How long it takes for an orthodontic extraction to close the gap needs to be determined on an individual basis and is different for each patient. Generally, the teeth must first be lined up and leveled before the gap can be closed, and this process of lining up and leveling takes different amounts of time for different patients. Some patients can complete the process in 3 months, while others may take up to 6-8 months to complete the process. After aligning and leveling, the gap is usually closed at a rate of about 1mm per month, and an extracted premolar is about 7-8mm, which means that the time to remove the aligning and leveling and close the gap is completed in about 7-8 months or even 10 months. So for most patients, orthodontic gap closure may take about 1 year to 1 1/2 years to complete. For individual patients, the extracted teeth may not be symmetrical, neither left-right symmetrical nor up-down symmetrical, in which case the doctor will have to analyze the gap closure time according to the patient’s specific situation.