Why does a baby grind teeth?

Most parents start worrying when their infant starts grinding their teeth. But this is very normal for the infant. When your baby turns about 10 months old, upper and lower teeth start growing. They start feeling some sensation over time due to changes happening inside the mouth. Maybe they won't be feeling the proper adjustment of the teeth and your baby will start grinding the teeth over time. It becomes a habit after a few days. But this is normal for children. It may disturb their sleep or irritate them for a while. In medical terms teeth grinding is known as bruxism. There are two types of bruxism. 

Sleep Bruxism: It's because a child grinds teeth during sleep. You may not realize this if it's at the first stage or not making any louder noise during sleep.

Awake Bruxism: Most children do that on a day while having other activities.

 

What is the reason behind baby grinding teeth?

There is no proven scientific fact about why babies grind their teeth. All are hypotheses. But it is not recommended that you take it very lightly. Could be any of the following reasons

• Stress: Sound illogical but the doctor believes that children may develop stress easily and that can lead them to teeth grinding very frequently. But this is generally happening with older children. Still, Identifying the reason for teeth grading stress won't be easy. It requires a lot of understanding of the child. 
• Any Disorder: Children have a very irregular sleep.  Also known as sleep apnea. The sleeping disorder may lead to teeth grinding. It could be the reason because of brain injuries too.
• Nightmare: Sometimes teeth grinding can happen at any age due to nightmares. But this is not something that happens every day. It’s very rare. Whenever your child has bad dreams. Your child will start teeth grinding.
• Positioning of teeth: Sometimes it is caused due to bad positioning of the upper and lower teeth or misalignment of jaws. 
• Inheritance: It could be the reason that it runs in your family. 

So, Overall there are many reasons behind teeth grinding but it's better to look for the real reason behind it and try to find what causes it. 

How to prevent your baby from grinding their teeth

Without knowing the particular reason behind it will be hard to take any action. But if you find that it's just normal due to teeth growing. Then you can try the following to prevent it. 

1. Help a child to have more physical play activity. 
2. Avoid Mobile gaming or other gadget activity.
3. Help your baby by diverting the mind. 
4. Help relax facial muscles.
5. Proper Sleep
6. Soft rubber toy if your baby has awake bruxism

These are just very basic steps in case your baby just has normal teeth grinding due to new teeth growing. A Baby’s teeth grinding may disturb you or irritate you but this is just a temporary condition. It's not a long-lasting effect. Over some time, the baby will outgrow the habit. 

Most of the time babies outgrow the habit when they lose their baby teeth. It is not harmful at all. It is just a normal condition for a baby trying to adjust its teeth. It may affect little jaw pain though. The infant can’t explain the situation so you need to be careful about every medical condition. But if excessive babies unknowingly put a lot of pressure on the teeth over a long period, 

• They may damage the teeth like they can be permanently chipped, broken, or cracked.  Or it could make teeth permanently weak. 

• Fracture near to jaw area. 

• The baby may develop Cavities. 

• Teeth may become sensitive

Consult an expert

You may already know the normal reason behind teeth grinding and how you can prevent it. But if your baby tries to make it excessive,  teeth get damaged so you might be helpless to prevent the teeth grinding of your baby. It’s strongly recommended to visit for a consultation before concluding anything if you are not sure. 

• You can explain the situation as your baby tries at night, Whether it’s noisy or paining. 
• Ask an expert if there is any permanent damage to the baby’s teeth. If there is any, what can I do to prevent it? 
• How frequently you are required to visit a dentist.

Risk Factor

If it develops for a longer time. Some other risk factors may be parenting like stress issues, being aggressive, or could lead to some mental illness. 

Conclusion

The sound and image of a baby grinding teeth may be disturbing but it’s a temporary condition that is a part of your baby’s development stage. It may be due to several factors as well. Nonetheless, teeth grinding is not always a normal condition so it is suggested that you strongly rely on a doctor and take precautions according to the consultation.  

Sources

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/baby-teeth-grinding

https://elitebaby.us/collections/teethers

https://foxkidsdentistry.com/blog/why-do-babies-grind-their-teeth/