Baby Teeth: How do I get Him to Stop Grinding his Teeth?
Nicoli recently turned 9-months-old and for some moms that means watching them learn to crawl/pull themselves up/or trying to walk. For me though, yeah sure I have all that but it also means getting more teeth. To date Nicoli has 5 teeth, actually more like 4 but the other one is just about all the way out of the gum so I count it too. How many did your baby have/has at 9 months old?
There isn’t even a timeline to say when a baby will get those first teeth, just that between 1-3 years your infant will have a mouthful of teeth. I have read most will get that first tooth between 4-7 months but that isn’t always the case.
Why? Because every baby is different, I even had one baby that had teeth at birth. Yeah that wasn’t fun, thankfully Nicoli didn’t. He began getting his teeth at 6 months.
Nicoli loves showing off his teeth, but he recently discovered how to grind them. Have you ever heard a baby grind their teeth? Eeek. This is like nails on chalkboard for me and I have no clue how to get him to stop.
I took my older daughter to the dentist earlier this week and they overhead him grinding his teeth and informed me that’s a bad thing if I can’t get him to stop it now. Umm, how do you get a baby to stop that, especially one under 1 years of age? Any ideas? A day ago I discovered he has chipped (just a tiny bit but still) the top tooth.
Once again, how do I stop him? I know I can’t give him a mouth guard for this young. I have heard some state put something in his mouth like a finger or food. Others have told me to give him a pacifier.
I’m beginning to think that the pacifier would be good, only he has never been on it except those first few weeks of birth. Do I want him on it now to have to break him of it later? I’m at a loss.
I don’t have an answer. I also don’t want to freak you out or anything, but I started grinding my teeth as a toddler and I’m 38 now. I STILL do it some nights. If he’s just doing it during the day, though, I think that he’ll grow out of. Mine is totally subconscious and while I sleep, so I have no control over it.
My daughter is 12 and we have a teeth grinding issue. Dentist says she doesnt see any damage but we are investigating a mouth guard since these are now her adult teeth she is wearing down. Not sure how to get him to stop though…good luck!
Hmm..that’s a tough one. Out of my four kids, two of them went through a very short phase of grinding their teeth. Thankfully they stopped after a few days. For my first child, if I made a big deal about it, he did it more. Once I ignored him, he didn’t even realize he was doing it and eventually stopped.
But I don’t think that’s the issue with your son. But first, don’t let your dentist scare you. Seriously. (As you said, how on earth do they suggest you stop him?!) A lot of kids do this – I’ve heard of it plenty of times. Worse case? He chips or wears down a couple teeth. Not great, but they are baby teeth for a reason. He’ll be okay. 2) He WILL outgrow this. Kids go through so many phases so quickly, especially at your son’s age. It may seem endless now, but he’ll move past it.
If he keeps doing it, I would try a couple of the tips you received, like giving him some food or a pacifier. At least you can get rid of a pacifier later if you have to resort to it.
Good luck! And ((HUGS)) from one mom to another. I know it’s tough!
I have no idea, wish I could help u
My oldest daughter used to grind her teeth alot as a young child and now its much less frequent. No harm seemed to come of it —just a gross sound if you are sleeping in close proximity. Good luck and try not to sweat it too much.