SmileDirectClub Reviews

I got a phone call from SDC that I assumed was about my email but instead it was offering to take $100 of my bill if I paid in full. I explained to her that my teeth weren't straight and I wasn't getting a call back. She emailed me information on how to be reevaluated. I took the pictures and sent them off and was told that I had waited too long. To continue straightening my teeth it would cost me an additional $100 per month. I responded to this email to say that I would not be paying an additional fee since I had contacted SDC with no response. I asked what I was supposed to do because it is required to order a retainer but I can't because the retainers are based on your teeth being corrected. AGAIN I got no response. I'm at a loss on what to do now. The last set of aligners won't last forever but if I order a retainer it won't fit. I've spent $2000 and 1.5 wearing these awful retainers for what?? So frustrating!!

The aligners finally get back to the Smiledirect warehouse In TN. I received no communication. I used the chat bot on the website to find out what’s going on. The guys gave me a USPS tracking number and says they have no control over how things are shipped, I can’t talk to anyone who works in shipping and I can’t speak to a sales team, I can’t get ahold of an actual smiledirect anyone. It’s all call centers who say their hands are tied and too bad. So they SAY they’re shipping my son's aligners back via USPS instead of UPS. USPS lost them the first time. And now we’re going to have to wait two more weeks to get them. I mostly frustrated that I can’t talk to a sales rep or someone in upper management. The only way to make a complaint is through Consumer Affairs or BBB. This has been an awful experience. And by the other reviews it’s just going to get worse.

At this point I’m concerned and upset. I ended that chat and called back. I had to escalate to a team lead/advance rep, due to it being Saturday after hours no management was available. He advised he did not see that I spoke with anyone or show my credit card number being added to my account. I was traveling and my cc has now been compromised. I’m heated!!! I transferred money and shut my card down. The rep placed my order for the retainers at no cost. Later I received the confirmation email and guess what my credit card last four was on that confirmation; which was concerning that they didn’t see the call, no cc provided to the account, but now it’s there. I had to wear my last set of aligners for five weeks due no communication about payment in June.

And yet it gets better. I told my mother about the company seeing as she wanted to maintain her smile also. I did the email and text invite to her. She scheduled her appointment and went. The rep at the molding provided her a better code to save money, except I wouldn’t receive the gift card for the referral. Fine no problem. My mother did her deposit, a day later someone called her to ask about her experience and finalize billing. Her total had changed from the total she was provided after paying her deposit. She ended that call and called me. We three way called the company and got the runaround on a price. At that time my mother canceled the order and requested her deposit be returned. That was five weeks ago.

So today my mother called me and sent me the emails she’s been bombarded with from the company. None of the emails has the same price, nor a referral bonus for me, nothing. I chatted again trying to resolve my mother’s concerns to ensure she’s not overpaying. See I paid my account in one time payment so there was no payment plan for me and my mother wanted the same. The chat rep today had every excuse in the world on what happened with the referral bonus and the discount applied to my mother’s account. We are going to call on three way again to listen to the price this time. This is a company to be very cautious with. Having traditional braces 20 years ago the price is a deal, but the company has very questionable tactics.

We called again, another hour on the phone. We got a new scan, 2 wks later we get another set of retainers, still don't fit and they're trays, not retainers. Another hour on the phone. Turns out they NEVER did anything with the new scan, just sent an old set of trays. 2 wks & the scans just sat there. After another hour of dealing with them, they're FINALLY going to make the CORRECT retainers, w/ the scan and the right material. However, it'll be ANOTHER 5-6 wks!! According to them they have "absolutely no way to expedite" the order even though it was their 3rd error. Another $100 credit. Wow, thanks. Believe me $200 credit will NOT make up for the stress of dealing with this business.

I asked SDC to let me know how much longer the night plan will take before switching me, because depending on the length, I may decide to go with the standard plan. Next, without any discussion with me AGAIN, my plan switched to night plan, and I got informed that I have to use the aligner for additional 6 months (too long for me). This mess was about two weeks ago. I immediately called and asked them to update my dashboard to the standard plan (at that point I was already using the standard aligners that were sent to me, and I didn't want to continue wearing night aligners for 6 more months). After two weeks, and multiple phone calls, my dashboard still hasn't been updated, and there's no way for me to track my progress or get notifications when it's time to change my aligners.

How can you promise results in 8 months, and then ask your customer to continue for an additional 6 months? That's almost double the time, and I didn't even have a severe case! Even my dentist told me at the beginning that their plan didn't seem to be realistic, but I still decided to give it a shot! I wish I had saved myself some headache, spent a little bit more money, and had gone to a real orthodontist!!!

After months of developing mouth sores constantly, my teeth are so sensitive now that I have pain every day. I’ve contacted the company several times for a refund. But they never return calls and due to COVID it’s taken months to get through. Finally today after I reached out again about my negative experience and treatment that did not work. I received an email stating I had 30 days to get a refund. And that they would not be offering me any money back. This company doesn’t care about your health or dental needs. It’s one of the worst decisions I’ve made. My teeth look exactly the same but now with constant pain. Go the traditional route and just do braces.

A couple of my teeth were getting loose and one fell out while removing my aligners. I had to visit my dentist this time. After the visit, he stated that the aligners have caused generalized Stage II with localized Stage III, Grade B peridontitis. I needed full-mouth subgingival scaling and root planing. I also need to have a few of my teeth extracted due to severe infection. Progressing with these aligners can worsen my teeth and I should have stopped a while ago. Afterwards, I contacted SDC regarding all of this (again multiple times) and have been told that I would only receive a refund for the aligners that I did not use. It feels like it was their plan from the beginning to get me to use the aligners to avoid giving me a refund. If I were told in the beginning to stop using the aligners, it would have saved my teeth. I feel so ignored and disappointed by this company.

I contacted them multiple times and I was told they were coming. Their system said the lab had my order. They would be shipped ‘any day’. I wore the same set of aligners for over 3 months; until they were cracked and had holes in them, and my mouth was bleeding, so I finally asked for a refund...because there was nothing else I could do. I did absolutely everything expected of me. They didn't deliver on their end, literally. I requested a refund, I did not WANT to cancel but I literally had no more aligners to wear!! Now they want to prorate my refund for the 6 sets of aligners I used. Really?? I didn't pay to have 6 aligners worth of treatment!? They say I requested cancellation. That's a bunch of legal-ese, trying to make it sound like I gave up. They didn’t send me my new aligners. I was frustrated, in pain and fed up. I was not ok with starting over.

I am not a client whining because it was too uncomfortable. I am not a client whining that I didn’t get perfect teeth. This is about a client having reasonable expectation that a company would actually send the product I paid for, and then not getting it. I expect a full refund, not a prorated one, for 6 aligners. That is NOT what I paid for. I have emailed, texted, called, sat on hold, been cut off, called back, left messages, emailed more. I have contacted my "advanced care" team, which is just more of the same. My husband and I started this journey together back in December, with plans of new smiles for our 30th wedding anniversary August 1. His teeth look great, he's on his retainer treatment. My treatment basically stopped on March 9, and they expect me to pay for my treatment to that point. :( So for anyone considering Smile Direct, don't do it. There are competitors out there. Check out your options. Please do not support this company.

Afterwards, I had new aligners made for an extra 2 month plan. The aligners made from the impression kit fit terrible on my teeth. Halfway through my 2 month plan, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my gap wasn’t going to close. The aligners were just sitting on my teeth so my gap stopped closing. Long story short, I took my lose with SDC and decided to go with what I had originally planned to go with: Invisalign. My Invisalign orthodontist took her time to point out issues. My gap wasn’t closing because one of my front row teeth was slightly slanted at an angle that was going to make gap closure difficult to achieve. It took an orthodontist to see this. Also, I had a deep bite not an overbite as SDC has stated. Nevertheless, If you’re thinking about SDC, by all means go with it BUT I would caution. I thought the issue with my teeth was minor so I went with SDC and look where it got me; money and time wasted. Goodluck!

I'm now stuck wearing the same set of aligners I've had since May while waiting for my retainers (I have been patient about delays caused by the current pandemic). In hindsight I should've just gone about this the traditional way/veneers and arranged an installment payment plan with an orthodontist. I wish SmileDirect could've been more honest that maybe I wasn't the right candidate for their plan.

On 17 July 2020, I spoke with Marcus K from SDC Customer Care who offered to process my refund should my orthodontist determines this treatment with SDC is unsuitable. He promised to send a follow up email. Making good on his promise, he did send an email but it was a link to show me my smile progress over 4 months instead! Within that hour, I went down to look for Ms ** again to review this whole fiasco. She was apologetic and is trying to get hold of customer service to process my refund. Why is this so difficult? This has been a terrible and unnecessary experience and I demand swift immediate action for my refund.

In short- don’t do it if you’re not 1000% sure you want them, just don’t. Shady company and business with horrible customer service practices- easily one of the worst customer support experiences I’ve ever had. Rather rude in their overall response to my questions and talking over me as I tried to explain myself. Just lost time (was on hold forever) and money, what a waste.

Got an email June 26 stating "we have received your impressions". I called again and she said that she was very sorry but they initiated the wrong program as a new customer and they had to have the IT department go into the system and fix it. Then I get to start at the beginning again getting it approved in 5 to 7 business days then they will place the orders for my aligners which is 5 to 6 weeks. So we are looking mid to late August on an order I started in December. I asked the customer service rep I spoke with today to please take ownership of contacting me back instead of me being on hold over and over and going over the same items. Each person I spoke to had different "reasons" and different "solutions". Crossing my fingers that I get them eventually.

