Best Orthodontists in Auckland
We assessed 39 orthodontists in Auckland and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 2,546 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 19 September 2026. How we rank →
Before you hire
Orthodontist is a specialist title in New Zealand. It belongs to dentists registered with the Dental Council of New Zealand as orthodontic specialists, which takes a postgraduate orthodontic qualification on top of a dental degree, and the council publishes a public register you can search by name. A general dentist can also offer braces or clear aligners but is not an orthodontist, so ask who will plan and carry out your treatment. Braces are a private cost for almost every family, so ask whether the quote covers records, every adjustment visit, removal, retainers and replacement retainers, and how long follow-up reviews run.
Top 5 Orthodontists in Auckland
The top 5 orthodontists in Auckland are #1 Donna Lim Orthodontics, #2 North Shore Orthodontics, #3 Auckland City Orthodontics, #4 Shakespeare Orthodontics, and #5 Auckland Orthodontics, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you choose.
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1
Donna Lim Orthodontics
★ 5.0 794 reviews Top5 Score 1875★ 784 4★ 6 3★ 1 1★ 3Donna Lim Orthodontics guides patients through braces treatment, including deep bite and overbite correction, with each stage explained before it happens so families know what to expect. Their Dental Monitoring app lets patients submit fortnightly scans from home or overseas, and broken wires or urgent issues are fitted in promptly.
location_on 161 Stoddard Road, Mount Roskill, Auckland
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2
North Shore Orthodontics
★ 5.0 298 reviews Top5 Score 1745★ 295 4★ 2 1★ 1North Shore Orthodontics takes on cases other practitioners have turned away, including impacted teeth requiring surgical exposure, crowded arches where extractions were recommended elsewhere, and adult bite correction. John works without rushing, often waiting for the right developmental stage before starting, and has patients reporting straight teeth more than 15 years after treatment.
location_on 14 Auburn Street, Takapuna, Auckland
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3
Auckland City Orthodontics CBD
★ 5.0 231 reviews Top5 Score 1715★ 229 1★ 2Auckland City Orthodontics coordinates Invisalign, traditional braces, and post-jaw-surgery orthodontic treatment, working directly alongside maxillofacial surgeons when cases require it. Ross resets treatment plans mid-course when a better result is achievable rather than pushing through to a faster finish, and remote monitoring via an app means patients can track weekly progress between appointments.
location_on level 2/79 Queen Street, CBD, Auckland
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4
Shakespeare Orthodontics Takapuna
★ 4.9 262 reviews Top5 Score 1705★ 251 4★ 4 3★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 5Shakespeare Orthodontics treats braces, Invisalign, crossbite correction, and plate work for children through to adults, with reviewers noting that Dr Mo and Dr Azza took particular care explaining complex cases at each stage. Families with changing circumstances, including pregnancy and missed payments, found the clinic willing to adjust appointment timing and payment arrangements to keep treatment on track.
location_on 39 Taharoto Road, Takapuna, Auckland
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5
Auckland Orthodontics
★ 4.9 214 reviews Top5 Score 1685★ 207 4★ 5 1★ 2Auckland Orthodontics fits children and adults for metal braces and Invisalign, with no extra charge when treatment runs longer than originally planned. Nitin works as a perfectionist on tooth alignment, and staff like Debbie and Pam are known for staying organised and accommodating across multi-year treatment courses.
location_on 6 Exminster Street, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland
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Before you choose an orthodontist in Auckland
Drawn from 674 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What do braces and clear aligners typically cost in New Zealand? expand_more
Orthodontic treatment is a private cost for almost every family in New Zealand. Free dental care for under-18s covers check-ups, fillings and extractions, but the government is explicit that braces and other orthodontic treatments are not included. The only exceptions are children with special medical needs such as a cleft palate, and cases where ACC covers treatment because an accident caused the dental problem. For a full course of around 15 to 24 months, the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists (orthodontists.org.nz) publishes these national ranges: metal braces $3,000 to $13,000 or more, ceramic braces $3,500 to $13,500 or more, clear aligners such as Invisalign $4,000 to $14,000 or more, and lingual braces fitted behind the teeth $10,000 to $15,000 or more. Limited treatment of around six months runs about $3,500 to $7,000. The fee follows the complexity of your case more than the type of appliance, so a quote cannot be given without a consultation. Most practices take a deposit and spread the balance as monthly payments across treatment, and some offer this interest-free, which reviewers flag as a genuine help. Before you compare prices, check exactly what each quote covers: records, every adjustment visit, urgent appointments, appliance removal, retainers including replacements, and how long follow-up reviews run, because practices differ significantly on what they include.
How do I check that an orthodontist is a registered specialist? expand_more
Orthodontist is a protected specialist title in New Zealand, regulated by the Dental Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Tiaki Niho) under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. Registering as an orthodontic specialist requires a postgraduate orthodontic qualification on top of a dental degree, and every practising clinician also needs a current annual practising certificate. The council's public register at dcnz.org.nz lets you search by name or town and filter by practice type, where orthodontic specialist is one of the options. A general dentist can also legally offer braces or clear aligners, but the Dental Council's Advertising Practice Standard tells general dentists not to suggest they are an orthodontist, so ask directly who will plan and carry out your treatment and check that person on the register. The New Zealand Association of Orthodontists is the voluntary professional body whose members are all registered specialists and which runs a find-an-orthodontist directory by region, though a registered specialist may not be a member, making the council register the authoritative check. If you have a complaint about care, the Health and Disability Commissioner is the route to raise it.
