Severe overbite options

[PutAHashbrownOnIt]

We took DS (13) to the orthodontist yesterday expecting to be told he might need braces but were shocked to find out he actually has a severe overbite (9.5mm) and we were presented with a range of options, none of which sound good.
Option 1: Wait until he stops growing (18?) and then do jaw surgery to bring the upper jaw back. This will completely correct the overbite but is obviously rough and will change his appearance
Option 2: Remove teeth and then use fixed braces on the top to bring the upper teeth back
Option 3: Twin plates to bring the lower jaw forwards and the upper jaw back followed by fixed braces.
Options 2 and 3 won't completely correct the overbite
They said they couldn't recommend an option, only explain them to us.
Has anyone else faced this choice. What did you go for and do you think is was the right choice? Any experiences of any of the options greatly appreciated.

My son (also 13) is on the verge of getting your option three. We weren't given any other choices. Looking at your options objectively, one and two are quite invasive. If you went with option three, would options one and two still be open to your son if three didn't work?

We did option 3 and its worked incredibly well.

Ds had huge overbite but as he's asd and had bad reactions to anaesthetic last time necessitating an icu stay, operations weren't seen as a desirable choice. The twin block braces worked really well and he's now at the fixed brace stage.

I had a very severe overbite (as well as some other dental issues but will just talk about the overbite).

I had twin blocks at probably a similar age - they didn't work at all for me I found them embarrassing, I couldn't speak well with them in, was very self conscious at school and would remove them at every opportunity. They fell out when I was asleep and removing them every time I wanted to have a drink or eat was a lot of hard work. I am 30 now so it was a while ago but googling them they still look very similar although they do work for some so probably worth a try first as it's the least impactful overall?

In the end I had a combination of fixed braces about aged 22 (started later as I wanted to travel etc before but I finished growing around 20) to bring teeth back as well as double jaw surgery aged 26. The braces did a lot of the work and my teeth were very straight but as I grew older it was much more obvious to me both when eating and cosmetically that my overbite was having an impact on me.

I won't lie the jaw surgery was a big deal it was my first surgery so a little scary and the recovery was in the short term painful and I was very swollen. It probably took about 6 weeks to recover in the short term and 6 months to really feel all swelling was gone. However now I can safely say my teeth look great, I can eat pizza or sandwiches without everything falling off as I chomp straight through and I am glad I did it. I don't feel that my face looks very different at all, just more balanced.

Hope this helps! Happy to message further as I never found any advice online when I was looking x

We did option 3 with a 12 mm overbite. It has been absolutely excellent. It changed his appearance in a positive way. He is in the fixed braces now.

Twenty-five or so years ago ago my younger sister did option 1. Her mouth was wired shut for months & her face was swollen for a long time. It did change her appearance in a positive way.

My son is in the same situation, we were advised that option 2 was not a good thing to do as the teeth removal causes the face to recess even more as you get older. Option 3 didnt work for us, he found the twin blocks very painful, didnt wear them enough, so they didnt work. So he is on the surgical path now, but we need to wait until he has finished growing. I think he will probably have the surgery when he finishes school before starting uni. He is quite happy about the idea of it, at the moment his lower jaw is a bit recessed and it will address that. The surgery is through the NHS and its not for cosmetic reasons, the doctors have said his facial structure will cause issues with breathing and his air passages as he gets older so needs addressing. But it will have cosmetic benefits as well of course. With the surgery they still have to have braces before and after as well.

Option 3 failed for us, do we did option 1 for my eldest, and went straight to option 1 for the next child.
The surgery was brutal but eating normally after 7 days.

My son had a 10mm overbite and had option 3 starting age 13..He got his braces off just before he turned 16 and now has lovely straight teeth with minimal overbite. The blocks were the worst for him but no issues at all with the permanent braces and now happily wears a retainer overnight. He was told if he didn't comply with the blocks then surgery would be needed.

We did option 3 and it worked brilliantly. A 14mm overbite was reduced to 4mm in just over 4 months. DS totally commited and wore the twin blocks constantly, apart from when eating or swimming - it took him a few weeks to get used to them but was totally worth it. He can now breathe more easily (and sleeps better because of this) and can chew much more efficiently. After the twin blocks had done their magic he had to have fixed braces for about 12 months to straighten out the alignment of his teeth. He feels it was all totally worth it.

Don't do anything that brings top jaw back. It will impact his breathing and health for the rest of his life. It is his lower jaw that has not developed properly for whatever reason so if you can bring it forward it will have a massive positive impact on his health, beyond any appearance benefit.

Twin blocks followed by fixed. Works very well in a compliant patient. I say this as a dentist and as a parent. DS had a 10mm overjet and it corrected in a year. He’s now on fixed.

I had option 3 and really really struggled. They were very noticeable because they prop your mouth open more than it normally is, they caused me to drool a lot, they were uncomfortable, eating was horrible, my speech was impacted. I was also around 13 and it was a really tough time to look visibly different! I wish I could have had the surgery and got the suffering over and done with a bit quicker

I have a 9mm overbite. I went for your option 2 and still have a 9mm overbite (albeit with straighter teeth).
Orthodontist recommended surgery to bring the bottom jaw forward (leaving the top jaw alone) but unfortunately I didn’t go ahead with it at the time.

DS had a 11mm overbite. He had twin blocks followed by fixed braces. Worked brilliantly.
His overbite was really pronounced and his top front teeth stuck out over his bottom lip, he's now got perfectly aligned jaws / teeth and is a really good looking lad (I know I'm his Mum, but still 😁).
He was very determined though, he wore the twin blocks all the time and they made a huge difference immediately.

Thank you to everyone who has replied
It's so hard to know what to do for the best. I was so surprised as his teeth are actually pretty straight, its just the overbite and you can't really tell from looking at him that there is much of a problem. The orthodontist definitely said it was a problem with the upper jaw being too far forward rather then the lower jaw too far back but I'm not sure if that changes the chance of success with different options.
Poor kid, he found out last weekend he needs to wear glasses full time too!

Another one here whose son had the twin block braces followed by fixed braces. The block braces look scary and take a little while to get used to. DS was a bit dribbly at first and couldn’t speak clearly to begin with. School were brilliant and made sure he wasn’t put on the spot to answer questions for the first few weeks. They worked so well. He had a 10.3 mm overbite and within months you would never have known. His teeth are fantastic now and he’s so glad he went for the braces