The minimum time to wear braces can be as little as a few months to repair a basic crooked tooth or spacing issue, up to 36 months for both metal and ceramic braces. As soon as you start wearing them, they begin to move your teeth into the correct position. On average, it takes about 24 months to complete orthodontic treatment. Some patients may require less than 12 months, while others may need up to 3 years of treatment before their teeth reach the desired position.
Younger patients (adolescents and children) tend to get results faster than adults because their jaws are still growing, making it easier to manipulate the teeth. To move your teeth without damaging them, traditional metal braces apply very gentle force to help place your teeth in the correct position. Clear aligners usually take between 6 months and a year to move your teeth into the desired position. While transparent braces sold by mail order are not approved by the American Dental Association, they can be more expensive and time-consuming if minor adjustments are required.
After consulting with your dentist, they will take x-rays, intraoral and facial photographs, and impressions of your teeth to create models manufactured off-site. You may need to wear braces between 6 months and 3 years, depending on the type of dental appliances and the misalignment of your teeth. Orthodontic appliances are an orthodontic treatment that takes approximately 1-2 hours to place, depending on the severity of the misalignment. So, while I can't tell you for sure the exact length of treatment for your specific case, I can explain the factors that influence the amount of time you'll need to wear dental appliances.
Taking good care of your teeth, brushing and flossing regularly, and attending every orthodontist appointment can help improve treatment and reduce the treatment time needed. The two biggest differences between Six Month Smiles in Framingham and traditional orthodontic appliances are treatment time and the problems they solve. Wearing a helmet can put more pressure on dental appliances to move teeth into the correct position. Treatment instructions may require several follow-up visits with the orthodontist to adjust the dental wire and thus pull the teeth a little more in the right direction each time.
Whether they are lingual, metal or ceramic orthodontic appliances, each type of orthodontic treatment has its own duration. Other treatments that reduce treatment time are Acceledent and Vpro Acceledent and Vpro use cyclical force and soft pulse technology to move teeth.