Treatment timelines by case

Typical ranges

These are the ranges seen in practice, not promises. A case is estimated properly only after records.

Case	Usual range	What drives it
Mild crowding, good bite	12–16 months	Alignment only; little root repositioning needed
Moderate crowding	18–24 months	Space creation, rotations, finishing detail
Spacing and gap closure	12–20 months	Often quicker, but retention planning matters more
Deep bite	18–26 months	Opening the bite before finishing is possible
Crossbite with expansion	18–28 months	Expansion phase plus stabilisation before alignment
Extraction case	24–30 months	Space closure with root parallelism is slow work
Impacted canine	24–36 months	Exposure, then months of guided eruption
Jaw relationship, growing patient	Two phases over several years	Growth timing dictates the schedule, not the appliance

What makes treatment run long

• Elastics not worn. The single largest controllable factor in cases involving bite correction. Part-time wear does not produce part-time results; it often produces none.
• Repeated breakages. Each one costs the affected tooth weeks.
• Missed or rescheduled visits. Straightforwardly additive.
• Poor hygiene. Inflamed gums slow tooth movement, and severe decalcification can force treatment to be stopped early.
• Biology. Some patients simply move slowly, and adults are generally slower than adolescents. This one is nobody's fault.

What does not shorten it

Choosing a different bracket system. Paying more. Vibration devices, which have not demonstrated a reliable effect in controlled studies. Asking for heavier wires earlier, which risks the ligament and the roots. The reliable way to finish on time is to wear what you are asked to wear and keep the appointments.