This is my unbiased review on the company Smile Direct Club, formerly known as Smile Care Club. I am not a dental professional or a doctor. Always consult with your own dentist or doctor before beginning any kind of treatment.
The premise of this company is this: they offer invisible aligners to help straighten your teeth while under the remote supervision of a state licensed dental professional. They ship you your aligners in the mail. You follow your customized treatment plan and wear the aligners for the prescribed time. With intermittent photo check-ins, you’re essentially getting the outcome of a straight smile without the hassle of an orthodontist’s office or the really high price tag.
I was wondering how I could tie in something like this to a primarily food and health/fitness blog. However, seeing as dental and oral health is indeed an aspect of your health, I figured it would be deserving enough to have its own place on the blog.
I also decided to document my journey with the company because they are still very much in a start-up phase and haven’t had very many reviews done on the internet prior to my starting this treatment. I’m quite fine being the guinea pig at a company trying to work out its kinks in customer service and shipping in return for an awesome product at a very affordable price.
Not getting too deep into the backstory of why I wanted to have straight teeth - my sister had terribly crooked teeth after her baby teeth fell out and adult teeth grew in. My parents knew they had to get her braces because otherwise kids would taunt her for the rest of her life (side note: kids are mean.) They dropped the $5,000 or so on her braces and she was very diligent in wearing her retainer. Money well spent.
In my terribly competitive spirit, I wondered why I couldn’t also have perfectly straight teeth. No, they aren’t that bad and no, they aren’t hindering my ability to be a normal functioning human. I was a kid, and that’s what kids do.
Now I’m an adult with an income who hopes to get married one day (is getting married soon!) recently got married, I was hoping I could take a stab at improving something that’s been bothering me for quite some time. In my attempts to seek out a better smile, I found Smile Direct Club and their invisible aligners. Actually, maybe they even found me via a Pinterest or Instagram ad. I think it was Pinterest. Excellent marketing team, by the way.
After doing extensive internet research (the only kind of research these days), I decided to take the plunge and do their evaluation kit to see if I could be a candidate for their invisible aligners. The first steps of the process begin with you taking several photos of all the angles they require and submitting them. After they approve your photos, they either ship you a kit where you capture your own dental impressions, or you can visit one of their SmileShops. Check their website for the most up-to-date information on SmileShop locations. They're popping up everywhere these days!
I am technically within traveling distance to the shop in NYC, but I opted for the impression kit because a trip to the city usually sets me back at least $24, and that’s just for the train. If I’m in the city I may as well be visiting a friend or having lunch, so that was a no-go. I also really enjoy not waiting in lines or visiting offices (especially in NYC), so the impressions kit worked out well for me.
Doing the impressions on your own is no walk in the park. Even if you’re following the instruction pamphlet, it’s a little difficult to mix two colors of putty so vigorously in under 60 seconds so that they fully mix. I definitely recommend reading through the entire booklet before even beginning. You should ask for help if you think you might need it and keep a paper towel handy. You will probably drool.
Make sure you’re financially ready for this kind of investment. I was intrigued by the (no longer available) promotion of paying in full and receiving a year’s worth of teeth whitening and two sets of retainers for after your treatment is over. They also offer a payment plan, which is a reasonable amount of money down and then monthly installment payments. Either way, it’s a great deal and it’ll save you a big chunk of change if you were otherwise considering getting another (much more expensive) brand of invisible aligners like Invisalign.
I keep thinking to myself: Smile Direct Club is a lot like what Uber was to taxi services. They took an idea and improved upon it and offered it at a better price than their competitors. There have obviously been some nasty reviews from dental professionals online who think that people who participate in this kind of teledentistry are sick and twisted. I am neither sick nor twisted and I think it’s brilliant that you can bypass the high costs associated with visiting a brick and mortar orthodontist’s office for a remote treatment.
Things that have been especially helpful:
- The Smile Direct Club Members Facebook group
- Patience!!! You might be waiting a long time between steps, but hopefully you won’t be waiting too long.
- Having a fully stocked Invisible Aligners Essentials Kit! I take this with me everywhere I go, stashed away in my purse. I've only forgotten it once, and I was absolutely miserable.
- The newly updated Invisible Aligner Guide from SDC's website.
Here’s a timeline of how things have been going with me and Smile Direct Club. Your own experience may vary, as they only have one office out of Nashville, TN and this may affect your shipping times if you live out on the west coast.
My Timeline
- May 16, 2016 - order evaluation kit on Groupon (they had the best offer at the time), fill out electronic dental history and consent forms.
- May 17, 2016 - submit pictures for the online photo assessment.
- May 18, 2016 Smile Direct Club ships out impressions kit with shipment tracking number so I can go literally insane watching it travel from TN to NJ.
- May 23, 2016 - impression kit is received.
- May 25, 2016 - do the actual impressions of my teeth.
- May 27, 2016 - drop off the impressions at a FedEx drop box, take a picture of the return tracking number and proceed to go insane again following the tracking from NJ to TN.
- June 1, 2016 - Smile Direct Club receives my impression kit. I’m sure it will vary, but the amount of time they say you have to wait for them to be reviewed and approved/rejected is 7-10 business days.
- June 16, 2016 - received official email that my impressions had been approved. I was impatient and contacted their Facebook page, who let me know they had been approved on the 13th. I’m hoping they’ve improved on this feature and actually let their customers know whether or not they should be expecting to take another impression kit if their first set failed. Since mine were accepted, I was told that it would be another 7-10 business days to receive my treatment plan.
- June 27, 2016 - receive 3D treatment plan PDF. In the Smile Direct Club Facebook group, it seems that some plans are 3D and others are simply before and after renderings of what the teeth will look like after treatment. I’m thankful I received a 3D plan. My plan also came with this terrifying addition that said IPR - entire case. IPR stands for interproximal reduction. This basically means I’ll actually be traveling to see a dentist to have them shave down .3mm in 8 different spots on my upper teeth. To say I am terrified is an understatement, but this is coming from someone who actually can’t handle getting blood drawn as a grown adult. (4/16/18 Edited to add: I don't think SDC any longer has IPR as part of treatment plans.)
- June 27, 2016 - email Smile Direct Club’s customer service team asking if they can help me apply the Groupon code, as it says someone used it before (and obviously they hadn’t. It was my Groupon that I bought for myself.)
- June 28, 2016 - Smile Direct Club sent me an email back saying that they would love to help me apply the coupon (which was 20% off the entire treatment, so 20% off of the flat rate of $1,500 = $1,200 total.) They told me to call when I was ready to order, but since I actually hate calling and being put on hold, I logged into my account and saw they updated the final purchase price to $1,200. I used my credit card to make a one-time purchase. The timeline they anticipate between payment and receiving your first set of aligners is 21 business days. If nothing else, this process will teach me a lifelong lesson on patience.
- July 2, 2016 - received an email saying they were printing my 3D smile. This isn’t the part where they’re printing your aligners, but the actual mold of each step of your soon-to-be smile. I was a little shocked at how quickly this step happened after ordering. So far I've been pleased with the level of service and communication from the company.
- July 7, 2016 - Got the email that said my aligners were in the thermoforming stage. This is when they mold the aligner plastic over the 3D molds of your teeth. Waiting is absolutely agonizing, but I'm thankful for a process that'll let me have beautiful teeth without spending a fortune.
- July 20, 2016 (at 11:45pm...) - email with tracking number saying aligners have shipped.
- July 25, 2016 - aligner steps 1-3 arrived in my mailbox. Also included in the Smile Direct Club box was a blue retainer carrying case, chewies to help seat the aligners, a tool to remove the aligners, an emery board and 5 vials of Glo Science gel whitening. I put them in right before bed to minimize the pain. The initial pressure isn't too bad, but the morning after is very different for someone who has never had braces. My teeth felt so awkward trying to eat that morning. After 2-3 days the mild pain and pressure subsided.
- August 1, 2016 - without any warning/notice/shipping email, I received steps 4, 5 and 6 in my mailbox in a padded envelope. Totally not complaining, but I wish I would have known they were on their way so I could be more vigilant of the mailbox.
- August 8, 2016 - I switched to tray 2 at night before bed. I was also at Disney World. There was much less pressure this time around and the initial soreness seemed to wear off within 1-2 days instead of the usual 2-3.
- August 22, 2016 - Tray 3 seems to be just as easy as tray 2. A day or two of soreness and light pressure followed by a week and a half of smooth sailing.
- September 5, 2016 - My goodness, tray 4 is really tight. Hopefully the tightness goes down within the next few days! I go for my IPR in one week and I'm getting a little nervous!
- September 12, 2016 - IPR (interproximal reduction) appointment was at 6 P.M. and I left work early at 3:30 to travel 2 hours north to visit the only Smile Direct Club affiliated dentist in NJ (at the current time of this posting). Although I wouldn't say that my IPR was fun/enjoyable, it wasn't painful either. It kind of just felt...uncomfortable. The dentist compared it to being "like nails on a chalkboard"...except the nails are super thin razors that shave down in between your teeth, and that chalkboard is the enamel between your teeth. I was anticipating having the IPR done on most of my upper teeth, but after the initial 10 minutes of my upper IPR, the dentist and his assistant said they were going to take a break. I was under the impression that I was done--and then he came back and asked if I was ready for my lower IPR. I figured he knew more about my case than I did, so I let him do his thing. Hopefully there are no negatives to having IPR on both my upper and lower teeth. The entire procedure (including getting set up and his "intermission") took about 25 minutes, although I've heard usually it takes no more than 5-10 minutes. The dentist told me I should switch to tray 5 as soon as I could after leaving his office. Thankfully I had brought tray 5 with me. It was a little painful to switch because it was a little earlier than my usual switch time of 2 weeks. In other news, flossing is interesting now because there's space to floss in between and it no longer feels like I have to forcefully floss between my teeth. Looking forward to Oct. 3rd where I switch to tray 6 and will be officially halfway through!
- October 3, 2016 - Finally got to switch to tray 6 - it felt like FOREVER wearing the same set of aligners for 3 weeks. For people who have to wear their aligners for that period of time - how do you do it?! I felt like no matter what I did I could never get them clean. However, tray 6 snapped right in and didn't give me much trouble, as I switched trays before bed and slept through the initial pain/pressure, as usual. Only 2 more trays left until I see my big changes! Also, at the end of this 6th tray, I'll be officially halfway done with my treatment! 🙂 The months really fly on by once you have your aligners on.
- October 17, 2016 - Tray 7 means I'm halfway done with treatment! I'm not due to see the big changes that I saw on my 3D treatment plan until tray 8, but I'd like to think that the aligners have finally made some progress in getting my crowding under control. I have an appointment for my first checkup and cleaning since wearing aligners - I will be sure to update on how that went after my visit!
