underbite in toddler

Try a Cranial Sacral Chiropractor. They can work within the mouth on the roof of the mouth to stimulate the growth of the Maxilla. My daughter will be 4 shorty and i am going down this road until she is older enough for the compliance with a device such as the Myobrace.

Hi! My son saw Dr Mahony in Sydney. He's 6 years old. He had to see a whole range of specialist but he's had the tracks now for about 2 months and with the myobrace trainers he has to wear at night (and 1-2 hours a day) I can see the bite and his smile improving already. I will keep updating but so far, I have no regrets!

My daughter went down the same route as you (expanders which left cut marks on her tongue and the horrid reverse face mask) and I am doing whatever I can so my youngest son doesn't go through the same torture! He has the planas tracks, and myobrace trainers (mouth guard worn during sleep and 1 hour a day). But I think the most important thing we had to address was his mouth breathing and posturing of his tongue. My son has had the treatment now for two months (he's 6) and although it's still early days, i have already seen a slight correction in his bite and his smile is beautiful so far.

Thanks for your reply. my daughter has seen the ENT and she has large tonsils and anenoids and will most likely have these removed when she is 2. Not sure when the dentist will apply the planas direct tracks or start her on the myobrace. I know it will be a while yet given her age, but i really appreciate hearing other people's experiences. Our dentist trained under DR Mahony and she said he is a world leader in the treatment. Can i ask how long did it take to the planas direct track applied? How is your son going with compliance in terms of using the myobrace? I can see my daughter has the incorrect tongue posture (sits in the lower jaw most likely due to mouth breathing as a result of the large tonsils and anenoids). How is your son going correcting his tongue posture? I feel like this could be hard seeing as its correcting a habit etc. Thanks again :) ps great to hear you are seeing an improvement in only 2 months... u must all be so pleased and it sounds less intrusive compared to what ur daughter went through.

I think its definitely the best way to go. I saw 4 different specialist before finally meeting Dr Mahony (ironically enough i also read about him on a forum like this and saw the 60 minutes episode he did on traditional braces and its affects on the face). Every one tells you something different so it could get so confusing but I felt Dr Mahony also treats the underlying cause.
Your dentist will take measurements and moulds of your daughter's molars and have the planas tracks built in a lab (they kind of look like the molars) and when you come back for your appointment, they glue them in. It took under 2 hours (with a small break). He is quite patient and sat mostly still for the dentist which I think is also very important. He was very annoyed with them the first two days but quickly adjusted and says he can't even feel them anymore.
With the Myobrace, the first night i thought "how is this going to work?" It popped out of his mouth at night, and it looked uncomfortable. I was really stressed until the second night, he slept right through and now wears it without any problems or complaints and even remembers to put them in when I forget... I guess every child is different though!
In regards to the tongue position... I was referred to a Tongue Thrust Specialist (can you believe there is such a thing). I only went a couple times. She gave us some exercises to do to help him along. I have to admit though, we are quite lazy in this department! The Myobrace mouth guard is also specially designed so that it holds the tongue in the correct position as well when they sleep. I also remind him (when I remember) "Tongue on roof" You are correct in regards to the habit... my eldest daughter still sleeps with her mouth wide open until this day. She has a whole heap of sinus issues! While her treatment corrected her underbite, I think us never fixing the underlying issues and leaving it so late ( she was 9-10) she now has a cross bite amongst other ailments.
Feel free to ask me any questions! I know there is a lack of information out there and people will always give you their two cents of advice. "Its just cosmetic, why do you bother?" "Isn't he too young"
The underbite may look like a cosmetic issue but if you think about the cause "not being able to breathe properly" "speech problems" and the self esteem issues that can also occur, I think we are doing what's best for our kids! Hope all goes well for you. I will update when his bite is corrected but it appears to me like its improved slightly again since my last post!

Sorry for my slow response! Thanks soooo much for all this information, its so helpful and as you say there is a lack of information and also not many people go thru this so its not easy to find people to talk to it about. Sorry to hear your daughter is having a rough trot with her ent and dental issues. My son has just also seen the ent and he now also has to have his tonsils and anenoids out. No underbite for him but ive noticed that his tongue rests in his upper jaw unlike my daughter. His tonsils and anenoids are just really large and cause him other problems like sleep apnea and mouth breathing.

