Teeth grinding: no reason to cry and gnash your teeth
A fairly common issue in paediatric practice: teeth grinding. In most cases, there is nothing serious behind it and the problem resolves itself after a while. And yet it is worth taking a closer look at the issue – especially as there is an updated guideline on the subject.
The basics: In medical terms, this is known as bruxism. Around half of all children are affected by it. One in two children experiences periods of teeth grinding up until puberty – mostly at night, but certainly during the day as well.
What lies behind the grinding, and where does it come from? On the one hand, it is thought that a certain amount of it – particularly in early childhood – is actually beneficial and even desirable, as it helps children to train and coordinate their chewing muscles. Otherwise, it is thought that stress, inner tension, emotional imbalance or even poor sleep can lead to teeth grinding.
Accordingly, the main approach to dealing with teeth grinding is to take it in your stride. Much like with nail-biting, you can try to help the child relax – perhaps by taking them on a little imaginary journey before they fall asleep, or by using an audiobook to promote muscle relaxation. In short: help the child wind down a bit.
If the teeth grinding is nevertheless very pronounced, it certainly can’t do any harm to have a dentist or orthodontist take a look at it. In rare cases, it may be appropriate to prescribe a night guard for the child for a short period.
In summary: it is usually a harmless, temporary phenomenon. And yet, of course, if this is an issue with your own child and you as parents are worried, simply speak to us at the practice.
If you’d like to read more, you can take a look at the current guidelines here (pp. 72–76): https://register.awmf.org/assets/guidelines/083-027l_S3_Diagnostik-Behandlung-Bruxismus_2026-05_1.pdf
Further interesting tips
Sauna with a child?
From a medical point of view, there is no question that going to the sauna is a healthy thing to do. Regular sauna sessions strengthen the immune system and do something good for the cardiovascular system. But is it also good for children? And if so, from what age?
Sharenting
"Jeez, what's sharenting?" some people will be thinking. It is the often somewhat careless uploading of children's photos to social media by parents. But there is so much to consider!
Eye smears (baby)
A topic for parents of babies. A common reason why parents come to the practice with their baby is that their child's eye is oily. Parents notice that the eye is a little red and very sticky and that there may be a yellowish "smudge" in the eye. The parents then usually think that the eye is suppurating - but this is almost never the case.