Dentistry has come a long way, in just a few decades. As late as the 2010s, people thought braces were the only way to truly align teeth. However, clear aligners have become the most popular way to fix teeth. They are made in computerized labs, so they fix perfectly and slowly move your teeth into alignment. Eating and sleeping isn’t a horrible painful mess anymore. By this same token, chipped and crooked teeth have also been given major updates in how we solve them. The question, therefore, becomes about age. Do these solutions only fix children’s teeth or are adults included too?

What’s the deal? Adult teeth are set in their ways, one could say. The roots are thicker, deeper and more blood is flowing to our teeth. Sometimes children lose their teeth without blood, because the vessels shut off supplying blood to their teeth a while ago. But for adult teeth, it’s no longer this simple. To fix our teeth, we are messing with major vessels that supply blood to our gums. This is why root canals are often done under general anesthetic, because the pain is so severe and the loss of blood to the head can make you lightheaded. So, back to aligning teeth. Now the task at hand should have become apparent.

The painless route

Crooked teeth are one of those things we never learn to live with. People we meet for the first time, glance at our teeth when we smile, we become shy about showing our teeth when smiling or laughing and we don’t get to be ourselves. But fixing them is expensive and painful. This is why there is a more affordable fix for crooked teeth these days. Clip-on veneers are much more affordable than braces, and that means in the hundreds of dollars. They are also 3-D printed, so they will fit your mouth like a glove. The color is not going to change either. So if you have stained crooked teeth, having straight stained teeth doesn’t solve that problem. 

How long?

How long does it take for adult teeth to be aligned? Our gums and teeth are stiffer, so it will take a little bit of time. Whether you have braces, aligned or a mixture of the two, you can be sure that it will take you about 1-2 years. If you’re having cosmetic aligning, i.e. your teeth are already aligned but not perfectly, this can take about 6 months. For adults, it can take this long because the threat of losing teeth is there. If the teeth don’t find their place, the chance of them falling out is just too high to risk. 

Adults can fix their teeth but it may take longer than expected and costs more. You can go the painless route and just get clip-on veneers. Speak with your local dentist to see pricing before you make your decision.