11 Month Old Who Started Grinding Her (3) Teeth

I am a dental hygienist and have been practicing for 12 years. I have seen this so many times with babies/kids. It is nothing to worry about. I don't know why they do it but they stop when the adult dentition arrives. They can wear those little baby teeth down to nubs and it will still be OK. Baby teeth are place holders for permanent teeth.

My son did the same thing. Teeth are a new feeling for them. It was a passing phase. He no longer does it and he is just over 13 mo. I would say he ground his teeth for about 3 weeks then just stopped. There is nothing you can do to stop it and there does not seem to be any permanent damage. It drove me crazy but I tried to just ignore it.

Hi J.,
Tooth grinding is totally normal at this age. I wouldn't worry about it though it does sound terrible doesn't it? In the 18 yrs I've been in dentistry I have seen so many kids who used to grind their teeth as toddlers and didn't develop any problems.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi J.. I am a dentist, and it is very common for kids to grind their teeth. This is especially true when kids don't have their back teeth in yet, so there is no way for them to have a stable bite. Your daughter may just be exploring her new teeth and getting used to them. Both of my boys ground their teeth at this age - it sounds horrible, but is usaully temporary and should not cause any long-term damage - baby teeth are very resiliant. Rarely, the grinding may continue until your daughter gets her permanent teeth, but once she has a stable bite, it should get better. Don't worry about it causing any TMJ problems at this age. Hope that helps!

My oldest daughter did that too... she now turning and and doesnt do it much at all any more. She did mostly through her toddler year and my doctor told me not to worry. Her dentist also did see any damage to her teeth at 4 year...so for us it work itself out...

My daughter did the same thing, at the same age, & I freaked out about it. When I mentioned it to a couple of friends in my MOPS groups, they all said that their children did it too. It turned out it was just a phase, & my guess is that it is connected to teething b/c my 13 month old son is starting to do it a little now. With my daughter I immediately tried to stop her when I knew she was grinding- often by giving her a pacifier or just putting my finger in her mouth. I hope this helps. Take care. :)

It's probably just a phase. My son did this when he got his first 4 teeth. It only lasted a couple weeks. Now he's 11 months old with 8 teeth and no more grinding. I think she's just getting used to the feel of teeth in her mouth. Congrats on the toofers!

My 11 month old started this habit about 2 months ago. I spoke with her pediatrician about it, she did not seem worried. So, any help with this would benefit us both.

I had a bad problem grinding my teeth and found help from a very experienced bodyworker who does a combination of cranial-sacral work and feldenkrais. It works wonderfully on babies and kids. You can look for someone on the Upledger Institute website. Good luck.

Hi J.,

My son started doing this around 10 months old. It drove me nuts!! He has stopped doing it now so hopefully he has grown own out of it (he is now 12 mo old). I was told it was normal and your son will grow out of it.

Happy mother's day!

H.

My daughter grinded her teeth also when she was little. The cause was very supprising... Pin worm!!! One crushed little pill and the whole thing was resolved ( and one more about 14 days later to make sure all pin worms were gone). Our pediatritian said that it was quite common because the little ones put their hands in their mouths so if they pick up pin worms it will go into their GI tract and be very irritating especially at night so they will grind their teeth. All the doctor did was take a peice of scotch tape applied it to her bottom and looked at it under the microscope.

I have a 3 yr old who did this at the same age as your little one. He doesn't do it anymore. Just went to our first dentist appt and it didn't come up as a concern on the part of the dentist. I wouldn't put any negative attention on it, but keep your eye out and see if it changes as more teeth come in...my son did it when he had his first 4 teeth up front. Not to worry!

Hi J.. My name is L.. I have two children, ages 11 & 8. My 8 year old son grinds his teeth - I first noticed it around the age of two. I asked his dentist about it and the dentist said that the remedy for teeth grinding is to wear a mouth guard, which is a plastic mold that is fitted to the teeth. Unfortunately, with kid's mouths you can't fit a mouth guard, as the mouth is growing and they don't have their adult teeth yet.

I found that that spending some time with my son at bedtime to help him physically and mentally relax reduced the teeth grinding. When he was too young to talk with me, I would give him a warm bath before bed and then rub his feet or scratch his back and sing a lullaby. Now that my son is older, I take 10-15 minutes at night to hear about his day and help him resolve any issues in his mind before bedtime. I still rub his feet or scratch his back, but my singing (which was never great anyway) has been replaced by conversation. On days when I know my son was stressed by playground problems or worries, he will still grind his teeth even with a relaxation session, so I think that stress is really the trigger.

We all experience stress and anxiety, even little kids. Learning to share, not being able to communicate completely, being in new social situations, etc. are stresses that our little ones experience. How we deal with stress takes many forms, and teeth grinding is a classic (and unconscious) stress release.

