SmileDirectClub

Please do not waste your time or money. Go to your dentist and get this done by professionals. I was very excited when I started with SmileDirectClub, but not after months of my aligners delivered MONTHS after the delivery date and the inconsistency of how the retainers and aligners were made were very poor.

Any time I wanted to speak to a manager, they passed me off to a "supervisor." Every supervisor I spoke to gave me the generic "oh no I am so sorry to hear about this." Never tried to make it right. They just always gave me expectations that they never met. This company has no integrity, everyone that works here says something different. Going through SmileDirectClub gave me a constant headache. I will not refer SmileDirectClub to anyone.

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

This company usually does not do what they say they are going to do. First, they don't tell you it will take nearly 6 weeks to get your aligners. Then they took nearly a week to respond to my complaint that the bottom aligners were painful before they told me I could try trimming them, so I was not able to start the aligners when I wanted. Then nearly halfway through the aligners, I was about to start a new week, and the aligner was defective and they would have to make new ones. I believe they said it would take 3-4 weeks to replace them. So my average six months treatment time just turned into seven. They told me they would expedite them, which they did not until I called them back and told them I was going to give them a bad review. At that point, they did expedite them some.

Then I ordered retainers almost three weeks before I was going to be through with the aligners. They say it takes 2-3 weeks to get the retainers. You guessed it. It's been three weeks and they are still being "manufactured." I am so frustrated with them. If I had known before I ordered from this company that it was going to take this long, I would not have ordered them. I would have gone with another company. Really tired of wearing the aligners!

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

I started my initial 7-month treatment last year and had no issues. Due to one tooth not moving enough, I requested a reevaluation and received aligners for an additional three months.

I had no issues until the last month. It appeared from the last 3D picture of my treatment plan that my teeth were being moved quite a bit in the last month versus the prior months. For the first time, I began having pain due to two teeth hitting on top of each other when I bit down - the upper left and lower left central incisors.

I finished treatment with Smile Direct Club (SDC) and my teeth are straight, but the same teeth are still causing pain. I have been wearing my retainer 22 hours a day, but I still have this pain when I am not wearing the retainers.

I contacted SDC and was told to ask my dentist to perform an occlusal equilibration procedure. When I visited my dentist, she indicated that this procedure would not help and SDC screwed up my bite. She was unwilling to assist in this situation and told me that this section of teeth on the front, the left side of my mouth were now hitting each other directly and this was the cause of my pain. She told me that SDC would need to fix this issue.

I sent pictures to SDC and they told me "your Doctor has determined that no further movement can occur on your teeth with SDC protocols," and that I should continue wearing my retainer.

Since their latest response, I have sent follow-up notes to their Dental Team asking for them to help resolve this matter and have not received any response. I have told them that the last month of aligners appears to have gone too far (straight teeth are great, but not when it causes pain when you bite down) and requested additional aligners to reverse this month. Since I followed the plan put in place by SDC, provided the requested information throughout my treatment to SDC, and pinpointed that the issue is primarily focused on two teeth, and when the issue started, I expect a response that was more help than "keep wearing your retainers."

Within this 2018 blog from the SDC website (https://blog.smiledirectclub.com/doctors-behind-your-smile/) I found the following quotes from their Lead Dentist:

“An individual who is requesting treatment by using SmileDirectClub’s aligners is receiving the same level of care from a treating dentist or orthodontist as an individual visiting a traditional orthodontist or dentist for treatment. The teledentistry platform allows for more convenient access and flexibility for individuals who may not have access to local care,” says Jeffrey Sulitzer, DMD, Lead Dentist at SmileDirectClub.

“We define quality as the intersection of customer satisfaction and the Standards of Care. Our affiliated network will always do their absolute best to make customers happy with the results of their smile. We utilize the Standards of Care established by the dental professional community,” says Dr. Sulitzer.

I find it hard to believe that a dentist or orthodontist would simply stop responding to your communications and tell you to go somewhere else to resolve the issue they created. These quotes from their website simply do not reflect the level of service and standard of care that I have received.

I would caution anyone considering SDC to consider that if any problems occur, they are unlikely to assist you in a meaningful way. Also, due to the friction between SDC and dentists/orthodontists, you may be caught in a situation where no one is willing to help you.

One individual that had a similar experience indicated that they decided to file their own teeth. When I started with SDC, I was not expecting to be completing my treatment as my own DIY project.

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

This isn’t a review for aligners, but for their online shop - the teeth whitening kit and LED light. I received a defective LED light and contacted them immediately. I took photos as evidence. I initially contacted them over the phone, just to be placed on hold and be hung up on. I called back, was placed on hold again and was told they were having problems finding my order. I am not sure how or why or what kind of crappy system they use when I had all the information needed. The order number, phone, email, address...in the end, I was told a sales manager would be in contact with me to resolve, which they NEVER WERE. I had to reach out by email just to be met with "cannot locate your account" multiple times. I had clarified so many times I didn’t have an account for aligners, that I simply placed an online order through their online shop and had sent them my original confirmation email. STILL, we kept going back and forth about not finding my order. Once I finally found a rep who seemingly knew what he was doing, I was told I would receive a replacement light and a free whitening kit for this huge inconvenience.

