Metal Mouth Message Board

For those who's teeth look straight (whether you're still wearing braces or not), how long did it take until they appeared straight to you? Just curious to see what the range might be. Mine aren't straight yet (it's too soon) but I'm making steady progress. Can't wait for the day when I don't see any misaligned teeth anymore!

My teeth began to appear straight-ish at around four months...but they still had huge gaps and things weren't perfect.

I'm at nearly 13 months now and they still don't look perfect. Certainly an improvement though!

I would say around 4 months, but I can still see improvement from then and now (at 8 months.)

I am glad you asked this question. I hope alot of people respond. My ortho told me today that it will take another three months to straighten out my bottom teeth. If he means 3 months from my next adjustment we are talking 11 months for straight teeth. And here I though I had straight teeth to begin with!

I would still love to know - once they are straight how much more work has to be done and how much longer does it take? I know it is different for everyone but would love to hear some stories! My bite seems to be line up pretty well. I originally had a Class I malocclusion with a small crossbite issue in back. The biggest problem was the crowdiness of my upper and lower teeth causing my bite to be all squished up in front.

I am really glad someone asked that question as well!!

It will be 3 months for me soon so I hope that when I hit 4 months...I'll see good improvement with my upper arch. My ortho did say that my canine crossbite will take another 3-4 months so maybe I'll only start seeing my teeth straighter after that?! I hope not.

Dont worry Karen, mine at nine months are a bit off of being straight. However they started pushed out pretty far. It certainly does depend on what needs to be done. Even though mine arent straight, straightening has been down on the list of ortho achievements.... mine is about closing extraction gaps and then later straightening. So I dont think it really matters how long they take as long as it is done before the end of treatment!

After three weeks, the next-to-front-right upper tooth (that had initially spurred me to get braces) moved into line.

My lower teeth came into line within days of getting IPR/shaving.

It has taken longer for my upper right side teeth, which were in a concave curve rather than a convex curve, to straighten out. I still don't think they are 100% there, though the ortho says they are ok now.

The speed of my teeth moving is as worrying is it is exciting, because it makes me fear they will lapse more easily once I have my braces removed. Obviously I will wear the retainers exactly as advised, as well as having permanent ones put on top and bottom. But my teeth moved quite rapidly out of place, in a matter of a few years, and I used to be able to feel them being pushed out of place at night by the sheer force of crowding (the same pressure you feel when they are being moved into place by the archwires).

So I'm not convinced that rapid movement is a good thing. I think slower, steadier teeth would be better.

My top teeth looked pretty much done after 6 months, whereas my bottoms still don't look great 11 months on.

You guys are all really lucky! Teeth being mostly straight after only 3,4 months! THat is incredible! My top teeth after almost 23 months still don't look straight! That's really because of my impacted canines but my bottom teeth in the front only are looking pretty straight after only 4 months!

~Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Last Adjustment: February 28, 2006 where they gave me a new bottom wire and attached my impacted canine, newly bracketed, to the wire! OUCH!

At almost six months, my uppers look good to me, despite a couple of small gaps, and the lowers only have two teeth that are slightly crooked. I think the remaining year and a half or so will be spent on fixing my deep bite with elastics - well, I hope I'll be moving on to the elastics stage soon. Bring it on....

Hi! I don't know because I don't even have braces yet. But a friend of mine got braces 7 months ago and her teeth were quite massy and now look almost straight. My teeth responded really well to braces the first time, when I was 12, after like 2 months there were some major changes!
I can't wait wait to have braces...

After reading all of these, y'all will probably hate me, but it was 11 weeks for my top teeth.

Click on my link (below) and scroll down 1/2 way to see the movement. They were quite off and then they were straight.

My bottoms were lined up after about 6 months (in a beautiful arch) but leveling isn't finished yet.

It is different for everyone I wish you the same speedy luck that I had!!!

Everyone around me starting telling me that my teeth were looking straight a few weeks after getting braced

My top teeth starting looking straight after my 3rd adjustment. My bottom teeth will be a different story. I have only had my bottom braces on for 2 1/2 weeks, but they are alot more crowded than my top teeth.

My bottom teeth are perfectly straight and there's only a tiny gap between my top left canine and the tooth to the right of it. I've had braces for 10 months and my teeth were baaaadly overcrowded top and bottom when I got them on. Come to think of it, my bottom teeth were all in line after about 6 months. Top teeth still need a few months.