- October 31, 2016 - Tray 8 might be the tightest tray I've worn on record. I'm hoping that this one and tray 9 are able to pull in the lateral incisor next to my larger looking front tooth in line with the rest. I'm really loving how straight my bottom teeth are getting, though!
- November 10, 2016 - Today I had my first dental checkup since starting with SDC. I had previously had x-rays and a cleaning done in February 2016 and changed dentists for this appointment to a dentist closer to where I live now. The hygienist said my teeth were "a hygienist's dream" and that she "doesn't give out compliments like that, ever". Neither the dentist or hygienist asked if I had been wearing aligners, and I didn't tell them either. If they had asked I was 100% prepared to tell them. However, the dentist said I had beautiful teeth and that they would see me in 6 months! I brush 3-4 times a day and floss every time after I eat and also brush my aligners every time I take them out as well. Also, last week I received my last 2 sets of aligners - finally in the home stretch!
- November 28, 2016 - Switched into tray 10 and I can definitely feel that these trays will not be moving my teeth as much as the previous trays. Only two more to go after this one!
- December 12, 2016 - Second to last tray and things seem to be moving as planned, although I have an inkling I may need refinements to move one of my problem teeth. They look great from the front angle, but when I tilt my head back you can still see a little bit of overlap/crowding. I also had to use dental wax for the first time since tray 2 or 3, so I'm glad I didn't throw it away! I will keep everyone informed on the refinement process if SDC deems I am qualified for it.
- December 26, 2016 - Finally, my last tray is ready to be worn. I thought this day would never come! I popped in tray 12 with very little discomfort. I reached out to Smile Direct Club about refinements last week but was advised to wait until I was completely done with treatment before emailing with a request for refinements. I did request that if I was a candidate for refinements that I would prefer to go to the SmileShop in NYC as opposed to doing the impressions over again. Since the company has gained so much traction over these past 6 months, I feel less wary about going to a location in New York. I am so glad I threw my skepticism out the window and took a chance on Smile Direct Club. I can't say enough good things about them and how they transformed my smile.
- January 1, 2017 - not really treatment related, but I heard an advertisement for Smile Direct Club on Pandora while I was driving home from doing a gift exchange from my friend. I know many of my photos have their "old" branding and I'm hoping that when I contact SDC with a request for refinements that they'll send a box with their new packaging! I'm also aware that there was a recent price increase from the base price of $1,500 upfront to $1,700 if you pay in full and a slightly higher price than that if you choose to pay in installments. Although I do think it is a bummer for consumers, I also understand that as a company they are (hopefully) using the extra money to provide better resources to their employees or better product out to us, the consumers. And there is the fact that it's still less than half the price of Invisalign. (I know since I posted this there have been other changes to their monthly pricing structure - still seems like a good deal to me!)
- January 9, 2017 - This morning at 10:20 A.M. I submitted 13 photos requested by Smile Direct Club along with a detailed description of my concerns with reference to tooth numbers to Patient Care to be considered for refinements. Although I'm much happier with my teeth now than I was 6 months ago, I do feel there is a little room for improvement because one of my teeth never "caught" onto one of the aligners. Overall, I'm still really hopeful and have been pleased with SDC throughout my entire treatment thus far.
- At 8 P.M. I received a reply from the SmileMakers Team saying they are submitting my case for refinement review and I would have an update within the next 24 hours.
- January 12, 2017 - It was over 48 hours since I heard from SDC so I figured I would reach out to them again via email. Fortunately, I got a nearly immediate response from a Customer Care Specialist. (It seemed as if he had already composed the email and just forgot to hit "send".) I was approved for refinements (!!) and they will be sending a new impression kit within 6-8 business days. I originally thought I wanted to go get a scan done in NYC, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that at home impressions and no office visits were one of the reasons I chose Smile Direct Club in the first place. I'm hoping this process doesn't take a very long time, because I know that constant aligner wear can make them get kind of gross over time. I was advised to continue wearing my final aligners until I receive my new refinement aligners.
- January 17, 2017 - my refinement impression kit came in the mail while I was at work! SDC recommended doing it ASAP so they can get the refinement process moving along quickly. I redid 2 upper and 2 lower impressions before I went to bed. The kit was much cuter this time around, but I did think the putty they give you to mix together felt a little more loose than the first kit I did back in May. I'm hoping these impressions are good enough to be accepted so I don't have to make a trip for a scan (or be in my aligner #12s for much longer). The process was very much the same, except I remember being in a lot more pain with the impressions the first time around. This time I did not feel like my teeth were being surrounded by a quick drying cement and that's why it felt weird to me. Anyhow, I'll be dropping these off in a FedEx drop box during my lunch break and will keep you all updated!
- January 23, 2017 - I took a photo of the FedEx tracking label before I shipped it out so I could track its location. The impressions were delivered but I haven't heard back from SDC yet and I'm not sure if I will. Here's to hoping they aren't rejected!
- January 27, 2017 - I got one of the automated emails that said SDC has everything they need to build my new smile, AKA I think this means that my impressions were accepted!
- January 29, 2017 - Although I'm not complaining, I had no idea that treatment plans could come through on the weekends! (I thought they were only open M-F.) I got my refinement plan, which is 2 additional months of aligners. Not ideal when you figured you would be done by now, but I am beyond grateful that they are able/willing to fix my smile to get it to where it needs to be! I also got a regular/plain 3D image of my before and after this time around instead of the 3D animated plan like last time.
- February 5, 2017 - I got one of the SDC automated emails stating that they're "cooking up my smile". Although I'm glad these refinement aligners are being produced, I'm getting a little sad that I've been in my old one for 6 weeks straight. I am very much looking forward to popping in a new set. Until then, I'll keep pretending I have patience.
- February 8, 2017 - It's like the aligner gods knew I was getting impatient, because when I got home from work they were in my mailbox. Again, I was a little sad I wasn't able to track their progress and know exactly when to expect them, but I was still like a kid on Christmas when I opened up the box. I have 2 months worth of aligners left to wear, and this time I was instructed to wear one set for one week, followed up by another 1 week set, and then a set I'm supposed to wear for 2 weeks straight. In the SDC Members Facebook group, this is referred to as the 1/1/2 plan. I'm pleased with this because I won't have to worry about the aligners getting all cloudy and funky from wearing them too long.
- As a side note, these 1 week aligners are thinner feeling and have not been as painful to wear so far. They have irritated my lower gums a little, but I think it's because these aligners fit like a glove and my old ones were a little loose and ill-fitting at the end of my scheduled treatment time. I also had to trim out a significant portion of the aligner that was dipping into my tongue web. After a quick snip with a scissor and filing with the Emory board, they were good as new.
- February 14, 2017 - I only have to wear this set of aligners for another 2 days (thankfully) because they are cutting up my gums in between my lower canine tooth and the lower lateral incisor pretty badly and there was a little bit of blood in my aligners this morning. I am currently suffering until I get home from work to gargle with salt water and file this spot down. I would post pictures, but it kind of grosses me out a little (more so than regular pictures of my mouth on the internet, ha).
- February 15, 2017 - I don't want to jinx anything, but I think the gum irritation was from my mouth not being used to new aligners. Also, since this time I was not provided with a step-by-step 3D plan, I have no idea which teeth are moving until, well, they have moved. Apparently my bottom teeth are moving more than I anticipated and that's why they were so torn up by the first tray. This second week's tray seems to be much better so far.
- February 22, 2017 - I just changed to my third tray of 6 for refinement (the week 3&4 aligner) and my goodness is this thing tight/much more sturdy than the previous two weeks. I'll definitely be needing the full 2 weeks for this one to loosen up again and feel comfortable.
- March 8, 2017 - Just when you think you've gone through this process with (mostly) smooth sailing, your third to last scheduled refinement aligner fits really terribly. I'm not sure if it's because the Week 1 aligners of the 3 aligners per month feel like they're made from plastic wrap or if I have a genuine concern with the fit of these. I sent in my concerns via email. My top aligners are terribly loose, don't stay in place when I bite down in different spots and overall just feel like they aren't...working. This is my first run-in with a poorly fitting tray and I'm not sure what happens next.
- I got a response within a day that said to try on the week 2 aligners to see if they fit any better. I tried them and they seem to be a bit better/tighter than the week 1 aligners but I'm going to wear the week 1 aligners for the recommended amount of time because I don't want to compromise treatment.
- March 15, 2017 - Week 2 of my second and (theoretically) final month of refinement aligners and they fit slightly better than last week's but I have a sinking suspicion I'll be in for another round of refinements. If this is the case, I will probably choose to go to the SmileShop in NYC. It's been awhile since I've been there and could use a bit of adventuring. If, however, my teeth shape up and become straight in these next 3 weeks, I will not be mad and can't wait to order a retainer.
- March 22, 2017 - I switched to my last aligner for this go around, and although I can see a tiny bit of improvement over what my last regular aligner left me with in December, I think I'll be in for another round of refinements (cue the sadness). My first of 2 months of refinement aligners fit really well, but the moment I snapped in the second month aligners I knew something wasn't right. When they sit flush against my front teeth, it comes off of my molars entirely. As much as I'd like to be in the retainer stage, I know that these aligners aren't doing me any favors. Overall, I'm still really happy with the product/company and don't really mind wearing the aligners for extra time because I'm all for healthy and stabilized teeth. At the end of the 2 week wear time I'll express my concerns to SDC and hopefully be able to set up a scan appointment at one of their NYC SmileShops.
- April 5, 2017 - I finished my final aligner of this round of refinements and reached out to SDC to request another round of refinements because the last month's aligners weren't fitting very well. They replied that I would hear back within 4-5 business days whether or not my request will be approved. I also requested to have a scan at the NYC SmileShop this time around if I'm approved. Here's to hoping!
- April 7, 2017 - So I'm not sure if it's because when I first purchased my aligners that the running promo was that you would get 2 sets of retainers included with the price for free, but I got a retainer set of aligners and a new (purple instead of blue) retainer case. Unfortunately, I won't even be able to use these because my top teeth don't look anything like them. I might use the bottom retainer if this aligner starts to get really funky until I can get a scan done. I will say that the retainer material is much sturdier than an aligner, which I feel good about at least. Hopefully I'll get there soon enough.
- April 13, 2017 - So I emailed SDC as a follow up if I had been approved for my second round of refinements or not as it was the end of the 5th business day. The representative I email apologized for the delay but asked me to give them another 24-48 business hours to review my request and thanked me for my patience. I'm a little bummed that it's taking this long when the last time I had to request refinements it took just a little over the 48 hours (2 business days) they said it would to hear back.
- April 20, 2017 - I emailed SDC again today as a follow up, just to remind them that I'm here (waiting). Although I usually consider myself a mostly patient person, I get a little peeved when I am told something will be done at a certain time and isn't done by that time.
