HOW LONG WILL TREATMENT TAKE?
The length for orthodontic treatment for each individual case varies and depends upon numerous variables: The difficulty of the case and the scope of treatment goals, patient compliance with elastics, headgear and/or any other prescribed appliance, patient avoidance of prohibited foods and excessive breakage of orthodontic appliances, patient maintenance of good oral hygiene, and patient's keeping all scheduled adjustment appointments.

Unlike many other areas of healthcare where the patient goes to the doctor and the doctor performs a procedure or prescribes a medication that "fixes" the patient's problem, orthodontics is truly a team effort. The orthodontist is the coach and the patient is his star player. As the coach, the orthodontist has the job of diagnosing or discovering the patient's or player's problems and developing a winning game plan to solve these problems. As the star player, the patient has the job of giving his very best effort to following the coach's instructions and implementing the game plan. At each adjustment appointment, the orthodontist evaluates treatment progress and coaches the patient to implement various aspect of the game plan in order to accomplish the winning case goals. Like in all team sports, it is teamwork in orthodontics that wins the "game" and achieves the most beautiful smile!

Individual variation is the absolute reality of orthodontic treatment time. However, as a general guideline, the more simple, limited orthodontic cases can often be treated in 8-12 months, the average comprehensive orthodontic case can often be treated in 18-24 months, and even the more sever, complex cases can often be treated in approximately 36 months.

As a final note, a time-tested truth in orthodontic treatment is that all things being equal, good patients finish first! An excellent patient who diligently follows all the directions of the orthodontist can sometimes even complete treatment early, while a patient with poor compliance can extend treatment time to double its predicted length or even more.