I will grant them - they have savvy branding and a well set up follow up on emails and texts for treatments. It is nice they have a chat line on the website. They look splashy and hip and their ads of hundreds of happy customers are well done. It seems easy, right? I chose the faster 22 hr a day aligner treatment. I have an overlapping front tooth on top and some that are starting to tilt a little. On bottom I have some front ones beginning to twist in. It sounded like this was a great answer.

It was NOT. I was nervous when I received the box to begin with - because there was a little plastic 'remover' tool. I need a tool?? That seemed a little scary. I could get them on and have a lot of trouble taking them off? Then, there is an emery board file. Huh? This is - and you absolutely will need it, trust me - so you can file down the sharp edges of the aligners. You are not recommended to start with that but just 'you might need this'... You WILL need it. I wish I had known to start filing them down from the get go. The first try on was scary - they are really really tight. Ok, they are mean to move your teeth, I can roll with that. I needed the tool to remove them for sure. A LOT of pressure on your teeth.

I started then wearing after I practiced a few times on and off. I was SO uncomfortable - it was like someone was smashing my face with their fist. My sinuses felt massive amounts of pressure, as did my nose. I didn't have any idea that would be uncomfortable. As purported in their literature - you will have drooling from the saliva that is responding to a foreign object in the mouth. A lot of saliva. They say it will go away. It only minimized, didn't go away after the first 24 hrs. As purported, you 'may have' a lisp - I did, which did. I am an actor - and also a life coach - this was really a bad side effect and a problem for my working life. I couldn't even really talk to someone on the phone with them on, I had to take them off.

After the end of that first day - my tongue hurt a lot. Like someone had scraped IT all day long with the little purple emery board they sent!?? The top of it was stinging from it hitting the sharp edge of the top retainer when I talked. The sides of it had abrasions on it - from hitting the sharp edges of both the bottom and the top aligners! My tongue was traumatized.

I chatted with a "dental team assistant". I am dubious that this person is an actual Dental Assistant. They were nice enough, sure. I was suggested to stop wearing the aligners until my tongue healed and to use the little purple emery board to file the edges. It took three days for my tongue to go back to normal at least. After I stopped wearing them for about an hour - my top of tongue that was stinging felt like after ** starts to wear off. That means - the nerves were actually starting to get damaged and numb - and I was beginning to get feeling back in my tongue... yikes!

Also, a little scary. I had bruises on the underside of my tongue that looked really frightening. Then, it was clear - the edges of the aligners that are made on a 3D printer I am assuming - are really abrasive and sharp. I thought - why would ANYONE make a product like this? Read other reviews about abrasions to the mouth! Why wouldn't they simply take the time to polish out those edges for the customers? If you want to know what the edges feel like - get a plastic coffee top cover or a soda plastic top cover - run your finger back and forth over the edges - then imagine that being in your mouth all day long. My lips on the bottom of my mouth in front also abraised. So - fair enough - still willing to 'file down the edges' as instructed and give it a go.

Bottom line - you can't file them down - and my husband is a Maker, he knows how to do things like this - enough. Not enough to STOP it from scraping your mouth up a great deal. You can 'trim them' as suggested, and file and file all you want. It still was not enough to keep my mouth from being damaged on the inside a lot.

Finally, I heard from another customer service person who - when I asked could I just wear them at night? for more ease and less tongue movement with talking - said I had only been approved for the 22 hr wear, and go back to wearing them 22 hrs a day. The 10 hours at nighttime was not an option. Why not? It would just mean my progress would be a lot slower. I didn't care, as long as I was OUT OF PAIN! So, I was being guided by a customer service person of theirs - just keep wearing them. Whaaaa?

Let's talk about the pain of the aligners that was not about my tongue or mouth... good gravy??!! Putting them on was intense. Taking them off was intense. They loosen up a little by the end of a week. But - a lot of my face was in such intense pressure while wearing - as if a vise grip was squeezing my whole mouth. It was so very uncomfortable!!!! And, actually - I had no idea until I stopped wearing them - the kind of effect that had on my nervous system! It was intense. The amount of relief I got when I decided after two weeks I had enough - was overwhelming. My body finally went out of fight or flight. I couldn't have done six months of that, I can't imagine how - even without all the mouth abrasions.

It may not be this way for someone who has very small needs of how their teeth need to move. Man - it was like torture for me. I felt like I was in a head vise prison. I wept when I went to bed the first night because I wasn't in all that pain for the first time in two weeks. If you read the legal info for the reasons that dentists and orthodontists want this company to be unable to operate - it is because the teeth are being 'moved too fast'. I can certainly see why now, and attest to that.

I don't like that they have bought off many people to keep them from negative reviews, or to keep them from suing. I don't like that one dentist has over a 100 cases a day or something like that which they must review. But MAINLY, I don't like that they have a product which creates so much damage for so many - and are not being responsible about it = so they can continue to make a blessed buck. It is not RIGHT to do this process without the HANDS ON - not virtual - care of a knowledgeable dentist. For all the reasons stated above.