- April 21, 2017 - So I finally received a reply from SDC that stated "The licensed dental professional responded regarding your treatment. He advised to stay in the current aligner for an additional two weeks as your teeth need more time for the prescribed movement to be achieved before looking into a 2nd refinement." Obviously this was not the reply I was hoping for, especially since the lateral incisor that was the most crooked when I began treatment last July is the one that is still resistant to moving. So I emailed them back asking if I was to wear them an additional 2 weeks on top of the 2 weeks I had been waiting for a reply from the dentist for a total of 6 weeks or if the 2 weeks extra I had been waiting would count. After I sent that email I was particularly cranky and sent a second email asking why I should be wearing an ill fitting aligner for 6 weeks and if it was even going to do me any good. I got a response at 10 P.M. on a Friday night that was very apologetic but also still insisted that I wear these aligners for another 2 weeks and that my tooth is "particularly difficult to move". So I suppose I'll be wearing this aligner for another 2 weeks in the hopes that it'll make the poorly fitting aligner fit better (which I know won't happen - they haven't fit well since the beginning of March when I switched to the second month.)
- April 25, 2017 - So today I received an email saying that I was approved for free dual refinements...weird. I followed up with this email to make sure that they weren't playing a prank on me and I received a reply saying that this was indeed the correct information. Now all I need to do is call and schedule my scan appointment!
- April 27, 2017 - I scheduled my scan appointment for Saturday, April 29th. I spoke with a woman whose name I believe was Viviana. She was very pleasant and helpful and made my appointment over the phone relatively quickly.
- April 29, 2017 - Today I went for my scan at the NYC SmileShop. The entire process was really short and very easy, maybe 15 minutes max (although I was 15 minutes late for my appointment because NJ transit is the absolute worst.) At first they said there were no available appointments until 6:30 P.M. since I missed mine by 15 minutes and I was going to have to wait. Thankfully, they were able to squeeze me in at 1 (my appointment was at 12:30). I chatted with the tech about if she liked her aligners, she waved the wand over my teeth a few times, took some pictures and let me know the scan emits no radiation. She handed me a tube of Glo whitening and sent me on my way. I would say if you can go to the shop for a scan, go! But don't be like me and do your absolute best to be on time/early.
- May 4, 2017 - Not really an update so much as it is a general plea to see if my plan will be available soon. I did only have the scan done around 4 business days ago (I went in on a Saturday), but I had heard so many good things about the quick turnaround time for scans as opposed to impression kits. I might just be getting antsy because I'm finally realizing how soon I'll be getting married and how much I miss slowly sipping on my morning coffee without having to worry about brushing after. If you're out there, Smile Direct Club, send an updated plan my way please & thank you! 🙂
- AHH!! I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or what, but I just got an email of my new refinement plan. It's 1 more month and I'm thrilled. When I'll receive these aligners is yet to be seen, but I'm very excited to be a month away from a virtually perfect smile!! Wahoo!
- May 12, 2017 - Although I have no aligner-related updates to give, I would like to mention that I (stupidly) burned the roof of my mouth pretty badly on spinach artichoke dip at a restaurant we might use for our rehearsal dinner. I've been diligently wearing my aligners and maintaining my dental hygiene in the hopes of having it heal up already. It's been a week since the incident and I am miserable. Also, I have a regularly scheduled dentist appointment on May 18th and will report back on the outcome of my cleaning/exam/x-rays. I also plan on not starting my new set until the searing pain subsides from my idiotic mouth wound.
- May 17, 2017 - I got my refinement aligners and an email letting me know they were delivered. I'm going to wait until after my regularly scheduled dentist appointment for a cleaning and checkup (that's tomorrow) before I put in the final month of aligners. They look much more fitted to my teeth than what I'm currently wearing now. I'll attach a photo soon to show the differences between impression and scan aligners.
- May 18, 2017 - I went to my dentist for a regular cleaning and checkup. This is the second time I've been to this dentist since I moved further away from my old dentist. They have been very impressed with the overall cleanliness and health of my teeth and gums. The hygienist said that most people do not have teeth nearly as well-kept as mine. I can definitely say that brushing and flossing 3x a day has helped me in those regards. I had NO cavities, which was my biggest concern since I always wake up with a gross film on my teeth after sleeping all night. However, this dentist said that I may or may not want to have my wisdom teeth out, as they showed up on the regular x-ray as impacted. However, I'm in my late 20s and he said it might not be totally necessary, but to go and have a consult with an oral surgeon. I'm not excited about the thought of having wisdom teeth out, since I dodged it all this time. I am a little concerned that if they ever decide the want to come through that they might ruin all of my good progress with SDC. So I will probably go to the consultation with a surgeon to see what's best, after I've finished my treatment and had enough time to stabilize and retain my results with the SDC retainers.
- I popped my new aligners in after dinner and a brushing session and they fit like a fabulous glove! My last month of refinement aligners from last time were loose, ill fitting and totally not even the shape of my one tooth apparently. I sneezed today and my aligner didn't attempt to fly out of my mouth because it's seated on there very snugly. Again, if you have the opportunity to go to a SmileShop, GO!!! It was well worth the train ticket to the NYC office for me.
- May 19, 2017 - I replied to the email SDC sent to me asking what day I started the aligners so they knew when to tell me to switch to the next month. Since I only have 1 month left, I let them know this and inquired about ordering retainers since these aligners fit amazingly well. They went ahead and processed my request and said it'd be better this way because it takes about 3 weeks for the retainers to come in. Not sure why it takes so long, but I'm sure they know their product and shipment times better than I do.
- May 26, 2017 - Switching to week 2 of this last month was a breeze. I made sure to wear my other aligners for a few continuous hours after dinner and before bed to switch over to minimize the pain. So far it's been pretty painless and just a little sore feeling the morning after I switch. My pesky lateral incisor looks like it's coming right along! I can't wait to post final before/after photos!
- June 5, 2017 - I held off on switching from my week 2 trays to the week ¾ tray until today because I was in Washington D.C. on a press trip, sipping on delicious drinks and munching on the most delicious meals over the weekend. I don't regret wearing the aligners for a few days extra to essentially "make up" time that I hadn't had them in for. This week marks the 3rd week since my retainers were ordered, so I'm wondering if those will be in my mailbox this week.
- June 9, 2017 - Just in time for the 3 week mark - my retainers were delivered with yet another retainer case. I now have 1 plain blue, 1 plain purple and 1 SDC branded case. I opened the bag up to see if they looked alright and they look neatly trimmed down very close to the teeth, which should theoretically be better than the extra material on my aligners right now. On June 19th I'll be officially done with my treatment! Mere days away from a full year of treatment (6 months original + 2 months refinement + 1 additional month of refinement + waiting time.)
- June 19, 2017 - tonight's the night I switch to retainers for good! I am so incredibly excited for my treatment to be over. I won't lie, it was a learning experience and definitely took a lot of care and patience. Pop on over to my Before and After Final Results post to see my final set of chompers!
- August 10, 2017 - Just checking in to say that I wore my retainers for the full time wear (22 hours in, 2 hours out) for 2 weeks (but really I did 6 weeks as per the old recommendation) and didn't feel like they were ready to come off of full-time wear. Now I wear them for around 17-20 hours a day and they feel a bit tight when I put them back on after being out for awhile, but nothing like they did when my teeth were actively moving. I think I'll continue wearing my retainer like I have been for a few months before I decrease wear time. I still need to speak to an oral surgeon about having a consult for my impacted wisdom teeth, but I've obviously been putting that off since I'm getting married in less than 3 months. Hopefully after the wedding I'll get that checked off of my to do list.
- December 6, 2017 - Today I ordered an impression kit for a Hawley retainer through From Home Dental. I loved the SDC aligners and the retainer has served me well, but my teeth feel a little claustrophobic. Also, the Hawley retainers are supposed to last around 5 years. I plan on wearing these through the night and use my SDC retainers for daytime wear. If you want to read more about my quest towards getting Hawley retainers (the "old school" metal wire retainer you can pop in/out of your mouth), head on over to my newest post, Hawley Retainers After Invisible Aligners.
- March 22, 2018 - I finally went to that wisdom teeth consultation. The dentist said that my top wisdom teeth could come out if I wanted, but the bottoms have their roots in my nerves and removing them runs a risk of permanent nerve damage. He told me that if they weren't bothering me that it wouldn't be a problem to leave them as they are. I was very relieved. I don't know if I could handle another surgery so soon after having my appendix taken out in late December.
- UPDATE!! June 1, 2018 - although my retainers are still holding out strong, I decided it was time to order another set of the retainers to keep on hand just in case anything happened to my current SDC retainers. I had a bit of a falling out with the company I ordered metal Hawley retainers from and their lower retainer doesn't fit me as well as it should. Therefore, I've been wearing my Smile Direct Club retainer pretty much exclusively. I wear it during bedtime and after I brush my teeth in the morning and then take them out after lunch and don't put them back in until bed again. It seems to be working out for me and my teeth no longer feel that tight when they're in the retainer at night. I chatted with SDC on their website and was able to order a retainer very quickly. It's supposed to be shipped in 2-4 weeks, so I'll keep you posted as to how it feels in comparison to the retainer I've been wearing for nearly a year. I've been diligent using my Retainer Brite tablets each morning to keep the retainers from getting funky, and I think it works pretty well. This month marks my 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY since I ordered aligners from SDC and my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY since I began wearing retainers. Time flies, and I have nothing but praise for Smile Direct Club. I'm so thankful they existed when they did so I could get a straight smile 😁
- July 6, 2018 - I was starting to get nervous that I'd never get my retainers and was going to chat with SDC on their website, but I got an email saying my retainers shipped. Hopefully I'll have them in hand by next week! I can't wait to see if they're much tighter than the retainers I've been wearing nightly for a year now.
- July 9, 2018 - My retainers were in the mailbox when I got home from work! I was checking the tracking number they sent to me and it never seemed to work - but I'm okay with it since my retainers finally arrived! I waited until bedtime to do my usual dental hygiene routine to put them in. They were a bit tight! But I suppose that's why the recommend replacing them every 6 months. I may have worn them a little bit more than they suggested to, which could have contributed to them "wearing out" a little sooner than usual. I used my chewies that I had leftover from other packages of aligners right before bed and the new retainers fit over my teeth and were only a small bit sore the next morning and were back to usual by the second day.
- May 31, 2019 - I finally decided it was time to order a new retainer. SmileDirectClub recommends ordering a new retainer every 6 months, but I definitely waited a little bit over that for my next order. I ordered it via their online chat and had to provide my phone number associated with my account for verification. They had my address listed wrong, but I was able to correct that before I finalized my purchase. The chat rep told me it would be 3-4 weeks before I received my retainers.
- July 1, 2019 - At the end of 4 weeks, I contacted SDC to see what the deal was with my retainers. I don't mind waiting for them (I've waited a fair while over the recommended time for when to re-order anyway) but I would have preferred to know when I should be expecting them. The chat rep apologized and said I would receive shipping updates on July 12th, as that was when they would be done at "the lab".
