Fastest & Easiest Ways to Fix Crooked Teeth (In Order of Price)
Have crooked teeth? Want to know what can be done to straighten your teeth? Need an alternative to braces?
Explore the solutions below, listed in order of price (from lowest to highest).
Dental bonding or composite bonding
- Prices: £295 per tooth
- Fixes: Mild to moderate crooked teeth
- Treatment length: 1 hour
- Available on 0% finance
Composite bonding is a reversible, minimally invasive cosmetic procedure that can help create the appearance of straighter teeth, similar to veneers.
Using tooth-coloured composite resin, our cosmetic dentists can carefully reshape and rebuild your teeth to help them appear more even and straight.
Tooth contouring
- Prices: £295 per tooth
- Fixes: Mild crooked teeth
- Treatment length: 1 hour
- Available on 0% finance
While it’s not our first recommendation for treating crooked teeth, tooth contouring can be used for mildly crowded cases.
Tooth contouring is a straightforward procedure that involves reshaping your teeth to make them appear neater, more even, and straighter.
Despite its name, the procedure is pain-free and will not damage your teeth. Additionally, it’s fast, completing in just an hour.
Dental veneers
- Prices: £350 per tooth and £850 per tooth
- Fixes: Moderate crooked teeth
- Options: Composite and Porcelain
- Treatment length: Few hours (composite), 3 weeks (porcelain)
- Available on 0% finance
If you’re looking for a brace-free way to straighten your teeth, veneers may be an option.
Cosmetic dentists can even apply veneers to severe crowding or overlapping issues; you might notice that some of your veneers are thicker on some teeth than others.
For the best results, we recommend wearing aligners for a short period, typically three months, to close gaps and provide a straighter foundation.
The best results are achieved when cosmetic dentists apply veneers to minor teeth that overlap, using either porcelain or composite veneers to hide the issue rather than truly correct it.
Metal braces
- Prices: From £1,999
- Fixes: Mild-severe crooked teeth cases
- Options: White braces and coloured braces
- Treatment length: 12-18 months
- Available on 0% finance
Whilst metal braces aren’t the favourite of teens and adults alike, they are a predictable, tried and trusted way to straighten crooked teeth.
Whilst the process can take up to 18 months, patients can expect a better-looking smile at the end of their journey as teeth move into their correct positions.
Not sure which will work best for you? Live in London? Drop by our clinic in Waterloo for a free consultation.
Invisalign Lite or Full
- Prices: £1,999-£3,999
- Fixes: Mild–severe crooked teeth cases
- Treatment length: 3-12 months
- Available on 0% finance
Less painful than braces, Invisalign is more comfortable and more predictable, and it is faster for patients seeking an orthodontic solution to straighten their crooked teeth.
Effective for a range of crooked teeth cases, Invisalign is often a strong recommendation for patients who want to straighten their teeth without the stigma of metal braces or traditional orthodontia.
Call 020 7928 4474 to book a free consultation, or organise one online.
Wonky, Bent, Squint or Twisted: All the Same Question
People rarely search for “malocclusion”. They type wonky teeth, bent tooth, squint teeth, tilted, twisted, uneven, misshapen. Those all describe the same handful of situations, and knowing which one you have decides the treatment far more than the word you use for it.
Crowding. Too little room for the teeth you have, so they overlap and rotate. The commonest reason front teeth look untidy, and the lower front teeth are usually first to show it.
A single rotated tooth. One tooth turned slightly on its axis while its neighbours sit correctly. Very common on an upper lateral incisor, the tooth next to your front two.
A tilted or leaning tooth. Often a tooth that has drifted toward a gap left by an extraction. It looks bent because it is angled rather than turned.
Uneven edges. The teeth are in the right positions but the edges are different lengths, usually from wear or a chip. This one is often mistaken for crookedness and is the easiest and cheapest of the lot to fix.
A tooth sitting higher or lower than the others. Genuinely out of the arch rather than rotated. This needs moving, and no cosmetic material will disguise it convincingly.
The distinction that matters: uneven edges can be reshaped in an hour. A tooth in the wrong position has to be moved. Everything below follows from which of those you are dealing with.
Straighten It or Disguise It?
This is the real fork in the road, and most pages skip it.
Orthodontics moves teeth. Braces or aligners reposition the tooth in the bone. Slow, and it changes the underlying problem rather than covering it. Nothing is removed from the tooth.
Bonding and veneers disguise. Material is added to or placed over the tooth so the visible surface reads straight while the tooth stays where it is. Fast, sometimes same-day, and it is a cosmetic solution to a positional problem.
