Getting braces involves more preparation than most people expect. Beyond the obvious orthodontist visit, there are dental health requirements to meet, financial decisions to make, supplies to buy, and even meals to plan. Here’s everything worth doing before your brackets go on.
What Happens at the First Appointment
Your first orthodontic visit is a consultation, not the day you get braces. The orthodontist examines your teeth, takes diagnostic records, and builds a treatment plan before anything gets bonded to your teeth. Those records typically include a panoramic X-ray (a wide shot of your entire jaw), a cephalometric X-ray (a side profile of your skull to measure jaw relationships), and either physical impressions or a digital scan of your teeth. You’ll also get intraoral and facial photographs taken from multiple angles.
Some offices now use cone-beam CT scans for complex cases, which produce a 3D model of your teeth, roots, and jawbone. After reviewing everything, the orthodontist presents a treatment plan with an estimated timeline. Only after you agree on the plan and payment do you schedule the actual bonding appointment, which is a separate visit.
Get Your Dental Health in Order
Braces can only go on a healthy mouth. That means completing any outstanding dental work first: fillings, crowns, and especially gum treatment. Orthodontic treatment should not begin until active gum disease has been successfully managed. Clinical guidelines recommend completing periodontal therapy three to six months before starting orthodontic treatment, giving your gums and bone time to stabilize.
This matters because braces apply sustained force to move teeth through bone. If gum disease has weakened the bone supporting your teeth, those forces can cause further damage rather than controlled movement. Teeth can be moved safely through compromised bone only when inflammation is fully controlled and plaque buildup is consistently managed. If you haven’t had a dental cleaning in a while, schedule one well before your braces appointment. Your orthodontist may require a clearance letter from your general dentist confirming your teeth and gums are ready.
Ask About Extractions
Some treatment plans require removing teeth before braces go on, and it’s better to know early so you can plan recovery time. The two most common scenarios are wisdom teeth and premolar extractions.
Wisdom teeth that are impacted, angled toward neighboring teeth, or growing in without enough space are often recommended for removal before braces. The reason is practical: braces hold teeth in fixed positions, so if an impacted wisdom tooth is pressing against the tooth next to it, that pressure has nowhere to go. The discomfort can become significant. Impacted wisdom teeth also make the surrounding area harder to clean, raising the risk of cavities and gum problems in teeth you’re actively trying to straighten.
Premolar extractions are different. These are sometimes part of the treatment plan itself, removed to create space for severely crowded teeth to align. Your orthodontist will tell you at the consultation whether extractions are needed. If they are, plan for a healing window of one to two weeks before braces placement.
Understand the Costs
Braces are a significant financial commitment, and the price depends heavily on the type you choose. As of 2025-2026, typical ranges are:
- Metal braces: $3,000 to $7,000
- Ceramic braces: $4,000 to $8,500
- Lingual braces (bonded behind the teeth): $8,000 to $10,000
Most orthodontic offices offer in-house payment plans that spread the cost over the length of treatment, often with no interest. Before your consultation, check whether your dental insurance covers orthodontics, because many plans have a lifetime orthodontic benefit (commonly $1,000 to $2,000) that can offset the total. If you have a flexible spending account or health savings account, braces qualify as an eligible expense. Sorting out the financial side before your bonding appointment means you can focus on the treatment itself instead of stressing about bills.
Stock Up on Braces-Friendly Foods
Your teeth will be sore for the first three to five days after getting braces. Chewing anything firm will feel unpleasant, so having soft foods ready at home saves you a miserable trip to the grocery store. Good options to stock up on include yogurt, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soft-cooked pasta, soup, steamed vegetables, fish, and smoothie ingredients.
There’s also a tradition worth honoring: the “last meal” before braces. Once brackets are on, you’ll need to avoid hard, crunchy, and sticky foods for the duration of treatment (think popcorn, caramel, hard candy, nuts, and corn on the cob). So if you have a favorite crunchy indulgence, the night before your appointment is the time to enjoy it.
Build Your Care Kit
You’ll want certain supplies on hand from day one, because the first week with braces is when you need them most. Put together a kit with the following:
- Orthodontic wax: Small strips of soft wax you press over any bracket or wire that irritates your cheeks or lips. This is the single most important comfort item for the first week.
- Interproximal brushes: Tiny cone-shaped brushes that fit between brackets and under the archwire to remove trapped food. A regular toothbrush can’t reach these spots well.
- Floss threaders or pre-threaded floss: Standard floss won’t slide between teeth when a wire is in the way. Threaders let you loop floss under the archwire so you can still clean between each tooth.
- A travel toothbrush: You’ll want to brush after meals, not just morning and night. Keeping a toothbrush in your bag or at work makes this realistic.
Most orthodontic offices provide a starter kit at your bonding appointment, but the supplies run out quickly. Having backups at home means you won’t go without during the adjustment period when your mouth needs the most attention.
Plan for Pain Relief
The bonding appointment itself is painless, but soreness builds over the next several hours as your teeth begin responding to pressure. Taking ibuprofen about one hour before your appointment can help. A Cochrane review of pain relief during orthodontic treatment found that ibuprofen taken one hour before the procedure significantly reduced pain intensity two hours afterward compared to taking it only after treatment. The effect tapers off around the six-hour mark, so you’ll likely need additional doses through the first day or two.
Acetaminophen is an alternative if you can’t take ibuprofen, though there’s less evidence for its effectiveness with orthodontic pain specifically. Either way, having pain relief ready before you leave for your appointment is better than scrambling to find some once the soreness has already set in.
Prepare Your Daily Routine
Life with braces requires a few habit changes, and it helps to start building them before the brackets go on. Brushing takes longer with braces because you need to clean around each bracket individually, angling your brush above and below the wire. Most orthodontists recommend brushing after every meal rather than just twice a day. If you’re used to rushing through a two-minute brush, start practicing a more thorough routine now so it feels natural once the hardware is in place.
Flossing is the bigger adjustment. Threading floss under the archwire for each gap between teeth turns a one-minute task into a five-minute one. A water flosser can speed this up and works well as a supplement, though it doesn’t fully replace traditional floss for removing plaque from tight contact points between teeth. Getting comfortable with these tools before your appointment removes one source of frustration during an already uncomfortable first week.
If you play contact sports, ask your orthodontist about an orthodontic mouthguard at your consultation. Standard boil-and-bite guards don’t fit well over brackets. Orthodontic versions are designed with extra room and a smoother inner surface to protect both your braces and the soft tissue of your lips and cheeks.