Underbite - White House,TN

My friend's daughter had to have the jaw broken, shaved down and reset when she was a teenager. She was grateful to have it done, but yes, it was quite an ordeal. Too bad they did not have a way in time to have had it grow right from the time she was very young.

My daughter's spine mildy is crooked. If they had caught it early enough they would have put a brace on her and it would have grown fine.

Early, while they have a chance to correct it while it grows it much better.

The problem with braces is that they require much more care. Flossing is important, using a water-pic device can help.

Anything you do while a child is young, is better than when they are grown. My son is a candidate for that surgery, and is grown, but it is too much of an undertaking at 40. No one ever mentioned it to us. I would get him to a dental school, a pediatric specialist at a big university, and get another consultation. We live in NC, near UNC dental school.

J.,
All of the other responses your received were from people who had children with the same problem or knew someone with the same problems. I lived through them. I had horrible teeth as a child and am so grateful (though maybe not at the time)that my parents spent time and money on my teeth. I had an overbite and buck teeth along with several other problems. Starting at age four or five, I have had two oral surgeries, braces twice, a Herpzt (sp?), a bionator (sp?), a bite plank, teeth removed, etc. But like I said, I am thankful it was all done.
I was in second grade when I got braces for the first time. The reason I got braces first was because my teeth had to be straightened enough to fit into the appliances that would pull out my jaw. I really don't remember it being a big deal other than the pain from when they tighten the braces. Maybe it is because kids are more accepting and less mean at younger ages. His classmates may ask questions but then they will be over it.
My advice would be to go ahead and get started. The pros will far outweigh the cons. And while your son may not like it while he is going through it, he, too, will probably be grateful for everything you did when he is older.
B

My daughter is 6 and has a severe underbite. Her 2 front top teeth are chipped because of the clanking of the teeth together. I asked her regular dentist about this because when her permanant teeth come in I dont want them chipped. She said there is really nothing that could be done now. Well as luck would have it I had her with me at my 14 yr old daughers orthodontist appt. He was intrigged and wanted to check my younger daughters mouth out. He told me that there is a point after the 6 yr old molars come in that they can manipulate the jaw to grow without breaking it but if you wait too late the cartlidge turns to bone. I am taking her back in 3 mths to get a procedure done to help her upper jaw extend so there is no jaw breaking involved. I would check into it because it sounds like if you wait it is more trauma.

you should see an orth0dontist now wile the bones can be easily punipulated. if it isn't time a good dr. will tell you ro wait. good luck. three with braces.R.

No need for braces this young. No point in fixing teeth that are going to fall out anyway. An underbite usually isn't caused just by teeth. It's the whole structure of the jaw and face. Talk to your child's pediatrician about it.

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You might look into an Ortho-tain and whether or not it would work for your son's underbite. It has worked for my daughter's overbite.

Hi J.,
My grandson who is now 10 is wearing braces for several reasons, he had been sucking his thumb and wounded up with his 2 front teeth messed up, and the orthdontist notice that he had an underbite, and so he has to wear head gear only at night; for the next 3 years, my thought are this, if the dentist is recommending the braces now, maybe he won't have to wear the head gear later, but you also have to weigh in the cost of braces, I would see the orthodontist under a consult, and if he is a good one, yes money will be an issue, but he will tell you that I am more concern about the child then about the money.

My son has a class III underbite. His dentist also recommended having braces put on after his two front top and bottom baby teeth fall out and his permanents come in. Around 6-7 years old. His bottom ones have already fell out and the permanents have came in. Just waiting on the top now. The dentist said he would wear them for a year or two then possible would need braces again when he was in his teens. Whatever it takes. He said around 6 years old is a good time to manipulate the jaw back into place with braces because he is still growing. The reason for waiting for the permanent two top and bottom teeth to come was the fact that they are the anchor for the braces and the braces would be attached to these 4 teeth not to straighten the 4 teeth. Makes sense to me. It is good to have a permanent anchor rather than a baby tooth that is going to get loose and fall out and not holding the braces in place. Then they would have to redo the braces again. Good luck.

If you can get this taken care of while he is young is the best while his jaw is still growing and moving. That is what I think in regards to my son anyway. I do not want to wait until he is in his teens and have him go through jaw breaking and all that pain. This method is safer and less painful. It is probably going to be a little costly but well worth it. Please do not listen to anyone who passes it of as "he is to young for all that." It has all to do with his jaw structure and face structure which can be manipulated right now while he is still growing. That is what the orthodonist is for also and not just straighting teeth. Read up on it on the internet. Good Luck! My son will be going through the same thing.

My son, now 13, had a very pronounced underbite. We were told he would need the "jaw breaking surgery" when he got to his early 20's and was fully grown. We were given the option of trying braces early to try to manipulate his jaw and bite while he was growing. He got braces at age 10 and wore them until he was 12. Before the braces were put on, he actually had to have a few baby teeth removed since they weren't coming out on their own and he had to have a gum surgery because the stress of having so much pressure constantly on his bottom jaw/bite caused his gumline to wear away in front of his bottom front teeth. Our dental coverage paid for the extractions and gum surgery, but not the braces.

The braces solved the underbite and almost 2 years later (he's almost 14)the bite is still as it should be. His orthodontist is so pleased, he is now using my son's case as a teaching tool because his underbite was so severe (he had a little bull dog bite). There is always a chance the jaw could shift back, but his orthodontist and dentist don't see any evidence of it now. We are very hopeful that he won't have to deal with this again. Keep in mind, the braces were for the jaw problem, not for cosmetic improvement, so while my son's teeth were pretty straight as a bonus, they may shift over time.

Lastly, I just want to say that his dentist never suggested doing this at such a young age as your child. We always knew the problem existed, but he waited for his permanent teeth to come in so we could go from there. You may want to consider a second opinion.

Not sure how far you are willing to drive but we go to Dr. Baird Faulkner. He has an office in Hermitage and one in Lebanon near UMC (Baddour Pkwy.). He does free consultations and he is excellent. He was my orthodontist when I was a teen and young adult and he is now treating both of my kids. His phone number is ###-###-#### and it rolls to both offices depending on which office they are in that day. You won't get a more honest opinion about what needs to be done. If he feels it can wait then he will tell you that. If he feels it needs to be taken care of now, he will tell you that too.