Baby Grinding Teeth

[Unregistered]

Hi,

Please can you kindly advise regarding my baby. He is 2 years and 6 months old. He was born with a strange sound and we took him to a peadatrician and we were advised that the musclein the voice box was not fully developed and he will out grow by 18months. The sound has reduced considerably,however it comes up when he gets excited. Is thissomething to worry about??

Also, recently he has been grinding his teeth profusely in his sleep,particularly during the night. Most nights its so loud and almost continous that it breaks my sleep. What can you recommend to solve the grinding of his teeth?

Thanking you in advance.

[Dr Joy Saville]

I am not certain about the sound made when he gets excited. You should probably take him back to the paediatrician and have him checked out.

In terms of the teeth grinding or bruxism there may be an array of possible causes. Pain from an infection of the ear or from teething; if the top and bottom row of teeth are not properly aligned (malocclusion);nutritional deficiencies due to allergies or worms; and even stress and anxiety can result in teeth grinding. I would advice that you try and identify which is the most likely cause so that treatment may be more focused. Take your toddler to the dentist to assess for teething and/or malocclusion; have him checked up for an infection or nutritional deficiencies; if you have recently had another baby, moved, changed his routine, etc. then these are possibly causes for stress

All the best