Check with your dentist on mouth guards when your daughter is older and has most of her teeth (my son is approaching this milestone and I will be getting him a mouth guard soon) and in the meantime, help her to relax.

Take heart, this is a rather common problem and any dentist will tell you that they see alot of young kids with teeth that show clear evidence of grinding.

Hope this helps!

L.

Hi, My son did the same thing he just turned 1 and it will go away, its part of teething no need to worry.

My daughter did the exact same thing at around 11-12 months old. It only lasted about a month and it was after she got her top teeth (I think). It is pretty normal and my friends son did it at the same age also. She checked with her doctor and he said it is no big deal. It sounds really weird, but it should go away soon.

My 11 month old started to do this too, but it seems like she has already stopped after a few weeks. What worked for me was keeping a teething toy handy and when she would start to grind, I would give it to her. She would then just go to town on the teething toy and stopped grinding. Hope this helps-Good Luck!

Hi J.,

A little CranioSacral Therapy might be very helpful to her. It can help balance any possible TMJ inbalance she may have. Please feel free to email me if you would like to talk. I am a retired elementary and early childhood teacher and a CranioSacral Therapist who is experienced in working with children. I would be happy to offer you an introductory session as a member of mamasource. If you are so inclined you may check me out at www.iahp.mind-body-energy.com.
D.

My sister has grinded her teeth all her life and now they are very small (not ugly, just tiny). My mom tried everything to get her to stop but it was just a nervous condition I guess...

My oldest son did the same thing, though I can't remember exactly how old he was. I think it was around the same time though. My pediatrician told me to just completely ignore it, not acknowledge it at all with him and it would pass. It definitely was short-lived and at 7 he doesn't have any dental issues. Hope that helps!

my son did that same thing and the noise alone drove me crazy but i believe it is all part of teething. He did it for a couple of weeks then he stopped. i would imagine it might start up again but I am not sure as my son is only 1 and he started the same time your daughter is.

My 9 month old son also grinds his teeth and has for a last month or so, he has 6 teeth, and I was worried about it,I also hate the noise it makes, it hurts my teeth to hear it, but it does not seem to hurt him and I think it is just a phase of exploring his new teeth. I am thinking I will ask a dentist about it if it continues over the next year, otherwise I try not to worry about it

My little one did this also and it eventually passed. It drove me crazy at times but didn't seem to hurt her (of course, she's only 19 months old now...)

Good luck!

hi, I am responding so that I may go back to this for some advice.

All three of my children grind their teeth and the dentist and orthodontist said it's not a big deal. they do have mouth gards, but two youngest ones 4 and 5 are too young for one. My 13 yr old still does it, his retainer helps, but what happens when he no longer has to wear one? My middle child needs to have baby root canals because of it, however we are waiting to do that because we are hoping that her teeth fall out first. But if she experiences a lot of unbareable pain, then we have to do the root canal. Good luck.

My little girl did the exact same thing. She did grow out of it and if I recall, it didn't last very long. It is just a phase, most kids will do this. They are just exploring their mouth. It is actually a good sign she is ready to take on foods that require a bit of chewing.

Hi J.,
My name is C. and I see this all the time. I am a Registered Dental Hgienist and I work with young children all the time. It's a dreadful sound to be awaken to but unfortunately, it is a very common trait young kids have. My niece who is 8 years old still grinds 3-4x/week. From all my studies and experience, they (as kids) will eventually grow out of it. What I tell all my parents is when you do hear them grinding, place your pointer finger and thumb on both sides of her jaw with some slight pressure - that should stop her from clinching. I have had parents come back and say they've noticed less grinding. Hope that helps! Hang in there!

I am a dental hygienist and a mother of twin girls who both started grinding their teeth around the same time. There is nothing that you can do to stop her, and she will probably grow out of it in time. Many children grind their teeth, and I often can see wear patterns on their primary teeth. The chances of her doing any long term damage is slim to none.

At this age it should pass. She is cutting teeth constantly and it may feel good to grind down on them. You might try a teething ring when she starts grinding. Unless this continues and it is harming her, I would just wait and see.

If it is making her gums bleed, consult a pediatric dentist right away.

Good Luck -

+B+

My daughter used to do that, also. It was a phase. It drove my husband nuts, but I just let her do it. She got over it after a couple of weeks. She's just checking out the new sensation. Good luck!

My 5 1/2 year old and my almost 3 year old are both teeth grinders- thier pediatric dentist assures me that bruxism (teeth grinding)is normal. The dentist also assures me that unless we see deterioration on the baby teeth, we do not need to intervene. There are some appliances (bite guards) if their teeth start to deteriorate, I assume the danger would be exposed nerves. There should not be any issues with their little jaws or permanent teeth. When either of the kids are in bed with us and start grinding...it drives my husband absolutely nuts!