Today, I’m going talk about Smile Direct Club & the most important things you need to know before getting aligners.
Specifically, I'm going to share my review about Smile Direct Club, important things to consider before starting your braces journey & my thoughts about the future of braces.
Before I start I want to mention that I am not for or against smile direct club, candid, byte or any other braces related company.
I simply want to make sure that people are as informed as possible before making any decision about the health of their teeth and smile.
Having an open honest conversation is the only way we can do this.
Lets jump right in . . .
Table of Contents
Smile Direct Club Review
What is Smile Direct Club
Smile direct club is a company dedicated to helping you straighten your teeth at home at a rate that’s more affordable then an orthodontist
In fact, their prices are listed just shy of $2000 or $89/month which is actually quite a large discount compared to the estimated $5000 to $7000 your local orthodontist might charge you for treatment.
Now, this discount does come with some compromises that you need to be willing to accept before starting your braces journey. I'll talk about some of the differences more clearly later in the blog . . .
Smile Direct Club Overview
The way it works is quite simple.
First, you need to take an impression of your teeth digitally at one of their Smile Shops or by yourself with one of their at home impression kits.
Once the braces company receives the impression, they will create a 3D image of your teeth and one of their state licensed dentists / orthodontist reviews and approves a custom treatment plan that is designed to make your teeth straighter.
Finally they create a set of aligners and ship them out for you to wear in the following months.
Eventually, you will have a straighter more beautiful smile if everything goes according to plan.
According to the website, the company offers two options
Clear aligners which are meant to be worn as often as possible (22 hours) and nighttime clear aligners are meant to be worn at night so you can go aligner free during the day.
I personally have an issue with wearing aligners only at night which I dive into towards the end of the blog . . .
Now, let's talk about the differences between Smile Direct Club & the orthodontist.
Smile Direct Club vs Orthodontist
Smile Direct Clubs vs Invisalign Differences
So what are the differences between aligners at an orthodontist vs smile direct club?
The aligners themselves are actually quite similar to one another in terms of material but the main difference between smile direct club and an orthodontist is the addition of buttons to your treatment plan.
Buttons are bonded resin that are attached to your teeth when doing Invisalign at your orthodontist office.
These buttons allow orthodontists to achieve a greater degree of movement for teeth that need a little extra push to get in alignment . . .
Right now, smile direct club does not offer buttons
The company website states that their aligners are meant to correct minor to moderate teeth corrections which makes sense because because it would be really hard to rotate teeth in a big way without these buttons.
This is one of the largest differences if you’re someone that is looking to make the decision between Smile Direct Club or a local orthodontist.
Of course, you can visit an orthodontist or take Smile Direct Club self assessment to get a better idea of what type of misalignment you have.
Clear Aligners vs Braces
What you need to know before getting aligners
1. One of the most important factors to consider before getting braces or aligners is to make sure your gums and teeth or healthy.
Please make sure to go to your local dentist and get checked up to make sure everything is healthy.
If the dentist discovers any cavities then it's critical to get the cavities cleaned out before starting your journey to straighter teeth.
The bone around the teeth needs to be in good condition & it's critical that you do not have any active periodontitis or gum disease.
There are some cases out there where people place braces or aligners on teeth that are not healthy & during the course of their treatment, their teeth become loose or they might even have to get some teeth removed since the infection or mobility becomes too unmanageable.
This can all be avoided with a dental check up before getting treatment started.
2. Really accurate impressions are critical for aligners
Typically, a set of aligners is fabricated based on that initial digital or manual impression. If this impression is distorted, the series of trays may be inaccurate which can cause your teeth to move in a way that is not planned.
At the orthodontic office, they will have a digital scanning device or may do a manual impression with a trained staff member. The orthodontist will review the impression to make sure it is as accurate as possible.
At smile direct club, you have two options. You can get your impression done at one of their Smile Shops or you can take your own impression at home.
The smile shops have a trained team of impression takers that will get an accurate impression and send it for review with an orthodontist or dentist. However, I personally have issue with the at home impression kit that you can take for yourself.
I believe that it would be very difficult to take an accurate impression on yourself. Smile direct club does mention that these impressions are reviewed before creating a series of aligners but I just don't see how it's possible to take such accurate impression if you're doing it at home by yourself.
3. Consistently wearing your trays
Aligners need to be worn throughout the day as often as possible. The only time you should take your aligners off is during eating/drinking or brushing your teeth.
If you have the aligners off for too long then your teeth have the potential of relapsing to their original position.
Smile direct club & the orthodontist office have clear instructions on wearing trays consistently but smile direct club offers NightTime clear aligners where the website mentions is only need to be worn at night
I personally don't love this option because I believe that the teeth will shift if not worn consistently for 22 hours out of the day. This is something that I'm concerned about
4. Monitoring the braces journey.
I believe braces or aligner therapy must be monitored during the course of your treatment in order to get a predictable results.
As we plan out your case, we have an idea of how each teeth will move & what the final result will look like but sometimes this doesn’t happen & your teeth move in an unfavorable way.
That is why it's important to have an orthodontist or dentist continue to check on your case to see if we need to stop the course of treatment to take a new impression or if we can continue treatment as planned.
I know the orthodontist offers this type of support because you can call their office at any time & they have periodic checks on the state of the teeth. I believe smile direct club offers support as well where you can call someone to check on the status of your teeth or if you have any concerns.
Conclusion
The future of braces
So what’s the future of braces or clear aligners.
Well I actually think that this at home model is innovative but I would want some changes. It’ll be interesting to see how the nighttime aligners workout for them or if they contintue to ship the at home impression kits.
I’m also interested to see how the company continues to monitor their cases.
I do like how they are making it more affordable but I want to make sure everyone is safe in whatever braces journey they go through
Full disclosure: I receive a commission if you purchase the dental products through my referral links. This helps me run this blog & I appreciate the support.
