- Consult
- Records
- Bond
- Adjust
- Debond
- Retain
gentle sustained pressure makes bone dissolve on one side of a tooth’s root and rebuild on the other, letting the tooth migrate — about a millimetre a month. That biology is why treatment takes months and why retainers guard the result.
The renovation crew in your jaw
Teeth aren’t fused to bone — each sits in a socket cushioned by a ligament. When a wire applies light, continuous pressure, that ligament signals two cell crews: one dissolves bone on the side the tooth is moving toward; the other builds new bone in the space left behind. The tooth doesn’t push through bone — the bone remodels around it.
Why light force beats heavy force
Squeeze harder and you’d expect faster — biology disagrees. Heavy pressure crushes the ligament’s blood supply and stalls the process (and hurts). Modern heat-activated wires exist precisely to deliver feather- light, constant force for weeks at a stretch — the sweet spot where the cell crews work fastest. It’s why adjustments come every 6–8 weeks: each visit re-tensions the system into that zone.
Why the timeline is the timeline
Roughly a millimetre of movement per month is what healthy remodelling allows. Marketing that promises dramatically faster comprehensive treatment is negotiating with biology that doesn’t negotiate.
And why retainers, forever
New bone takes many months to fully harden, and the stretched ligament fibres pull back like elastic bands the whole time — teeth are most eager to relapse right after they’ve moved. That’s the entire scientific case for the retention routine: hold the position while biology finishes the paperwork, then keep holding it nightly, because teeth drift for life.
How it works at our practice
We use light, heat-activated wires precisely because biology rewards gentle continuous force over heavy pressure — it's why our adjustment interval is six to eight weeks and why we won't promise dramatic speed. We explain the remodelling to every patient at bonding, because a patient who understands why the timeline is the timeline wears their elastics.
Frequently asked questions
How fast do teeth move with braces?
About a millimetre a month in healthy bone. No appliance brand changes that.
Why do braces need adjusting?
Wires deliver force for weeks, then need re-tensioning or replacing to keep movement in the optimal range.
Do teeth move back after braces?
They try — the stretched ligament pulls back and teeth drift for life. Retainers hold them.
Does moving teeth damage them?
Not with light forces and healthy gums. Heavy force or gum disease are the risks, and we screen for both.
Related reading
- Month by month — the biology on a calendar
- Retainers — the scientific case
- How long braces take — why it takes months
The bottom line
Gentle sustained pressure makes bone dissolve on one side of a root and rebuild on the other. That's why treatment takes months, why light force beats heavy, and why retainers follow everything.
If it were our own family
We explain the remodelling to our own patients at bonding for one reason: a teenager who understands why light force wins and why it takes months is a teenager who wears the elastics.
What people also search for
“How fast do teeth move with braces?”
About a millimetre a month in healthy bone.
“Why do teeth move back after braces?”
Stretched ligament fibres and lifelong drift. Retainers hold them.
“Does bone grow back after braces?”
Yes — new bone consolidates behind each moving tooth over months, which is why retention matters most early.
The bottom line
Gentle sustained pressure remodels bone around the roots — a millimetre a month, no faster, and never permanent without retainers.