Jaw Surgery
The orthodontics either side of corrective jaw surgery, planned with your oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Specialist orthodontics for adults
Adults are not just older teenagers
Straightening teeth in a jaw that has finished growing is a genuinely different problem. It changes what is possible, how long it takes, and what we should tell you before you start rather than after.
- No referral needed
- Specialists since 1984
- Clear quote before you start
5.0on Google
Where people start
Four ways adults end up in the chair
Almost nobody arrives here having simply decided one morning that they would like straighter teeth. There is usually a specific thing that brought it to a head, and which one it is changes the conversation completely.
You had braces as a teenager
The teeth were straight at seventeen. The retainer got worn less and less, then lost somewhere around university, and the lower front teeth have quietly crowded up again ever since. This is the single most common reason adults come to see us.
What that usually means: Often the shortest treatment on this page, because the bite itself was corrected years ago and only the alignment has drifted.
You never had treatment
It was not offered, or it was not affordable, or you were the one child in the family who missed out. You have been aware of it in photographs for twenty years and it is finally your own decision and your own money.
What that usually means: A full assessment from scratch. The honest answer may be that the ideal result needs surgery, and we will set out what can be achieved without it.
The bite is causing damage
Your dentist has pointed out flattened edges on the front teeth, a notch at the gumline, a tooth that keeps chipping, or a jaw joint that clicks and aches. The teeth are not meeting the way they should and something is wearing out.
What that usually means: The goal is function first. Straighter teeth are the visible part, but the point is to stop the damage continuing.
Your dentist needs room
An implant, bridge or crown is planned, and the teeth on either side of the gap have tipped or drifted into the space over the years. There is no longer room for the tooth that is meant to go there.
What that usually means: Usually short, targeted treatment to reopen the space, planned together with whoever is doing the restorative work.
The honest part
What changes when the growing has stopped
Teeth move at any age. The biology of that does not expire. What does change is everything around the teeth, and these are the six things worth knowing before you commit to anything.
There is no growth to work with
In a child we can guide how a jaw develops. In an adult the jaws are the size and position they are going to be. If the underlying discrepancy is significant, the choice is between moving the teeth to compensate for it, which has limits, or correcting the jaws surgically. You will be told plainly which category you are in.
Bone remodels more slowly
Adult bone turns over at a slower rate than it does in a teenager, so we use lighter forces and some stages simply take longer. It is not a barrier, it is a reason to be wary of anything promising to hurry it.
Existing dental work changes the plan
An implant is fused to the bone and will not move, so it becomes either a useful anchor or a fixed obstacle to design around. Crowns and veneers need different bonding for brackets. Heavily filled and root-filled teeth are more fragile and are moved more carefully.
Gums come first
We do not move teeth through active gum disease, because moving them makes bone loss worse rather than better. If there is disease we have it treated and stabilised first, then work with lighter forces and closer monitoring. This is not a delay tactic, it is the difference between a result that lasts and one that does not.
Black triangles are a real possibility
Where crowded front teeth have overlapped for years, the gum between them has often receded and will not grow back. Straightening the teeth can leave small dark triangles at the gumline. There are ways to reduce them, and you should hear about it while you are deciding rather than at the debond appointment.
Retention is not a phase
Teeth drift for life, treated or not. That is exactly why so many adults are here for a second time. Retainers are part of the treatment rather than an optional extra at the end, and for an adult result they are permanent.
The options
Four ways to do it, and the catch with each
Which of these suits you is decided by how far the teeth have to move, not by preference alone. We will tell you at the consultation which are genuinely on the table for your case rather than listing all four and letting you pick.
- Reading the visibility scale
- 1 out of 3 for visibilityAlmost nobody will notice
- 2 out of 3 for visibilityNoticeable up close, quiet across a room
- 3 out of 3 for visibilityPlainly visible
Clear aligners
Best when you want it to go unnoticed and you are disciplined
How visible1 out of 3 for visibilityAlmost invisibleWhat it can correctMild to moderate, and many complex cases with attachmentsTypical time6 to 18 monthsThe catch: 22 hours a day. They only work while they are in, and this is the one option where the result genuinely depends on you.
Ceramic braces
Best when the case needs braces but you would rather they were quiet
How visible2 out of 3 for visibilitySubtle at conversation distanceWhat it can correctAnything braces can correctTypical time12 to 24 monthsThe catch: Nothing to remember, but the clear ties can pick up stain from coffee, red wine and curry between visits.
Metal braces
Best when the movements are large and you would rather not pay for discretion
How visible3 out of 3 for visibilityPlainly visibleWhat it can correctThe full range, including cases the others cannotTypical time12 to 24 monthsThe catch: You will see them. In exchange they are the most robust, the most precise for difficult movements, and usually the least expensive.
