We see children each day with severe wear from teeth grinding. Oftentimes, the child doesn’t even know they are doing so because it’s happening while they are sleeping. It can be stress-related, from a nightmare, or for no known reason at all.
Statistically, about 35% of children grind their teeth. For a child with baby teeth, the mouth is constantly changing, so a night guard cannot be used because it restricts the natural order of losing baby teeth and erupting permanent teeth. Unless there is pain, we will monitor your child until the permanent teeth start coming in.
If your child continues to grind their permanent teeth, we discuss options to help. You would be surprised how much enamel can be ground down without your child having pain. Often, kids will outgrow this habit, but some will continue into adulthood and need a night guard. An at-home option is to buy a boil-and-bite athletic mouth guard to have them wear to bed.
Your pediatric dentist is a great source for advice. We welcome any concerns and questions anytime.
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