SmileDirectClub

11/5/19 Update: My retainers shipped on 11/4/19 after being ordered on 6/20/19. Unfortunately, after emailing and calling multiple times it may have taken leaving a review over four months later to get this to happen.

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

I needed to make a course correction 4 months into my treatment as a gap had opened up between my two front teeth. The first replacement aligners did not fit and by the time I received the correct set, there was a four-month wait time. There were a few calls and emails and it never seemed my case was given any sort of priority given I was in mid-correction. I appreciated I didn't have to go to the dentist monthly, but am not sure if I would recommend. It will depend on how long it takes to get my first set of retainers as I ordered them a week before the recommended order date.

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

Not only do I still have a big gap by my back molar that STILL collects food, but when I lost my job and had no money in my account, they kept running it back through - costing me $35 a pop! I called and asked them to stop and they basically told me they would not do so, that I was "under contract".

Never ever let this unscrupulous company put you on autopay. I have never dealt with a company that refuses to work with me before!

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

I started my aligners back in March/April of 2019 and everything worked well. There was one set of trays that didn't fit, but it was addressed fairly quickly by going into my local SmileDirect office.

Once my treatment plan was complete, there were just a few more things that needed to be fixed and so I went in for a refinement scan on October 16th...Today is December 11th and I am STILL waiting on my next set of aligners to ship. The customer service agents are hard to understand (language barrier) and are completely unable to provide any other info besides what I can see by logging into my account.

I've been told they were shipping last week, then the next day was told they won't ship until January 9th. The inconsistency among agents is unreal. Once I called back to ask what to do about the broken aligners that I've been wearing since September, I've yet to receive a phone call or email. I've even tried several times, leaving messages for my office in Spokane, WA and still nothing.

I am beyond frustrated at this point. All I've asked is for someone to confirm a shipment date and for a Dental "Specialist" to let me know what to do since I am no longer able to wear my aligners as they're broken.

I'm just asking for basic information. How hard is that?

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

SmileDirect is by far the rudest company I have ever had to deal with. They lack complete customer service, unless you think being called stupid is good customer service. They do not give you the detailed information needed and believe they do not make mistakes. I have had to call and call to get information needed and to order retainers when they’re supposed to be sent to me automatically. When they did send me my aligners they forgot a whole month and tried to charge me for it. I had considered doing another round with them but I will be taking my business elsewhere to Invisalign. I suggest others that are considering SmileDirect to not do it.

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

12/20 update. I still have not received my retainers.

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

So firstly I went to a Smile Shop in Greenville, NC and they were amazing there. I was told it would take 3-4 weeks for my order to come in. They told me if I referred someone else they would get the same deal as me and I would get a gift card as long as they came in within the next two days, I said ok. I wanted to do this smile journey with my husband so he decided to go the next day. He did not receive his discounts at all, the only thing he received was a $25 gift card to their site that you have to pay shipping for to get these worthless smile products.

Fast forward 3-4 weeks I have not received my aligners. My husband who went to the same exact 3D shop had received his. So I called and they say we are backed up making aligners so it will now be 5-6 weeks easy to say after I have already paid you guys in full...right. I would like to cancel at this point because I hate dishonesty but I don’t because my husband and I are supposed to be doing this together so we wait and wait and they finally come weeks after his arrived.

We start the smile journey and my top aligners don’t fit on teeth 1-7 so I call them they say I have to talk to the dental team...ok, I talk to them, she says try and put on your second week and they are nowhere close to fitting. I say they don’t fit at all so she says ok, we will have to do a review she sends me by email, and as we are on the phone my husband is already taking the requested photos of my teeth with and without aligners while she has me on hold. We receive the email and do as directed. So in the meantime I keep wearing the aligners because everything fits except they don’t fit on 1-7 even though the lady told me not to continue the email she sent, said to continue so I did, they sent me two more emails in the week asking for the exact same photos that I have already sent, I never took any more, I just continue sending the exact same photos and on the third time they said it was right. You know they are just wasting my time at this point.

Now I finally receive an email back saying it’s been approved so I would have to drive another 45 minutes to the 3D Smile Shop or get putty and send back in so they can make me new aligners but now by that time I have already switched to new aligners because it was time and their paid fits on all my teeth unlike the first pair. I reply to the email and let them know this, asking what should I do. Do I go ahead with this or do they need to be redone. Of course no reply so I email again, no reply, and I email again and still no reply. So at this point I don’t know what to do. I am still on track with the aligners they sent but don’t know if I should be wearing and continuing or not. Right now I feel like I wasted a lot of money at Christmas time that could have gone elsewhere.

