What does it mean if I have an underbite?

What your dentist actually means

When your dentist or orthodontist says the word underbite, they mean your bottom front teeth end up sitting in front of your top front teeth when you bite all the way down. Most people's bites work the other way, with the top teeth resting just outside the bottom ones, so an underbite is simply a flip of that usual pattern.

It happens because jaws do not always grow at exactly the same speed. Sometimes the lower jaw grows a little more than expected, sometimes the upper jaw grows a little less, and sometimes it is really about how a few teeth are angled rather than the jaw at all. None of that is something you can tell just by looking in a mirror, which is exactly why this is a job for your pediatric dentist and orthodontist instead of a guess at home. More on how that whole process works is on our orthodontics page, if you or your parents want to look ahead.

It's not something you did

Jaws are a lot like height. The size and shape you end up with often runs in families, so if your underbite looks a little like your dad's or an older cousin's, that is not a coincidence, and it is nobody's fault. You did not cause it by chewing wrong or sleeping a certain way.

Because you are still growing, an underbite right now can look different in a few years than it does today. That is the real reason your pediatric dentist keeps checking on it at your visits instead of reacting to it all at once. Growing bodies change, and watching how yours changes is how your team figures out what, if anything, needs to happen next.

Does this mean braces are coming?

Not automatically, and definitely not today. Plenty of kids with an underbite just get watched, visit after visit, and never need anything more than that. For some kids, an orthodontist gets involved earlier, while the jaw is still growing, because a few underbite patterns are easier to guide while you are young than they are once you are done growing.

Whichever one turns out to be true for you, it will be a conversation your parents have with your pediatric dentist and orthodontist together, not a surprise sprung on you at an appointment. Nobody can say exactly what your plan will look like from a single visit, and anyone who claims otherwise is guessing. If your parents have questions before your next visit, they can always call (239) 482-2722.

Living with it, day to day

Some kids with an underbite notice that biting into something big, like a whole apple or a thick sandwich, feels a little different than it does for their friends. That is worth mentioning at your next visit, especially if it happens a lot or if your jaw ever feels like it shifts to one side when you chew.

Beyond that, an underbite does not have to change much about your day. It is one detail about your smile, not the whole story of it, and your pediatric dentist has seen plenty of kids whose bite looked exactly like yours. If new words come up at your visit, the Kids' Dental Dictionary explains them in plain language too.