Jaw surgery may be necessary to correct a variety of abnormalities. If the patient has an open bite, in which space remains between the jaws even when the mouth is closed, surgery may be required. Additionally, a pronounced underbite or a recessed lower jaw can also be fixed through surgery.

Is jaw surgery necessary for underbite?

If your underbite is related only to misaligned teeth, then your dentist may recommend orthodontics (or “braces”) to treat the condition. However if your bite problem (or “malocclusion”) is due to disproportionate jaw growth, then you may need corrective jaw surgery for underbite treatment.

Do you always need surgery for underbite?

Surgical underbite correction is generally only necessary when there is a more serious skeletal problem responsible for the bad bite. Braces and Invisalign are also more affordable forms of underbite correction compared to surgery and they avoid the painful and long recovery of oral surgery.