SmileDirectClub

I had thought this was going to be an easy process as advertised and it was fairly easy at the beginning, but after paying for my $250 down payment, my aligners have apparently disappeared. I had been receiving emails updating me on the status of my aligners (the last stating that my aligners were being trimmed to fit perfectly) up until last week. I went to my dashboard and it is now saying my impressions have been received? A step that was completed months ago.

I've been in contact with customer service several times and no one can tell me where my aligners are and why my dashboard is showing incorrect information now, they just tell me that they are waiting on a response from the lab. Meanwhile, my next payment has been taken out of course. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now, but I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I went along and tried SmileDirectClub because I had minor teeth spacing that I wanted to be fixed. I went to the downtown location, got my scan, everything went well and smooth. It is $95 a month for two years. I received my aligners, did all 15 of them after about a year with them on. Finally! It was time to get retainers. I contacted them via Facebook about this and everything went fine. I got charged $95 for it, and it was sent out to me. I received them and I realized they were not as low at the gum area as the aligners. So they did not fit well at all. I contacted them, sent them photos and explained exactly what the issue was. They said they understood and they'll fix it. I got my replacement and it was exactly the same as the first retainers. I explained it again to them, sent more proof and they blamed it all on me.

I had already tried filing them down, even cut them with scissors and they did not fit well still. I guess they thought I was trying to get retainers for free out of them, which was not the case at all. I honestly wanted to stick with the plan, and have that perfect smile. They were no help, and they basically did not care. So due to their lack of attention, I did this entire process for no reason. I am still paying till this day for something that won't be permanent due to their nonchalant ways. Very disappointing. Their customer service needs a major upgrade. They definitely know how to rip people off, so it seems.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

1. The location is terrible. I was lucky to have a friend tag along, or I would have been extremely uncomfortable. To park in that creepy garage alone, not have very good directions from the parking garage to the building entrance, and then have some random person let me in an empty building raises sooo many red flags.

2. This feels very similar to a timeshare meeting. I was asked an uncomfortable amount of times which payment plan I would like to do - both before and after the scans. I was very clear from the beginning that I was not sure that this was something I was 100% certain on and I needed more information, hence why I came here.

3. The pricing plan is terrible. I would need all of 2-3 months worth of work, and yet it costs the same as if I needed 18 months? How in the world does that make sense? To pay $2,000 for 2-3 months of work is effing insane.

Terrible experience. The only reason it's not 1 star is because I feel bad for the employees who I can tell was just doing their job per directions from corporate. They were nice, I just really hated the experience of the company.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I went in for for the 3D impressions and ordered my aligners on October 19, 2018. Because I paid in full, my aligners were supposed to be "fast-tracked" and delivered within 4-5 weeks. As of today, November 30, I have no aligners. I called customer service on Wednesday to ask about the hold-up and was told they were being made as we speak. I accepted that answer until my friend, who ordered her aligners on November 02, received hers yesterday. I called back today and just told they are being made. The customer service rep offered to give me a free retainer and when I told him I'm already getting one for free, he was silent. He basically said there was nothing more he could do and would call me IF he received any info regarding my aligners or I can try back on Monday to see IF there are any updates.

I think I want a REFUND!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

SmileDirect is now more than 2 months late with my first set of aligners. I still can’t tell if this is a scam. I have called approximately 7 times within the last 2 months, getting ahold of a different customer service worker each time. Almost every single person told me something different, but all ending in "You will receive your aligners in 4-5 business days." It’s supposed to take 4-5 weeks to receive my aligners and it has now been 9 weeks. I’m devastated because I wanted my teeth to look good on my graduation date. I will update if I ever receive them. I am also a little frustrated because in the 3D scan they provide online, my teeth don’t seem to be moving as much as I wanted them. But I did more research and learned that SmileDirect is only for minor improvements. I wish that would have been more clear in the beginning.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I almost didn’t do this and kind of wishing I didn’t because they seem to be a bad company. My overall experience with the aligners wasn’t as bad as some people have had, but now I have straight teeth and no retainers to keep them this way unless I go outside SDC, which I’m having to do for now because I’m supposed to be done today. I’ve been trying for weeks every method possible to get an update to the point that I got blocked on Facebook and Twitter for just sharing my dates of what I had been told when I called. I got a dozen different answers when I would try to inquire, most were "you will have tracking in 2 to 5 days" or "3 to 5 days," a few were "no later than the end of the week." Last one was 7-10 days and maybe they will have tracking.