A dentist you saw could file down the edges with a professional care and equipment. They could see if they didn't fit properly, they could see if your teeth were being moved too fast or the bit became incorrect. Virtual Dentistry - has NO place in society. Warby Parker and glasses are cool - they aren't gonna damage your face. This dentistry with Smile Direct Aligners have literally hurt hundreds of people - and those are only the ones we know about. Thank GOD I stopped!!!! Getting a refund is no peach - either. At first they had me just wanting to keep using the product and asked me if I would. Umm, no thanks.

Then, took a while to get an answer from support team. Then, took another while to actually get them to agree to refund me. THEN, they sent me the legal agreement - so I wouldn't sue them BUT that NDA is there in paragraph 6 where you agree not to ever say anything not nice about them. Don't sign that. You don't have to. They owe you the refund, period. Then, they sent the same legal agreement, even though I asked them to take out the NDA part - hoping I would sign it again. You see where they are coming from? Such a paradigm of ridiculousness. There are many people who have had it far worse than I have - as you will read reviews here and other places. Broken teeth, changed bites, needs for crowns from cracked teeth! OY.

There are other ways. I am still waiting on my refund weeks later. Fortunately I did my financing through CareCredit - NOT theirs or I would be as screwed as many other people have been. Carecredit will go to bat for me, and they are.

It is weeks since I stopped using them. My tongue STILL is damaged and not the same as it was, it tingles and the nerves are not right. My face took about a week to stop feeling like someone punched me in it. AND, my teeth now have a weird - they are hitting wrong when I talk in front that I never had before??!! I will see a real dentist in order to actually get my teeth straightened PROPERLY at some point. I will just pay the higher amount to have dental safety. BOTTOM LINE = This product is NOT safe. #smiledirectclub #smiledirectclubreviews #customerservicefail #dentalaligners

I checked the UPS tracking information only to find that the retainers had been delivered to my Florida address on May 26. I called customer service at the smile direct club and there was nothing that they could do for me with regards to getting my retainers to me because they do not ship to an address that is different than the original address on the account. I was never informed of this when I first ordered my aligners. I have been told by SmileDirect customer service that a refund for the retainers is being processed. However I am very unsatisfied as of now I have no retainers to maintain the position of my teeth once the treatment plan ends on Friday June 12, 2020.

After months of unanswered emails and lies I was told I won’t get a refund because I stopped treatment. This was told to me by the same dentist that told me to discontinue use for the exact same thing during round two of treatment. I explained previously many times that I reached out for advice but no one would respond. I requested cancellation because my bottom teeth didn’t straighten, but they’re using the fact that the top aligners damaged my top teeth as a way to say I breached contract. Best part is they are trying to bullying me into signing an agreement that says it’s my fault this didn’t work or they won’t refund me for a $99 retainer purchase that I never received. Honestly the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. It’s actually comical how ridiculous it is. They literally just ignore you and pretend no one ever received emails.

Nonetheless, I started using the aligners. They were uncomfortable but I shaved them down and proceeded to wear them. They seemed to be working and I took pictures of progress to be sure, but then the top aligners stopped fitting. I called and asked if someone could assist me with the top aligners not fitting properly, and no one ever returned my help ticket. I spoke with live chat, and on the phone, and no one got back to me. Fine, I kept on using the bottom aligners.

Well treatment is finished, or half finished since I couldn't use the top aligners, and my retainers were never sent. I called and after much going back and forth, they finally tell me I must start over due to my teeth shifting. I had to do a whole new kit, and get more aligners. Fine, I start all over and once again the top aligners don't fit. They approved all my photos and molds, so why don't they fit? I complete treatment with just the bottom aligners since that is my problem area, and again NO retainers. I tried getting a hold of anyone to help, and no one answered my requests. I asked for a refund and the rep transferred me to a voice mail that no one ever listens to. Worst service ever, worst product, biggest rip off of your life. Buyer Beware.

Original Review: A month ago I placed an order. I received the kit, turned in my photos, got approved, and never had anything again. At one time they had a live chat option where I asked someone when I would receive it. They said wait up to 4 weeks to process. I can no longer find the live chat, and refuse to wait on hold another hour. I contacted them through email and received no response. The reviews on their website are truly fluffed up.

From the reviews, most people have poor ratings because the trays did not fit. There were MANY times when I started new trays where I thought it would not go in either. However I think it’s supposed to be like that. I mean, it is getting tighter every time you use a new tray, so it wouldn’t make sense for it to just slide in easily. You have to really push it through, and I find putting it on by one section first helps. Not sure if that makes sense, but for example putting it on from the left side first then making your way to the right side. Rather than just popping the whole thing in at once (which is almost impossible!). Get it through one side first then work your way around.

