Monitoring Lower Jaw Growth

An underbite is when the lower jaw is too far in front of the upper jaw causing the teeth not to touch on bite closure.

When it comes to orthodontic care, timing is everything—especially during childhood and adolescence. While braces or other treatments can address issues early, the natural growth of the lower jaw (mandible) during the teenage years can sometimes disrupt earlier progress. This is why regular orthodontic checkups are so important. Monitoring jaw growth allows us to adapt to changes and plan for long-term solutions, ensuring that your child’s smile stays healthy and aligned as they grow. In this blog, we’ll explore why jaw growth matters, share a real-life success story, and explain how orthodontics combined with jaw surgery can help when growth stabilizes.

Understanding Lower Jaw Grow

The lower jaw, or mandible, undergoes significant growth during adolescence. It is one of the last bones in the body to stop growing. It tends to grow in a downward and forward direction. In most individuals this late growth stage of the jaw has minimal effects on the bite, but in some individuals it can be significant. This growth can dramatically change the bite and how the jaws come together.

Anterior Crossbite Correction and the Role of Growth

One of our patients corrected an anterior crossbite (when the lower front teeth overlap the upper front teeth) early in childhood. With braces, we achieved proper alignment and a functional bite. However, as this patient reached their teenage years, rapid mandibular growth caused the lower jaw to "outgrow" the earlier correction.

Over time, this growth led to a new misalignment that required further treatment once growth stabilized. We used a combination of orthodontics and jaw surgery to realign their teeth and jaws, ensuring a healthy, stable bite and a beautiful smile for the future.

At age 8 the lower teeth are in front of the uppers.

After early treatment with braces the top teeth are now in front.

As the patient grows and more permanent teeth erupt the top teeth have stayed in front.

Once the patient begins puberty, at age 16 the lower teeth are starting to be in front of the top due to lower jaw growth.

The lower jaw continues to grow.

At this point the patient is in his late teens and growth has stopped.

Before jaw surgery in profile.

After surgery the top teeth are now in front of the bottom teeth.

After surgery in profile.

Why Regular Checkups Matter

Monitoring jaw growth through adolescence allows us to:

• Detect changes in jaw growth patterns early and plan for the future if needing to.

• Make adjustments to the bite and teeth early to help prevent unwanted wear of the teeth

• Plan for more advanced treatments like jaw surgery if growth significantly alters alignment. Having straight teeth makes jaw surgery outcomes predictable allows for a perfect esthetic outcome.

Planning Treatment Post-Growth

Once growth has stopped (typically late teens to early 20s), the jaw's position becomes stable, allowing for definitive treatments like orthodontics combined with jaw surgery. This approach ensures results that last a lifetime.

Lower jaw growth is unpredictable, but regular orthodontic checkups help us stay ahead of changes. Whether it’s monitoring growth or planning advanced treatments, Meyer Orthodontics is here to ensure your child’s smile remains healthy and beautiful through every stage of development.