Last Updated on August 13, 2026 by Dr. Adam Veit
Orthodontic Treatment for Teens
Most orthodontic patients start treatment as teenagers, usually between about eleven and fourteen, once the adult teeth are in and the jaws are still growing. Bright Orthodontics treats teens with silver braces, clear ceramic braces, custom printed brackets and Invisalign® clear aligners. Dr. Adam Veit builds the plan around the bite, and around the life the patient actually leads.
The teenage years are the busiest stretch of a family’s life, and orthodontics has to fit inside them. Practices, rehearsals, jobs, exams, photographs that will exist forever. We think about all of that when we plan treatment, because a plan a teenager will not follow is not a plan.
Why the Teen Years Work Well
Two things line up at this age and they do not line up again.
The adult teeth have arrived, so we can see the whole bite and correct it properly rather than in stages. At the same time, growth has usually not finished, which means the jaws can still be guided. That combination is why so much orthodontics happens between eleven and fifteen. The same case in an adult is still very treatable, but it takes more work to reach the same place.
There is a practical reason too. Habits are still forming. A teenager who learns to brush around brackets and wear elastics is learning something that stays with them, and the results show up in how their treatment finishes.
When Teens Usually Start
There is no single starting age. What matters is which teeth are in and where the growth is, not the number on a birthday card.
Some patients are ready at eleven, some not until fourteen. Some had early orthodontic treatment as a child and come back for the finishing phase. If your child is younger and you are not sure whether to start yet, that page explains what we look for.
If your teen is already sixteen or seventeen and nothing has been done, nothing has been lost. We treat plenty of patients at that age, and plenty more as adults.
Braces or Clear Aligners for a Teenager?
This is the question every family asks, and the honest answer depends more on the teenager than on the teeth.
Fixed braces work every hour of the day whether anyone remembers them or not. They handle the widest range of cases, they cannot be lost, and the colored bands are genuinely part of the fun for a lot of patients. For a busy or forgetful teenager, this is usually the safer choice.
Clear aligners are removable and nearly invisible, which matters to some teens a great deal. They come out to eat, so there is no food list, and brushing stays normal. But they only work while they are in, which means around 22 hours a day, every day. A teen who will do that gets an excellent result. A teen who will not falls behind, and everyone can see it in the fit of the tray.
We will tell you honestly which one we think suits your family, and we will not push aligners onto a patient we do not think will wear them. Compare all the options on our types of braces page, or read more about Invisalign and LightForce® custom braces.
Braces and Real Life
Sports. Keep playing. Your teen needs a mouthguard made to fit over braces, since a standard one will not seat properly. We make custom mouthguards for this.
Band and choir. Brass and reed players notice braces most in the first few weeks, then adapt. Wax over the brackets makes that stretch much easier. Tell us if there is a concert or an audition coming and we will plan around it.
Food. A short list comes off the menu: hard, sticky and crunchy things that break brackets. Everything else stays.
Photos. Braces show in yearbook pictures, and that bothers some teens more than others. Ceramic brackets are a legitimate answer to that concern, and so is timing treatment around a milestone year when the case allows.
When something breaks. It happens, usually the night before something important. Our orthodontic emergency page tells you what to do right now and when to call us.
Keeping Treatment on Schedule
Three habits decide whether treatment finishes on time: wearing elastics as instructed, keeping appointments, and brushing well enough that we never have to stop and deal with a hygiene problem.
None of them are hard. All of them are easy to let slide over a long treatment. We talk to the patient about this directly, not only to the parent, because at this age the patient is the one making the decisions.
Request an appointment at our Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon or Berlin office. Fees, insurance and monthly payment plans are all explained on our orthodontic financing page, including the discount that applies when more than one child in a family is in treatment.
Book Your Teen's Exam
Come in, meet Dr. Veit, and get a real answer about what your teen’s case needs and how long it will take.
Request an appointment at Bright Orthodontics in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon or Berlin. To understand how braces work before you come, start with about braces.
Reviewed by Dr. Adam J. Veit, DDS, MS, a board-certified orthodontist and the treating doctor at all four Bright Orthodontics offices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about teen orthodontic treatment? Here are helpful answers to guide you.
Is it too late to start braces at sixteen or seventeen?
No. Late teens are a common and straightforward age to treat. Growth may be finishing, which changes how we approach a jaw discrepancy, but tooth movement works the same at seventeen as at thirteen.
My teen is self-conscious about getting braces. What helps?
Two things, in our experience. Choosing an option they had a say in, whether that is ceramic brackets, aligners or picking their own colors. And knowing what to expect, so the first week does not come as a shock. Bring them to the exam and let them ask their own questions.
Will my teen miss much school for appointments?
Very little. After the appointment that places the braces, most visits are short, and they happen every six to eight weeks or so. We book early morning slots where we can and we have four offices, so families often use whichever one is easiest that week.
Do elastics really matter, or can my teen skip them?
They matter more than almost anything else. Elastics do the work that brackets and wires cannot, which is correcting how the upper and lower jaws meet. Part time wear does not move teeth, and it does prolong treatment for everyone.