- July 12, 2019 - I finally received an email from SDC saying my retainers were on their way. They sent the email with a FedEx tracking number. I am currently expected to receive my retainers by the end of day, July 17th.
- July 17, 2019 - I received my retainers and popped them in to see how tight they were compared to my year-old retainers. They were VERY tight, and I struggled trying to get the lower retainers off my teeth. I lost the outie tool so I started scrambling around the house looking for something. I was able to get them off though, thankfully. After a few days, they fit nice and tightly at night and are able to be removed without difficulty by morning.
Did you enjoy my review and want to get started on your own journey to a straighter smile? If you use > my unique referral link < - it pops you over to the Smile Direct Club page and will give you $150 off the price of your aligners and I get the joy of knowing I was able to help someone 😁
Want to make your own aligners essentials kit before your aligners ship? I promise you'll want to have these things on hand before your aligners arrive. Check out my Invisible Aligners Essentials Kit post! These are the things I used on my Smile Direct Club journey and basically could not live without.
I also wrote a two post series on behalf of Smile Direct Club, the first is How to Get a Straighter Smile Without Going Completely Broke and the follow up My Smile Direct Club Experience and Awesome Progress <--- This post has a slideshow video of my before/after progress. I hope you'll check those out!
Here's my progress!
Without further ado, my progress from the beginning to my 12th aligner. Let me know what you think!!
Updates to follow! Check back to read more - if you're interested in seeing my final before and after, check out my post - Smile Direct Club Before and After, 1 Year Later.
If you want to save $100 on the price of your aligners, click here to go to Smile Direct Club's page and begin the process!
Have any comments or questions? Feel free to drop me a line in the comment section below! You can also find me on Instagram or Twitter.
Sam
Hello Jessica,
Love your review, and it seems like a legitimate treatment.
Could you please tell me where I could get that 20% off promo code?
Jessica
Hi, Sam. I don't know if they offer the 20% promo code anymore - you can use my link http://fbuy.me/oEsrp to get $100 off aligners though. Hope this helps!
Chad Creasman
Hi Jess,
Just curious, once you were able to view your 3D treatment plan on the SmileDirect customer portal, how many Steps did your 3D treatment plan have in it?
Jessica
Hey, Chad! I signed up for SmileDirectClub back in 2016 and my original plan had 6 months worth of aligners and I believe it was 12 separate steps because I wore the aligners for 2 weeks at a time before switching to the next set. I did have another round of refinements at the end which I got another 3D step-by-step plan for an additional 2 months and then another additional month of refinements after that. The entire process wound up being a bit longer than I originally signed on for, but in the end I was glad I did it and have no regrets. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Michael L Yoder
Your story took over three years!!! with you doing all the follow up. I'm not sure how this could be anything other than a poor experience. Here is my experience.
I signed up with SmileDirectClub and was told I was a perfect candidate. Looking back, if someone is willing to pay I don't think there is a candidate who isn't perfect. I had severe crowding on my lower teeth and one bad incisor on top. After the first 30 weeks were nearing an end I let them know my teeth weren't straight and my molars no longer touched. There was a significant gap I was told was "normal" during the process. They gave me a second set of trays for an additional 30 weeks. Near the end of this process, I let them know my incisor was still not straight and my molars still did not touch, making chewing food extremely difficult. I was given trays for an additional 12 weeks and told the gap in the molars was still "normal". After the 12 weeks, nothing had changed. The email I received said SmileDirect had done all they could and I would have to go to an orthodontist in my area for "final adjustments". It also said their product was never designed to "fix" bite problems. The issue was their product CAUSED the bite problem. I went to a local orthodontist and the fix to my issues will cost $5,000 and take 18 months with regular braces.
Whatever you do, please remember my story. They did not straighten my teeth and have left me in a position where it will cost more in total to straighten my teeth than it would have if I had gone to a local orthodontist in the first place.
Jessica
Hey Michael, thanks for leaving a comment. My experience took a little longer than expected, but it definitely didn't take 3 years. The follow ups I did were requested by other people who wondered how I was doing, what the deal was with ordering retainers, etc. I keep this page updated so that people still find my information relevant and so it shows up on Google. I don't mind that it took a little longer than they anticipated and I also don't mind wearing my retainer every night to keep the straight teeth I waited years to get.
I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. It does feel like some cases shouldn't be as widely accepted as they are, and I wish they made you go to a consultation with a local in-person orthodontist to see what kind of changes you would be making to your teeth before going ahead and doing SDC. Of course orthodontists are going to try and sell you their products/services, but a second opinion on whether you would be a candidate for Invisalign (similar enough to SDC to know if aligners would be okay in your case) would be beneficial - in my opinion.
As with all things like this, there is an associated risk. I knew very well what I would be accepting and took the chance and it wound up being a positive experience for me, except for the spotty customer service issues here and there. I know plenty of people who are satisfied customers (like myself), but there are also a handful of people who had a less than positive experience. Thank you for sharing your story so people can make an informed decision on whether or not SDC is something they want to do.
Trying to stay neutral!
Informed decision is the key phrase here! Lately, they really have been accepting way too many cases that they can’t handle, but their Smile Shop representatives don’t have the expertise to differentiate borderline cases (or in some instances even impossible cases) from slam dunks. How can they then explain the risks and side effects of treatment adequately enough to obtain informed consent?
Full disclosure: I’m a dentist. But I believe Smile Direct’s mission statement is a noble one! There are definitely cases (like yours) that are already nearly perfect and require minimal orthodontics. Somewhere along the way though, SDC has lost sight of themselves and transformed from a service company into a litigious, venture capital-fueled Ponzi scheme.
Side note: There really is no surefire way for a layperson to get an unbiased opinion on whether or not they’re a candidate for SDC. As you said, dentists and SDC will each try to sell you on their own products. And asking about Invisalign isn’t a very good litmus test either. By virtue of its use of attachments and elastics, Invisalign is a much more flexible tool than plastic aligners alone and can handle much more difficult cases than any of the teledentistry outfits.
Another SDC Customer!
Your results look fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing such a thorough account of your experience with Smile Direct Club—it made me want to start my own blog to track my progress (albeit anonymous, haha). I just started Month 3!
Jessica
Thank you!! I usually am a rather private person when I'm not taking close up photos of the inside of my mouth for my blog. Your site looks great, and I hope you have a good rest of your smile journey!
Wendy Allott
Hi. What a detailed review. SDC has just come to Australia and I'm very tempted, but I was wondering if you could tell me, do you have to wear the retainers for the rest of your life? And do you just wear them at night or all the time? Thanks. I know this is an older post, but I hope you can help me.
Jessica
Hi, Wendy! That's so cool that they've made their way to Australia. I did originally post this almost 3 years ago, but I still wear my retainer every night to bed. I believe they recommend you wear it for a certain period of time around the clock until they tell you it's okay to switch to nightly wear only. Every once in awhile I will order a new retainer because I like to know that I have a super tight fit - I'm actually expecting a new one to arrive any day now and will update this post to mention it! Let me know if you have any other questions I can help with!
Natalie
Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to document your journey! Your teeth look great. 🙂 My two sons and I had scans done at a SDC office and noticed that none of the posterior teeth were moved in our treatment plans. After talking with a customer service rep, they informed me that the back teeth are not moved in any of their treatment plans. Conventional dentists/orthodontists have cautioned me against going to SDC, for all the reasons you and others have listed. Have you noticed any changes in your bite because your back teeth were not fixed/aligned while your front teeth were? Also, because only the front teeth are treated, there are larger gaps between teeth treated and those that were not. I could not tell from your pictures if you have experienced this. Thanks for the help!
Jessica
Hi Natalie! Thank you for the compliments. I haven't noticed any bite issues with my back teeth, but my front teeth were the only ones that were crowded so I'm not sure if that was a factor at all. I also didn't have any gaps before treatment, so I didn't have any gaps when treatment was over. I've been to my dentist several times since I finished treatment and he compliments my bite every time I see him and my hygienist loves when I come in because I brush and floss religiously 🙂 I would definitely examine your treatment plans closely before you proceed and if there are any of those issues you mentioned above that SDC says they cannot fix then maybe traditional orthodontics would be the way to go for you guys. It's definitely not a "one size fits all" solution, but I appreciate that they are up front about that for the most part when you're at the scan/receiving your treatment plan. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
Sherry
Thanks for all of the great information.. how much is the Invisalign I wonder and does it also take a year or more also to complete process? Still this is probably an easier and less painful process than braces? I have a snaggletooth I’d love to correct but that is my only issue so I’m torn on what to do .
Jessica
Hi Sherry! I'm not sure how much Invisalign is, I believe most orthodontists have different costs so the quote the could give you might vary a bit depending on complexity and also where you're at in the country. I can imagine aligners are less painful and less intrusive than traditional braces, but I never had regular braces to compare the two. If you are up in the air, try and get a few quotes from local orthodontists and compare them with Smile Direct Club's proposed plan. Hope this helps a bit and let me know if you have any other questions!
Debbie Daly
Jessica,
Did you really wear the aligners 22 hours/day? I just can't see that happening.
Thanks,
Deb
Jessica
Hey Debbie! I found myself getting close to the 22 hours but definitely didn't always make it, so if I knew I was going to have them out for an extended period of time I would tack on an extra day or so to "make up" hours lost that I wasn't able to do on the strict 22 hours per day. I hope this helps!
Debbie Daly
That's exactly what i was thinking of doing. I really appreciate your reply. Two more questions.
--When did you use the chewies?
--I don't get how to use the dental wax. I have a very sore right side of my tongue, and I tried to put some on the sharp edge of the aligner, but at some point, when I was drinking water, I ended up swallowing it.. I thought about trimming the aligner, but wasn't sure if that would alter the effectiveness of the aligner..
Thanks again for your wisdom!
Jessica
Hey Debbie! I used the chewies when I really couldn't get the aligners to seat on my teeth. I didn't use them very often and it would be for maybe 10 minutes before bed when I switched to a new aligner. I didn't really understand how to use the dental wax at first either because the aligners aren't like traditional braces where you could just put it on a spot that was irritating you in a ball. I would try to locate the spot on the aligner that was irritating me, take a really small amount of dental wax and manipulate it with my fingers to a flat shape that would cover the surface of the spot that was irritating me, put the middle of the flat wax on the spot that was irritating and fold it over the inside and outside of the aligner and then press against the edge of the aligner and remove the part that hung over the inside. Sometimes it would stick pretty well and other times I would catch it getting loose and would have to throw it out and try again. Definitely do this while the aligners are dry or otherwise the wax won't stick. I never trimmed my aligners but did use a nail file to buff down a sharp edge once. I hope this helps a little bit!
Jeff
After visiting an orthodontist earlier in the week to review my situation, I kept my appointment with the local SDC shop. First clue of how shady they are is thatvthey were located in a local spa shop prior to this week. My meeting lasted maybd 15 minutes. The woman explained what to expect in the purple box once treatment started and scanned my teeth. Then she immediately hands me a form to sign without explaining the details of it. It outlined the payment options and explained that my treatment plan would be ready in 48 hours, at which point I would be charged. No ability to see what the plan is or exact details of the plan until you pay them apparently since no follow up was mentioned. Too shady and I’m not trusting my teeth to anyone who does business like this.
Amber H
Jeff, they were trying to get you to do the “Fast Track” option. I don’t agree with this, because you can say no I’d like to wait until I see my plan (usually within a few days). You have that option as well but they don’t always mention it. The fast option just means they charge you the first payment as soon as they approve you as a candidate but it doesn’t mean they’re made faster.. Let me know if you have any questions!
Diann
This is so helpful. I am looking into SDC and I love researching every little tid-bit of information! Thanks for updating and posting photos!
Jessica
Hi, Diann 🙂 You are very welcome - I love letting people read about my experience with SDC so they can make their own decision. Back when I signed up there were very few things to read or videos to watch on YouTube about them!
Lindsay
You can get a discount by using this link - https://mbsy.co/ghjFW
Callie Z.
Hi, looking at the pictures, I saw the alingers on and wondered if they hurt your gums while they were on. I would Love To Purchase Smile direct Club but Im worried about the pain.
Amber H
My gums have been fine, I just started my 3rd month.
Jessica
Hi, Callie! I had one tray where they hurt my gums near my teeth just a little bit, but it went away in about a day. I had some irritation on the side of my tongue where the aligner rubbed up against but I stocked up on dental wax and that took care of it. Nothing about the process was terribly painful for me so much as it was a little uncomfortable the first day or two after switching to a new tray. It was all worth it in the end! 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions!
Charles
Are there age restriction for participation in the treatment program? And, if you have crown(s), is that an issue for the program? In general, are there dental issues that would affect candidacy? -- Thanks
Jessica
Hey Charles! I know you have to be over 12 to use Smile Direct Club's invisible aligners, I'm not sure if they have a max age where you can't use them anymore. I believe crowns are acceptable when using SDC, but I think they don't allow implants. You can read their FAQ, that's where I found a lot of the answers to the questions I had before signing up. I know that they want you to be in good dental health before starting with the aligners, but they will let you know personally after the evaluation if you aren't a candidate and the amount you paid for the evaluation kit is refundable if they can't help you out. Hope this helps!
Chelsy
I’ve had them for 6 months...the honest truth is if you have gaps and/or an overbite you’re better off getting traditional braces. It’s a 50/50 chance that it will work but they don’t tell you until AFTER you’ve spent your money! My 6 month plan did not help my teeth much. They look just as bad as before. Even with the option of refinements, I was told that they still wouldn’t be able to close all of my gaps! That was what I was promised tho! Why didn’t they tell me this before I gave my money. They are cons period. You will be taking a risk with them.
Jessica
Hey Chelsy, sorry to hear you didn't have as good of an experience as I did with SDC. I originally had crowding, so I can't necessarily speak for those who had an overbite or gaps in their teeth before starting SDC.
I have seen in the SDC Facebook group where people have accepted their initial 3D plans even with the gaps appearing in their final projection and they chose to have bonding done to close the gaps up after they completed treatment. I know that isn't best case scenario and costs more money (which stinks), but it is an option. It's still probably much less cheaper than doing braces from an orthodontist, but don't quote me on that because I haven't gone out to look for quotes on tooth bonding from my dentist.
I hope you get answers or find a solution somehow - sorry I couldn't be more of a help. I know you aren't the only frustrated person with gaps from the SDC Facebook group so I'd say if you aren't already in there, join and ask how others have solved their problems with gaps left after treatment. Let me know if you have any other questions, anytime.
Amber
Thanks for your detailed review! Just curious how things are going now after you've been done with the treatment for some time? Thanks!
Jessica
Hi Amber! Things are pretty good - not much to report on since I wear my SDC retainer all night, every night and then a few hours in the morning and usually leave them out until bedtime again. I am in the process of sending back my wire Hawley retainer for an adjustment because it's been cutting the inside of my mouth pretty badly. But other than that, it's going well! It's been about 10 months of wearing my retainer and I recently found that my teeth have become used to their straight positions and don't usually feel as much tightness when they're out for long periods of time. Let me know if you have any other questions!
E W
I'm almost done with my treatment but the result is not as good as the original "projection". Waiting for the refinement aligners now. It was way cheaper than Invisalign which I could NEVER afford.
Their current price is $1,850 less $150 or you can make 24 payments of $80 per month with a $250 down payment. Also, to get a free scan or half price impression kit with a free teeth whitening gel and UV light go thru: http://mbsy.co/ghjFW I hope it helps! Good luck
Lou
Hi! I’ve been looking at doing this for a while now and actually already had my impressions approved. I’m very nervous about the nature of it and all of the negative reviews. I also don’t know anyone who has used the company. Now that you’re a few months down the road would you still recommend them? Has your dentist made any comments about the condition of your teeth?
Jessica
Hey, Lou! I'd still recommend SDC based on my own personal experience. I know I see all over the internet and Facebook group that people have had less-than-stellar experiences with the company, but I feel very fortunate that I was able to have such a good experience. I will say that usually people are more vocal and likely to speak up when something goes wrong or they are not pleased with a service as opposed to all the people who have had positive experiences. Kind of like how you hear about issues people have with airlines and flights, but you hardly hear about how many successful takeoffs and landings there are each day with no issues. Hope that makes sense, haha.
I switched dentists because I moved right around the time I started SDC and received a clean bill of dental health both times I went to the dentist. Good x-rays and the hygienist said my teeth were amazingly clean. I didn't tell them outright that I used SDC, but when they were doing my exam she said to just keep wearing my retainer every night to keep my teeth straight.
Without trying to sound like a broken record, I still think SDC is good for people who don't want to go to an ortho/don't have the schedule to work around office visits or simply couldn't afford their services outright. I hope this helps a little bit 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions!
LaTeeka
Hey Jessica,
I’m had a bad experience with smile direct club. The doctor only focused on my front 4 top teeth and left spaces on the side. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. I feel cheated because of the money I spent with the hope to have all my spaces closed. I’m happy you had a good experience. Unfortunately, I waisted thousands of dollars and didn’t get the smile I was promised.
Jessica
Hey LaTeeka, sorry that happened to you. I actually have a little space in between my front bottom two teeth that wasn't there before (they were actually overlapped) because I had the procedure done where they shave a little bit of enamel off of your teeth to make space. I don't mind so much because my front top teeth usually cover it up and it isn't too noticeable. I've heard of people who had spaces left on the sides and they chose to go to their dentist to have bonding done to fill in the spaces on the sides. I'm not sure this is an option for you and I know dental work is expensive and you already spent a ton on SDC. I hope you get some answers at the very least and maybe even a good ending after all this.
Emily
Great post- how did you know you had to have your teeth shaved? I just applied for my kit and read your blog and saw that you had to do that and I’m a little nervous about that...
Jessica
Hey Emily! I don't think they include IPR (the shaving of your teeth) in part of their treatment plans anymore. When I originally got my plan, it said IPR was necessary during treatment (I think it was in between months 4 and 5...). I was super nervous about it too, but it wound up being not too much of a big deal. My crowded teeth actually needed a little bit of space and the shaving did that. I hope you get approved and love the treatment plan they give you! Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Amanda
So glad I found this!! After reading your journey I decided to order my impression kit!!! Fingers crossed!! BTW how are things going with your new retainers you purchased?? I was a little bummed at the fact of having to buy new ones every 6-12 months 🙁
Jessica
Hi Amanda! I hope you have as good of an experience as I did! I'm enjoying my Hawley retainer and have been trying to wean myself off of wearing retainers for the whole day because I know it's not necessary anymore but I'm just paranoid my teeth will shift back. I did have a time when my Hawley cut into my bottom inside gums, but I put dental wax on it and it's doing a lot better now. I'm glad I have this one and don't have to keep reordering the SDC ones every 6 months. I will say that the SDC retainers do seem to lose their tightness with time so I would definitely recommend a Hawley as a long term retainer option. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Maddie
Hey, thanks for this great post! I just started my treatment, and they've since moved to shipping ALL aligners at once, so no more waiting for aligners in between treatments. I know Invisalign bought out SDC as well, so they're made of pretty much the same thing now.
There really aren't that many comprehensive reviews of this service, so I decided to blog about my experience too!
Anyway, I'm interested and will be waiting to hear what you think of the Hawley retainer. I definitely think I'll be using this retainer once my aligner treatment is done, but I was going to get it done through my regular dentist. I'm interested in how it works from the company you linked.
Cheers! -Maddie
Jessica
That's awesome that they ship them all at once now! I ordered the kit just the other day and the impression kit was at my doorstep on the 9th. They have you submit a photo of your practice impression before you continue with the rest of the kit which I think is great. Messing up impressions was one of my biggest fears when I first started SDC. I'll keep this post up to date with info on the Hawley retainer 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Maddie!
Jay Tripp
The best way I found to clean my aligners is to get a box of Efferdent Denture cleaner. It works like a charm.
Jessica
Thanks for the tip, Jay! I haven't bought any Retainer Brite in awhile, I will try out these tabs and see if my retainers are any cleaner!!
Glenn Dubroc, Jr.
Jessica, beautiful documentation of your SDC journey. I applaud both your effort and diligence to pass along the information. I am a retired orthodontist, so it doesn't affect me one way or the other as to what decisions people make on this issue. I respect the decision you made for yourself, as well as the decisions made by those who follow your blog. What I do want you to know, however, is that (looking at your before and after photos), I feel your case could have been completed successfully about 6 months faster, with a lot less inconvenience (waiting for aligners, making trips to the city for scans, refinement aligners, etc.), AND for substantially less cost had you been treated with fixed appliances (braces). I realize that is a choice (fixed braces) many adults are unwilling to make, but in the true spirit of information and education, I believe it's important to get that out there. Additionally, you might have spent a little more money had you seen an orthodontist for clear aligners, but not much more because there are numerous aligner regimens that, when supervised by a professional, can be more efficient (therefore less costly). I understand the temptation to say "Orthodontists and dentists don't want consumers to know about this stuff because they can't make as much money if you avoid them," but it's really quite risky to do your own orthodontic care. Particularly for patients with dental problems and/or underlying periodontal problems, a person can actually risk causing damage, including and not limited to the loss of some teeth. But, let the consumer beware. Each person has to decide for him/herself. I'm happy you are satisfied with your result and that your experience was an overall positive one. But I just felt, to be fair, that you and your followers should have this information.
Jessica
Hi, Glenn. Thanks for stopping by my corner of the web and leaving a helpful comment on behalf of the orthodontic profession. You would be surprised at how many unsavory comments I have had to filter out from dentists and orthodontists because they were rather malicious.
I appreciate your advice and information concerning fixed appliances, but knew they would not be for me. Perhaps someone else reading this might consider traditional braces instead of clear aligners. As far as inconvenience, I was not bothered by the one trip to NYC and would still prefer a longer treatment time without the inconvenience of making time for in-office visits. Additionally, my area's quotes for orthodontic care are significantly higher than what SDC charges (even now, after their recent price increases.)
If people are concerned with the lack of in-person care, it is good to know that they have the option to shop around for an orthodontist in their area. I believe SDC is a viable option for those who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford traditional orthodontic care. I'm not certain it's fair to consider SDC "do it yourself orthodontic care" as the company's main selling points (aside from lower cost than alternative methods) are that treatment plans are prescribed by licensed dentists and orthodontists and that there are many channels of communication that people can use to express their concerns to the dental professional.
I do agree that there is some room for improvement as far as the impressions go and having consumers do them on their own, but SDC will reject many that are not up to par and make the person redo them until a sufficient 3D model can be produced. I also recommend anyone interested in SDC and in close proximity to their shops to get a scan, as they are more accurate in their 3D rendering. I have also seen many people wishing to get aligners from SDC have to produce satisfactory x-rays from their dentist before they can be approved for aligners.
I have always been a fan of the routine dental checkup and cleaning every six months but know that not everyone is or might not have been as fortunate as I have to receive consistently good dental care. People considering SDC should at the very least have a checkup and consult with a dentist before beginning any kind of orthodontic care and I believe I have been transparent in expressing that throughout my review. Again, thank you for leaving a helpful comment and I hope that anyone considering this route knows that there are several options available to them.
Suzanne
You are so right.. Doing something similar with a dentist only took less than 2 months for me. I also cost me so much less. I suggest that people talk to their dentist before encurring the expense, time it takes, postage and having to deal with emails or telephone support. Very nice and informative log of the experience. Thank you for doing that.
Arthur D
Jessica,
Thanks for posting all this, two questions:
-first, how much, on average, would you say you actually wore your aligners? With 3 meals and socializing 22 hours seems tough not to mention going on multiple day trips.
-second, any update on your retainer process/what have you heard? It frustrated me a lot to be given an 8month treatment plan only to find out that retainers are supposed to be worn like aligners for 6 weeks after treatment. I just wish they had been honest and told me it was actually a 9.5month treatment plan.
Jessica
Hey Arthur! Not a problem at all. I enjoy helping people make an informed decision. For your first question, I would usually average about 21 hours per day, but if I ever dipped drastically below the amount of recommended hours per day I would tack on an extra day or two to my wear time. I agree that it's really hard to enjoy meals and going out with friends when you're only allotted 2 hours for eating or drinking.
When I originally started with SDC in June 2016 the recommended amount of retainer wear time was 6 months full time and then just at night after that. They recently started recommending 6 weeks full time wear and then nighttime for life and now switched to 2 weeks full time wear and then nightly for life as well. I've been wearing my retainer for almost full time (usually 20-21 hours per day) for a bit over 2 weeks. I'm sure I could go to nightly wear only if I wanted to, but when I leave them out for too long the pressure is a bit intense when I put them back in. I spent so much time in aligners (a little under a year) that I don't really mind wearing them so much anymore. Many traditional orthos recommend at least 6 months of everyday retainer wearing so that your teeth don't shift back. I intend on wearing my retainers for most of the day for 6 months to make sure I don't end up back where I started, but I'm also not going to let them interfere with my social life. Sorry if this was a bit of a wishy-washy answer! Do what you think feels best, but SDC currently recommends 2 week full time wear of your retainer - which I think is manageable.
Hannah
Thanks so much for posting all the info about SDC! My question is, do the aligners change the way you talk any? Thanks!
Jessica
HI Hannah! They take a little bit of getting used to, but I found that the more you talked (even if it was to yourself while you were alone) helped to make it more comfortable. The more you talk with them the more the rest of your mouth can adapt to the aligners. I think I had a mini lisp for about 10 minutes and kept talking through it and it went away!
Zoe
After reading your post, I did decide to give SDC a try. My treatment plan is only 4 months, which is pretty short. I just started my first week and I noticed that the bottom aligner doesn't sit flush to my teeth. In your pictures I see that there's no gap from the tip of the aligner to the tip of your teeth. My top is flush but my bottom aligners is not. Is that normal? Did you have any trays that weren't perfectly flushed with the tips of your teeth? I really hope it doesn't affect my progress. Also I have noticed a lot of saliva gets trapped inside the aligner. Did u ever experience that too? I would so appreciate your feedback. Thanks.
Jessica
Hey Zoe, I had that happen to me when my aligners stopped fitting well towards the end of my regular treatment and on the second month of my first refinement. I also had a month (+ the time it took for new refinement aligners to be made) where I was wearing really terribly fitting loose aligners and they would always fill up with saliva that you could definitely see. It was gross and I didn't like it at all.
If you have any concerns with the fit of your aligners, I'd say reach out to SDC through their live chat or on Facebook Messenger for a prompt response. If you use the FB chat you can attach a photo for them to see exactly how much space is left between your tooth and the end of the aligner. If you just started though, there is a chance that your tooth might just need to seat to the aligner a little better. You can help it along by chewing on the chewies. If they've already told you this and it STILL hasn't worked and it's about time to switch I would say reach out to them. I've heard of people having initial corrections done where they send out a new impression kit to make aligners that are going to actually fit your teeth if the set they sent you don't. Hopefully it's just a case of your teeth needing a little bit of time to get used to the aligners to fit better, but if not, definitely reach out to them. It's annoying to have to wait for their response/another impression kit, but they have been very helpful in getting to the bottom of what needs to be fixed when it does need to be fixed. Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!!
Kealii
Hi Jessica!
Thank you for your detailed report. Very helpful! I've been looking into SDC for a while and have been leery to pull the trigger...my dentist warned me against it but there's definitely a conflict of interest ($1500 vs $6000) lol so far are you happy with your results? Have you heard any horror stories about teeth falling out? (Again, my dentist trying to scare me out of it). I'd appreciate any help!
Thank you,
Kealii
Jessica
Hi Kealii! You are very welcome for the detailed review 🙂 I love sharing my experience with SDC because they are still fairly new and people are so skeptical about them. (I know I was!) I am very happy with my results so far and was even more impressed that SDC has continued to hear me out and go the extra mile to give refinements to get my teeth to where they need to be. I started what I am really sure will be my final month and I've had a really great experience. The only issues I've had were waiting to hear back from customer service reps via email sometimes. I'm a member of the "Smile Direct Club Members" Facebook group and out of the 7,000+ members, there's only been one very unfortunate case where a woman had to have her lower front tooth extracted because it became too mobile. The general consensus seems to be that if you go to your dentist and ask about your overall oral health (healthy roots, gums, teeth, etc) and if you would be a safe candidate for SDC (or Invisalign if you're afraid to tell your dentist about them out of fear of being judged) then SDC should be a cost effective option for people who can't afford the high costs of Invisalign. I'm not sure if she checked in with her dentist prior to treatment, so I would always recommend getting regular cleanings and checkups before going the SDC route. If you haven't already, request to join the Facebook group and poke around a little bit to see what everyone else has been saying! Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Lou
I’m having the same feelings. Kelali, I’m Curious if you decided to give it a try?
Sharon
Great blog, thanks for posting your Smile Direct journey! It's always comforting to read about someone's real experience. I'm on my week 2 of Aligner 1. Question though- I remember reading somewhere that after a week or 2, the aligner shouldn't feel tight anymore. I'm curious what was your experience? How loose were the aligners after a week-2 weeks?
Jessica
Hi Sharon! Thank you 🙂 I love being able to provide people with a real life experience. I did experience the loosening of a tray towards the end of its scheduled wear, but if I ever left it out for longer than I should have, it felt a bit tight again when I put the aligners back on. I suppose it goes to show you that our teeth really do try to move back to where they were quickly! Some trays were looser than others and I was able to pop them in and out with my tongue. Let me know if you have any other questions!!
chap
Hi !
I would like to start the treatment YSM, as it just arrive in France a few month ago
Did it work well for you and you friends (or other people you know they have been use it)
Because no opinion there available yet
And also, does the result stay for a long term period, or teeth going back their way, a few month after treament ?
Price are incredible that why I am so interest, just need to be re assure before to "jump" into this solution for my teeth
Thanks a lot
Charlotte
Jessica
Hi there Charlotte! I had no idea there was a version of SmileDirectClub over in France - I do believe there is a similar company in the UK. I think it's worked very well for me, even though I still have about a month more left to go. None of my friends have done it because they were all "lucky" enough to have braces as kids and wore their retainers!
If you wear your retainers after treatment for the recommended amount of time, your results should last. I believe it's recommended to wear it for most of the day for the first 6 months and then nightly after that to retain your straight teeth. I'm willing to sleep with retainers in to keep my straighter teeth! Hope this helps 🙂
Lisa
Hi Jessica,
Thank you so much for the insightful review. I did have a question. I know you are supposed to take the aligners out when eating, but throughout the day can you leave them in and drink other things besides water? Like Coffee, tea, soda, etc?
Jessica
Hi, Lisa! Smile Direct Club advises against drinking anything other than cool water with the aligners in, and this is because of the increased risk of cavities. Since I'm petrified of getting fillings and needles at the dentist, I've always removed them when I drink my morning coffee and the occasional juice or lemonade. I haven't enjoyed a leisurely cup of morning coffee in so long because I rush to put my aligners back in to get in the recommended wear time per day. This is definitely what I miss the most, but if it means I can avoid cavities, I'm all for it. Hope this helps 🙂
Rudy McShannon
I considered SDC, but after reading nonbiased reviews (and ignoring the ones that are obviously fake or looking for a referral bonus), I'm going with Invisalign with the same orthodontist who did braces on my kids' teeth. Your story is nice, but your teeth started out pretty nice, to be honest. I need a bit more re-arranging, involving teeth attachments, and don't want to take a risk on something that might not work for me. Luckily cost isn't a huge deciding factor for me.
Jessica
Thanks for your comment, Rudy. It's great that cost isn't a deciding factor for you - I couldn't really justify the high cost of Invisalign for the minor corrections I was looking for. Thankfully Smile Direct Club has been really accommodating and keeps working to make sure I get the straight teeth I'm looking for. It's been a longer process than I expected, but I'm very grateful there's a cost effective option for those that can't afford a traditional orthodontist's treatment. Best of luck with your Invisalign treatment!
Terra Gilbert
Hi Jessica, thank you for detailing your experience so well! I am considering getting these for my daughter and wanted to know what it's like. One question though; is the refinement plan included in the initial price? Do they hit you for extra fees anywhere along the way? Thank you.
