Most people wear braces for one to three years, with the average falling between 18 and 24 months. Your specific timeline depends on how much correction your teeth need, the type of appliance you choose, and how closely you follow your orthodontist’s instructions.
What Determines Your Timeline
The single biggest factor is the complexity of your case. A large systematic review in the European Journal of Orthodontics broke treatment times down by the type of bite problem being corrected. Straightforward cases (Class I, where the bite relationship is mostly normal) averaged about 26 months. Cases requiring correction of an overbite averaged nearly 30 months, and underbite cases averaged 28 months, though with much wider variation.
Crowding severity matters too. The more crowded your teeth, the longer treatment takes, because each tooth needs space to move into its correct position. When teeth need to be extracted to create that space, treatment duration increases further. And if your treatment plan includes correcting how your back teeth fit together (not just straightening the front ones), expect roughly six additional months on average.
Impacted teeth are another common source of delay. An impacted canine that sits relatively close to where it should be adds a manageable amount of time, averaging about 24 months total. But a canine buried deep in the jawbone can push total treatment past 31 months.
Adults vs. Kids and Teens
The quoted range of 18 to 24 months applies to both children and adults, but the biology behind that timeline is different. Children and teens have jaws that are still growing, which means orthodontists can guide both tooth position and jaw development at the same time. The bone surrounding the teeth remodels more readily in younger patients, so teeth often respond to pressure faster.
Adults have fully developed jawbones, so treatment focuses entirely on moving teeth through mature bone. This can slow things down slightly, and adults are also more likely to have had previous dental work (crowns, bridges, missing teeth) that complicates the treatment plan. That said, many adults finish in the same 18 to 24 month window, particularly if their case is moderate.
How Different Appliances Compare
Traditional metal braces typically take 18 to 24 months. Clear aligners can sometimes finish faster, with many patients completing treatment in 12 to 18 months, particularly for mild to moderate issues like slight crowding or minor gaps. The reason is that aligners apply continuous, programmed force and can move multiple teeth simultaneously from the start.
For more complex problems, though, traditional braces often work more efficiently. Severe misalignment, significant bite correction, and cases requiring extracted teeth all play to the strengths of brackets and wires, which give the orthodontist more precise control over individual tooth movement.
Short-term cosmetic systems like Six Month Smiles exist for people whose concern is limited to the front six teeth visible when smiling. These systems use clear brackets and tooth-colored wires to correct alignment, rotations, and mild spacing in about six months. They don’t address bite problems or back teeth, so they’re only appropriate for a narrow range of cases.
What Happens During Treatment
The first few months focus on leveling and aligning. This is when you’ll notice the most visible change as crooked teeth start to straighten out. By months four through six, your orthodontist shifts focus to closing gaps and refining alignment. The final phase, roughly months six through nine in simpler cases, addresses bite correction and the small finishing movements that fine-tune how your upper and lower teeth meet.
These phases stretch or compress depending on your case. Someone with significant crowding and a bite discrepancy will spend much longer in each phase than someone whose teeth are mildly crooked.
How You Can Affect Your Own Timeline
Patient compliance is one of the few factors entirely in your control, and it has a real impact. If your orthodontist prescribes rubber bands (elastics) to correct your bite, wearing them inconsistently will directly extend your treatment time and can compromise the final result. The same applies to aligner wear: most clear aligner systems require 20 to 22 hours of daily wear, and falling short of that slows tooth movement.
Missed appointments also add up. Each adjustment visit keeps treatment progressing on schedule, and gaps between visits mean your teeth sit idle longer than planned. Broken brackets or bent wires from eating hard or sticky foods create similar delays, since your orthodontist has to repair the appliance before moving forward with the treatment plan.
Accelerated Treatment Options
Some orthodontists offer procedures designed to speed up tooth movement. Micro-osteoperforations, where tiny holes are made in the bone near the teeth being moved, can increase the rate of movement by 1.5 to 2 times. A similar technique called piezocision, which uses ultrasonic instruments to make small cuts in the bone, provides roughly double the acceleration.
Vibration devices that you bite on for a few minutes daily have been marketed as accelerators, but the clinical evidence is inconsistent. Some studies show no meaningful speed benefit. These devices are the least invasive option but also the least reliable.
Retainers After Braces Come Off
Getting your braces removed isn’t the end of treatment. The American Association of Orthodontists notes that retainers are typically necessary for life, though how often you wear them decreases over time. Most orthodontists prescribe full-time retainer wear (removing them only to eat and brush) for the first several months after braces come off, then transition you to nighttime-only wear.
Teeth have a natural tendency to drift back toward their original positions, especially in the first year after treatment. Skipping retainer wear during this period can undo months of progress. Over the long term, many people settle into wearing their retainer a few nights per week to maintain their results indefinitely.