Jaw surgey a must for an adult underbite?

[slickrick]

One of my family members recently got braces for his underbite. He is in his early 20s.

His jaw seems to overlap his upper one. Maybe the braces will play around with his teeth, but, fact is, his lower jaw overlaps. I do not see how braces will help him out much. His chin appears to be too far out. How the hell will braces alone fix that???

No offense to orthodontics parctices out there, but they are very giddy about you getting braces even if your teeth are nearly perfect (gee, I wonder why), so it's no wonder they gave it to him.

I think they weren't fair to him by promising him that the braces alone will fix the problem. I knew what he looked like 6 years ago with no underbite and he looked much better.

Am I crazy? Or are my fears justified? I think my family doesn't want to hear about something as serious as "jaw surgery", but I think it will be the only thing that will help him.

[Sunny]

If his problem is dental, like my type 3 bite was, then braces and elastics alone can correct this. I started treatment at 47 and my underbite was gone within a couple of years. Unfortunately I have a few other problems that are taking a lot longer to correct.

You're probably not crazy, but there's a good chance your fears aren't justified. Maybe talk to your family member and ask what the ortho is planning to correct his class 3.

Good luck to you family member!