There is no medical limit on how many times you can get braces. Most people wear them once, some need a second round, and a small number go through treatment three or more times over the course of their life. The real constraints are biological (your teeth and bone need to be healthy enough) and financial (insurance rarely covers more than one round generously).
Why People Get Braces More Than Once
The most common reason for a second round of braces is orthodontic relapse, where teeth gradually shift back toward their original positions after the first treatment ends. This happens more often than most people expect, and the biggest driver is simple: not wearing your retainer. In one study tracking retainer compliance after braces removal, 31% of patients had already stopped wearing their retainer consistently by the three-month mark. By 19 to 24 months, compliance with even nighttime-only wear had dropped to just 45%.
But skipping your retainer isn’t the only cause. Your body actively works against the results of orthodontic treatment in several ways. The ligament fibers connecting your teeth to the bone get stretched during treatment, and they pull teeth back like a rubber band. Elastic fibers in the gum tissue do the same thing. People with thinner jawbone, particularly a long, narrow chin shape, are especially prone to relapse regardless of how well they follow instructions.
Soft tissue habits also play a role. Tongue posture and pressure can push teeth out of alignment over time. A lower lip that rests behind the upper front teeth can gradually push those teeth forward again. Persistent thumb-sucking in younger patients is another recognized factor.
Sometimes the issue traces back to the original treatment itself. Teeth that were moved too far forward off the bone ridge, arches that were expanded beyond what the jaw could sustain, or rotations that weren’t fully corrected all create conditions where relapse is almost inevitable. Expanding the lower canines more than about 1 to 1.5 millimeters, for example, is considered likely to relapse in most cases.
What Changes With Each Round of Treatment
Getting braces a second or third time is generally safe, but each round does come with considerations your orthodontist will evaluate. Repeated tooth movement can reduce the bone supporting your teeth, a process called root resorption, where the tooth roots shorten slightly. For most people this is minor and doesn’t cause problems, but after multiple rounds it becomes something worth monitoring with X-rays before starting again.
The good news is that retreatment is often shorter than the first round. If your teeth have only partially relapsed, you may need braces for 6 to 12 months rather than the typical 18 to 24. Some people opt for clear aligners the second time around, which can work well for mild to moderate correction. Others only need treatment on one arch instead of both.
Age isn’t a barrier either. Adults in their 40s, 50s, and beyond get braces, including people who had them as teenagers. Healthy gums and adequate bone density are the main requirements, not a specific age cutoff.
How Insurance Handles Multiple Treatments
This is where repeat braces get complicated. Most dental plans that include orthodontic coverage apply a lifetime maximum, a fixed dollar amount the insurer will pay toward braces over your entire life, not per year. A common structure is something like $1,500 at 50% coverage: the plan pays half of your treatment cost up to that $1,500 cap, regardless of total fees. Once you hit that ceiling, you won’t receive additional orthodontic benefits from that plan even if you need braces again decades later.
There are a few important exceptions worth knowing about. If your employer switches insurance carriers, the lifetime maximum may reset under the new plan. It doesn’t always carry over. Similarly, children covered as dependents under a parent’s plan typically get a fresh lifetime maximum when they become primary members on their own plan as adults. So a teenager who used their parents’ orthodontic benefit could potentially access new benefits later in life through their own employer-sponsored coverage.
Some plans also impose a waiting period of 6 to 12 months before orthodontic benefits activate, even if your general dental coverage is already in effect. And a handful of plans have no orthodontic lifetime maximum at all, though these are uncommon.
For a second or third round of braces, many people end up paying largely out of pocket. Most orthodontic offices offer payment plans for this reason.
How to Reduce the Chances of Needing Braces Again
Retainer wear is the single biggest factor you can control. The old guidance of wearing a retainer for a year or two after braces has largely been replaced by a more realistic recommendation: wear it indefinitely, at least at night. Teeth naturally shift throughout your life as part of aging, even in people who never had braces. A retainer counteracts that drift.
If you had a bonded retainer (a thin wire glued behind your front teeth), check it periodically. These can break or detach without you noticing, and teeth start moving within weeks once the wire fails. Removable retainers eventually wear out too and need replacement every few years.
For people already noticing mild shifting, acting early matters. A small amount of relapse can often be corrected with a short course of clear aligners or a single arch of braces, which is faster, cheaper, and less invasive than waiting until the problem worsens into something requiring full treatment again.