Teen Orthodontics

Treatment usually begins in the early-to-mid teen years, once the majority of their permanent teeth have come in. By then there is enough of the permanent bite in place to correct it properly, and jaw growth is often still under way, so teen orthodontics can work with natural development.

The first evaluation should happen much sooner. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends one by age 7, which lets us monitor growth and time treatment well. Plenty of 7-year-olds seen for that check need nothing done at the time. The value is the baseline it gives us, so we know what to keep watching and what, if anything, calls for a step before the teen years. Our early orthodontics page explains what that can involve.

Dr. Najjar will recommend the ideal start time for your teen. If you are reading this with a 16-year-old, you have not missed the window either. Treatment can be effective at any age.

It comes down to the complexity of the case and your teen's lifestyle. Many teens love that clear aligners are nearly invisible and removable, and that they come out for meals, for brushing, and for school photos. The trade-off is that they only work if worn consistently, which means 20–22 hours a day, so trays suit a teen who can keep track of a case and put the aligner back in without being reminded.

Braces handle a wider range of cases and never have to be remembered. They are working every hour of the day, which takes the pressure off both of you, and the brackets used now are smaller and more comfortable than the ones most parents remember. A teen who wants a subtler look can ask about tooth-colored ceramic brackets, and a teen who wants the opposite gets a fresh choice of elastic colors at every visit.

Learn more about clear aligners and braces, and we'll help you decide together. Dr. Najjar will say plainly if one option suits the case better, so the decision does not rest entirely on which one looks best to a 14-year-old.

Yes. A season does not have to be given up for teen orthodontics, and we want your teen to keep playing. Clear aligners simply come out during play and go into their case.

With braces, a properly fitted mouthguard protects both the teeth and the appliance during contact sports. A drugstore guard is molded to teeth that are not moving, so ask about a guard made to fit over brackets. A few habits keep the season running smoothly:

• Keep the aligner case in the sports bag. Trays wrapped in a napkin are the ones that end up in the trash.
• Wear the mouthguard at practice, not only at games. Plenty of contact happens on an ordinary Tuesday.
• Pack orthodontic wax for a bracket that starts rubbing partway through a tournament.
• Call us if a bracket comes loose or a wire shifts, even when nothing hurts. Small fixes keep treatment on schedule.

We'll show you how to protect that smile on the field or court, and we can talk through the timing of treatment against your teen's season if that helps.

Absolutely. Most teens adapt quickly, though wind and brass players may need a short adjustment period of usually a few days. The lips have to relearn a familiar shape against the mouthpiece, so tone and endurance can waver at first before settling back to normal. Orthodontic wax can ease any temporary irritation while they get used to the brackets, and a little wax before rehearsal is often the difference between a comfortable session and a sore one. Short, frequent practice tends to be easier than one long session in that first week. The main thing is to keep playing through the adjustment. Braces for teens are no reason to step back from band, orchestra, or lessons.

Timelines vary from case to case. Simpler corrections may take around 12 months, while more involved cases can take closer to 24 months. What accounts for the spread is the distance the teeth have to move, and whether your teen's bite has to be corrected too. Guiding a bite into place asks more of treatment than straightening does on its own.

How consistently your teen wears and cares for their appliances matters too, and that is where your family has the most influence over how it goes. Aligners left in their case slow everything down, and brackets broken on hard or sticky food cost appointment time that has to be made up later. Keeping regular visits and following the instructions helps treatment stay on the schedule you were given.

Dr. Najjar will give you a realistic timeline at the consultation, based on your teen's own bite and treatment plan, and you will hear about it again at check-ups as treatment progresses.

Treatment is not priced the same way from one teenager to the next. What it costs depends on how complicated the correction is and how many months it runs, and straightening a little crowding and correcting a bite are not the same undertaking. What you can count on is knowing your family's number before anything starts.

We take most dental insurance and look up what your teen's plan will contribute, and that figure is folded into the written estimate. It sets out the share your policy is expected to pay alongside the share that falls to your family. Filing the claim is on us as a courtesy, so it is not one more form for you to chase. For the balance, we can set up a schedule of payments here in the office.

The consultation itself is complimentary, and we see families from across southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Our flexible financing options page lays out how paying for teen treatment works in more detail.

Yes. Once braces or aligners come off, teeth can gradually shift back, so a retainer is essential to hold the new alignment in place. Wearing it is the last stage of teen orthodontic treatment.

Full-time wear is usual for a few months, and most teens move to nights only after that. Nighttime wear tends to continue long-term, which sounds like a lot to a 15-year-old and turns out to be a habit most people stop noticing. Retainers get left out and lost, so keep it in its case, keep it away from heat, and tell us early if it stops fitting comfortably. Never force it. See our retainers page to learn more.