The Toothache That Changed My Life

As children grow, it's common for little problems to pop up, like having an underbite. If you've been told that your child has an underbite, it's important for you to know that fixing it now is ideal. Waiting can make it much easier to fix this problem in the future, even if it continues to develop to the point where your child has difficulty chewing or speaking clearly. Read on to learn why it's imperative to fix an underbite early on.

The Problem

An underbite is when a person's lower jaw doesn't reach as far as it should. It results in the appearance of a shrunken chin and can make the jawline appear weaker or fainter. At its most minimal, this problem can make a person feel dissatisfied with their appearance. However, if this condition continues to grow worse without correction, it can often become a serious problem.

When the top half of the jaw continues to grow, and the bottom half doesn't keep up, it can create a severe misalignment in the teeth. This can make it hard to bite through food, as the upper and lower front teeth no longer come together to bite through things.

Encouraging Growth

When your child is still in their teens, their bones are still growing. This means that it's possible to change the way that your child's jaw grows.

When your child's jaw is still growing, it means that the bone is somewhat malleable. This means that by inducing slight but constant pressure on your child's jaw, your orthodontist can encourage it to grow more. This helps to minimize the underbite, ensures that your child can eat properly, and reduces or completely removes any impact on your child's appearance once they've grown up.

Without Adolescent Braces

Unfortunately, if braces aren't used while the bones are still growing, the only real solution in the future is surgery. Once the bone has completed growing and become denser, it's not possible to simply extend it or to change its growth pattern. As a result, surgery is usually used to manually cut the jaw apart and to create space between the two parts of the bone with a surgical plate. While this surgery is safe and effective, if you could avoid having your child go under the knife and experience surgical recovery downtime with a set of braces, why wouldn't you?

Braces can make a bigger difference in a child's life than most. If you want your child to have the best and most symmetrical smile in the future, it's time to contact your local adolescent orthodontic services today.