I have the great honor of having my six year old niece visit for winter break (and maybe longer). At night she grinds her teeth!! Her baby teeth are just little nubs with a couple of them chipped from the heavy long term grinding. They are completely grinded down. I haven't seen her for a year and now my biggest concern regarding her teeth is for her new permanant teeth. Is there anything i can do, as the aunt, for this beautiful child's teeth? I think i'll try some yoga with her to help her release stress. I'd like to know if there is some kind of tooth guard or something like that that i can just buy without a dental appointment. Please help!!
my wonderful little niece is now living with me for the remaining part of the school year so, i was able to take her to the dentist & he said not to worry until the grinding starts affecting her permanent teeth. i think i need a new dentist for the kids.
her mother refuses to allow anything to be put in her mouth while sleeping because of the potential choking hazard. beyond that... i'll keep up with the stress releasing activities. physical activities everyday, evening tea some nights (my two year old loves it!) consistent bedtime relaxing routine, lavender bubble bath, etc.
i've also been letting her choose what she wears to school (within reason based on weather conditions) and healthy snacking throughout the day when my son & i do. this is totally new to her. this new found freedom might help alleviate whatever it is causing her intensity while sleeping. the nighttime grinding seems to be getting less frequent and less severe for whatever reason.
i greatly appreciate for all the sensitive responses, terrific advice and personal experience accounts.
If I remember correctly, you posted something about a niece peeing the bed. If this is the same child, I would look into helping her deal with an emotional problem. Has she been through anything tramatic? Booth peeing the bed at her age and teeth grinding could be signs of emotional trauma. Maybe she needs counseling. It sounds like she is very lucky to have an aunt like you, I hope you can find the help she needs.
GL:)
I have a 3 year old that does the samething, but her teeth are not in bad shape yet. I have asked my dentist many times if that's bad for her teeth. He has insured me that it's okay at her age and she should grow out of it, but if I would feel better that I could buy her a mouth gard and have her sleep with it in. Her's is becoming worse and worse and since I have one as well (that my dentist made for me) I have just recently gotten my daughter one. But haven't tried it. Maybe you should try the mouth gard. I found sone at Wal-Mart for about .97 cents. Good luck and hope it works
I don't know if you can do it withouth a dental appt. When I was a teenager, I grind my teeth when I was sleeping. They did a mold of my teeth and made a gaurd to go on the top teeth. I don't know if it helped much, I always woke up in the middle of the night and it was out of my mouth. lol
Hi D.,
Poor girl! And poor YOU! I am a nighttime teeth grinder myself, and have been since I was very young (my parents noticed it as soon as my teeth came in) so I know from first-hand experience how awful this can be for both the grinder and the one listening to it! Anyway, I now have a nighttime tooth guard made from the dentist especially for my mouth. However, they do sell ones that you can mold to your mouth at Walgreens for around $10 I think. I forget the name brand, but they are NOT the ones for athletes, they are specifically designed for nighttime teeth grinding and they fit differently than athletic guards. Contrary to popular belief, it's not necessarily stress that's causing the grinding, so yoga probably won't help. At least in my case, the only source of relief (for my teeth and for my husband's ears) is a tooth guard. If I were you, I would definitely get her the guard they sell at Walgreens for her stay with you, and I would also talk to her parents about getting her a more permanent solution. In most cases it's a life-long battle, and can cause serious dental problems, migraines, neck stiffness, jaw problems, etc. etc. Good luck!
I know I have seen some mouth guards at Wal-Mart. I am sure you can find them anywhere. That may help. I know my 9 year old used to grind his teeth when he was little. I an thankful that he out grew that. Hope that helps.
Sorry about your poor neice, hun. I had that same problem when I was growing up (and sometimes still do). My teeth were never little nubs though... I would STRONGLY recommend for you, or her mother to take her to a dentist, but for now... I used a mouth gaurd at night, you can get them at a health store, sporting good store or even call your local dentist and they might have some that you could purchase that might be a little more fitting for a 6-year old. Also, try some (decaffinated) tea before bedtime or some aromatherapy to settle her nerves.
I would try a sports mouth guard. They mold themselves to your teeth. Only problem is finding one small enough for her mouth. I'm not sure how small they come.
you can buy night teeth gaurds, they look like a football mouth gaurd. but more comfortable. I wear one and it took a couple of nights to get use to it but my mouth and jaws feel better, and I have no more head aches.
Did you have her ears checked? My 5-year-old was grinding her teeth and i have a history of teeth grinding, and it turns out that it is not stress related, but sinus/ear related. I had terrible allergies, my daughter had an ear infection. Once that was cleared up, the grinding stopped.
My dentist said that the best thing is to buy a mouth piece for sports and mold it and cut it to fit in the mouth. My husband has the same problem. He gets really bad when he is under alot of stress.
Hope this helps!
I have a teeth grinder since I was young as well. Just in the past 5 years I went to the dentist and they did the impression on my teeth and made a teeth guard. I keep it in all night but they are very spendy. I was told before I got my guard to go to the local sports store (you could proabably try Walmart) but you get a sports mouth piece. They say you form them to your mouth as well. I hope you will find something that will help. Good luck! It is not fun to grind your teeth.
