Lower front teeth that close in front of the upper ones can come from tipped teeth or from the jaws themselves. That diagnosis decides whether orthodontics alone can correct it.
The first visit is an examination with a specialist orthodontist, records and an explanation of what is causing your underbite.
It depends on the cause. When the lower front teeth are tipped forward or the upper ones tipped back, fixed braces or clear aligners, often with elastics, can usually restore a normal overlap. When the lower jaw is too long or the upper jaw too small, an adult may need orthodontics combined with jaw surgery. At Creative Arts in Dubai, specialist orthodontists make that diagnosis, and Dr. Firas Osman assesses cases where surgery may be needed.
Timelines are typical ranges, not promises.
They can look the same in the mirror. Examination and X-rays tell them apart, and that decides what treatment can achieve.
| Dental underbite | Skeletal underbite | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the problem is | The teeth: lower incisors tipped forward or upper incisors tipped back | The jaws: lower jaw longer, or upper jaw smaller or further back, than usual |
| Profile | Usually balanced | Often a prominent chin or a flat middle third of the face |
| A useful clue | Often the front teeth can be guided edge to edge; the jaw slides forward to get past a tooth contact | The front teeth cannot be brought edge to edge |
| During growth | Usually stable | Can keep worsening until jaw growth finishes, which may be the late teens or later |
| Usual treatment | Braces or clear aligners, often with elastics | Mild: orthodontic camouflage. Marked, in adults: orthodontics with jaw surgery |
Many underbites are a mix of both; the side-view X-ray shows how much lies in each jaw. See also bite problems compared.
Listed from least to most involved. Some plans combine them, and not every option suits every case.
Fixed braces move the upper incisors forward and the lower incisors back, while elastics worn between the jaws help shift the bite. This is the usual approach for a dental underbite, because brackets give precise control of the roots.
Invisalign can correct some mild dental underbites, usually with elastics too, when the trays are worn 20–22 hours a day. Larger corrections are generally more predictable with fixed braces.
For a mild skeletal underbite, the teeth are angled to compensate: upper incisors tilted forward, lower incisors back, sometimes with extractions. The bite works, but the jaws are unchanged, and the gum and bone around the lower incisors limit how far they can move.
When the jaw difference is too large to disguise, braces prepare the teeth, corrective jaw surgery repositions one or both jaws, and orthodontics then finishes the bite. This pathway is planned with Dr. Firas Osman; see surgical orthodontics.
How the decision usually falls. The final answer comes from your records, not from a photograph.
An underbite changes how biting forces travel through the teeth and jaws, so the assessment covers more than alignment.
Dr. Valeriia Kozachenko has a particular focus on TMJ and jaw function, which matters even more when jaw surgery is being considered.
The appliance, and whether surgery belongs in the plan, is chosen after the diagnosis.
How the teeth meet, whether the jaw slides forward on closing, the jaw joints, gums and wear.
Visit 1Photographs, a 3D intraoral scan and X-rays that measure the jaws; CBCT 3D imaging where surgery is being planned.
Visit 1Whether the underbite is dental, skeletal or both, and what each option could achieve. If surgery is an option, you meet Dr. Firas Osman.
ReviewAppliance, timeline, cost, retention and alternatives, itemised before you commit.
Before treatmentAdjustments or aligner changes, with elastics as instructed. In a surgical case, this phase prepares the teeth for the operation.
MonthsRetainers hold the corrected bite; younger patients are reviewed until growth settles.
Long termA skeletal underbite can keep developing while the jaws grow, so a child with an underbite is worth an orthodontic assessment around age seven. Most children are monitored; if an early step could help, the specialist explains what it involves and what it cannot do. Jaw surgery, when needed, is planned only once growth has finished.
The specialist orthodontists diagnose and treat the bite. Dr. Firas Osman joins the plan when the jaws themselves need repositioning.
Often, yes. Dental underbites and many mild skeletal ones are corrected with braces or aligners, using elastics and sometimes extractions to compensate. Orthodontics cannot shorten a long lower jaw or bring a small upper jaw forward, though; when the difference is large, surgery gives a more stable, balanced result than tipping the teeth further.
Mainly mild dental underbites, where the teeth need tipping rather than large root movements, usually with elastics and only if the aligners are worn 20–22 hours a day. Skeletal underbites are generally more predictable with fixed braces. The specialist tells you at the assessment which applies to you.
Orthodontic treatment for an underbite commonly takes 12–24 months, depending on how far the teeth must move and how consistently elastics are worn. A pathway that includes jaw surgery is longer, because braces are worn before and after the operation. Your written plan gives an estimate for your own case.
Yes. An underbite is one of the problems an orthodontic assessment around age seven looks for, because a skeletal underbite can keep developing with growth. Most children are monitored rather than treated straight away; the specialist explains whether any early step would help and what it could achieve.
Not when the jaws are the cause. Veneers or crowns can reshape teeth in a mild edge-to-edge bite, but they cannot change which jaw sits in front, and ceramic placed in a reverse bite tends to chip. Restorative work is usually considered after the bite has been corrected, for example to rebuild worn edges.
A corrected dental underbite usually stays stable with retainers. A skeletal underbite corrected during growth can partly return if the lower jaw keeps growing, which is why young patients are reviewed and surgery waits until growth has finished. Retainers are worn long term after every type of underbite correction.
Dr. Firas Osman, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon & Implantologist, assesses and plans the surgery with the specialist orthodontists. The operation is performed under general anaesthesia, given by an anaesthesiologist, in a hospital setting, and he explains where it takes place. The operation and recovery are covered on our orthognathic surgery page.
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A consultation ends with a diagnosis and a written, itemised plan — not a sales pitch. Book online, message us on WhatsApp, or call the clinic.
