When your child’s jaws are in the correct position, the top teeth will slightly overlap the bottom teeth. These overlapping teeth allow for the most efficient cutting and chewing of food in a normal bite. Sometimes, though, a condition commonly known as underbite can exist with your child’s teeth, jaws, or both that can interfere with this proper tooth alignment.
An underbite condition is treatable through child orthodontics like those our Scottsdale Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry office provides. To learn more about our underbite treatment options, call us at (480) 422-4544. To learn more about what an underbite is, its causes and symptoms, and treatment methods, read more below.
What is an Underbite?
Dentists and orthodontists refer to underbite as a dental malocclusion or prognathism. Underbite occurs when the lower teeth protrude farther outward than the upper front teeth.
An underbite condition can be minor, in which it is hardly noticeable. Or it can be pronounced, in which the lower front teeth are so far forward as to make for a “bulldog” facial appearance.
Severe underbites can lead to other dental problems like difficulty biting off and chewing food, speech difficulties, and even mouth and chronic jaw pain.
Overbite Vs Underbite
Compared to an underbite that involves lower teeth extending in front of upper teeth, an overbite does the opposite. In an overbite condition, the upper teeth extend beyond the lower teeth.
Underbite Causes
Underbite can occur from causes outside of your child’s control, or from habitual behaviors.
Hereditary Causes
Underbites are often passed down through inherited family traits. If someone else in your family has an underbite, then the chances increase that your child could develop it.
Other conditions that your child could be born with, like a cleft palate or cleft lip, can contribute to the onset of an underbite. Being born with a crowded teeth condition, or the growth of one or more tumors on the lower jaw, are other ways that an underbite condition can eventually begin.
Injury Causes
A severe injury to the face, especially one that includes damage to the jawbone like a broken jaw, can lead to an underbite.
Underbite Symptoms
Aside from cosmetic symptoms, a pronounced underbite can contribute to additional oral health problems. These include:
- Mouth breathing and snoring, and sleep apnea, because underbite can make it hard to close the mouth completely.
- Chronic bad breath from a buildup of bacteria in the mouth can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and bacterial infections.
- Difficulty chewing and pruning some words due to the tooth positions.
- In severe underbite cases, your child may experience chronic headaches, excessive wear of tooth enamel, and even chipped teeth.
How to Fix Underbite in Kids and Adults
Sometimes a slight underbite condition in a child might be one he or she grows out of and it corrects itself, especially if the underbite only involves the baby teeth.
These measures promote healthy teeth and gums and reduce the possibilities of dental issues like chronic bad breath, bacterial infection, and tooth decay.
More often, however, some corrective treatment will be needed to fix underbites.
Since the jaw is still malleable during childhood, treating an underbite at around age seven is best when the permanent teeth begin to erupt.
Complete underbite correction treatment options require orthodontic measures. These measures are most effective when applied during childhood, while the bones of the jaw and skull are still growing, but underbite correction may still be possible for adults.
We cover common underbite treatment options below.
Braces and Elastics
Traditional braces are effective in treating underbites in children and adults. Braces, like conventional braces, lingual braces, and ceramic braces, use a combination of bands, brackets, wires, and elastics to gradually reposition misaligned teeth into proper alignment.
Removable Applications
Compared to non-removable braces, in less pronounced underbite correction situations, a removable orthodontic treatment option like Invisalign clear plastic aligners can be effective for children and adults.
Invisalign aligners use customized plastic trays that your child wears for about 22 hours a day but can be removed when eating. An Invisalign treatment plan consists of multiple sets of aligner trays, each replacing the prior set about every two weeks as the realignment process continues.
Our Scottsdale orthodontists at Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry are qualified Invisalign doctors.
Chin Caps, Palatal Expanders, and Facemask Therapy
Treatment options mostly suitable for children include chin caps, palatal expanders, and facemask therapy.
A palatal expander, or upper jaw expander, is worn inside the mouth. It fits against the roof of the mouth and helps gradually expand it, increasing the size of your child’s dental arch to help align the upper and lower jaws.
Facemask therapy consists of a removable mask that rests on your child’s chin and forehead. This reverse-pull headgear relies on elastics to gently pull the upper jaw forward to realign the upper jaw and lower jaw. Like Invisalign aligners, the effectiveness of facemask therapy depends heavily on how long the mask is worn during the day; at least 16 hours a day is optimal.
Underbite Surgery or Tooth Extraction
Orthognathic jaw surgery is an option usually reserved for adults with severe underbites. It is also an option for children who have underbites from genetic contributing factors or whose underbite conditions cause problems with their ability to eat, speak, or breathe.
The objective of the surgery is to align the jaw bones by lengthening the upper jaw or shortening the lower jaw.
Jaw surgery is a major procedure. It usually requires an exam, medical imaging like X-rays, general anesthesia, and bone cutting and reshaping to reposition the jaws. Recovery often takes one to three weeks, during which further treatment, like braces or other dental appliances, may be needed to keep the teeth in place.
In some cases, an option short of surgery, like the removal of one or more teeth, might help to fix an underbite by relieving teeth overcrowding.
Request a Free Underbite Consultation at Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry
We offer child dental services, including jaw alignment services like underbite correction, in Scottsdale through all stages of your child’s growth. Our child dentists and orthodontists can help you with practical advice on how to encourage good oral hygiene habits for your children, and answer any questions you have about their dental health and any dental condition they may be experiencing.
To set up an appointment with one of our pediatric dentists, call us in Scottsdale at (480) 422-4544. Or, if you prefer to contact us online to ask a question or to schedule an appointment, you can reach us here.
