When Do You Get Your Braces Off?

Are Your Braces Coming off?

Our patients always look forward to the day that their braces are removed, and they are free to enjoy their beautiful new smile. In fact, lots of folks ask us when their braces will be coming off before the braces even go on! We tell them that the length of time you have your braces on depends upon a number of factors. These include:

• The Type of Correction Is Required.
  • Everyone is different, and each correction is dependent upon every other correction, so overall treatment is decided by your orthodontist after considering everything that must be done to give you a healthy smile. Overbites, crossbites, gapped teeth, and crowded teeth often don’t appear by themselves; instead, several issues are usually seen together. Additionally, the size of your jaw will also determine the length of treatment.
• How Compliant You Were With Rubber Bands.
  • If you were told to wear rubber bands with your orthodontic treatment 24/7 and you slacked off and only wore them when you felt like it, then it going to take more time in braces to get to your finished result.
• If You Followed Your Appointment Schedule.
  • If you consistently missed your orthodontic appointments you may have lengthened the time that you will need to be in braces.  Orthodontic wires are only active for 6-10 weeks depending on the wire.  Thus, missing appointments may set you behind schedule to get your braces off.
• If You’ve Started Two-Phase Treatment.
  • If your child underwent the first phase of Two-Phase Treatment as a younger child, now has all of his or her adult teeth, and is around 13 years old, their treatment completion may not be as long. Even though Phase Two of the Two-Phase Treatment usually requires both upper and lower braces, the prior work that was done in Phase One has essentially “prepped” the mouth, jaw, and teeth for Phase Two.
• If Prior Treatment Was Completed.
  • Some adults who are interested in correcting their bite may have already had orthodontic treatment as a teen. In this case, if they properly finished treatment and then their teeth shifted in adulthood (usually because they don’t wear their retainer at night), it’s likely that their current treatment won’t take too long. However, if they discontinued treatment with braces at an early stage, then it will take a longer time to complete the process.