you on!!!! They are hundreds of dollars!!! GET A MOUTH GUARD for sports and form it yourself." That is what we do with our daughter! and it works for her. The best thing is- it's less than $5 (in most cases and areas where I live it's $2.49!!!) ! When her mouth changes with new teeth comming in and so forth, we don't have to worry about getting a new one, because it's not much $ to replace!

The sports mouthguard is much less of a hassle to wear too! It's thinner and it's rubbery/plastic. All i can say is it certainly doesn't hurt to try it...
My daughter hasn't ever had a hard time keeping it in, because she's use to a mouth guard for hockey...but my uncle said to let them wear it off and on through out the day to get use to it before expecting them to sleep with it in.

Form the mouth guard as you would if you're fitting them for sports. If it's a hockey mouth guard, there will be a "connection tab" that holds it to a helmet. Just cut that off so all you have is the mouth guard.

I hope this can help someone! It certainly has saved us hundreds of dollars! Our dental insurance wouldn't cover the one that the dentist would make, because they said it was "cosmetic"! Which is absolutely pathetic! It is only used to save on the health of her teeth!

 

[luvmyfam444]

Wow thanks for the good info again! I love this site!

It's still her baby teeth - to hoepfully that'll make a difference.

THANKS again!