There were weeks where I would be diligent and wear my aligners 22 hours a day, and then when I changed trays it wasn’t difficult to get in because my teeth had shifted to fit into the next trays. Then some weeks I would forget and only wear it 10-18 hours a day and the next set felt really tight and really hard to get in. So you MUST remember to be diligent and wear them as instructed. It will also ache when it first goes in after really having to force it through. But my friends who had braces said they felt discomfort too. Your teeth are shifting after all. It just aches a bit as your teeth adjusts to the tightness. No pain though. And by day 2 I had no more discomfort...until you switch trays again! Luckily it’s only 6 months.

Also when I called into customer service to order an extra aligner remover, and then once again to order my retainer, they were very professional, very nice! Zero problems with customer service. The only issue is that it takes a long time for them to come in (4-5 weeks). So expect delays. Another complaint is that the aligners really pushed my gums back. Like I basically have a receding gum line now... it’s not bad... but I mean, they definitely look receded. I had to switch my toothbrush to an extremely soft bristle as to not further damage my gyms. I hope they will go back to normal once I am done with the aligners. The receding gums has not caused any issues so far.

My last and final suggestion that I REALLY wish I had known prior to ordering the entire aligner box, is to request TWO additional aligner remover stick. Don’t. Forget. This. Trust me, do yourself a favour and order two extras right when you order your box. As mentioned, the aligners are REALLY tight, so it’s almost impossible to remove them by hand.

You have to use the aligner remover stick. And so many times I would forget the stick at home, and starve at work or when going out because I couldn’t get the aligners off. Pretty sure I lost weight because of this (you can’t eat with aligners in). And because it took 5 weeks for the remover to come in, it was a huge pain having to remember to bring that remover everywhere I go! I remember before leaving the house, I would remind myself, “keys, phone, wallet... aligner stick” LOL. Then when they came in, I kept one at home, in my bag, and one at work. So much easier that way! All in all, I am very impressed with the results and you just need to remember this is a budget option. Don’t expect you’re going to get 5 star service. You get all the aligners and the rest is in your hands. Good luck!

I got an email after 4 emails to them over several months that they were sending me an impression kit and charged my visa for it. Charge was not authorized and impressions kit was not approved. Visa fraud?? Shady company. The company passes you around and takes forever to get back to you. I just want my money back and a set of retainers that I paid for sent to me. I want to keep my teeth in their current position until I can get in to an orthodontist. Please do not use them. Check out the Better Business Bureau if you need more proof!!

Now, here is where I lost my patience. During this time, I was told to continue to wear the last retainer. We are now on week seven or eight. I was scheduled to receive my delivery on Monday. FedEx lies and says that no one was available to sign for the package, which is an outright lie as this is a post office. I waited for them to attempt to redeliver for two days, which they had not. I tried to called FedEx on my own to see if I could pick it up, and because I am not the sender, I cannot make any changes. Thus, I called SDC.

I explained the issue and requested that someone call them so I can stop being inconvenienced playing these games with FedEx, get the package and go on about my day. The sales rep, Luis, had the audacity to tell me, "Well, it's going pretty quickly," and basically told me I need to wait for FedEx to deliver the package. What really burned my biscuit is when I asked for a supervisor, he sat there and basically refused to transfer me to a supervision. He stated I have a resolution, which if this was the case, I wouldn't be on the phone with him.

I requested four times to speak to someone else. Instead the conversation continued to escalate. I eventually hung up and sent an email to them notifying them of their unprofessional conduct. As a paying customer, you do NOT get the right to tell me what a satisfactory outcome is or is not. My request was for us to collaborate to correct the issue since I could not do so on my own. You do not get the right to tell me what has been a "fast" turnaround, because it has not been that either. I am paying $2,000 out of pocket and I would appreciate your cooperation.

To add insult to injury, I requested a refund and I'm only getting 60% back. Smile Direct Club requested photos of my teeth and they feel that there was some improvement so they can't approve the full amount. I sent photos to compare my teeth from two years ago to today, showcasing that they are exactly the same but Kristy the account manager disagreed. What can I do but accept that. Thanks for doing something, I guess. The bottom line is don't waste your money. Traditional braces are the way to go. Or Invisalign. You get what you pay for in life and smile direct club certainly is no exception.

I mailed them back on April 4. They say they received them on the 11th ok...”WAIT 2-10 business days” then “WAIT 10-14 business days” then “WAIT ANOTHER 3-5 business days” then after 2 weeks they say, ”Oh no one processed your refund. Wait another 2-10 business days”...I’ve been billed since the aligners been sent back. I’ve called Olivia M the finance manager over 10x. I’ve emailed her. I was told on May 1st she was going to call. STILL NOTHING. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE. I call May 2nd. I was told “wait 2-10 MORE BUSINESS DAYS.” WHERE'S THE OWNERS WHO'S RUNNING THIS COMPANY. They have many many complaints and class action lawsuits.

