Can Adults Get Braces?

Yes. There is no age limit for orthodontic treatment. As long as your gums and jawbone are healthy, braces or clear aligners can move adult teeth just as effectively as teenage teeth, and the total time in treatment is about the same.

Why adults choose braces#

Some adults never had orthodontic treatment growing up, or their teeth shifted back after braces because they stopped wearing a retainer. Natural aging, tooth loss, and gum disease can also make teeth drift or crowd later in life, even in people who had straight teeth as teenagers. Many other adults seek treatment to feel more confident, ease jaw strain, or make teeth easier to clean and maintain.

What is different about adult orthodontics#

Bone density#

Adult jawbones have finished growing, and the earliest phase of tooth movement runs somewhat slower in adults. The total clock barely changes. A systematic review with meta-analysis covering 2,969 adolescents and 1,380 adults found no significant difference in overall treatment duration with fixed appliances, likely because adults keep their appointments and follow instructions more closely (Abbing et al., 2020). One exception stood out: aligning a palatally displaced canine took about 3.8 months longer in adults.

Existing dental work#

Crowns, bridges, implants, and missing teeth change the treatment plan. Your orthodontist plans around the existing work and coordinates with your restorative dentist where a filling or crown needs replacing before brackets go on.

Gum health#

Gum disease becomes more common with age, so a dentist will confirm healthy gums and bone support before starting treatment. Adult teeth tolerate orthodontics well once that foundation is healthy: in a one-year prospective study of adult patients aged 18 to 44, both fixed braces and removable aligners moved teeth without harming periodontal health, and the aligner group maintained cleaner teeth (Karkhanechi et al., 2013).

Retention is for life#

Teeth can shift back at any age, so orthodontists now treat retention as open-ended. A systematic review of orthodontic retainers describes indefinite retention as widely accepted to guard against both relapse and age-related crowding (Al-Moghrabi et al., 2016). The 2023 Cochrane review of retention procedures found no single retainer design clearly superior to the rest; the consistent finding is that stopping retention invites relapse (Martín et al., 2023). Plan on nights-only retainer wear indefinitely.

Treatment options for adults#

• Traditional metal braces
• Ceramic (tooth-colored) braces
• Clear aligners such as Invisalign
• Lingual braces, placed behind the teeth where they cannot be seen

Frequently asked follow-ups#

Is there an age that is too old for braces?#

No. Healthy teeth, gums, and bone matter more than age, and adults in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond complete treatment regularly.

Do adult teeth move slower than kids' teeth?#

The first phase of movement runs a bit slower in adults. Total treatment time with fixed appliances runs similar to adolescents once adult compliance is factored in.

Will I need a retainer forever as an adult?#

Plan on it. Nights-only retainer wear is the standard recommendation indefinitely, at any age, to keep teeth from shifting back.

Key takeaways#

• There is no upper age limit for orthodontic treatment; candidacy depends on gum and bone health, not age.
• Total treatment duration with fixed appliances is similar for adults and adolescents, though some individual movements take longer in adults.
• Existing dental work and gum health are evaluated and coordinated before adult treatment begins.
• Nights-only retainer wear, continued indefinitely, protects the result at any age.

This article is for general educational purposes and does not replace a personalized evaluation from a dental or orthodontic professional.