I first contacted them on 10/19. I was given promise of replacement/whitening pens on 10/25. And yet I have heard NOTHING. I’m waiting on a response now but NEED this issue resolved ASAP! Extremely unprofessional! Their customer service is seriously a JOKE!

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

I don’t know where to start.

First off, for the amount of time I have worn these aligners, to the amount of money I am stuck paying, is ridiculous.

I was put on a 4-6 month plan, and I am paying for 2 years. If I had just gone to my regular orthodontist, it actually would have been cheaper. These people do not care for your teeth or your wallet appropriately.

Second, they are a bunch of thieves.

After my VERY short wear of the aligners came the retainers. Now it cost about $100 for your retainers.

Knowing my time was due for my second set, I appropriately called their "customer care specialist" (which by is a joke of a title, so use that title loosely) to inform them that I did not want them. The woman who I was on the phone with ASSURED me that I would not be charged for it, and that I was NOT on the list they have to get money automatically removed. She informed me for them to take the money out that I would have to either submit a request for the retainers or call myself for them.

Third, they are a bunch of liars.

The very next day after my very detailed phone call, I get a notice from my bank informing me that SmileDirectClub withdrew $100 from my account. For what? You guessed it, the very retainers that I called the previous day about and was assured three times by this woman that they would not take out.

I called back about this ridiculous charge. Turns out their "customer care specialist" made what they called a slight error, but in reality, was just a ridiculous lie. I was, in fact, on the list for them to automatically take out the money for the retainers. And she NEVER took me off of it after she reassured me three times that I would not be charged for something I didn’t want, but I was ultimately charged for the following day after our phone call.

Fourth, their customer care service, if you can even call them that, is a joke. And their product is unfair and overpriced. For the time of the length of wear, these people are crooks and liars, and have done the bare minimum to actually "put a smile on my face."

Buyer beware.

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

I am on the last aligners that I had purchased with SmileDirectClub. I just ordered my retainers so I think I can now give a review of the Club. Overall, great experience. Very friendly staff at both online and at their physical locations. I had a total of 2 mid-course corrects but still I am on-time to finish the course. I received my aligners in a timely manner; even when their notification system was way off and sometimes just completely wrong.

The only wish I have is for IPR (look it up if you don't know) to be an option to the plan. I could not find a dentist to do this for me because of insurance liability on their part, so I ended up doing IPR self - not suggested, but out of desperation.

Anyway, I would do it all over again, and I would only recommend this program to those who need minor changes. For me, I just have minor overcrowding at the bottom, and my top teeth were just fine.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Ok. I just read all the reviews on this site and felt like I should reply. Two months ago I began the process with SmileDirectClub. I went in for my 3D scan, was approved within a week and an email told me that I would receive my aligners in 4 to 5 weeks. I actually received them in far less, around a week and a half. I was very surprised. I am early in the treatment so can't give a review on the outcome yet. I will edit this review and post a ton of reviews elsewhere once complete. I decided to go on and leave the review because of the other reviews I read on this site.

For the most part, it is going very well. I was curious about the outcome so started reviewing the reviews of those who completed it. The thing that caught my attention with the reviews I read here was all the reviews were on difficulty with communications. I don't know if this is an issue from past months or they just had a very different experience than I, but my customer service experience has been amazing. I have reached out to the dental team three different times (I am very detailed and want this to be perfect). At every point, they have responded within 24 hours and given me a detailed response when I asked for it. I have been very impressed with the communication. Not sure if they just had bad experiences or if SmileDirect is reading reviews and making adjustments. Regardless, they are doing amazing so far!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would 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 had a scan done in-shop. I brought up an issue that I thought was reflected on the scan. A tooth that has partially erupted just magically vanished on the proposed treatment plan. Plus the Smile shop made me believe that the down payment would not be processed until I approved the treatment plan, which is not the case. I called customer service and the guy was rude. Trying to blame it just on a misunderstanding with the Smile shop. It's not just a Smile shop problem when the doctor planned it that way, but there is a tooth still there. Also, they had no plan to remove it.

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

My whole experience has been fantastic. My aligners arrived quickly, they've all fit, I've had no cavities at my dental appointments, and SmileDirect has been super responsive if I've ever had questions. I've even contacted them through Instagram to order a whitening light, and they replied back within minutes. My smile is looking amazing, and I'm a little over halfway done. I highly recommend this company!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Today, I had a 3D scan hosted by Shelby. This individual was kind and very knowledgeable on what she had to do with explaining everything on Invisaligns. She helped me understand better about what SmileDirectClub exactly does for people like myself. I'm hoping by posting this review I could possibly win free aligners!

My experience at SmileDirectClub was very promising and I look forward to my smile journey!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend