Review - Smile Direct Club

Summary

SmileDirectClub created the first end-to-end smile solutions and are one of the biggest names in the aligners industry. With an international presence and an established product, they’ve helped over a million customers with their smile aspirations. They have hundreds of SmileShops, and more than 1,000 certified dental professional partners.
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SmileDirectClub offers two main products – one is regular clear aligners, and the other is their nighttime only aligners. Although there’s no difference in price, the latter is needed for quite a while longer.

Pros

• Competitively priced, resulting in a lower cost than many other aligner brands.
• Insight from both dentists and orthodontists, with cases reviewed by qualified professionals.
• Two treatment options, all-day and nighttime aligners, giving you the choice of best suits your needs.

Cons

• Retainers for the end of your treatment aren’t free, unlike some competitors.
• You’ll have to purchase replacement impression kits if you make a mistake.

Treatment Overview

Treatment Timeline

Suitable for...

Offers Monitoring ⓘ

4 to 6 months

Mild to moderate cases

Yes - some locations

Yes

In-Person Support ⓘ

Offers Night Option ⓘ

Eligibility

SmileDirectClub aligners are for patients with minor to moderate alignment issues. This means that, if you have slight spaces between your teeth or some minor overlapping, you might be eligible for their treatment. If you have a significant overbite or underbite, or have large gaps or overlaps, you’re not eligible for treatment.

Getting Started

The company’s SmileShops are available across the US. They currently have stores in 48 states, and they ship their impression kits across the country. The in-store scan is by far the easiest method, as it only takes around 30 minutes. The at-home kits are useful for those who can’t get into a store, but the process can be a little more frustrating and time-consuming.

Treatment

SmileDirectClub have a choice of treatments available. Regular all-day aligners are the standard treatment option Like many aligners, these ones require use for around 22 hours each day. For those who don’t want to wear aligners all day, the nighttime option is only 10 hours through the night. Of course, the downside of this treatment is that it takes significantly longer.

Support

Customer service generally tends to be pretty positive with SmileDirectClub. This is helped in a large part by the fact they have both physical stores as well as a dedicated phone line. Getting in touch with them is pretty easy. Customer feedback generally tends to be quite positive, and the company has developed a good reputation in multiple countries.

Pricing Breakdown

Treatment

Impression Kit

Retainer

Installment Plan

$1,950

$59 - additional

$99 - additional

$85/month

Overall, SmileDirectClub sits in the middle of the pack. It’s unfortunate that you have to pay for replacement aligners, as well as your end-of-treatment retainers when other companies offer the first of these for free. The at-home test kits are quite competitively priced. If you’re not viable, they’ll refund the initial cost.