I read that the tongue grows our jaw and hence when its in the lower jaw the pressure it puts on that area grows the lower jaw and subsequently the upper jaw doesnt grow as it should and thus results in an underbite. (The pressure should be on the upper palate growing/lengthening our upper jaw). So basically if u don't correct the tongue posture the tongue will continue to push teeth and the jaw out of place. Im trying to do little activities with my daughter to help her strengthen her tongue and muscles, so we will see if that helps. Thats great the myobrace helps trains them to have the correct tongue posture.
Thanks so much for being willing to keep me posted. Id really love to hear how it goes with your son. I will check on here from time to time to see if u hav posted. I completely agree with you its way more than a cosmetic issue, like u say self esteem, proper jaw/teeth functioning, preventing dental damage, speech etc they r all so important. I think as parent you are fostering their development and giving them the best chance in life in every aspect including their health. It sounds like you went to a lot of effort to find the best treatment for your son.... Im so glad to hear that its working for him and that he quickly adapted to using the myobrace. Does that mean that he definitely won't need a jaw expander and headgear? Btw i use to see a pederatic dentist and was told not to worry about the underbite. Im so glad i didnt take that advice and looked into it more and have found out and accessed a dentist who does preventive orthodontics/planas track and myobrace! I hope all is well with you.

Hi i have a few other things ive been wondering about.... was sedation an option for your son while having the planas direct tracks applied? And how often do see the dentist/how frequently are they monitoring his progress? Have they said how long it takes? I hope u dont mind me asking....thanks in advance :)

HI! Sorry for the late reply! I'm not sure about your dentist, but my one (Dr Johnson) said he would wait until they were co-operative (when they got older). I don't think I ever asked him what would happen otherwise. The process was very similar to having a filling put in.. they clean it, glue the planas tracks in and then use the blue light.. When i think of it, the entire time we were in the office was almost two hours but that also included a bit of discussion and photos taken afterwards and a break after each molar (he had it applied to 4 molars).
We saw the dentist two weeks after it was applied and then he said he would check up in a year. (unless there are any problems). Apparently the Planas tracks stay on the molars until they fall out. The purpose of them is to hold the jaw slightly opened (so the bottom jaw doesn't over lap) and thus allowing the top jaw to grow as it should. Without the tracks, the bottom jaw would always be in the way. I saw Dr Mahony a month after the planas tracks were applied. My son has his Myobrace now since December and I am due for a follow up soon. ( I was suppose to book in for January). Both have said that they were happy with the progress so far. In regards to your question about the headgear and expander, they said it would heavily rely on how much his jaw grows but that this was my best chance as underbites do not correct themselves.
If I am correct, the tongue is suppose to be resting on the roof on the mouth... in this position, it holds and pushes the jaw into the correct position.
BTW I saw a paediatric dentist who told me to wait also... but I think with the nightmare of my eldest daughter in the back of my head, I just always kept looking for an alternative.
I will definitely keep you posted through the duration of his treatment. There is an option to follow this chat so it will send me an email if you post something! Hope this info helps.

Hello i hope u r well. Thanku so much this info, it definitely helps answer my questions and gives me a bit more of an idea of what to expect. Its been all hands on deck here with my son having his surgery to remove his tonsils and anenoids. My daughter who has the underbite will have hers out in 6 months time. So many facets to this journey and its only just beginning!!
I look forward to stayin in touch and sharing about how our kids are progressing. Thanku again, i greatly appreciate the info and support :)

Hi!

Hope you are well and everything went smoothly for your son. :)
Just thought I would give a quick update. My son went in for a check up and the Dr. was slightly annoyed that I hadn't been doing enough of the exercises. He said by now it should have progressed a lot more! So now we are squeezing in as much exercises as we can fit in! So don't be silly like me and think they're not as important.. He said they all need to work together.
Keeo in touch!

Hi there! Thanks soooo much for the update... its so thoughtful of you.
Wow i guess that really highlights the importance of the exercises. I hope they start to make a huge difference for your son! I'll certainly take on board your experience and get my daughter onto them when she starts treatment. Will be interesting to hear how the exercises impact your sons progress when you see the dentist next.
My sons op and recovery went smoothly. .. thanku for thinkin of him :)

Hi there, I was thinking of your son today and was wondering how he is going with his treatment? Are seeing a difference with the exercises? Are they improving his tongue position?
I hope its all going well and in the right direction!

Hi, which country did you live in when your children's underbite was corrected. We currently have the same issue. We live in the Netherlands, and the doctors here do not want to deal with our 5 yo as they think it is too early. Mostly, a surgery is recommended at a later age. I would also not mind going abroad to fix it, but looking on the internet does not provide much info as to when they start treating...

Hi there, a couple of us on this forum are in Australia. My daughter's wont be corrected until she is older (she is nearly 2 atm). I suspect it will be when she is 5 or 6. The treatment that has mainly been discussed on this forum lately is known as Myobrace, Planas direct tracks and myofacial therapy (exercises to correct and strengthen associated muscles and tongue). A certified Myobrace dentist can assess and if suitable provide this treatment. I checked on the Myobrace website and there are a couple of providers in the Netherlands. It certainly could be worth a consultation. Keep us updated on your progress if you like... i will be hoping it goes well.

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Hi, can I get more info on this? We live in Portland Oregon and my 5 yr old son has a bad underbite. Thx!