The risk with these aligners is that they change your bite and misalign other parts of your teeth. While it is straightening the top the bottom will be misaligned. Your bite will be changed causing your facial structure to also change. You can be left with a worse situation than you started as was in my case. Now there are more reviews online and professional opinions that explain how this system lacks the capability of correcting your smile. The dentist is nonexistent at Smile Direct Club and you will always be dealing with an incompetent call center. Pay for a professional to get the work done right.

Received my package in a few weeks (They don't bill your card until they're ready to ship) and it was then that I found out that to reach your goal, the aligners must be worn for 22 hours. Okay, I could have asked that question at the time of my visit, but I didn't. You also need to take them out every time you eat, or drink anything other than cool water. After eating you must floss and brush. Honestly, not a bad personal hygiene policy, but super inconvenient. Obviously if you're a cook/chef and need to taste food as you cook, this is not a great option. Likewise on the weekends if you go out to dinner and maybe want to hang out with friends for drinks afterwards, this is simply not part of the "plan". I found that making dinner at home was difficult, because you may want to taste things as you go along, and really can't if you stick to the "plan". Realistically, wearing them for 22 hours a day is not feasible for most people.

Secondly, when you first pop a new pair in, they hurt. You expect that there will be some degree of mild pain simply by design. They are created to stretch or push your teeth into a more aligned position, and you know you'll feel pressure, but what you're not expecting is the sharpness of the plastic sticking out from your gums. They provide an emory board to try and help with this, but I went out and bought a $35 Dremel from Lowe's to file down all the spots that irritate your tongue. My first set had my tongue raw and swollen, and rubbing an emory board or nail file on them does little to bring the situation under control. If you sprung for the aligners, you can spring for a cheap Dremel (which will make life so much easier...trust me).

Lastly, these things are tough to clean! They provide some cleaning tablets, which you can order more of through the website or by the daily emails coming your way from Smile Direct. I sprung for another $35.00 accessory from Amazon...an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. Nice and simple; I just add a capful of mouthwash and two more of cool water and press start. You'd be surprise how much fine "stuff" comes floating off the aligners, stuff I don't want going back into my mouth! This method is especially good for the two-week aligners. The material on these weeks is much thicker than than the one week sets, and you can only imagine what you can't brush off after the tenth through fourteenth day of use (yikes).

All in all I think they're working, but do not be fooled by the ads showing how nice and easy they are. There's a level of commitment you'll need to apply for good results. Smile Direct does have a warranty, but you must abide by the 22 hour a day rule, or the warranty is void. Oh, did I forget to mention that when you're done with the course or aligners, for the rest of your life you'll need to wear a retainer overnight? All that for $99.00 every six months. The website claims that if you do not do this, your teeth will move back into the original configuration, the one you paid to change in the first place. If you've decided to move forward, good for you, it really has been working for me and I'm at the 1/2 way point. I think you'll be happy with the results, just take my advice and spring for the Dremel at the very least, you won't regret it.

I have multiple emails and screenshots of chat messages asking for help and all I'm told is to wait to get a call. When I finally received shipping information I sent it out right away although they confirmed they received it I still haven't gotten my money back. They do not care about your dental health and they are perfectly happy with leaving you with bigger dental problems later but will say you have straight teeth. This is the problem most ppl will run into because the company has a timeframe to make the most out of the money you are paying. They will cut corners and apply an excruciating amount of pressure on your teeth in order to make it happen. Stay away.

Smile Direct tried to say the recession was "pre-existing" when pre-aligners, the photos show that is simply not true. My gums were completely healthy and normal. In addition to that, the aligners have ruined my bite, so now my teeth only touch on the right side when I bite down, causing me jaw pain in my left side. These are issues that can arise with any aligner treatment, the only difference is, Smile Direct doesn't assist or pay for any of their clients to get these issues taken care of, like a real orthodontist would.

As a result, I called to try and cancel my treatment, and order retainers so I could at least keep my top teeth in place. The agent either LIED to me or was misinformed, and said I could cancel/start the return process and still get retainers made AND he scheduled an appointment with a local smile shop branch to get my retainers made, and sent me the refund/return information email, and I began the return process and sent back the box with all the aligners. However because of the Virus outbreak, I found out the same day of the appt. that the shop was closed, so I called to find out if they could send me an impression kit.

A different agent tells me now, that NO it's not possible to order retainers now, since I cancelled my service with smile direct. Why the hell didn't the first agent tell me that before I cancelled? The reason I had to rush to cancel was to avoid being charged the monthly fee from HealthCare finance direct... for aligners I no longer use!!!! This company does not CARE about scamming people and causing bigger issues with patients teeth. They can not get away with this.

Now I have to go to an Invisalign Ortho to correct the issues with my bite and because I had to stop wearing my lower aligners, and I don't any retainers, my teeth have all moved back to where they were on the bottom. Thankfully I kept the last set of my top aligners, and that's what I'm using as a retainer. This is an AWFUL. Company that will cause you more pain, headaches, and money wasted. Go to a REAL orthodontist.