Both are legitimate. What matters is knowing which one you are buying.
The honest limits of disguising: it works beautifully for mild irregularity and uneven edges. It works poorly for a genuinely rotated tooth, because building material onto the face of a turned tooth makes it thick, and thick is more noticeable than slightly crooked. A good clinician will tell you where your case sits on that line.
The middle route people forget
Aligners first for a few months to get the teeth roughly in line, then a small amount of bonding to perfect the edges. Cheaper than a full orthodontic case, far better looking than bonding alone on a crooked tooth, and often quicker than people expect because you are not chasing a perfect result with movement alone.
If your teeth are noticeably out of position and you have been quoted for veneers only, this combination is worth asking about.
One Crooked Tooth
Worth its own section, because the answer is different when it is a single tooth rather than a whole smile.
A single rotated tooth surrounded by well-aligned neighbours is the best case in cosmetic dentistry. It is also the case where people most often get oversold. You do not need a full arch of veneers or a comprehensive orthodontic case for one tooth.
Realistic options, cheapest first:
- Contouring the edge if the tooth only looks off because its edge is longer or shorter. Minutes, no anaesthetic
- Bonding on the one tooth to fill the visual gap the rotation creates. Often two teeth, so the pair reads symmetrically
- A short course of aligners to rotate the tooth back. For one tooth this is frequently a few months rather than a year
- A single veneer, which is the one I would think hardest about, because matching one porcelain veneer to natural neighbours is the most difficult shade match in dentistry
If someone proposes six veneers for one crooked tooth, ask what a single tooth solution would look like and why it was ruled out.
What Each Route Costs
Indicative UK market ranges, with our own fees on the linked pages.
| Option | Typical UK cost | Time | Moves teeth? | Tooth removed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tooth contouring | £50 to £150 per tooth | one visit | no | a fraction of enamel |
| Composite bonding | £150 to £350 per tooth | one visit | no | none |
| Composite veneers | £200 to £450 per tooth | one visit | no | none to minimal |
| Clear aligners | £1,390 to £2,090 typical | 4 to 18 months | yes | none |
| Metal braces | £1,500 to £3,000 | 6 to 30 months | yes | none |
| Ceramic or lingual braces | add £1,000 to £3,000 | 6 to 30 months | yes | none |
| Porcelain veneers | £600 to £1,200 per tooth | two visits | no | permanent |
Two things the table hides. Veneers are priced per tooth, so six of them overtakes a full orthodontic case quickly. And aligners and braces both need retainers afterwards, which is a real ongoing cost rather than an upsell.
Can you get it done on the NHS as an adult?
Rarely, and it is worth being straight about it. NHS orthodontics is prioritised for under-18s with a clear clinical need, assessed on a scoring system. Adults are only treated where there is a genuine functional problem rather than an appearance concern, and availability varies enormously by area.
Where an adult does qualify in England, orthodontic treatment falls under the NHS band 3 charge, and it means metal braces rather than a choice of appliance. Clear aligners, ceramic braces, bonding and veneers are private everywhere.
We are a private practice, so we cannot provide NHS treatment. If cost is the deciding factor and you think you may qualify, it is worth asking your NHS dentist for an orthodontic assessment before going private.
Do Crooked Teeth Actually Need Fixing?
A fair question, and the answer is often no.
Mostly cosmetic. Mild crowding, one rotated tooth, slightly uneven edges. If it does not bother you, leaving it alone is a perfectly reasonable clinical decision. Nobody needs straight teeth to be healthy.
Worth treating for function. There are situations where crookedness causes problems rather than just appearance: teeth so overlapped you genuinely cannot clean between them, which drives decay and gum disease; a bite where teeth hit each other in a way that is wearing them down; and difficulty biting or chewing properly.
The one to take seriously. Teeth that have recently become crooked, when they were straight before. Adult teeth do drift slowly with age, but a noticeable change over months is different. It can mean bone loss from gum disease allowing teeth to move. That needs assessing before anything cosmetic, because straightening teeth in unstable bone makes matters worse. Our gum disease page covers what to look for.
Lower Front Teeth, and Why They Go First
The lower front teeth are the most common complaint and the most likely to relapse after treatment.
They are the smallest teeth in the mouth, they sit in the narrowest part of the arch, and they carry a lifetime of crowding pressure. They are also the classic site for relapse years after childhood braces, which is why so many people in their thirties notice their lower teeth have shifted.
Treatment is the same as anywhere else, but the retention plan is not optional. A thin wire bonded behind the lower front teeth is standard, and it stays. Without it, expect movement to return within a few years.
Will They Move Back?