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

I am very upset and disappointed. I am never late with my payments but still paying for something that I don’t have. I finished my 6 months treatment which was not satisfying since only the upper teeth straightened and the bottom did not. I was set for another 3 months' treatment. I have been waiting for new aligners for over 2 months already. According to the customer service reps, the aligners are ready but there’s nobody available to ship them to me. Yeah, it’s been over 2 months and my teeth moved because old aligners cracked already. How can I expect the new aligners fit if my teeth moved? It sucks that the company gets too many customers and cannot keep up with the supply. They get your money and you but cannot provide you with the product. I want my money back. That’s ridiculous! I will be leaving more negative reviews on other sources because nobody even can tell me what's going, only asking me to wait. Wait? For how many more years?

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

If you have a purely cosmetic thing you would like to fix about your teeth, maybe this will work for you. Pay close attention to how they always refer to your teeth as your "smile" and talk about your "new smile," because that is secretly all they can fix, meaning in my experience, they will not do anything with your back teeth.

I was very clear in my in-person consultation that my main concern with my teeth was my crossbite on my BACK teeth, because it was causing pain and sensitivity on a few of my back teeth. I told this to the consultant and also wrote it in my assessment that it was my main problem I needed fixed. I then paid my $2000, with the understanding that it would be refunded if I was not approved for aligners based on my needs. But as you can see in my "smile plan," I was approved even though my needs were not met. The back teeth do not even move in the treatment plan, and also it looks like I would end up with an ugly open bite, seen in the 4th picture. I think it's pretty obvious that based on what I said in my appointment, I would be unhappy with this.

It took a lot of back and forth, with multiple emails (the last of which I never got a response to) and multiple phone calls to finally get a refund. SmileDirectClub clearly cares a lot about appearing to have great service (because they are always asking things like "how can I make you smile today?" etc.), but when I actually had a problem, their dental team told me "it looks like we have done a great job with your new smile" and did not offer any way of making the situation better or refunding my money. I understand that these type of aligners have their limits, but SmileDirectClub should not have approved me when they could not fix my teeth in the way I needed, and the Smile Shop employees should be more aware of those limits.

I am putting two stars instead of one, because I did eventually get my refund processed (although it will probably take the full 10 business days they quoted me), but be warned.

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

First off, any reviews should be from customers that have used the product for several months. I was very excited and "thumbs up" at the beginning, but that has changed over time.

Inconsistent Quality:

Inconsistent finish on the braces was a pain (literally). While all the braces did well at moving my teeth, some had a lot of sharp edges (about 1/3 to 1/2 of them over the 7 months). I had to use a fine grit Dremel tool to remove the flash or excessive material. My tongue and cheeks were getting very irritated and sore.

Customer Service:

1. I broke one set of braces, and called customer service and sent in the photos. Turns out it takes 4-5 weeks to get replacements, not the quick turn-around implied by the web page - quite a setback to progress. I just jumped to the next set of braces and dealt with the discomfort. There is no way to "fast-track" an order.

2. Retainers are a fiasco - my advice is to order them 3-4 months in advance to account for their inefficient system. I ordered my retainers on November 5 online so I would get them in early December when my final set of braces would be done. I called in early December to get the status since they hadn't arrived yet. The first representative said that they didn't have an order for me and offered to take it over the phone. I was mad and hung up. Once I cooled down, I went online to place an order for retainers and found that you could no longer do it online. So I called to place an order, and that representative said that my order had gone in on November 20, and I would get them around December 24. Why the delay from November 5 to November 20 - were the online orders not getting recorded correctly? Why didn't the first representative "see" my order?

Since I had no faith in their system, I called a day later and verified that the order was in the system (it was). My credit card was charged on November 21. When December 26 rolled around and the retainers had not arrived, I called again and found that there were some manufacturing issues, and my new date is January 10-15 to get my retainers. I got an email that day saying "thank you for your order for retainers - they'll arrive in 5-6 weeks." WTH? I just got off the phone with another rep who tells me that they should arrive any day now. At this point, I have been wearing my last set of braces for 6 weeks. At this point (January 2), it has been 2 months since I place my order online. I'm hoping the retainers come in the next two weeks, but not holding my breath.

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

Never received the retainers that I ordered three times within the same year. I even ordered three so that I would not have to go for a long time to even get the retainers. I ordered in July, which reps said would take two weeks has come and gone. I am now on October's order, still have not received the retainer. Now I am again calling on 11/24 and the rep does not know what happened to the order. I so wish I could find someone who could just make my retainers.

Length of Use: 2+ years

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