Adults throughout Clarks Summit and the Scranton area can explore braces and clear aligners designed to fit busy lifestyles at Ortho Unlimited.
You are three video calls into a Tuesday, and you notice you have started covering your mouth again. Or you are looking through photos from your daughter's wedding and seeing only one thing in every frame. Or the bottom front teeth that were perfectly straight the day your braces came off in high school have quietly crossed over each other since.
Those three conversations happen constantly in our Clarks Summit office, usually from adults who assumed the window closed decades ago.
Here is the part most people get wrong. Teeth do not stop responding to orthodontic force at a certain age. The biology that moves a 14-year-old's teeth is the same biology that moves a 47-year-old's teeth. What changes is the planning around them, and planning is a solvable problem.
Are You Ever Too Old for Braces?
No. The American Dental Association (ADA) puts it plainly: healthy teeth can be orthodontically treated at any age. Orthodontics has no upper age limit.
The AAO now reports that roughly one in three orthodontic patients is an adult, which is the highest share on record. Some of those adults never had treatment as children. Many had it and watched their teeth drift afterward.
What actually determines eligibility is the foundation. Your teeth need enough healthy bone around them, and your gums need to be free of active disease. We can evaluate those conditions in one visit.
What Adult Treatment Looks Like at Ortho Unlimited
Adults at our Clarks Summit office generally choose among three approaches: Invisalign clear aligners, clear ceramic braces, and modern metal braces. All three move teeth. They differ in how visible they are and in the kinds of movement they handle most predictably.
| Option | How visible | Handles best | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invisalign clear aligners | Nearly invisible | Mild to moderate crowding and spacing, and relapse after earlier treatment | Removable for meals and cleaning. Results depend on wearing them close to full time. |
| Clear ceramic braces | Low profile, tooth colored | Most cases braces can treat, including bite correction | Fixed to the teeth, so nothing depends on remembering to put them back in. |
| Modern metal braces | Visible | Complex tooth movement and bite correction | We use a small self-ligating bracket system, which creates less friction than older designs. |
We don't start with the appliance. We start from the movement your teeth need, then recommend the option that delivers it most predictably. Sometimes that is the discreet choice. Sometimes it is not, and we will tell you so.
Does Treatment Take Longer for Adults?
Sometimes, and usually not by as much as people expect. The ADA reports that most orthodontic patients are in treatment for one to three years, followed by retainer wear.
The AAO notes that adult teeth are set more firmly in the jaw than a growing child's, so moving them takes more time and sustained pressure. A teenager's jaw is still developing, which gives an orthodontist growth to work with. An adult's jaw is finished, so every millimeter comes from tooth movement alone.
Research shows that for mild to moderate crowding, clear aligners and traditional braces generally take about the same amount of time.
What moves the timeline far more than your age is the complexity of the correction and how consistently you follow instructions. Aligner cases in particular live or die on wear time.
Why Your Gums and Bone Matter More Than Your Age
This is the real gatekeeper for adult treatment, and it is worth understanding before your consultation.
Teeth move through bone. If bone levels have dropped from untreated gum disease, or if the gum tissue is actively inflamed, applying orthodontic force can make the situation worse rather than better. So we look carefully before we start.
Active gum disease does not mean the answer is no. It usually means the sequence changes. We coordinate with your general dentist or a periodontist, the gum condition gets stabilized, and then orthodontic treatment proceeds on a sound foundation.
There is a payoff on the other side. Crowded and overlapping teeth are harder to clean, and the AAO points out that better alignment makes daily hygiene easier and reduces plaque buildup. For many adults, that long-term benefit matters more than the cosmetic one.
My Teeth Shifted After I Had Braces as a Teenager
You are in large company, and your case is probably easier than you think.
Teeth that have drifted since earlier treatment usually need much less correction than they needed originally. Many of these cases involve a few crowded lower incisors and finish in well under a year, often with aligners.
The important difference the second time around is retention. Teeth have a lifelong tendency to shift, so we plan retainer wear as a permanent part of the result, not an afterthought.
Will People at Work Notice?
Less than you are imagining. Clear aligners are genuinely difficult to spot across a conference table, and small tooth-colored attachments are the only visible component in most cases.
Ceramic brackets are another common option. They are fixed in place like traditional braces but blend against the tooth, and they handle movement that aligners sometimes cannot.
