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Underbite in Child

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Underbite in 10-month-old

2001

My ten month old daughter has a noticeable underbite that I am concerned about. She has two upper teeth and two lower teeth, and the two upper teeth fall behind the lower teeth when she bites. This is also evident when she smiles. I think this is a problem that will need to be dealt with by an orthodontist since it will probably not correct itself - I had an aunt with an underbite that was corrected when she was an adult. Does anyone have young children with this condition? If you have any recommendations on orthodontists, particularly ones that would be helpful to children of a very young age, please let me know. Any additional help and information would also be appreciated. Thank you. Leslie

My daughter had exactly the same problem with thrusting her chin out at 10 months. She was a late teether, so at 10-15 months she just had the 2 lower teeth, and did this all the time. I worried too, but the Dr. assured me that she was just adjusting to the teeth (and showing them off!), and that probably when there were more teeth everything would be fine. Dr. was right. Now kid is 6 years old with a beautiful smile and no sign of under bite (but she's a little peeved that she hasn't had any visits yet from the "tooth fairy" like her earlier-teething pals).
My daughter had the same type of underbite. I took her to see Dr. Kenneth Brehnan in Albany when she was 2 1/2, who fitted her for a retainer. She wore it for a few years, then "graduated" to headgear along with the retainer. She wasn't real fired up about wearing the headgear (only at night, thank goodness!), but we didn't want to her to have to face jaw surgery as an adult. Her underbite was gradually corrected, and she just got braces this week. (She is now 12 1/2 yrs. old.) She is also wearing rubber bands with the braces to keep the lower jaw in line.

When she was 2 1/2, I would sit in the chair and have her lay on top of me for checkups, since she was a little bit apprehensive about the whole idea. Dr. Brehnan and his staff are quick and efficient, as well as very caring and patient. I highly recommend him. My other 2 children and I all were fitted with braces by Dr. Brehnan.

Interesting note: Since none of the other family members had an underbite problem, I asked the Dr. where it could have come from. He said that since my daughter had a rather wide, flat tongue, it would push against her lower teeth. Her lower jaw would extend forward to try to accommodate the tongue.

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