Braces Timing Forum

[Anonymous User]

This might be a mildly inane/neurotic question but I was wondering if anyone can give a recommendation w/r/t best timing to get braces after starting law school. 1L now; family was really poor growing up so didn't have the option then and will be going to a biglaw firm this summer so planning on using some of the money to fix a mild overbite problem.

That being said, I don't want to risk 2L OCI by getting them before interviews and I also don't want to jeopardize first impressions with future colleagues so I'm not sure if getting them prior to the 2L summer is the best idea either. I know I'm going to have to suffer through them for some period or another so I was wondering if you guys have any thoughts on if it's better to get it 2L winter and have them for first impressions in summer or get them sometime after starting practice and have it for longer when I'm in the office.

[Bach-City]

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[NYC2012]

If it were me, I would get them on immediately after you finish your 2L Summer. That way you can feel your best when you do OCI/2L summer, and you will have had them on already for 1 year and ~3 months when you start at your firm. I doubt you'll be interacting with clients during those first few months at the firm anyway.

Alternatively, you could get them on 2L winter (like the above poster said) and I don't think it would affect your summer, they aren't going to no offer you for that. Personally, I'd rather have people already know me and like me when they saw me with braces but maybe that's just because I am weird and self-conscious about things like that! Whatever you do, I think your instinct is correct to not get them before OCI.

PS - great decision. You will appreciate it afterwards!

Accidental anon this is NYC2012

[ookoshi]

If you've got a summer offer from firm with ~100% offer rate, then I would do it once you've accepted the offer, fall/winter of your 2L year. If you're at one of the firms where that is not the case, then I would wait until after your 2L summer. Not because it will consciously matter to them, but why take the chance.

[Anonymous User]

OP, what braces are you getting? Invisalign or the metal ones? (Not everyone can be fitted for Invisalign, by the way. If you have a big gap, will have to get metal). I was in the same position as you, poor growing up so never had braces. However, I decided to get Invisalign before going to law school while I was working at a law firm. They were supposed to be off before I started law school, but due to some financial sketchiness of the orthodontist, I still have them until I can get new trays. No one at the law firm had a problem with it, but they did notice my speech was different.

I would say don't get them for OCI. If Invisalign, it changes your speech and it can be hard to talk with sometimes, even though you'll get used to it. Also, if you have any lunch interviews, you'd have to awkwardly take them off before lunchtime, and then after, brush your teeth and the trays AND floss to put them back in. Even with metal braces you will have to brush your teeth after. It's too much to deal with. I'm not wearing mine during OCI.

I, however, don't see a problem with getting them on after you have an offer. I'd say get them 2L fall. That way, when you start at a law firm, you won't have to deal with the whole brushing your teeth thing, and you may be taken a lot more seriously. Plus then you don't have to deal with drinking wine through a straw

Regardless of what you decide, start the process ASAP. Get cavities filled, chips fixed. Then get the impressions. (If you do it the other way around, the braces won't fit. Some dentists can make the fillings fit to the trays, but better not to worry about that at all). Because the braces takes a little while to come in. You can always go get it fitted once you decide when is best for you.

[Anonymous User]

OP, what braces are you getting? Invisalign or the metal ones? (Not everyone can be fitted for Invisalign, by the way. If you have a big gap, will have to get metal). I was in the same position as you, poor growing up so never had braces. However, I decided to get Invisalign before going to law school while I was working at a law firm. They were supposed to be off before I started law school, but due to some financial sketchiness of the orthodontist, I still have them until I can get new trays. No one at the law firm had a problem with it, but they did notice my speech was different.

I would say don't get them for OCI. If Invisalign, it changes your speech and it can be hard to talk with sometimes, even though you'll get used to it. Also, if you have any lunch interviews, you'd have to awkwardly take them off before lunchtime, and then after, brush your teeth and the trays AND floss to put them back in. Even with metal braces you will have to brush your teeth after. It's too much to deal with. I'm not wearing mine during OCI.

I, however, don't see a problem with getting them on after you have an offer. I'd say get them 2L fall. That way, when you start at a law firm, you won't have to deal with the whole brushing your teeth thing, and you may be taken a lot more seriously. Plus then you don't have to deal with drinking wine through a straw

Regardless of what you decide, start the process ASAP. Get cavities filled, chips fixed. Then get the impressions. (If you do it the other way around, the braces won't fit. Some dentists can make the fillings fit to the trays, but better not to worry about that at all). Because the braces takes a little while to come in. You can always go get it fitted once you decide when is best for you.

OP, not a neurotic question. And good for you for doing braces on your own as an adult! My S/O was also poor growing up and he had to do what you're doing now. He went for invisaligns, so if you can do that definitely do it.

[2014]

I got invisalign as a 2L going into the summer so that they would be off before starting full time. Worked great, no one noticed at all i just had to be mindful to take them out before going to summer events/lunches. I know people who did invisalign after starting full time also, they are really unnoticeable.

If you are going full braces i'd probably do right after your summer in hopes of getting them off before starting full time.

[ponderingmeerkat]

Your other option is a combination of invisalign on top and clear-ish traditional brackets on the bottom. This works for some people especially if your smile doesn't expose your bottom teeth (or at least not much). If this is the case, you could, quite honestly, start your orthodontics 1L year, and simply pop your invisalign off your top teeth during OCI.

Kinda gives you the best of both worlds. Talk it over with your orthodontist and explain your situation--they may be able to work with you.

[Anonymous User]

OP here, thanks for the support and advice guys; I appreciate it.

I haven't gone in to talk with my orthodontist yet but I imagine I'll have to have some sort of braces since I'm trying to fix my jaw/bite and I'm not sure if invisalign will do enough. Looks like sometime after OCI it is, leaning towards right after 2L summer. Thanks guys

[cjg243]

Hey OP, I had to get braces last year to fix my bite as well. Invisalign wouldn't cut it, so I had to get either traditional braces or incognito (lingual) braces. I'm in consulting and work with clients every day, so I really did not want to have visible braces, so I opted for the incognito ones. They put them on the back of you're teeth so you can only see them if you're really looking for them. They're more expensive and take a little getting used to (they'll cut up the inside of your mouth, especially your tongue, for a couple months and you'll speak funny), but they were completely worth it. No one knows I have them unless I tell them. If you're worried about perception and can afford them, they're definitely the way to go. I wouldn't get them right before OCI or an SA for the reasons mentioned above, but a few months prior and you'll be fine.