Two year old grinds teeth at night-- aaach!

[DesertBlossom]

She's been doing this for several months. It's so loud and it sounds like she's breaking her teeth. It's awful.  I'm afraid she's going to ruin her teeth. Will she outgrow this? Or is a mouth guard the only way to discourage it?

[LibraryLover]

One of mine did this, but dc slept in our room at that age, and was still nursing. I would put my finger between the top and bottom molars and whisper, "stop". DC did need braces later, so I believe it was an alignment issue.  I started doing this because the sound drove me crazy. What I did worked, as teeth did not show wear and we were able to stop the urge/break the habit. Sounds odd, maybe, but it took care of it. 

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by LibraryLover

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My dd has been grinding her teeth for YEARS!  It's so bad that she can't sneak into our bed at night because the sound makes it so I can't sleep at all.  Poor thing!

 

I will say she is finally doing is LESS, but it's not gone (she'll be 7) soon.

 

Our dentist said he couldn't do a mouthguard on a young child because the jaw and everything is still growing and it can mess up alignment.  But different dentists may propose different things.  

 

There's pretty much nothing you can do about it... so sorry!  I feel your pain!

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm glad it worked for librarylover, but I did something very similar and it would stop her for... 30 seconds or so.  :-P  I would be up all night doing this for fear of her teeth, and then I just gave up.  Dentist said that so far, her teeth are fine.

[DesertBlossom]

She doesn't co sleep, but she did crawl into my bed the other night. I had to carry her back to her own room because it was driving me nuts. I hear her a lot when she's asleep before I go to bed. I can't get over how loud it is. And it's worse than fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

She doesn't co sleep, but she did crawl into my bed the other night. I had to carry her back to her own room because it was driving me nuts. I hear her a lot when she's asleep before I go to bed. I can't get over how loud it is. And it's worse than fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

 

Yep, that's it!  Our girls must be twins, just five years apart.  :-)

 

Last year we went to Monterey with my mom and step-dad.  We let the kids who wanted to stay in their hotel room for the night.  Apparently her teeth grinding kept them up all night.   I slept like a baby....  

 

Sending you sympathy.  And solid doors.  

[itsheresomewhere]

Teeth grinding is a sign of magnesium deficiency.

[AmandaVT]

DS did this when he was small, but has thankfully outgrown it. Our house is small and I could sometimes hear him doing it when I was downstairs. Ugh....you just brought back memories. That sound is the worst! I think he outgrew it by about 5 or so if that helps!

[EmilyGF]

Our dentist told us this was pretty normal for little kids. They get a new set of teeth :-) and by then they shouldn't be grinding much.

 

Emily

[umsami]

A dentist friend posted an article that there's a link between grinding and sleep apnea.  I'd never heard that before.

 

I grind my teeth as do two of my kids. I wonder if there's a genetic component.

 

You can try putting a warm washcloth on her cheeks/jaw at night before bed to try and relax the muscles.  Can also place it along her temporalis muscle (top side of head). 

[LibraryLover]

I'm glad it worked for librarylover, but I did something very similar and it would stop her for... 30 seconds or so.  :-P  I would be up all night doing this for fear of her teeth, and then I just gave up.  Dentist said that so far, her teeth are fine.

I definitely fell asleep a few times doing this. ;) We got lucky (breaking the habit) me thinks.  

Edited February 22, 2016 by LibraryLover