A sticker on my aligners after 90 days said the company would be sending me instructions on how to send in my 90 day photos. They didn't, so I had to call, 3 times, to get the instructions to send in the photos. Although I sent them in, there was no response. After 6 months of wearing them (10 month plan) I started getting a gap between my two front teeth. I sent photos and many days later I got a note back they they would make new aligners, I had to start the process over. I wonder if they had actually reviewed the 90 day photos, if they would have caught this issue sooner before I wasted 6 months.

One would think that a current customer, stuck in the middle of the treatment plan, would take priority over new customers, but no. It has been made clear to me that I have to wait behind all new customers to get my new aligners, which will take 5-7 weeks once they start. It's been over 3 weeks since I reported the issue, and they can't even confirm if they've received my impression kit back (it's been over a week since the tracking information shows they have arrived at the lab.) In the meantime, I have a gap between my teeth and have to wear the same aligners for the next 5-7 weeks (or more?) while I wait for the new ones to arrive.

I called in 3 different days last week, each time I was escalated to the resolution team, and each time I got 3 different answers. I finally asked for a refund. Since I have to start over after 6 months, I might as well start over with a better company. I shouldn't have been surprised when I was told that the team who does refunds will have to call me back, in 7 to 10 business days. So, I've got botched teeth, no new aligners, no refund. I am so sad that I've wasted 6 months trying to correct my smile with SmileDirectClub.

After multiple check ins and my assigned dentist telling me I was on track, I was indeed not on track and this has led me to believe that no one was even truly checking and looking at my scans. After the 6th month, they had me extend my liners two additional months. What I don’t understand is the fact that I was “on track” all the way through and suddenly at the end, when I started experiencing issues, all of a sudden I have to extend to now correct the problems.

I followed the plan and directives to a T but wanted to get a second opinion as I just felt that my teeth looked worse than when I began. My current dentist immediately advised me to STOP using the liners as they had caused extreme damage. I followed the directives of my dentist as he was a trusted source, and was informed I was in pain because of the spaces caused from the liners.

That being said, I called to get my money as now I have continued discomfort, gum recession AND my bite is off daily and it feels my teeth are chipping at each other. The BEST that was offered to me was $200 - which is laughable as they didn’t even see the referral note to an orthodontist from my dentist to provide a consult with next steps in fixing all the damage that was done. Still trying to get my money as I literally paid $2000 for my mouth to be screwed up. Like I said, followed all directives.

Worst company. Worst customer service. Will NEVER recommend to anyone- and indeed share my story of all the issues it has caused and how the check ins are not even being looked at. Hopefully to whomever is reading this, this was very helpful. I tried to be specific as possible. Unfortunately the damage I am having to pay at this point is going to be over $13,000 dollars. Thanks Smile Direct, the LEAST you can do is give me my money back.

It took me several attempts calling different numbers to get someone that knew exactly what I needed to do. I wasted a few hours today just to get this fixed. It seemed like it had no end. It's very shady. You'll not see any more charges to your card from now on." I helped my boyfriend with some temporary payments and they would not remove my credit card from his account and kept charging it after we tried to change the payments to his card.

The customer service sucks sooo bad!!! No one has an answer for anything you ask, extremely frustrating! I decided to cancel on February 7, since they didn't arrive and was told I'd have to speak to an account manager. The account manager couldn't care less either. Told me I would have to send unused ones back. My treatment was only 7 months, so having used up to month 6 they expected me to still pay for postage to send it back in the big blue box. Ridiculous!!! Cost me $27. [After speaking to him again, he assured me my account would be processed and canceled. In the meantime, Health Care Finance (financing company for them) is trying to still collect monthly payments because it hasn't been cancelled. So now it’s become a financial mess because I refused to continue to pay for something I don't have and a treatment I never even received.

Smile Direct contacted me today, not to say they finally cancelled my account but say I now still owe $936! No mention of a refund! So frustrated!!! I just wish I hadn't been so desperate to straighten my teeth. I really did go against my better judgement of never entering into second party financing agreements. SO, I've wasted $1300, so much time wearing the aligners, my teeth are going back to the way they were, I have extreme emotional distress from the whole experience, I have the joy of going back and forth with both of these companies over money they don't want to return and money they still want from me! Extrmely stressful!!!!

Today, I went to my smart ** dentist for a cleaning. He told me that he loves Smile Direct Club due to the fact that he ends up with a lot of their frustrated ex-customers because Smile Direct plan of treatment very rarely ends well for the customers and it is human nature to want to finish what they envisioned their end result would be. Due to his straight forward, honest nature, it did not surprise me that he admitted that if a straight forward, minor spacing was the only issue you had with your teeth (basically you just need them mildly tightened up or loosened) and you didn’t need any special stuff like teeth turning. Smile Direct might be able to provide someone with a somewhat visually positive result (not stellar and something that will likely be the cause of a new problem that you will pay for in pain and money in the future).

