ive been seing an orthodontist for my underbite

Q. From the age of seven years I have been seeing an orthodontist who told me I have an under bite. The problem was not overly obvious initially, but have since had brace work which had lead to the upper jaw resting further back, showing the under bite and making the whole issue very obvious. I am now 22 and I am still awaiting an operation to correct this problem. Besides the issues of eating habits and drooling, I am very self-conscious of my underbite, which can make speaking or eating a very daunting task as I cannot cover my mouth 24/7. I was wondering whether I was waiting for my operation (which has been delayed since I was 18) if there was any possibilities of having some sort of denture temporarily fixed to the upper jaw to give the illusion that there is no under bite or at least less of one. I have a 1cm or so gap between where the top and bottom front teeth meet. Is there anything that can be done in the short term to at least make me feel less self conscious? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks for your help.

A. I have never heard of a “denture” used in this way.  It is very likely that if such an appliance was made that it would irritate your upper lip and not be useable.

dr julian caplan

Dr Julian Caplan
Aviva Cosmetic Dentistry
Director on the board of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
www.avivacosmeticdentistry.co.uk
101 St. Peters Street
St. Albans Hertfordshire
AL1 3EN

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This post was published on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 7:52 amand is filed under Dr Caplan's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Orthodontics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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