November is just around the corner, and with it comes Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, winter break, and New Year’s celebrations. For families considering orthodontic treatment, this time of year often triggers the thought: “We should probably wait until after the holidays to start this.”
It’s a reasonable instinct. The holidays feel chaotic enough without adding something new to manage. But Dr. Porto has worked with hundreds of families in Grandville and Holland through this exact decision, and the reality often surprises parents. Starting orthodontic treatment before the holidays, rather than after, frequently works out better for both practical and psychological reasons.
Here’s why November might be the perfect time to get started, even with Thanksgiving just weeks away and Christmas on the horizon.
The Adjustment Period Timeline
The first two to three weeks of orthodontic treatment involve the biggest adjustment. Teeth are sore. Your child is learning how to eat with braces. They’re figuring out their new oral hygiene routine. Talking feels different. Everything about having hardware in their mouth requires adaptation.
If you start treatment in early to mid-November, this adjustment period happens during normal life. School is in session, sports schedules are predictable, and daily routines are established. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, the hardest part is over. Your child has already learned which foods cause problems and how to manage discomfort.
Compare this to waiting until January to start treatment. The adjustment period then happens during the chaos of returning to school after winter break, when routines are disrupted and everyone is readjusting to structure after weeks of holiday freedom. It’s harder to establish new habits when everything else feels new and disorganized.
Holiday Meals Become Practice Runs
Starting treatment before Thanksgiving means your child navigates their first big holiday meal with support. You’re there to help them choose braces-safe foods, remind them to eat slowly, and handle any issues that arise. They learn what works and what doesn’t in a controlled environment rather than figuring it out alone at a friend’s house or relative’s gathering.
By the time Christmas dinner rolls around a month later, they’re experienced. They know that mashed potatoes are fine but hard dinner rolls aren’t. They understand how to cut turkey into small pieces. They can identify which desserts are safe and which ones will pull brackets off. This knowledge base gets built through experience, and starting treatment earlier means more experience before the biggest eating holidays of the year.
Waiting until January to start treatment means your child navigates their first major holiday meals during summer vacation or the following Thanksgiving, missing out on this learning opportunity when you’re most available to help.
The Financial Timing Advantage
Many families use year-end bonuses, tax refunds, or insurance benefits to pay for orthodontic treatment. Starting treatment in November or early December allows you to use current year insurance benefits while planning for next year’s coverage.
Most dental insurance plans operate on a calendar year, with benefits resetting on January 1st. If your plan includes orthodontic coverage, starting treatment before year-end means you can use this year’s benefits for initial appointments and get started on next year’s benefits as soon as they become available. This strategy can maximize your insurance benefit and spread costs across two benefit years.
Additionally, starting before the holidays means treatment costs are known and planned for, rather than hanging over your head as something to deal with in the new year. Financial clarity during the holidays reduces stress rather than adding to it.
Holiday Photos Tell a Story
One of the biggest concerns parents voice about starting treatment before the holidays is the appearance of braces in Christmas photos and family portraits. This worry is understandable but ultimately shortsighted.
Holiday photos with new braces become part of your child’s orthodontic journey story. A year or eighteen months from now, when treatment is complete, those photos show how far they’ve come. The Christmas card where they’re smiling with fresh braces becomes a cherished before picture when you’re looking at their beautiful finished smile.
More importantly, kids are remarkably resilient about braces in photos. They understand that the temporary hardware is leading to a smile they’ll love forever. Most children, after an initial adjustment period, smile confidently in photos regardless of brackets and wires. The self-consciousness parents anticipate often doesn’t materialize, especially when other kids at holiday gatherings also have braces.
Starting treatment also means visible progress by next year’s holidays. Rather than looking at next Christmas’s photos, wishing you’d already started treatment, you’re ten or twelve months into the process with obvious improvements to celebrate.
January is Already Overwhelming
January brings its own chaos. Kids return to school after two weeks off, often with new schedules and classes. Sports seasons transition from fall to winter. Work schedules return to normal after holiday flexibility. Families make resolutions, set goals, and try to establish new routines.
Adding orthodontic treatment to January’s existing chaos means one more thing to manage during an already overwhelming month. Scheduling consultation appointments, planning treatment timelines, and starting care routines compete with everything else demanding attention in the new year.
Starting before the holidays means this work is already done. January arrives with treatment underway, routines established, and one less item on the to-do list. The psychological benefit of entering the new year with something already accomplished rather than still pending is significant.
School Schedule Alignment
For student athletes and performers, timing treatment around school activities matters. Starting in November means initial soreness, and adjustment happens during a relatively calm period. Most fall sports are wrapping up. Winter sports haven’t reached peak intensity yet. School play auditions and marching band season have concluded.
This window provides space for your child to adapt to braces without competing with major athletic events or performances. By the time winter sports playoffs arrive or spring musical auditions happen, wearing braces feels normal rather than new and distracting.
Waiting until January means initial adjustment happens simultaneously with winter sports in full swing, midterm exams, and other stressful school events. The timing compounds stress rather than distributing it.