Jessica
Hi, Terra! The refinement plan is included in the original price as long as it is deemed by the dentist overseeing the case. So if your teeth obviously have not moved in the way that the plan details, they will approve your case for free refinements 🙂 no extra fees, but it does mean a little bit of extra waiting time. Hope this helps!
Kim
Thank you so much for you review! It takes me forever to make big decisions like this, so I've been trying to read up on everything I can in preparation for actually going through with this. I guess my fear is that I'll do it and screw up my teeth somehow...
I'm also glad you took a picture of what your smile looks like with the aligners in. Those were hard to find out there, since I've only ever seen Invisalign aligners in person. But sheesh, I'm not paying the $5,000 the dentist wanted me to pay!
I'll be checking back periodically to see if you have any more updates!
Jessica
Hi, Kim! I take forever to make these kinds of decisions too and around this time last year when I was researching there weren't nearly as many resources as there are now, so I thought I would do my part to help some people make an informed decision 🙂 I also had the aligners in for some of the photos in my monthly grid - they're very invisible but sometimes make your teeth appear a little shinier than usual. Most people never know I have them on, thankfully. I hope if you decide to go through with SDC that you have an awesome experience!
Heather
Thank you so much for posting this super detailed review. It's been really helpful. I had braces when I was younger but my retainer broke and teeth have shifted over the last few years. My teeth look very similar to your before hand photo, I was wondering do you think it would be worth it for me to pay for the whole amount ($1700) or do the monthly ($99) plan?
Jessica
Hi, Heather! Thanks so much for reading my super detailed review that I sometimes cringe at and wonder if people even read, lol. I would say do what makes you feel comfortable - I chose to pay the full amount upfront to pay a little less over time but I opened up a new credit card account with 0% APR for 15 months. If $1,700 is something you wouldn't want to spend all at once I would say go the payment plan route!
CiCi Elle
I joined SDC back in August and my treatment plan should finished in about 3 months. I'm on tray 11 of 16 and VERY happy with the results so far. I had very crowded teeth.... way worse than yours. I'm sure i'll have to get refinements but maybe not!
Jessica
That's awesome!! I just submitted a request for my second round of refinements...it's not the best situation but I'm really glad I found SDC. I hope the rest of your treatment goes well 🙂
Trish
Great review! I do think I'm going to need refinement...nearing my last tray. So..are you saying you don't have to pay extra for it? I really hope not LOL
Jessica
Nope! As long as your teeth don't match up with what's in your plan they will approve refinements at no cost. I'm probably going to be requesting another round this week 🙁 it's a bummer it's taking so long but I'm so thankful SDC exists so I really can't complain. I hope you get approved!!
Jerome Tripp
Awesome journey! I've been on treatment with them for a month now. I didn't think to keep a journal of my progress on my blog. I may do just that even though I am a month in. Cheers!
Jessica
Thanks Jerome! It's been nice to keep it all in one spot and help some other people along the way with their decisions 🙂 I hope your treatment is smooth sailing!
Martina
This was amazing to read! I just started the process with my insurance and honestly am scared! I read so man negative comments that this was refreshing! I hope I qualify and can have this done. Mine aren't bad, just like you, just want some straighter teeth !! Thank you for providing this feedback!!! So helpful! And btw- your smile is beautiful!
Jessica
Thank you, Martina!!! Everyone has different experiences with the company, but I'm thankful to say that I've been very lucky and haven't experienced anything really bad. It's just a lot of waiting and patience, lol. I hope you qualify and can be on your way to a straighter smile 🙂
Aaron Meyer
I was wondering about a few things. The dental appointment to have the IPR done, was that part of the treatment or were you required to pay for that yourself? (not that it matters, the process is still be way cheaper than the alternatives) The impression kit cost is part of the total or is it extra? The gummies that you talk about, I'm assuming that those aren't edible? Great blog, by the way. Very informative.
Jessica
Hey, Aaron. I've heard that they no longer include IPR in the treatment plans at all (which I personally think is a bummer...) but it was a part of my original treatment plan and was not required to pay for anything out of pocket. I did have to drive about 2 hours north to go to the only dentist in my state that worked with SDC at the time though. The impression kit cost is extra, but I've seen deals for free scans if you're in an area where they have a Smile Shop and numerous 50% off impression kit discount codes. The chewies are not edible, lol, they are kind of like a firmer pool noodle texture that's supposed to help your aligners seat better - kind of like a teething toy for adults with aligners. Thank you for the compliments & I hope this helped a bit!!
Samantha
Goodness goodness I feel dumb for asking but can you please tell me how to insert this smile stretcher?!?! They keep giving me an automated response that says simply insert. I'm not sure if the flat piece goes in my mouth or?? Should it bend ??
Jessica
Oh my gosh, you aren't alone! They sent it in my refinement kit and thankfully didn't need to use it (last year I just used my hands to stretch out my mouth for photos) but I handed it to my fiancé and asked for him to please explain lol. The flat part kind of sits on your chin and the two rounded parts sit in the corners of your lips. Google the game "speak out" - they use the same little device! Hope this helps! 🙂
Priscilla Pillsbury
I just received a response from Darren at SDC's customer service, he indicated they do "not make new treatment plans that need IPR"
What is up with THAT anyone know?
Was he on crack or have they changed their business model
How can the teeth shift without IPR????
Not that this would not be better by far
why and how did this change???
Jessica
I'm in the Smile Direct Club Members Facebook group (just a bunch of SDC people in treatment, not affiliated with the company at all) and I've heard that the new treatment plans DO NOT have IPR as a part of the plans, which I think is a shame. I know my teeth would not have been able to move into place without the IPR procedure. As it seems, many treatment plans that are trying to correct crowding flare the teeth outward and kind of look like there is a bit of an overbite. I feel it's a little unfair to people with crowding, in my opinion. I have no idea why or how it changed but I probably would not have accepted my treatment plan if the final plan gave me a pronounced overbite.
Zoe
Just found your blog post about sdc as im researching wheter to do this or not. I was wondering if you have any crowns on your teeth. I have two on my upper. If so, did it cause any problems with your crowns or loosen anything there? Thanks.
Jessica
Hi, Zoe! I do not have any crowns on my teeth, but if you request to join the Smile Direct Club Members Facebook group, I believe you can search/ask about crowns there. I have heard of people with crowns doing well with their treatment though 🙂 hope this helps a little!
Sierra Revis
Thank you for this!! My teeth are very very crowded. I have not started the process yet, I am still looking into all procedures. This process would be ideal. My dentist told me to have some teeth removed before I even start on braces. I hope this product will help. I dont know if my mouth is too crowded or not. I guess I will find out once SDC look at my pics or impression kit.
Jessica
Thank you for your kind words, Sierra! It's best to have SDC look at your pics and impressions to see if you're a candidate. I hope everything works out for you - it's been a great process for me so far and I love seeing other people have great results too. Keep us posted!
TIARA STREATER
I have been watching the commercials and interested could you please email me personally. I have an overbite and wondering does it work. Someone had a bad experience with it not fitting and customer service not being helpful. [email protected]
Violet Gutierrez
Great review and great results congrats
Julia
Very accurate description of the process! I have had a very similar experience! I am currently on my last tray of an 8-month process and the IPR procedure left some gaps that have yet to close. So I am awaiting a response regarding my acceptance for refinement as well, which I'm sure it will be approved because unfortunately, my current situation does not match the plan they sent. They have been EXTREMELY helpful throughout the entire process, in case anyone is wondering. Customer service has been great. I see a lot of people commenting about emailing and/or calling and I just want to say that I used their online customer 24/7 chat feature and it was AWESOME! I immediately spoke to a representative who would answer my questions or forward me to someone who could if they did not have an answer for me. It seriously was great and I never had to worry about waiting on an email reply. And I usually got an email followup following my online chat conversation anyway so that was cool. Just wanted to write to encourage anyone to use that feature and also to say great post and I appreciate your honesty and accuracy about the good, the bad, and the ugly! I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Smile Direct Club and I think they are such a great option! Thanks for sharing your experience with us all!
Kate Z
What did they recommend when the treatment ended? I spent $3600 for Invisalign for 14 months. Unfortunately, if I didn't wear my last set of aligners almost 22 hours a day, my teeth went back to their original position over the next few months. . 3 years later I still have crooked teeth and almost no sign of any straightening ever being done. They pretty much went back to their original position.
Jessica
Hi, Kate! I'm still finishing up treatment with a 2 month refinement on top of my original 6 month treatment plan. I intend on wearing a retainer for most of the day for 6 months (as SDC once recommended on their website) and might have a local orthodontist create a wired one for me to wear for long term at night. On the Smile Direct Club Members Facebook page I haven't heard of this kind of shifting back happen yet (although not a ton of members have completed treatment yet). My sister got traditional braces as a kid and was very diligent about wearing her retainer all the time for a year after she had her braces off and still has beautifully straight teeth. I think she may also have a permanent wire retainer on her bottom teeth, which might be worth looking into if you fear you'll lose all that progress again. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! 🙁
Kelsey
Hello! Does your code work only on the initial evaluation or does it take 50% off of the entire treatment coat?
Jessica
Hi Kelsey! Unfortunately it's only 50% off the evaluation cost. Thanks for asking!
Ashley
Do you have an update since Tray 8? Also is tray 8 your last tray?
Jessica
Hi, Ashley! I have 12 trays total and I'm currently nearing the end of tray 9. You can see a little more of my progress at my latest SDC post!
Wynnette
I have been using aligners for 3 months and my gums are bleeding. Has this happened to you. Also my teeth seem looser.
Jessica
Hey, Wynnette! I had a little bit of bleeding in my gums when I would change to a new set sometimes. My teeth did feel a little "looser", but by the end of my 2 weeks of wearing a set they would firm back up. It's definitely a little concerning, but I think it's normal. If you have serious concerns, I'd say reach out to SDC or your dentist. Hope this helps!
Yana
How interesting! Thank you for documenting our journey! Seriously thinking about trying SmileDirect.
allison
I see that your teeth are tilting inward a little bit. Mine tilt in as well and im wondering if it is helping push your teeth forward at all? I had braces for almost two years and my teeth are very straight but they are very much tilted inward. I want to order these but i want to make sure it will be worth it and actually push my teeth forward. Any suggestions????
Jessica
Hey Allison! I know it seems hard to tell from the front view, but they did push my front teeth forward and outward to make room for the two teeth next to my two front teeth. I'm pretty happy with the progress so far, and although I feel like I can't see a big difference, I know it's just because I see my own teeth every day. I never had braces so this is my first time straightening my teeth. I'd say to try doing the impressions kit they send and see what kind of treatment plan they send to you and then decide from there. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Lizzy
Hello, I was wondering when you would be posting an update. I think your teeth have already shown so much improvement. I am really excited to see the current and end results!! I think I will be ordering mine next month.
