Help with my 17 month olds sleeping habit! PLEASE!

So my baby boy sleeps next to me in his own toddler bed and has since right after he turned one well the last month or so he wakes up multiple times and tries to lay with my and when I lay him back down and tell him to go nigh night he starts throwing a fit... He then HAS to hold my hand until he falls asleep ( which I don't mind at all) BUT sometimes he will be up for an hour plus and every time I try to take my hand away when I think he's sleeping he will sit back up and try to lay with me or just grab my hand and lay back down... I know he just got two of his big back molars and working and two top teeth could that be why he is being so clingy? He never use to be that bad... How do I get him to actually sleep through the night like when he was younger?!