Grinding teeth and chipping

[Caribbeanqueen]

My 18 month old dd has been grinding her teeth for a while. She does it in her sleep but also during the day a lot. I wasn't too worried but it seems as though she has chipped her two top middle teeth, as the corners are missing.

Does anyone have any experience of this or advice?

[vanessa13]

hello there
im sorry to say i have no advice on this but my eldest daughter has done it now for two years not only does it irritate me but i also worry for the health of her teeth i took her to her dentist and all they said was at least its her baby teeth

[monkeygirl]

OMG CQ, that is so weird. My dd1 (3) also grinds her teeth in her sleep and I noticed about 3 weeks ago that one of her top front teeth was slightly pointed so I assumed she had fallen and chipped it and I had missed the whole drama. Is that what grinding does then? Right I am definitely going to take her to the dentist but will be following this thread (the other front one is fine but then she sucks her thumb so it's been pushed right out).

[miam]

CQ - my sis is a dental nurse. I'll ask her tomorrow for some advice/info. xx

[efmach]

My daughter grinds her teeth. It's called Bruxism. Apparently, it's quite common in children. Sometimes dentists can make gum shields to prevent further damage to teeth but I think this might be for adults. I don't think it's easily treated because it's done subconsciously and usually occurs at nightime. Not sure if they grow out of it.

[Caribbeanqueen]

Thanks for your comments. Miam, did you get any information from your sister?

[miam]

CQ sorry sorry sorry - I completely forgot about this!!! Have just tried to phone her but she seems to be out, but I PROMISE (oops sorry, shouting) promise I will ask her first thing tomorrow. Hope dd and her teeth are fine!

[miam]

Spoke to her this morning. She said that until they are older there is little they can do. If she is still doing it when she is older they will make some kind of a gum shield to be worn through the night to stop her grinding her teeth. She said that baby teeth are quite soft which is why they are chipping but that she should just grow out of it. Not a lot of help I'm afraid - time may solve it though. Hope this helps - sorry again for taking so long. xx