How Long Will my Teeth Take to Straighten?

You will see big improvement in about six months. But even if your teeth are straighten out already, you have to wear your braces until the bone totally deposited on the area where the tooth moved, so that the position of the tooth is permanent. The problem with taking out the braces too soon or if your teeth move fast to its desired position is that there is a possibility of treatment relapse. So it's better if you wait for the teeth to settle permanently. For the bone to be deposited permanently on the area where the teeth moved varies for different people. Averagely it will take 1 to 2 years. If you have anymore questions, you can email me. Later! :-D

Just based on your pictures, I would estimate your treatment to take around 6 months if we are not addressing the bite issue.. My suggestion would be to talk to your orthodontist, there may be a miscommunication and they are probably considering correcting your bite as well.

Thank you for your question. Average case takes 18 to 24 month usually with standard braces to achieve the best results. If you are looking for a quick fix and wants to focus only on cosmetics, there is something called 6 Months Braces. Good Luck!

Hi there,
It is very difficult to give you a definitive answer without assessing all of your patient records, and it would be unethical for me to question the opinion of your previous treating practitioner without a thorough examination of your teeth first.  I appreciate that the case on the photos does not look particularly severe, however there may be underlying factors that are not apparent on the basis of the photos.  If you are concerned by anything your treating dentist or orthodontist has told you, you are entitled to seek a second opinion before jumping to any conclusions that he may not be doing his job correctly or in your best interests.  Dentistry is not an exact science, and ten different dentists will give you ten different opinions.  
Hope this helps!
Best,
MJ x

If you have a good bite as you and your orthodontist say (and it appears you do from your photos), then three years seems a little long to simply align the teeth.  However, I can see from the photos  that after your front teeth are straight they will be more prominent and create an "overbite" relative to your bottom teeth.  Correcting this will take longer than just aligning the teeth.  In general, most orthodontic cases take longer than just the time to straighten the front teeth in order to get the best result.  You, of course, are free to help set the goals of your treatment with your orthodontist.  If finishing faster is a goal for you be sure to let him or her know.

Straightening teeth is usally a rather rapid part of treatment...less than a year usually.  It is the other things like fixing the bite, closing extraction spaces etc. that takes time....I'm guessing that this is where the 3 years come from.  I'm always suprised by a lot of these questions...you SHOULD be able to talk to your orthodontist and understand exactly what is being done and why it takes the time it takes!

Sometimes a dentist or orthodontist will maximize the estimated treatment time so that you are pleasantly surpised when it takes less time. If indeed your back teeth are already in good position and you're only straightening front teeth it should take less than a year. Braces are often worn up to 3 months AFTER the teeth are straight in order to stabilize the new position of the teeth and provide better long-term stability. Hope this helps...GOOD LUCK!

While I am surprised with the 3 year estimation, most of the time an orthodontist will correct many things at once.  Unless told otherwise, they will strive for "perfect" and often get it!  Uprighting roots, perfecting a slightly off bite, etc...

You will likely be satisfied in a few short months, but your orthodontist will still see a bigger picture.  It is not WRONG, it simply a different goal.