My almost 4 year old daughter's dentsist said she has an "underbite" and recommends a retainer for her that will help pull the top jaw forward to keep up with the bottom jaw. Apperntly they can do this now while her jaw is still forming and hopefully avoid jaw surger when she is older to correct. I was wondering if anyone has had to deal with this with a 4 year old, and if they have any suggestions. We are seeing an orthodontist this week for a 2nd opinion, but I was curiouse what other mother's have experienced.
Hi!
My daughter had a really bad underbite and started phase 1 of her braces at age 8. The ortho wanted to wait until all her baby teeth fell out first. She is now 14 and went through 2 phases of braces. I am happy to say her underbite is gone and she has beautiful teeth. I think it's a great idea to get a 2nd opinion.
Good Luck!
L.
My son had his lower jaw widened with a device when he was about 9 or 10. It ultimately gave him a stronger chin, which is nice-looking on a guy. It was the orthodontist's idea, not the dentist's.
Four seems young, as they can usually begin such procedures later. However, see what the orthodontist has to say about it. And unless you have a great recommendation for an orthodontist, I would get a second orthodontist's opinion, as I have discovered they all prescribe a different treatment.
I had a horrible underbite has a kid also. I was given my 1st retainer in 1st grade (6yrs) and it corrected my underbite and braces were put on in 2nd grade. So I guess 4yrs is possible, and might be easier at that rate. I remember being totally upset that I couldn't eat the candy or food all the other kids were eating, and horribly selfconscious about what I looked like.
Only drawback, as another mom has mentioned, it might be hard to keep track of it so if they do insure something like that I'd definitely look into that.
J.,
I was told for years from one ortho guy that my daughter was too young to start ortho yet. She did not have the correct teeth. Then we finally went for a second opinion and we were told that she could have been started years before. I say the younger the better. My youngest has had the problem you describe and he had a reverse head gear. NOw we are hoping he does not have a major growth spurt to mess up what we have had corrected.
W. M.
20 years ago when my daughter was eight they used reverse pull head gear. It worked but it was an awful two years. She had dents on her cheeks. I recently had my upper jaw widened with a retainer that stayed in all the time. It was awful. I couldn't eat salad or noodles as it would get hung up on the retainer and I would feel like I was choking. She is so young. I would get 3 or 4 opinions before I would do anything before her adult teeth come in. Her jaw is still growing and you don't want to traumatize her for life. One of the things I would ask is, what is the time frame this retainer stays in? That might make your decision for you. Best wishes!
I had a pretty noticable underbite growing up and my mother took me to the dentist frequently to keep a watch on it. My jaw ended up correcting itself and I never needed a retainer to correct it. I was probably about 7 years old before it really corrected it self.
I have a friend of a friend with a 6th grader, I can't remember if she said she has an underbite or overbite, but she mentioned the orthodontist wanted to wait until she started her period to do anything about it. Apparently the hormonal changes can sometimes correct it? Obviously I don't know much about it, I just thought it was interesting & had never heard that before. Might be something to ask the orthodontist.
K.
Boy this takes me back. My son who is now 25 had a retainer when he was 5. He had it for several years. It did do the trick. He never had to have surgery. And no more "bulldog" jaw. However, make sure you are prepared to loose a few. Maybe get insurance on it or something. I was very vigilant, but even so it got lost a couple of times. You just can't be with your child all the time. We had many frantic searches around the house and around the neighborhood. I remember finding it sitting on the retaining wall at the house on the corner. We only had to replace it once. Someone stepped on it. He was pretty good about wearing it. That wasn't a problem. It was actually harder to deal with when he got a little older and went off to school. I couldn't be with him all the time then. Good luck. I think it was worth it to save him major problems down the road, but it is a challenge.
J.
