Underbite refers to a kind of malocclusion, which is quite common among children. Both congenital factors and unhealthy habits account for its forming. Here we are going to take a look at what kind of bad habits will cause underbite. 

    1.Abnormal sucking practices

    In babyhood, babies have to excessively protract their mandible due to the improper position of feeder or the inappropriate gesture of feeding, resulting in the teeth deformity.

    2.Sucking fingers

    It seems normal that kids at the age of two or three tend to suck their fingers. If the habit remains as they grow older, however, there is a likeliness to develop malocclusion. 

    3.Biting lips

    Driven by emotional changes, children may unconsciously develop behaviour of biting lips. Without any intervention, it will evolve into a habit over time. Frequently biting upper lip will lead to mandible protrusion and thus underbite. 

    4.Breathing through mouth

    Children with such diseases as rickets, chronic tonsillitis and chronic pharyngolaryngitis, fail to keep the respiratory tract thoroughly open and develop a habit of breathing through mouth, thereby resulting in malocclusion.

    It’s of great necessity to seek timely treatment for underbite which will affect not only children’s appearance, but also their physical and psychological health. 

    In general, the best timing to seek orthodontics ranges from aged 12 to 18, when the permanent dentition have fully erupted and malocclusion starts to show up. In addition, teenagers remain a sound biological reactivity towards outside stimulus and high capacity to reshape bone, making it easier to achieve an ideal result. That’s why a timely treatment is so important. 

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