Yes, unless retained, and this is the part people are least warned about.
Teeth have a memory. After any orthodontic movement they drift back toward where they started, most rapidly in the first year and slowly thereafter for life. Retention is permanent, not temporary. Expect either a bonded wire behind the teeth, a removable retainer worn nightly, or both.
Bonding and veneers do not relapse in the same way, since nothing has moved. What they do instead is wear, stain and occasionally chip, so they need maintaining rather than retaining.
Neither route is fit-and-forget. Anyone implying otherwise is glossing over the part that decides whether you still like your teeth in ten years.
What Results Realistically Look Like
Setting expectations honestly, because “before and after” is one of the most searched things here and the photographs online are selected.
Mild crowding treated with aligners generally finishes very well. This is what clear aligners do best and the results are usually as good as the marketing suggests.
Severe crowding sometimes needs teeth slimmed slightly between contacts to create space, or occasionally an extraction. A good plan says so at the start.
Bonding on mildly crooked teeth looks excellent when the shade is matched well. Bonding on genuinely rotated teeth looks like bonding on rotated teeth.
A single porcelain veneer next to natural teeth is the hardest result to get right in cosmetic dentistry. It can be done superbly, but it is worth asking to see examples of single-tooth cases rather than full-arch ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to fix crooked teeth?
Composite bonding or edge contouring, both in a single appointment. Neither moves the tooth, so they suit mild irregularity and uneven edges rather than genuinely rotated teeth.
What is the cheapest way to fix crooked teeth?
Contouring, at roughly £50 to £150 per tooth, if the problem is only the edge length. Bonding is next. Anything involving actual tooth movement starts around £1,400.
How much does it cost to fix crooked teeth in the UK?
Anywhere from around £50 for reshaping one edge to £3,000 or more for a full orthodontic case. Aligners typically run £1,390 to £2,090 and metal braces £1,500 to £3,000.
Can you fix crooked teeth without braces?
Yes, in two ways. Clear aligners move teeth without fixed braces. Bonding and veneers change how teeth look without moving them. Which is appropriate depends on whether the tooth is in the wrong position or just the wrong shape.
How do you fix one crooked tooth?
Options run from contouring the edge, to bonding one or two teeth, to a short course of aligners to rotate it back. A single tooth rarely needs a full-arch treatment, and it is worth questioning any plan that proposes one.
Can composite bonding fix crooked teeth?
It can disguise mild crookedness and uneven edges very well. It cannot move a tooth, so a significantly rotated tooth is better straightened first, otherwise the bonding ends up thick and obvious.
Why are my teeth crooked when they used to be straight?
Adult teeth drift slowly throughout life, and relapse after childhood braces is common if retainers stopped. But a noticeable change over months can indicate bone loss from gum disease, and that should be assessed before any cosmetic work.
Can adults get braces on the NHS?
Only rarely, where there is a clear functional problem rather than a cosmetic one, and availability varies by area. Where an adult does qualify it means metal braces under the band 3 charge. We are private and cannot offer NHS treatment.
How long does it take to straighten crooked teeth?
Between six and thirty months with braces or aligners, depending on how far the teeth have to move. Mild front-tooth cases can finish in four to six months. Bonding is the same day.
Do crooked teeth get worse with age?
Often slightly, yes. Lower front teeth in particular tend to crowd further over decades, which is why people notice it in their thirties and forties even without previous treatment.
Will my teeth move back after treatment?
Yes without a retainer. Relapse is fastest in the first year and continues slowly for life, so retention is permanent. Lower front teeth relapse most readily and usually need a bonded wire.
Are crooked teeth a health problem?
Usually not. They matter clinically when teeth are so overlapped you cannot clean between them, when the bite is wearing teeth down, or when chewing is affected. Otherwise it is a cosmetic choice.
Find Out Which Route Suits Your Teeth
The useful first step is someone telling you whether your teeth are in the wrong position or just the wrong shape, because that single distinction rules half these options in or out. It takes one appointment.
Call 020 7928 4474 or book online. We are at 3 St George’s Court, Garden Row, London SE1 6HD, minutes from Elephant and Castle, Borough, Waterloo and London Bridge.
For the individual routes: tooth contouring, composite bonding, Invisalign, metal braces, ceramic braces and porcelain veneers. If gaps rather than crookedness are the issue, see treatments for gapped teeth, and for the wider picture our orthodontics pages.
Market price ranges and treatment times are indicative UK figures from published 2026 cost guides, not our fees. Our own fees are on the linked treatment pages and are confirmed in writing after assessment. We are a private practice and do not offer NHS treatment. This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Last reviewed August 2026.
