Read the Reviews First
While a large company like Smile Direct Club can often provide many positive testimonials, they have the control to moderate the reviews they share with you. It’s often more telling to view an unmoderated reviews page, like the Better Business Bureau, where anyone can write about their experience.
Smile Direct Club
Pros
- Save Money: Smile Direct Club is an inexpensive way to align your bite at home. The advertised cost for treatment with Smile Direct is $1895 for a one-time payment, or $2290 if you break your fee into monthly $85 payments. After your treatment ends, you need to pay $99 for a retainer.
- Save Time: The program offers the benefit of allowing patients to treat themselves at home. You can get a scan of your smile at a local branch, or you can order an at-home impressions kit from Smile Direct Club. Our doctors can significantly minimize the number of visits for Invisalign.
- Easy to Get Started: An orthodontist uses the scans of your smile to evaluate a treatment plan from a remote location. Without you ever meeting with your orthodontist, your aligners arrive in the mail.
Cons
- High Failure Rate: Even though the procedure is cheaper than visiting a dentist’s office, there is a high failure rate that will cost you more.
- One-Size-Fits-All Treatment: You may not be a good candidate for Smile Direct, or you may require costly additional treatment. If you see a qualified Invisalign dentist, they will tell you what is best for you, and your options so you don’t waste time and money.
- Poor Customer Service: Many Smile Direct customers report poor customer service. Phone calls are met with an automatic recording where callers must jump through hoops to finally speak to the right person. Dr. DiTolla and his team are always there for you.
- No Buttons: Smile Direct will not utilize buttons, an important part of the Invisalign process that make it so much more reliable. Buttons are small, temporary attachments that adhere to your teeth and hold the aligners in place.
- Paying for Multiple Impressions: Even professional dentists don’t always get impressions perfectly on the first try, so it makes sense that many Smile Direct customers report that their impressions are rejected the first time. If your first impressions don’t turn out, you will be charged 50% of the original cost for a new testing kit. Our office does not use impressions. He uses a quick and easy scan that is more accurate and avoids gagging.
Monthly Pricing for Invisalign Versus Smile Direct Club
Monthly Payments Start At
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Other Downfalls of Using Smile Direct Club
The Better Business Bureau reports more than 2,000 complaints nationwide involving Smile Direct Club. Most of the complaints involve customer service issues — such as broken aligners, delivery issues and payment problems — but dozens describe concerns about treatment results: complaints like broken teeth and nerve damage.
It’s important for teeth straightening patients to see a professional in person to ensure their treatment is safe and effective.
Benefits to Working with Valley Dental Esthetics
Working with a professional dentist gives you the benefit of professional guidance during your treatment. If something isn’t working, Our Doctors will be able to adjust your treatment.
While Smile Direct Club users do have some support from the company, there is no replacement for seeing a doctor in a face-to-face office setting. Dentists undergo years of schooling that give them unique insight into correcting bites.
