Treatment for overbite?

[DeadTall]

My 8 year old DD has been referred to an orthodontist for investigation into her overbite. She looks as if her top teeth protrude out but the dentist told me it's because her lower jaw os too far back. Does anyone know if this is a serious problem, and worth treating? What's the treatment like, & is it effective?

[GardenersDelight]

My DD had over and underbite. So she had dental blocks that pulled her lower jaw forward decreasing her gap from 11 to 3mm, followed by a year of traintracks, she's now nearly 16 and just wears a retainer at night. The change is amazing she has perfect teeth the rest of us our jealous

[feedthegoat]

DeadTall, I have the same problem as your dd. My lower jaw is basically too small.

When I was much younger I was given ordinary braces but once it was realised what the problem was this was stopped to avoid the problem Elsa123 refers to.

I was then given a plate to wear at night which basically had a plastic clip at the front which pulled your lower jaw forward. The consultant at the time did say it was abit of a long shot as I was slightly old for this to be successful and sadly it didn't work. Probably because I used to take it out in my sleep, I used to find it at the other side of the room in the morning . It was incredibly uncomfortable though. I think I was about 12 then.

They then advised that the only other option was surgery which would involve taking bone from my hip to extend my jaw. This sounded way too extreme for me so I've learned to live with it.

Hopefully with your dd being younger than I was the other method may work for her.

[Olihan]

I have an overbite caused by my lower jaw being too far back. When I was of an age to have braces (many moons ago!) my only option was to have my jaw broken and reset to realign it properly. My mum refused to let them do it so I was given train tracks instead. My top teeth now slope backwards (they didn't stick out before, they were straight) and I still have an overbite. It's also obvious when I'm in profile that my bottom jaw is too far back. It doesn't cause me any physical issues but I'm a bit self conscious about it, from a vanity point of view.

Unless they give you some option of realigning her jaw I really wouldn't just go for braces. It would be interesting to know if there is a less painful modern treatment as I'd consider having it done.

[Elsa123]

I watched a documentary about how too many children have their overbites pushed backwards and end up looking chinless. It seems that these days, much better treatment is to pull the lower jaw forward to get a nicer profile. Very worth it, I think-.

[DeadTall]

Thanks for the info. I guess we'll have to see what the orthodontist says & go from there.

[minimu]

My daughter had an overbit corrected luckily just getting to the end of it now. To start with she had a plate on the upper jaw and a fixed bar behind her bottom teeth.
Then a plate with metal v's on the top plate that pushed behind the metal bar on the bottom. Sounds dreadful but she didn't mind it at all. After a while she was then onto the train tracks she didn't have the rubber bands as I think the metal bar bit did that for her.

It has made a difference to her profile and she now has fantastic teeth. We did decide to remortgage the house pay in installments and go private but for us it was worth it.

[CybilLiberty]

If you can get it on the NHS def go for it. My dd saw a massive improvement in her teeth within a short while and is currently on the elastic band phase.

She gets fed up with it at times. BUT she had to wait until all her adult teeth were through before treatment started.