Building Habits During Structured Time
Orthodontic treatment requires consistent daily habits: thorough brushing, careful flossing, wearing rubber bands as prescribed, and avoiding certain foods. These habits are easier to establish during structured time when daily routines are predictable.
November and early December, despite holiday events, maintain structure. Kids go to school Monday through Friday. They wake up at the same time, eat breakfast on a schedule, and brush their teeth before bed at predictable hours. This consistency supports habit formation.
Winter break disrupts routine, but by then, habits are already forming. Your child has been brushing around brackets for several weeks. They’ve developed strategies for managing braces care even when normal schedules shift. They carry these habits through the holiday disruption and return to school in January with established practices rather than trying to build habits from scratch during an already chaotic time.
The Motivation Factor
Starting treatment before the holidays taps into natural motivation cycles. The holiday season, despite its chaos, is often a time when families focus on gratitude, reflection, and planning for the future. This mindset supports committing to orthodontic treatment as an investment in long-term health and confidence.
By contrast, January resolutions often fail because they’re born from guilt or pressure rather than genuine motivation. “I should start this” energy differs from “I’m ready to do this” energy. Families who start orthodontic treatment in November often approach it as a thoughtful decision rather than a rushed New Year’s resolution that may lose momentum by February.
What About Winter Break Travel?
Many families travel during winter break, which raises concerns about managing braces while away from home. This is actually an argument for starting treatment before rather than after the holidays.
By starting in November, your child has weeks to establish their care routine and identify potential problems before travel. They know what supplies to pack. They’ve learned which foods to avoid. They understand how to handle minor issues with orthodontic wax. They’ve developed confidence in managing their braces independently.
Starting treatment right before traveling would be poor timing, but starting six to eight weeks before winter break allows plenty of time for adjustment. By the time your family heads to Grandma’s house for Christmas, your child is experienced and confident in managing their orthodontic care.
The Consultation Timing
Even if you’re not ready to start treatment immediately, scheduling a consultation in November positions you well for starting whenever it feels right. Consultations at Enjoy Orthodontics involve examining your child’s teeth, discussing treatment options, and reviewing timelines and costs. This process takes about an hour and involves no commitment.
Having a consultation before the holidays means you enter the new year with complete information. You know what treatment involves, how long it will take, what it costs, and what your options are. You can make an informed decision about timing rather than guessing about what makes sense.
Some families schedule November consultations and start treatment immediately. Others use the consultation to plan for starting after the first of the year, but with the benefit of being on the schedule and having all questions answered. Either approach works, but having the consultation sooner rather than later gives you flexibility and information.
Addressing Common Hesitations
“But what about Thanksgiving dinner?” By Thanksgiving, your child will have had two or three weeks to adjust. They’ll know how to manage holiday meals. The first few days might involve soft foods, but by Thanksgiving, they’ll be back to eating most things with minor modifications.
“What about all the Christmas candy?” Kids with braces learn to navigate candy and treats regardless of when treatment starts. Starting before Christmas means they learn candy safety during a time when you’re around to supervise and guide choices. It’s actually a beneficial practice for future holidays.
“Won’t they be self-conscious during holiday parties?” Most kids adjust quickly to braces and aren’t particularly self-conscious after the first week or two. By December holiday parties, braces are just part of their normal appearance.
“Is it worth starting if we can’t complete treatment before next school year?” Absolutely. Every month in treatment brings your child closer to their finished smile. Starting in November means months of progress by next fall rather than still being at the starting line.
What Dr. Porto Recommends
Dr. Porto has guided countless families through the decision of when to start orthodontic treatment. While there’s no universally perfect timing that works for every family, starting before the holidays offers significant practical and psychological advantages for most patients.
The key is communication and planning. Schedule a consultation, discuss your family’s specific circumstances, and make an informed decision about timing. Some families are ready to start immediately. Others prefer to wait until January but want to have everything planned and scheduled. Both approaches can work well.
What doesn’t work well is indefinitely postponing treatment because the timing never feels perfect. There’s always something coming up—a holiday, a vacation, a big school event. Families who wait for the perfect moment often wait months or years longer than necessary.
Taking the First Step
If you’ve been thinking about orthodontic treatment for your child and wondering about timing, scheduling a consultation at our Grandville or Holland location is the perfect first step. The consultation provides all the information you need to make a timing decision that works for your family.
Starting before the holidays is worth considering for the reasons outlined in this post. The adjustment period timing works out well, holiday meals become learning opportunities, financial advantages exist, and January arrives with treatment already underway rather than still pending.
Your child’s orthodontic journey will involve navigating holidays and special events regardless of when it starts. Starting before this holiday season means they’ll be experienced and confident by next year’s celebrations, with months of progress to show for it.
Ready to explore orthodontic treatment timing for your family? Contact Enjoy Orthodontics in Grandville or Holland to schedule a consultation. Let’s discuss whether starting before the holidays makes sense for your child’s specific situation.
