When my daughter, now a healthy 3-year-old, first got her teeth, she delighted in grinding them together. I would be rocking her to sleep, enjoying those sweet moments of early motherhood, when I'd suddenly hear a horrific, nerve-grating sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. My daughter, delighted by her new-found set of pearly whites, took great delight in tooth-grinding.
The behavior of tooth-grinding, known clinically as buxism, is extremely common in babies. If your baby grinds her teeth, here are some facts you may want to know about tooth grinding in babies.
1. Bruxism is normal for young children. Most babies will grind their teeth at some point. It is a way for your baby to get used to these strange, hard objects suddenly jutting out of his gums. As your baby adjusts, it's normal to grit and grind his teeth. He's simply trying out his pearly whites -- figuring out how they work, how well he can control them, and how durable they are. You may have to get used to hearing an extremely unpleasant sound on a regular basis, but almost all mothers deal with the phase at some point.
2. He'll likely outgrow it. If your baby just got his teeth and has only been grinding them for a few weeks or days, odds are very slim that it will become a lifelong problem. According to BabyCenter, kids who grind their teeth regularly and problematically usually start the habit during the preschool years. This more serious form of bruxism, which is often mood-related and can cause permanent tooth damage, has different behavioral origins than simple early-life bruxism seen in babies.
3. There may be unknown triggers. In some cases, a baby may grind his teeth as a way of attempting to cope with pain. For example, babies with ear infections may grind their teeth, and the behavior is also common in infants with pinworms, digestive upsets, or allergy-related breathing difficulties. In these cases, a doctor-approved pain reliever, such as infant ibuprofen, might help to ease the discomfort and halt the tooth-grinding.
4. Get a dental check-up. If your baby grinds his teeth frequently or excessively, it's a good idea to check in with a pediatric dentist to make sure that he hasn't caused any damage to his newly-sprouted teeth. Repeated tooth grinding over a long period of time can wear down a baby's enamel, making him more susceptible to cavities and infection. However, it's likely that the bruxism sounds and looks worse than it is, and that there is no real damage to his body. Call to schedule a check-up with a dentist if you're concerned.
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