Jessica
Thanks, Lizzy!! I see my teeth every day and feel like I can't see any movement still, so I have to look at my before and after pictures to reassure myself, ha! I have photos up to Oct. 24th at the bottom of my post here right now and text updates up to Oct. 17th. I'm not scheduled to be done with my entire treatment until January 10th, but I'll do updates every tray or so 🙂 I'm about 75% of the way done! Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help 🙂
Edwin
Would this smile direct club help with my bite? (Overbite) in your opinion.
Jessica
Hey, Edwin 🙂 Since I'm not a dentist and didn't have an overbite to start with, I'm not sure I could comment on whether or not they'd be a good fit for you. However, if you check out the link to the SDC Facebook group page in this post and request an invite you can take a peek at the different cases people have and are being treated for. Sorry I couldn't help more!
Clare
I used your referral link… I heard you get a gift card… I hope that you're able to use it even though you've already paid up front!! Thanks again for the good information!!
Jessica
Thanks so much, Clare!! So glad I could help 🙂
Lin
Keep posting your updates, im thinking about utilizing this service. Can you include pictures in future post?
Jessica
I'll keep posting updates, Lin. Thanks for reading! I just posted a quick photo progress update - I'm not supposed to see big movement until tray 8 and I'm only currently on tray 5, but I can definitely feel things moving around.
Geotgia Namdets
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. It's difficult to see the progress on your bottom teeth. I'd love to see additional pictures of them, if you wouldn't mind.
Jessica
I'll be sure to have a clearer photo of my bottoms in the before/current in my next update. Thanks for your feedback!!
Chris
hello i went in today but forgot to ask them do the alligners come In set for both bottom and top row teeth?
Jessica
Hey Chris! They come for both the top and bottom arches so that they are aligned at the end of your treatment plan. I believe they used to do only one arch if you had a permanent retainer, but I would check with SDC because I know they wanted to move towards having people correct both their upper and lower teeth so they are aligned properly when you bite down.
Janiece McLean
Could you post a before & now pic so we can see your progress?
Want to order but would like to know if it really works first!
Jessica
Hey Janiece! I'm going to post progress pics after I get my IPR done on Tuesday. Although I can totally feel my teeth moving, I know it's probably hard to see them going places because I'm dealing with crowding. If you have spacing issues I've seen those get corrected really quickly! I'm almost 2 months in and I'm ready to see some real movement!
Jessica
Hey Janiece! I just posted a quick progress photo update in case you were interested in checking it out. It doesn't seem like a lot of movement but I can totally feel my teeth shifting. I'm not supposed to see major changes until tray 8 and I'm only on tray 5 currently. I hope you give SDC a go!
Megan
Waiting for updates 🙂 Congrats 🙂
Jessica
Thanks, Megan! I just did a quick text update. I'm so nervous/excited for my IPR appointment next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll be able to see more drastic results by then!
eduardo
Thank you for your updates. This is really great.
Jessica
My pleasure 🙂 I signed up for this on a whim without reading a lot of reviews (not a lot of good nor bad at the time) which is so unlike me - but I'm glad I could share my experiences with everyone else!
chris
I've heard stories of people not receiving their aligners on time - I'm 10 aligners into a 20 aligner plan and a week from aligner 11. Yet they still haven't shipped my aligners - and I paid up front! The BBB website has a complaint from someone who waited 3 months to get her second half of her plan - can't imagine wearing the same aligner for 3 months!!
Jessica
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine that either. Mine get a little questionable after the full 2 weeks of wear so I can't imagine wearing the same one for that long - ick 🙁 So far I'm loaded up with my first 6 sets of aligners which will last me 3 months and hopefully will get the remaining 6 sets soon after. It's crazy how time flies once you actually have the aligners though. I hope yours come soon!
Christine Becker
Do they make your teeth sore? I have VERY sensitive teeth. Also, do you know how I can find out who their participating dentists are, as I live in remote Wyoming and cannot travel to another state. thanks
Jessica
Hi Christine. They don't make my teeth sore really, except for the first 2-3 days after switching to a new tray (but I'm pretty sure that's normal when your teeth are moving). I don't believe they publish the list of participating dentists and don't really recall the reason why, but I find a lot of information from people around the US in the "Smile Direct Club Members" Facebook group.
Jenny
Super helpful! Can you speak a bit about how the aligners look? Are they very noticeable? And do you find them easy to get on/off for eating.
Thanks!
Jessica
Thanks, Jenny! Happy to help. They're very invisible, most people don't know I have them in unless I tell them. They're easy to remove once you get past the initial 2-3 days after switching to a new set!
Leah
Hi Jessica - Great post!! I read a lot of reviews regarding miscommunication issues with the Customer Service team. Did you have any issues here?
Jessica
Hi Leah! Honestly I can't say I've had any with them.
Stephanie
"IPR stands for interproximal reduction. This basically means I’ll actually be traveling to see a dentist to have them shave down .3mm in 8 different spots on my upper teeth"
Where did you go for this and how much more did it cost you if you don't mind answering ?
Jessica
Hey, Stephanie. I'm scheduled to go to the dentist who's in charge of my case (Dr. Robert M. De Rosso in Washington, NJ) - I'm presuming he's the dentist for this area in NJ. It's included in the price that you pay for treatment and it was scheduled by one of SDC's IPR coordinators, so all I had to do was tell her my preferred time of day that fell in between the allotted time frame that I need to have it done by. I still have about a month before this is scheduled so I'm not entirely sure how it'll go but I can definitely keep you posted!
Clare
I had this same question… thank you for answering! This blog post has helped me make my decision to make the plunge and do it!
Charla
Tracking info shows that my aligners should come in the mail today! I am so excited to get started!
Jessica
Love it! I actually received set 4, 5 and 6 in the mail yesterday without even knowing they were coming. I'm not complaining, but I probably would've preferred to know I should be expecting them!
Alex
I'm at the thermoforming stage myself! Since the 12th.
Jessica
I just got a shipping confirmation two days ago, so hopefully you don't have to wait too long!!
Mark
Jessica,
I am at the point of ordering the aligners. I would love to get the 20% off to down the cost from $1500 to $1200.
The only Groupon I get listed for that is the $49 impression/evaluation kit (which I did use).
Do you still have the 20% off Groupon in you list? Do you know how I could get it?
Jessica
Hi, Mark. I believe they either discontinued/only had a set amount of those Groupons available. I purchased it over 2 months ago because it sounded like such a good deal and it's a shame it isn't around anymore. I do believe there is a code somewhere for $100 off treatment floating around the internet - check RetailMeNot or other coupon sites around the web. Best of luck!
Donald MacShane
I was wondering how your treatment was going. Are the aligners difficult to wear. Do you notice any irritation from wearing them ? I am considering starting this process and love your feedback. Thanks
Jessica
Hi, Donald. I've been meaning to do an update but I've been on vacation this past week. They aren't difficult to wear at all, but I've been leaving them out because we've been snacking around Disney World the past few days. Aside from the first set that cut my tongue a bit until I filed it down, I haven't had any irritation. They're simple to remove and put back in too.
Maggie
I paid for mine July 17th when I got an e-mail saying I should call to authorize payment. I FINALLY received my first set of 3 aligners yesterday. If I could post a photo I would. I could absolutely relate to feeling awkward trying to eat this morning, but otherwise the one for my top teeth is totally comfortable. The bottom sets are AWFUL. The edge that is between my gums and inside of my lip had a sharp out turned edge. I filed it so it isn't curving out into my lip, but that didn't solve my problem. They extended the hard plastic edge too far down to my gums so trying to talk, chew, or smile cuts into the flesh that connects my bottom lip to my lower gums. It's so bad I tried to cut it and file it. Nope. Still can't move my mouth without extreme irritation. So I called and they said they would e-mail me and asked me to reply with photos. So the e-mail arrives and in it the woman asks if I chewed on the chewies for 30 minutes a day for the first 3-4 days and if I have and it still hurts to send photos. Well, since I told her they just arrived yesterday I haven't had them 3 days, and since chewing is cutting me open I'm not going to do that. They're on correctly they were just made wrong. I e-mailed the photos at 8am so I'll probably hear from them in a week based on their follow up times so far. If you do it, if you need that IPR thing (which I was told just involved inserting a spacer like thick floss- nobody told me my teeth are getting shaved down) ask them where you'll go to get it before you pay them. I found out I will have to drive 2 hours each way in the winter because there is only one in my state who does that. They don't even have someone in Boston. So after one day I'm pretty sure I'll only be able to do my top teeth because the bottom aligner can only be worn when I sleep or it'll slowly slice my lip off my face from the inside.
They're cs reps are nice but they're really disorganized. I never got a tracking number when they sent my aligners. And they used fed ex to ship to my PO box, which they won't do, so I knew they were coming because fed ex had to call me to find out where to bring them.
I'm not interested in spending $1600 to straighten just my top teeth, but at this point I'be already paid them $350. Super disappointed.
If anyone wants to see the sharp edge I'm complaining about I'll send the photo.
Jessica
Hey Maggie, thanks for your feedback on your experience with SDC. It does seem that there's a level of inconsistency in their customer service and response times. I emailed someone on Monday afternoon hoping they would get back to me with a question about my IPR and nobody ever responded to me. I also had to Google IPR when I first got my plan so I knew what I was in for. Honestly, I had thought about not going through with doing the aligners because I seriously despise medical/dental office visits and procedures so much.
When I was in the office on Tuesday the dentist let me know that he's the only one who does these procedures for SDC in New Jersey. I drove 2+ hours in traffic to see him and 1.5 hours back home, but the inconvenience and cost of gas to get there was worth it to me because I probably would've been charged 3x more if I chose Invisalign at an ortho near me.
If you're part of the SDC Facebook group you'll see that some people have also had issues with the aligners being too far down into their gums and they've actually had to sand it down with a Dremel. Nobody should have to do that to something that's supposed to be molded to fit their own mouth 🙁 I hope you get in contact with someone who can help you, because I've only had a (mostly) pleasant experience with SDC - aside from the obvious lacking customer service at times.
Lynda
Maggie, what has happened since your last post. Is your lip still being cut. Have you had an satisfaction from the company, that is have they done anything to improve your situation. If I had money, I'd go to an orthodontist, but I don'. Any update you could provide would be most appreciated!
Michael
Very well put together, I am basically on the same timeline as you. Paid for aligners in full on 6/27 and received email stating 3D Printing on 7/01. I'll keep checking back here weekly to see the updates. So exciting 🙂
Jessica
Thanks, Michael! I got a thermoforming email on the 7th of July and I'm anxiously awaiting the email where they tell me they've shipped!
Jennifer
I haven't ordered yet- i know invisalign has buttons they attach to your teeth. Is there anything like that with this product?
Jessica
Hi Jennifer! Not to my knowledge!
brenda
no they don't have attachment but if you have teeth that need attachments then you wouldnt really be a candidate for this