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

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.

  1. 1 Donna Lim Orthodontics ★ 5.0 · 794 reviews · Score 187
  2. 2 North Shore Orthodontics ★ 5.0 · 298 reviews · Score 174
  3. 3 Auckland City Orthodontics CBD ★ 5.0 · 231 reviews · Score 171
  4. 4 Shakespeare Orthodontics Takapuna ★ 4.9 · 262 reviews · Score 170
  5. 5 Auckland Orthodontics ★ 4.9 · 214 reviews · Score 168
  • 1

    Donna Lim Orthodontics

    ★ 5.0 794 reviews Score 187
    5★ 784 4★ 6 3★ 1 1★ 3

    Donna 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.

    161 Stoddard Road, Mount Roskill, Auckland

    Call 09 869 8288 Map Is this your business?
  • 2

    North Shore Orthodontics

    ★ 5.0 298 reviews Score 174
    5★ 295 4★ 2 1★ 1

    North 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.

    14 Auburn Street, Takapuna, Auckland

    Call 09 488 7488 Map Is this your business?
  • 3

    Auckland City Orthodontics CBD

    ★ 5.0 231 reviews Score 171
    5★ 229 1★ 2

    Auckland City Orthodontics coordinates Invisalign, traditional braces, and post-jaw-surgery orthodontic treatment, working directly alongside maxillofacial surgeons when cases require it.

    level 2/79 Queen Street, CBD, Auckland

    Call 09 377 7607 Map Is this your business?
  • 4

    Shakespeare Orthodontics Takapuna

    ★ 4.9 262 reviews Score 170
    5★ 251 4★ 4 3★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 5

    Shakespeare 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.

    39 Taharoto Road, Takapuna, Auckland

    Call 09 216 6888 Map Is this your business?
  • 5

    Auckland Orthodontics

    ★ 4.9 214 reviews Score 168
    5★ 207 4★ 5 1★ 2

    Auckland Orthodontics fits children and adults for metal braces and Invisalign, with no extra charge when treatment runs longer than originally planned.

    6 Exminster Street, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland

    Call 09 627 3555 Map Is this your business?
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Before you choose an orthodontist in Auckland

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.

The questions below are drawn from 674 customer reviews collected for this page.

What do braces and clear aligners typically cost in New Zealand?

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?

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?

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?
  • –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?
  • –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.

More rankings

Auckland orthodontists by area 3 links
Related services in Auckland 1 links
Orthodontists elsewhere in New Zealand 2 links
More health rankings in Auckland 6 links

About this ranking

What the 10 orthodontists listed above hold, at the 19 September 2026 check.

794
reviews held by the #1 ranked business
214
reviews held by the #5 ranked business
4.9
lowest rating among the 10 listed
0.9%
of their 2,546 reviews are one-star
How are the top orthodontists in Auckland chosen?

We build this page from Google Maps results for orthodontists in Auckland. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record, using the same published method on every page. 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. See how we rank for how rankings are made and who is left out.

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Not listed? The usual reasons 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. Check where you rank first, and if you think we missed you, get in touch.

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