The full process of getting braces, from your first consultation to the day they come off, typically takes about 20 to 25 months for most people. But “the process” really starts weeks before brackets ever touch your teeth and continues months after they’re removed. Here’s what each phase looks like and how long it takes.
The Consultation and Planning Phase
Your first orthodontic appointment involves a thorough exam of your teeth, jaws, and bite, followed by a discussion of what the orthodontist found and a proposed treatment plan. You’ll also go over costs, insurance coverage, and payment options. Most offices can get through all of this in a single visit lasting about an hour.
Depending on how complex your case is, you may need one or two follow-up visits for additional imaging or assessments before treatment begins. For straightforward cases, some offices will schedule your bonding appointment within a week or two of your consultation. More complex cases that require extractions, palate expanders, or other preliminary work can push the start date out by several weeks or even months.
Spacers and Pre-Braces Prep
Not everyone needs spacers (small rubber or metal rings placed between your back teeth), but if you do, they go in about one to two weeks before your braces are placed. Their job is to create small gaps so that metal bands can fit around your molars. They can feel like a piece of food stuck between your teeth and sometimes cause mild soreness, but they’re temporary.
The Day You Get Braces On
The bonding appointment, where brackets are glued to your teeth and wires are threaded through them, takes one to two hours. The process itself doesn’t hurt, though your teeth and gums will likely feel sore for the first few days afterward as they begin adjusting to the pressure. You’ll leave the office with your braces fully in place.
Adjustment Appointments During Treatment
Once your braces are on, you’ll return to the orthodontist every 6 to 10 weeks for adjustments. During these visits, the orthodontist tightens or replaces wires, swaps out elastic bands, and checks your progress. Each adjustment visit is relatively quick, usually 15 to 30 minutes. These regular visits make up the bulk of your treatment timeline and continue until your teeth have reached their target positions.
How Long You’ll Wear Braces
A large systematic review of orthodontic studies found the average treatment time with traditional braces is about 20 months, though individual cases ranged from 14 to 33 months. When assessed under the American Board of Orthodontics standards, the average was closer to 24.6 months.
Several factors push that number up or down:
- Severity of misalignment: Cases scored as more complex on the ABO’s difficulty scale averaged 30 months, compared to 22 months for less complex cases.
- Type of bite problem: Overbite corrections take 5 to 7 months longer than simpler alignment issues. Underbite corrections treated without surgery averaged over 30 months.
- Jaw surgery involvement: When orthodontics is combined with corrective jaw surgery, total treatment time ranges from 18 to 36 months depending on severity.
Adults Usually Wear Braces Longer
Children and teens typically wear braces for about two years, while adults often need three to four years. The difference comes down to biology. In younger patients, the jawbone is still growing and teeth shift more easily in response to pressure. Adult jawbones are fully developed and denser, which means teeth move more slowly. Adults are also more likely to have additional dental work (crowns, missing teeth, gum issues) that can complicate treatment.
If you’re an adult considering braces, the longer timeline doesn’t mean the results are worse. It just means your teeth need more time and more gradual force to reach the same endpoint.
What Happens After Braces Come Off
Getting your braces removed isn’t the end of the process. Without a retainer, your teeth will gradually drift back toward their original positions. The retention phase is a critical part of the overall timeline.
For removable retainers, the standard recommendation is to wear them full time (removing them only to eat and brush) for the first 4 to 6 months after braces come off. However, a survey of orthodontists found that many recommend full-time wear for a full 9 months before switching to nightly wear. After that, most people wear their retainer every night while sleeping, often indefinitely. Some orthodontists place a bonded retainer, a thin wire glued behind your front teeth, which stays in place permanently and requires no daily effort on your part.
The Full Timeline at a Glance
Adding everything up for a typical case: the consultation and planning phase takes one to a few weeks, spacers add another one to two weeks, and the active treatment period averages 20 to 25 months. After removal, you’re looking at 4 to 9 months of full-time retainer wear before transitioning to nights only. From first appointment to the point where you’re only wearing a retainer at night, most people are looking at roughly two to two and a half years. Adults with more complex cases should plan for three years or more.