Braces are not just for children

Who is sitting in the orthodontic chair

If you picture orthodontics as something that happens between the ages of eleven and fifteen, the reality at Sardinia House will surprise you. A large share of the people we treat for crowding, spacing or a crooked front tooth are adults. Some are in their twenties and never had braces. Many are in their forties, fifties and beyond, and had treatment as a teenager that has slowly drifted.

Teeth are not fixed in place for life. They sit in bone that remodels constantly, held by ligaments that respond to the gentlest sustained pressure. That is why orthodontics works at all, and it is also why teeth keep moving in adulthood. Lower front teeth in particular tend to crowd with age. None of this means something has gone wrong. It simply means the window for treatment never really closed.

Why adults decide to do it now

The most common reason we hear is quiet and long-standing. Someone has disliked one aspect of their smile for twenty years, has reached a point in life where they can afford to address it, and has noticed that the options are far more discreet than they once were. A clear aligner or a brace fitted behind the teeth changes the calculation for people who work in front of clients, cameras or courtrooms.

The second reason is health, and it is often the one that tips the balance. Crowded teeth are harder to clean, gums around them are more prone to inflammation, and teeth that meet unevenly wear each other down. Sometimes straightening is the first stage of a larger restorative plan, making room for a crown or an implant, or putting a worn tooth into a position where it can be rebuilt and protected.

The options, in plain terms

Clear aligners are now the most frequently chosen route for adults at this practice. A series of removable, almost invisible trays moves the teeth in small, planned stages. Invisalign® treatment here is dentist-led from the first scan to the final retainer, with remote monitoring between visits so you are not travelling into Holborn more often than you need to. Guide fees start from £4,500.

Aligners cannot do everything. Some tooth movements, particularly rotations of rounded teeth or large changes to the bite, are more predictable with fixed braces. Modern fixed braces come with ceramic brackets that are far less visible than the metal many adults remember, and lingual braces sit entirely on the tongue side of the teeth. For minor crowding of the front teeth, a simple removable appliance can sometimes do the job in a few months.

What is different about treating an adult

Adult teeth move a little more slowly than a teenager's, because bone turnover gradually reduces with age. In most cases this adds months rather than years, and it is built into the plan from the start. What matters more is the condition of the gums and bone. We will not move teeth through inflamed tissue, so a hygienist visit and sometimes gum treatment comes first. The Oral Health Assessment for Invisalign, at £350 credited in full against treatment, exists for exactly this reason.

Adults also arrive with history: crowns, fillings, missing teeth, worn edges. Each of these affects how a tooth can be moved and how it should be finished. Because our clinicians plan complex cases together, the orthodontic plan is designed alongside any restorative work rather than before it. You should expect to be told what the straightening will and will not achieve on its own, and what, if anything, would be sensible afterwards.

What to expect before you commit

Your first visit starts with an iTero™ scan, which takes a few minutes and involves no impression putty. From that scan we can show you a simulated end result on screen before you decide anything. The simulation is a planning tool rather than a promise, but it is remarkably good at answering the question most adults bring with them, which is whether it is worth doing at all.

You then receive a written plan with exact costs, the expected number of months and the retention arrangement at the end. Retention is not an afterthought. Teeth that have been moved want to move back, so a fixed wire behind the front teeth, a set of removable retainers, or both, is part of every adult case we take on. Finance is available over 18, subject to status, and the treatment coordinators will talk it through without any pressure.