Scheduling tends to worry adults more than appearance does. Many of our Clarks Summit patients commute into Scranton on Route 11 or Interstate 81, so appointments that land at the start or end of the workday matter. Our front desk plans around that, and adjustment visits are typically short.
What Your First Visit Actually Involves
Your first appointment at our Clarks Summit office on Northern Boulevard is a complimentary consultation. There is no obligation attached to it.
We perform a comprehensive oral examination, talk through what we see, explain which approaches would work for your case, and give you professional recommendations along with a cost estimate specific to you.
Why Adults Choose Ortho Unlimited
Four decades of adult cases in this region.
Dr. Mariotti
began practicing orthodontics in 1984 and has been certified by the American Board of Orthodontics since 1990, with recertification in 2004. Adults have never been a side specialty here.
Three orthodontists. One experienced team.
Dr. Mariotti has practiced orthodontics since 1984, Dr. Abod
has served Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2008, and Dr. Serio
brings advanced training and board certification. Together, they combine decades of experience with fresh insight to carefully plan even the most complex adult cases.
Discreet options are standard, not upgrades. Ceramic brackets and Invisalign clear aligners are part of our everyday practice, so choosing a low-profile option does not mean choosing a compromise.
Modern brackets, less friction. Our metal bracket cases use a small self-ligating bracket system designed for lower friction and greater comfort than older bracket designs.
Five offices across Northeastern Pennsylvania. Clarks Summit, Kingston, Carbondale, Honesdale, and Dingman's Ferry. If your job takes you across the region, your appointments can follow you.
A consultation that costs nothing. Adults deserve to get their questions answered before committing to anything, so the first visit is complimentary and includes a written estimate.
A practice rooted in the Abingtons. Our Clarks Summit office sits minutes from the State Street businesses that fill with visitors each winter for the Festival of Ice. We treat the parents who bring their Abington Heights students in, and quite often those parents become patients themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I too old for braces or Invisalign?
No. Healthy teeth can be moved at any age, and the American Association of Orthodontists reports that roughly one in three orthodontic patients today is an adult. What matters is the condition of your gums and the bone supporting your teeth, not the number of birthdays behind you. A consultation is the only way to know for certain.
How long does adult orthodontic treatment take?
Most orthodontic treatment runs one to three years, followed by retainer wear. Adult teeth sit more firmly in the jaw than a growing child's, so cases can run slightly longer. Simple crowding often finishes on the shorter end, while bite correction takes more time. Your consultation includes an estimate for your specific case.
Do clear aligners work as well as braces for adults?
For mild to moderate crowding, clear aligners and braces produce comparable results in comparable time. More complex bite problems, rotated teeth, and cases needing significant vertical movement are often more predictable with fixed braces. We recommend the appliance that fits the tooth movement your case actually requires.
My teeth shifted after I had braces as a teenager. Do I have to start over?
Usually not. Teeth that drifted after earlier treatment often need far less correction than they did the first time, and many of these cases finish in well under a year. The difference the second time is retention. Long-term retainer wear is what keeps the result you paid for.
Can I get orthodontic treatment if I have had gum problems?
Often yes, once the gum condition is stable and under control. Moving teeth through inflamed tissue or reduced bone can make matters worse, so we coordinate with your general dentist or periodontist first. Straighter teeth are also easier to clean, which can support long-term gum health.
Sources
- American Association of Orthodontists. Adult Orthodontics: Smile with Confidence at Any Age. https://aaoinfo.org/adult-orthodontics/
- American Association of Orthodontists. 1 in 3 Orthodontic Patients is an Adult: Why Adult Braces Are Trending. https://aaoinfo.org/blog/number-of-adults-seeing-an-orthodontist-is-at-an-all-time-high/
- American Dental Association. Braces. MouthHealthy. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/braces
- Alhamwi, A. M., Burhan, A. S., Idris, M. I., and Nawaya, F. R. (2024). Duration of orthodontic treatment with clear aligners versus fixed appliances in crowding cases: a systematic review. Clinical Oral Investigations. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1007/s00784-024-05629-y. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-024-05629-y
Medical disclaimer: This article provides general educational information about adult orthodontic treatment. Individual orthodontic needs differ, and eligibility for treatment depends on the health of your teeth, gums, and supporting bone, which cannot be assessed online or from photographs. A personal diagnosis or treatment recommendation requires an examination by a qualified orthodontist. If you have a history of periodontal disease, discuss it with your general dentist and your orthodontist before beginning treatment.