At this point, I’m not really sure if they’ll send them so I have started the process to get some elsewhere while I wait. As far as the aligners, I was luckier than most, but after seeing all the issues and learning there were probably other options out there for the same money and monitored by a dentist office, I would have done that instead.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I received my box on 3/12 and started to wear my aligners last night.

I noticed that there was some black lettering/numbers implanted in the aligners (Top and Bottom), not bad because they are in the back, but there is a black spot on the top front tooth that is noticeable. Thought it was something on my teeth and that is when I noticed all the markings.

I contact customer service this morning, the gentleman that assisted me was helpful and very nice. My complainant is that I have to wait 2-3 weeks for a replacement, which is putting my plan further behind...they are remaking my month 1, week 1.

Why do I need to wait 2-3 weeks? This is no fault of mine and I was told this is what they can do. I already had to wait 4-5 for them and know 2-3 weeks more. I was told I could not wear the ones I have because it will mess up my plan.

Not impressed and feel the time length is unacceptable.

At this point, I don't know if I would recommend them to friends.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I started a SmileDirectClub plan in October of 2017 and met with a specialist in Chicago. I had some crooked teeth and was excited to give the plan a chance. They set me up with 7 months of aligners that I wore religiously for 21-22 hours per day. It was a pain to wear them every day and all day, but I kept thinking it would be worth it in the end.

After my 7 months were up, I noticed that my most crooked and visible tooth from the beginning that made me want to try the aligners hadn't straightened out at all. It was frustrating to think after 7 months that the tooth never straightened out. It was an upper tooth next to my 2 middle teeth. After calling SmileDirect, they said not to worry and sent me a home kit to make impressions. I followed the instructions and sent the kit in. After 5 or 6 weeks they sent me another set of impressions that I was to wear for 3 more months.

After that program ended, my tooth never adjusted. When I joined, I was told they had a money back guarantee, but when I asked, they told me the only thing they could do was to get me more aligners. This time I drove 5 hours to Chicago to see one of there specialists. She was very nice and said not to worry and that my teeth would straighten out after more aligners.

After 8 weeks, I received 6 more aligners that I was to wear for another 2 months. I finished the set and my front tooth is still crooked. The rest of my teeth did straighten out, but I was told I would have a perfect smile. My smile is much better except for the front tooth that is still very crooked. It's been 2 months since I finished the third try of aligners and haven't received any type of call asking how I'm doing or what my thoughts were. I never even got a call about a retainer for the other teeth that actually did straighten out. The plan is cheaper than a professional, so I guess you get what you pay for. 18 months of wearing their aligners and I still have some crooked teeth.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My plan was supposed to be less than 10 months to straighten some lower gaps and outwardly angled 7 and 10 uppers that had shifted from braces when I was 16.

I'm seriously now into my 4th or 5th "refinement" and almost three years later! Thank god there was no charge but I have to keep taking photos and coming back for scans. I would've much rather shelled out the extra 1.5k to go to a legit, local ortho.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I really wanted to give my money to SDC. I know I have an unusual bite. So, I wasn't expecting anything unrealistic. They approved my teeth but then after reviewing my 3D 6-month plan, I did not like how far they pushed my bottom teeth. That would not look good on my face and could possibly cause future chipping of my front top teeth. After contacting my dentist and an orthodontist, they told me what to look for. And ask for. SDC was not willing to make any slight changes or information on why they couldn't have my front teeth not pushed way too far forward. I was hoping the customer service could relay my request to a professional instead of making the decision for them. I expected them to relay the message and then get back with me. But no. They just said the "Insert speech here" paragraph. I'm just glad there are many other places that will be willing to take my money - Byte, Clear Correct, Candid, SmileLove. I hope SDC continues to get better and stop wasting their money on dog aligners.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

The corrective liners arrived promptly and easily and things went along nicely until you are finished with your alignment. When you go to order retainers to keep the progress you got, then it becomes a nightmare. I've ordered retainers twice like recommended and both times, I have to repeatedly call and bug them to get my retainers. Every time you contact them to find out where your retainer order is, they tell you they will escalate your order to the lab team. You have to stay on top of them or you'll never see your retainers.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend