Back-to-school season brings new routines, fresh starts, and a natural opportunity to tackle things you’ve been putting off. If you’ve been thinking about orthodontic treatment for your child but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, fall might be the ideal time to get started. Dr. Porto sees a lot of families at our Grandville and Holland locations who wish they’d started treatment earlier in the year, especially once the holiday season arrives.
There are practical reasons why September and October work particularly well for beginning orthodontic treatment, and they go beyond just having open calendar space. The timing sets families up for success through the busy months ahead.
Building Routine Before the Holidays Hit
Starting orthodontic treatment requires establishing new habits. Brushing takes longer and requires more attention. Flossing becomes a more involved process. Remembering to wear rubber bands or keep track of aligner cases becomes part of the daily routine. These habits are easier to build when life follows a predictable schedule.
Fall provides that predictability. School is in session, sports practices happen on consistent days, and family routines are settled after the chaos of summer travel and vacation. Your child brushes their teeth at the same time each morning before school. They come home at roughly the same time each afternoon. This consistency makes it easier to integrate orthodontic care into existing routines.
Compare that to starting treatment in late November or December when school schedules get disrupted by Thanksgiving break, holiday parties, winter break, and family travel. Trying to establish new habits during the least routine time of year is setting yourself up for frustration.
The Adjustment Period Timing Works Out
The first few weeks of braces or aligners involve an adjustment period. Teeth are sore after the initial placement. Your child is learning how to eat with new hardware in their mouth. They’re figuring out which foods cause problems and how to manage discomfort. This adjustment phase is much easier to navigate when life is relatively calm and you’re not dealing with holiday stress on top of orthodontic discomfort.
Starting in September or early October means most of the initial adjustment happens before Thanksgiving. By the time your family sits down for turkey dinner or heads to holiday gatherings in December, wearing braces feels normal. Your child knows what foods to avoid, how to manage their care routine while traveling, and isn’t dealing with fresh soreness during what should be an enjoyable season.
If you start treatment right before Thanksgiving or in early December, your child is trying to figure out braces while navigating mashed potatoes at Grandma’s house, explaining their new smile to relatives they haven’t seen since last year, and dealing with all the candy and treats that come with the season. That’s a lot to handle at once.
Holiday Photos Actually Motivate Treatment
Here’s something that surprises parents: starting treatment before the holidays can actually be motivating rather than disappointing. Yes, your child will have braces in December holiday photos. But those photos become part of their orthodontic journey story. A year or eighteen months from now, when treatment is complete, you’ll look back at those holiday photos and see how far they’ve come.
Many families tell us they’re glad they have those progression photos. The middle school band concert photo with new braces, the holiday card picture, the New Year’s celebration—these become markers of progress rather than something to hide. Kids are remarkably resilient about having braces in photos, especially when they understand that the temporary hardware is leading to a smile they’ll love for life.
Starting treatment also means you’re making visible progress by the time next year’s holiday season rolls around. Rather than looking at holiday photos and thinking “we still need to do something about their smile,” you’re already well into the process and can see real changes happening.
Insurance Benefits Reset in January
Most dental insurance plans operate on a calendar year, which means benefits reset on January 1st. If your plan includes orthodontic coverage, starting treatment in the fall allows you to use some of this year’s benefits and then access next year’s benefits just a few months later. This can make the financial aspect of treatment more manageable by spreading costs across two benefit years.
Even if you’re planning to use a payment plan through our office, getting treatment started before the end of the year means one less thing on the January to-do list. Tax season, New Year’s resolutions, and getting back into routines after winter break already make January busy enough without adding orthodontic consultations and treatment planning to the mix.
Sports Seasons Align Well
For athletes, fall timing means they adapt to braces or aligners during a season when they’re already in active training mode. Soccer players, volleyball athletes, and football players are already in the habit of dealing with equipment, managing discomfort, and pushing through challenges. Adding orthodontic care to that routine is easier than starting treatment during off-season when they’re out of their athletic mindset.
The West Ottawa Panthers soccer team, Grandville Bulldogs football players, and Holland Dutch volleyball athletes who start treatment in the fall have their custom mouthguards fitted right away. By the time winter sports season starts, wearing protective gear feels automatic rather than like a new thing to remember.
Setting Up Success for the New Year
There’s something psychologically powerful about entering a new year with treatment already in progress. Rather than adding “get braces” to a list of New Year’s resolutions that may or may not happen, your family has already taken action. The hard part—making the decision and getting started—is behind you.
This momentum carries into other health and wellness goals families often set in January. Your child is already in the habit of taking care of their oral health, which often translates to better overall health habits. They’re brushing more thoroughly, being more mindful about food choices, and taking responsibility for their dental care. These habits support other positive changes families want to make in the new year.
What About Summer Treatment?
Some families prefer to start orthodontic treatment during summer break when kids are out of school and schedules are more flexible. Summer can work well, but it has drawbacks. The lack of routine makes it harder to establish consistent care habits. Kids are traveling, at camp, or at friends’ houses where they don’t have easy access to their normal brushing and flossing supplies.
Summer also means your child is adjusting to braces right before school starts, which adds social stress during an already anxious time. Starting in the fall means they return to school with everyone else, and any self-consciousness about new braces gets absorbed into the general back-to-school experience rather than being the only new thing they’re dealing with.
The Practical First Step
If you’ve been considering orthodontic treatment and fall timing makes sense for your family, the first step is scheduling a consultation. At Enjoy Orthodontics, initial consultations involve examining your child’s teeth, discussing treatment options, reviewing timeline and costs, and answering all your questions. There’s no pressure to start immediately, but having the information allows you to make an informed decision about timing.
Dr. Porto works with families in both Grandville and Holland to find treatment approaches that fit each child’s specific needs and each family’s schedule. Some families are ready to start treatment right away after the consultation. Others prefer to think about it for a few weeks or plan to begin at a specific point in the school year. Either approach is fine.
The key is having the conversation now rather than waiting until December when schedules get chaotic and you’re wishing you’d started sooner. A consultation takes about an hour and gives you the information you need to make the right choice for your family.
Ready to explore orthodontic treatment for your child? Contact Enjoy Orthodontics in Grandville or Holland to schedule a consultation. Let’s talk about whether fall timing is right for your family.
