Underbite in Children

Ideally, when the teeth are in occlusion, that is, when you close your upper and lower jaws, the upper teeth are present just ahead of the lower teeth. However, in some cases, you may see a person whose lower teeth are present ahead of the upper teeth when he closes his jaws. This is known as underbite. Underbite in children is becoming a common finding nowadays and makes many parents anxious regarding the dental health of their children. However, they needn't worry because at times, this condition resolves on its own. But when you feel that it is persisting, you need to find out the causes as well as the treatment options available to you for treating an underbite. So, given below are the causes and options of how to go about correcting underbite in children.

Causes

The cause of the underbite can be either dental or skeletal. In dental underbite, the usual cause is a crossbite. Crossbite is a condition where one or more of the lower teeth are present ahead of the upper teeth when the two jaws are in occlusion. In this condition, the tooth/teeth are slightly forwardly placed. Thus, the problem appears to be so due to the placement of these few teeth. Furthermore, sometimes, there may be a case of false underbite in children. In such cases, due to the incomplete eruption of some teeth, the person may seem to have an underbite, but it is not actually so.

Other causes of include skeletal ones. A skeletal underbite is one wherein the lower jaw is itself forwardly placed when compared to the upper jaw. This can be due to many reasons; it may be hereditary or it may even be due to either a retruded maxilla and/or a prognathic mandible. If the condition is such that it is normal and is not leading to any problems, then it does not need any active treatment as such, as it is a case of class III malocclusion.

Treatment

Underbite correction in children will be the exact opposite of the steps used in overbite correction. If a child has only a dental underbite, then this can be corrected with the help of orthodontic braces. In this treatment, with the help of brackets and wires, the lower teeth are made to occlude behind the upper teeth. In case of a non-skeletal underbite, orthodontic treatment is the best way to deal with the case.

Initially, if the child has a skeletal underbite, then luckily, since the child is still in his growing years, then the mandible can be made to grow into its proper and desired position. This is done with the help of appliances like a headgear. These appliances help to bring the mandible into its desired position by applying the right kind of forces. However, if the child has reached an age where the bone has stopped growing, then the only way of achieving underbite correction is with the help of surgical intervention.

If a person has a severe skeletal underbite, to the extent that he has a severe crossbite, then an underbite or crossbite surgery will need to be done. In this surgery, if it is the mandible that is slightly prognathic, then it is taken and pushed back and secured in this position. However, if the mandible is retruded, then it is taken and pushed further and brought ahead of the mandible. Sometimes, when the growth is complete, then instead of moving the entire mandible, only a part of it is cut and pushed back, which is a jaw surgery known as bilateral sagittal split osteotomy.

However, you need to understand that even if your child is showing symptoms of an underbite, he may not necessarily need treatment for it just yet. This is because, as mentioned earlier, it could be a case where the child may simply appear to have an underbite because the teeth haven't fully erupted yet. So, you need to visit an orthodontist and get your child's condition diagnosed to check whether it is truly a case of underbite, and if it is, then appropriate treatment should be started out accordingly.