How long should orthodontic treatment take, and what makes it run over? expand_more
A full course of orthodontic treatment runs about 15 to 24 months for most cases, while limited treatment targeting a specific problem is closer to six months, and a good practice gives you a realistic estimate at the first consultation and explains any change to it along the way. Several things stretch treatment beyond the original plan: broken brackets, wires or aligners, not wearing elastics or clear aligners for the prescribed hours each day, missed or rescheduled appointments that push adjustment visits out by weeks, and findings along the way such as impacted teeth, jaw problems or the need for surgery that were not apparent at the start. Retainers after active treatment are not an optional extra, as reviewers who returned years later confirm that teeth move back without them, so budget for retainers and build ongoing retainer checks into your plan from the outset.
What are the warning signs of an orthodontic practice you should avoid? expand_more
- –A quote that does not spell out whether records, appliance removal, retainers and follow-up reviews are included, leaving room for surprise charges later in treatment.
- –Treatment running well past the original estimate with no clear explanation offered, or a response of "that is all we can do" when results fall short.
- –A different clinician at every visit with no single person owning the plan, so problems build up without anyone catching them.
- –Slow or absent communication about a child's progress, or taking months to produce a referral letter that was promised within days.
- –Difficulty getting an urgent appointment when a bracket breaks or a wire is cutting, which reviewers flag as a sign the practice is understaffed relative to its patient load.
- –Long wait times at every appointment, not just occasionally, which suggests scheduling is stretched and your time is not being respected.
- –Inflexible payment terms, such as requiring the full multi-year treatment cost to be paid off within one year, with no staged option as treatment progresses.
What should you ask before starting treatment with an orthodontist? expand_more
- –Ask who will plan and carry out your treatment at each visit, confirm that person's name, and check them on the Dental Council of New Zealand public register at dcnz.org.nz as an orthodontic specialist.
- –Ask for an itemised breakdown of what the quote covers: initial records, every adjustment visit, urgent appointments for broken appliances, appliance removal, retainers, replacement retainers, and how long post-treatment reviews are included.
- –Ask for the expected treatment length and what factors could extend it, including whether extractions, surgery or other specialist involvement might be needed and who would charge for that work.
- –Ask which treatment options suit your case, why one is being recommended over the others, and what the trade-offs are, because reviewers note that practices vary widely in whether they present alternatives at all.
- –Ask how the deposit and monthly payments work, what interest applies if any, and what happens to money already paid if you need to relocate or stop treatment partway through.
- –Ask what the retainer plan looks like at the end of treatment, whether replacement retainers are included in the quote, and how long the practice will see you for follow-up reviews.
Also recommended orthodontists in Auckland
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
Shakespeare Orthodontics Epsom
★ 4.9 209 reviews Top5 Score 1675★ 200 3★ 2 2★ 1 1★ 6Shakespeare Orthodontics delivers braces treatment and retainer care for children, teenagers, and adults, with reviewers repeatedly noting that Mo and the team explained each step clearly and stuck to the treatment timeline given at the start. Patients taking on treatment after a previous orthodontist retired found the clinic willing to assess existing work honestly and, in some cases, correct shifting without charging for a new retainer.
location_on 2 Owens Road, Epsom, Auckland
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7
Eden Orthodontics
★ 4.9 196 reviews Top5 Score 1675★ 192 4★ 1 3★ 1 1★ 2Eden Orthodontics fits Invisalign clear aligners, traditional braces, and light-force braces for children, teenagers, and adults, including complex cases and patients mid-treatment after relocating from overseas. Rachel and the team are known for involving patients in decisions throughout, and have gone as far as temporarily removing braces to accommodate a patient's wedding and honeymoon.
location_on 114 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
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8
Dr Kimberley Timmins Specialist Orthodontist Ltd
★ 5.0 147 reviews Top5 Score 1655★ 146 1★ 1Dr Kimberley Timmins gets children and adults through braces treatment, including challenging dental cases that required coordination with other dental specialists to reach the final result. Parents of anxious children repeatedly point to Kimberley's approach as the reason their kids actually looked forward to appointments, and payment plans made multi-year treatment manageable for families.
location_on 4 Knights Road, Rothesay Bay, Auckland
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9
Totara Orthodontists
★ 5.0 96 reviews Top5 Score 1595★ 94 4★ 2Totara Orthodontists corrects overbites, crowded teeth, and complex alignment cases including treatment staged around implant preparation, across patients from children to adults. Fiona and Danielle are noted for setting clear expectations at the outset and keeping patients informed at each step, with several families returning to put a second or third child through treatment on the strength of earlier results.
location_on Bldg A – Level 2/1 McCrae Way, New Lynn, Auckland
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10
Mt Albert Orthodontics
★ 4.9 99 reviews Top5 Score 1585★ 95 4★ 2 3★ 1 1★ 1Mt Albert Orthodontics takes on challenging orthodontic cases including surgical extractions, supernumerary teeth, overbite correction, and hybrid aligner-braces treatment, seeing each through to completion. Sanjay kept patients informed and reachable throughout multi-year courses, and pricing was transparent from the start with payment plans available to make treatment achievable for families.
location_on 1 Willcott Street, Mount Albert, Auckland
About this ranking
What the 10 orthodontists listed above hold, at the 19 September 2026 check.
Across the 6 locations we assess orthodontists in, the 55 businesses listed have a median rating of 4.9, and one-star reviews are 1.9% of their total.
How are the top orthodontists in Auckland chosen? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for orthodontists in Auckland. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer? expand_more
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free, and adds a phone number to the card. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and gives the owner a dashboard with their score breakdown, ranking history and competitor analysis. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for orthodontists in Auckland. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.