Limited treatment
Best when old braces have relapsed and only the front teeth have moved
How visible2 out of 3 for visibilitySubtle, and not for longWhat it can correctAlignment of the front teeth only, not the biteTypical time6 to 9 monthsThe catch: Honesty about the goal. This tidies the teeth you can see and deliberately leaves the bite alone, which is the right answer for some people and the wrong one for others.
How long
How long it actually takes
Nobody can give you a figure before seeing your teeth, but the ranges are not a secret and they are not as wide as they are usually made to sound. Where your case sits depends on how far things have to move, not on how motivated you are.
Minor relapse, front teeth only
Old braces that have drifted, where the bite is still sound underneath.
6 to 9 monthsModerate crowding or spacing
The most common adult case. Full alignment with the bite tidied as we go.
12 to 18 monthsA bite that needs correcting
Where the way the teeth meet has to change, not just how they line up.
18 to 30 monthsCombined with jaw surgery
Braces before and after surgery, coordinated with your surgeon.
24 to 36 months
Treatment moves at the speed bone remodels, which is not something a device or a technique can hurry by much. Anything advertised as halving your treatment time is worth asking hard questions about before you pay for it.
The money
What it costs, and what it does not
No Perth practice publishes adult orthodontic fees, ours included, because a figure quoted before seeing your teeth would be a guess. What we can do is be straight about how the money works before you ring.
No referral needed
You can book an assessment yourself. A referral from your dentist is welcome and useful, particularly if there is restorative work planned, but it is not a requirement and it does not change what you pay.
A written quote before anything starts
You leave the consultation with the full cost of that course of treatment in writing, including the review visits and the retainers at the end. No decision is asked for on the day.
Payment plans
Adult treatment is normally paid across its length rather than upfront. We will set out the plan options alongside the quote so you can see the monthly figure, not just the total.
Check your lifetime limit, not just your annual one
Medicare does not cover orthodontics. Most extras policies do, but orthodontic cover usually carries a waiting period, an annual limit and a separate lifetime limit, and if you had braces as a teenager on a family policy some of that lifetime limit may already be spent. Worth checking before you plan around it.
Less treatment costs less
If all you want is the front teeth tidied and you understand that the bite is being left alone, that is a shorter and cheaper course than full treatment. Say so at the consultation and we will quote it that way.
Not sure what your fund actually covers?
Reception can tell you which item numbers to quote your health fund so you get a straight answer before you commit to anything.
FAQs
Questions adults actually ask
The questions adults ring up and ask before they book. If yours is not here, call the practice and ask it.
There is no upper age limit on orthodontic treatment. What matters is the condition of the gums and the bone holding your teeth, not the number of years. We treat patients well into their sixties and beyond. If there is a reason not to proceed it will be a health reason and we will explain it.
Usually not. If the bite was corrected properly the first time and only the alignment has drifted, what you need is often a short course focused on the teeth that have moved. That is a very different proposition from full treatment, in both time and cost. Bring your old records if you still have them.
With clear aligners, most people do not unless you tell them or they are looking closely. Ceramic braces are noticeable up close but read as quiet at conversation distance. Metal braces are visible and there is no point pretending otherwise. We will show you all three at the consultation rather than describing them.
No, but it changes the plan and it is one of the first things we look at. Implants are fused to the bone and do not move, so they are designed around. Crowns and veneers need a different bonding approach for brackets. A bridge may need to come apart during treatment and be remade afterwards, which is a cost worth knowing about in advance.
Often yes, and sometimes treatment helps by moving teeth back into the bone rather than out of it. What we will not do is move teeth through gum disease that is still active. If that is the situation we will ask your dentist or a periodontist to treat it first, then plan around lighter forces and closer reviews.
Six to nine months for minor relapse of the front teeth, twelve to eighteen for the most common adult case, and longer where the bite itself has to change. You will get a realistic range at the consultation rather than a best case, and we will tell you what would make it longer.
No. You can book an assessment directly. We do ask that you have had a dental check-up reasonably recently, because we need your teeth and gums to be healthy before anything is fitted, and we will write to your dentist to keep them in the loop.
Most extras policies include orthodontics, but with a waiting period, an annual limit and a lifetime limit that is separate from your general dental cover. If you had braces as a teenager, part of that lifetime limit may already have been used. Ring your fund with the item numbers we give you before you plan around a rebate.
Yes, and we would rather say so now than discover you assumed otherwise. Teeth drift throughout life whether they have been treated or not. For an adult result, retention is part of the treatment rather than the end of it, and it is usually a fixed wire behind the front teeth plus a removable retainer at night.
Been thinking about it for years?
Book an assessment and get a straight answer about what is possible, how long it would take and what it would cost. Nobody is asked to decide on the day.
Related Services
Explore other treatments we offer for a complete smile journey
Learn more →
Retention
The part that keeps the result. Which retainers, how long you wear them, and what to do if one breaks.
Braces & Plates
Metal and ceramic braces, plates and expanders, planned and fitted by our own specialist orthodontists.