Getting braces put on is a multi-step bonding process that typically takes one to two hours, and it’s almost entirely painless during the appointment itself. No needles or drilling are involved. Your orthodontist cleans each tooth, applies a bonding agent, glues a small metal or ceramic bracket to the surface, then threads a wire through all the brackets and secures it with tiny ties. Here’s what happens at each stage.
Cleaning and Preparing Your Teeth
Before anything gets glued down, your teeth need to be completely clean and dry. The orthodontist or an assistant will polish each tooth with a gritty paste (similar to what’s used during a routine cleaning) to remove any plaque or debris. This step matters because even a thin film of residue can weaken the bond between the bracket and your enamel.
Once the teeth are polished and rinsed, a cheek retractor is placed in your mouth. This is a small plastic device that holds your lips and cheeks away from your teeth, keeping everything visible and dry while the orthodontist works. It feels a bit odd, like an exaggerated smile, but it isn’t painful. Your mouth will stay open for most of the appointment, so you may feel some jaw fatigue toward the end.
Etching and Bonding the Brackets
With your teeth exposed and dry, the orthodontist applies a conditioning gel to the front surface of each tooth. This gel contains phosphoric acid, which sounds harsh but is applied for only about 30 seconds. It creates microscopic roughness on the enamel, giving the adhesive something to grip. After rinsing and drying, the tooth surface looks slightly chalky or frosty, which is exactly what it should look like.
Next comes the adhesive primer, a liquid that soaks into those tiny etched grooves. Some newer bonding systems combine the etching and priming into a single step, where the liquid is rubbed onto the tooth for a few seconds and left to work for about 30 seconds before being air-dried.
A small amount of dental cement is then applied to the back of each bracket. The orthodontist presses the bracket onto the tooth and positions it precisely before hitting it with a blue LED curing light for about 20 seconds. That light hardens the adhesive almost instantly, locking the bracket in place. The light is bright but harmless.
How Brackets Are Positioned
Bracket placement isn’t random. Each bracket needs to sit at a specific height and angle on the tooth to guide it into the correct final position over the course of treatment. Orthodontists use the center of the visible tooth surface as a reference point, aligning the bracket so its wings are parallel to the long axis of the tooth. This approach was developed by Lawrence Andrews and remains the standard method.
There are two main techniques for placing brackets. With direct bonding, the orthodontist positions each bracket by hand, one tooth at a time, using visual judgment and sometimes a small measuring gauge. With indirect bonding, all the brackets are first arranged on a plaster model of your teeth in a lab, then transferred to your mouth using a custom tray that seats them all at once. Indirect bonding tends to be more precise and reduces placement errors, but it takes more preparation time beforehand and isn’t offered by every practice. Some offices use computer-assisted systems that virtually map your final tooth positions and reverse-engineer custom bracket angles from that digital plan.
Threading the Archwire
Once all the brackets are bonded, the orthodontist slides a thin metal archwire through the horizontal slot in each bracket. This wire is the engine of your braces. It’s shaped in a smooth arch, and because your teeth aren’t perfectly aligned yet, the wire has to bend slightly to fit into each bracket. As it tries to return to its original shape over the coming weeks, it pulls your teeth along with it.
The first archwire is usually very thin and flexible, made from a nickel-titanium alloy that applies gentle, consistent pressure. At future appointments, your orthodontist will swap in progressively thicker, stiffer wires to continue moving your teeth.
Securing the Wire With Ligatures
The archwire needs to be held inside each bracket slot, and that’s done with ligatures, small ties that wrap around the bracket wings. There are two types:
- Elastic ligatures: Tiny rubber rings (the colorful “O-rings” you get to pick colors for). They’re quick to apply and easy to replace at each adjustment visit.
- Metal ligatures: Fine stainless steel wires, typically between .009 and .014 inches thick, twisted around the bracket and tucked under the archwire so the ends don’t poke your cheek.
Your orthodontist chooses between these based on how much control a particular tooth needs. Metal ligatures hold the wire more firmly, which is useful for correcting rotated teeth. Elastic ties are standard for most situations and are the ones that come in dozens of colors.
After all the ligatures are in place, the orthodontist trims any excess wire sticking out behind your back molars and checks that nothing sharp is poking into your cheeks or gums. The retractor comes out, and you’re done.
What It Feels Like During the Appointment
The bonding process itself is painless. You won’t feel the etching gel or the adhesive, and the curing light produces no heat you’d notice. The most uncomfortable parts are the cheek retractor (which can dry out your lips) and simply keeping your mouth open for an extended period. Some patients notice a mildly sour taste from the etching gel, but it’s rinsed away quickly.
The real discomfort starts a few hours after you leave the office. As the archwire begins applying pressure, your teeth will feel sore, especially when biting down. Up to 95% of orthodontic patients experience some level of discomfort during treatment, ranging from dull aching to sharper sensitivity when chewing. This initial soreness typically peaks within the first 24 to 72 hours and fades over the following week as your teeth adjust.
Taking Care of Your Braces Right Away
Your orthodontist will send you home with specific instructions and a small container of dental wax. If any bracket or wire irritates the inside of your cheeks or lips, you can pinch off a pea-sized piece of wax and press it over the offending spot. It acts as a cushion while the soft tissue in your mouth toughens up.
For the first few days, stick to soft foods. Yogurt, mashed potatoes, soup, scrambled eggs, and smoothies are all easy choices while your teeth are at their most tender. Once the soreness fades, you can return to most of your normal diet, but certain foods should be avoided for the entire length of treatment. Hard, sticky, or crunchy items like popcorn, caramel, ice cubes, corn chips, and nuts can pop a bracket off or bend the wire. Foods you’d normally bite into with your front teeth, like apples, corn on the cob, bagels, and raw carrots, should be cut into small pieces first.
Sugary foods and drinks are especially problematic because the brackets create extra surfaces where plaque can hide. If you do eat or drink something sweet, rinse your mouth with water and brush as soon as you can. Brackets that come loose need to be rebonded, which adds time and extra appointments to your treatment, so protecting them from the start saves you hassle later.