Thank you for your question. Braces treatment does take time, on average 1-3 years, however for some complex cases it may sometimes take even longer. There may be some unforeseen circumstances where braces treatment may need to be terminated earlier. For example if the patient has more urgent medical treatment and having the braces may hinder proper medical investigation such as a brain MRI.
In such rare occasions where braces treatment needs to be terminated earlier than expected, there may be some "unfinished business" such as spaces still present between the teeth, some teeth are not fully straightened and some teeth are not biting in its most ideal position. In most of these scenarios that I have mentioned, it is not a harmful effect but that the braces treatment result has not reached its most ideal end point.This however can be rectified at a later stage as long as the teeth and gums are kept healthy.
Hope this helps and all the very best,
Dr Priscilla Lu
Orthodontist at the Orthodontic clinic