As I learned from my dentist, in order to turn teeth, you need to use buttons (one of many attachments that should be used) with any aligners. As it turns out, my two front lateral incisor teeth were never going to turn because they do not use buttons with their aligners. Likely, due to the fact that you actually have to go to the dentist to get them done. Oh BTW, X-rays should also be taken to make sure there is enough bone and root to facilitate movement and to make sure overbite or underbite can be corrected/addressed at the same time. If x-rays are not done before treatment, so many things get overlooked. You thought braces were expensive, multiple root canals are $$$$.

So admittedly, I have now spent $2,400 on Smile Direct and $6,600 for Invisalign. Please do not waste your time or money with Smile Direct. Smile Direct quoted 7 month treatment plan and with adjustment plan should have been 9 months, my teeth have now been sitting in a spit bath for coming on 14 months with Smile Direct knowing full well no predicted result were ever going to produce. I so wanted to believe that Smile Direct was the smart and fiscally responsible choice but all I ended up doing was wasting my time and money. I have to say they duped me, Smile Direct Club wins the most deplorable, morally corrupt invisible aligners company out there. Please don’t be deceived by them. This is the one and only time I will admit, “You get what you pay for!!!!”. Vanity is expensive. :)

Unfortunately, there do happen to be more negatives than positives with this product and service. If you are reading this, you either are someone considering smile direct over traditional methods or someone that has the pleasure to respond to this over at Smile Direct.

I do want this company to work. I really do believe in the concept, but I also want to help the prospective buyer. I will just kick it off with a major downside: the overall support network. If you are the type of person who cannot go to the gym on the regular basis with just your own motivation, this program may not be the best option. If this program had more structure and checkups, it would not have many of the problems that plagues it. Furthermore, I did wear the aligners for the entire duration and the last few sets had major fitment issues, this led to the demise of this program for me. If there was a regular orthodontist checking in, this could have been mitigated. Think of it like a process with 60, 70, or even 80+ steps. If something goes wrong in step 23 or 45, the result will be skewed if it pans out at all.

In addition, When I attempted to give the program a second chance, the customer service responders (since I had about 6 of them) told me to go in for a reevaluation. One thing that was neglected to be stated was that it would cost me another $99 per month on top of the already $85/month. So, I went in for the revaluation and they emailed me the added cost a few days following. This is where the customer service slipped into sub Walmart at 2am territory. This really disappointed me to say the very least. The customer service essentially stated the warranty is 30 days and that is it. Pretty solid business practice right there if I say so myself. You can decide if that is a red flag for you or not. The emails I received back, were not the most pleasant and that brought me here. I do hope this helped you in your research. I will leave one of my favorite quotes: “Buy once, cry once.” -unknown

The one concern I had was the length of time it took for the refund (30) days, but no biggie. It was handled & refunded. Also, you have 30 days from the time you receive the aligners to send them back for a refund (if you have a change of heart or are not happy.) I have read reviews & seen vids where people have mentioned SDC will refine the aligners at the end of treatment in order to get your teeth as straight as possible. I think some people expect a magic pill + have zero patience in our fast paced, over-privileged, society.

Everyone wants something yesterday & they demand perfection as if they are royalty, and when they don't get it they fall back by complaining on Social Media. My understanding is that any plastic aligners may not work on back teeth (molars) or severely crooked teeth + will not fix severe under or overbites. (Be sure you have wisdoms out for room for the teeth to move) ...& don't use plastic aligners on cracked teeth. (That's my two cents.) :-) Best Wishes.

I sent numerous emails - I only received flowery non helpful emails that did not help. Thus far, I have not heard from a dental professional. Their flawed business model puts inexperienced customer service agent to proxy for dental professionals. I regret this purchase. I now tell anyone I know that has an interests not to use SDC.

Smile Direct asked me to come to the office and have images taken, I did. Smile Direct sent me some type of plastic glob that did not fit into my mouth. Smile Direct asked me to send more pictures, I did. Smile Direct asked me to come to the office and take more pictures again (3rd time), I did. Smile Direct told me the re-aligners would be expedited (again), they were not. Billions upon billions of calls and emails, No aligners. Teeth back to where they were originally essentially, bite completely off.

My dentist is telling me to sue and the cost to correct all of this is very high. Smile Direct told me a week ago today the aligners would be here at the end of last week, They were not. Today, March 2nd, 2020, 4 months after the re-aligners were to have been sent, Smile Direct tells me they are still in production and will be sent out on Friday, 5 more days from now, and then take five more days to get to me. Asked them to overnight, they will not. My teeth are crooked again, my bite is incredibly off and makes impossible to chew or bite down at all, my teeth are attacking and ripping up my tongue. Calling my attorney as I write this. Do not use this company for your aligners!!!!

Today was my last call. Was told I would have them in 3-4 weeks as they were just ordered in the system on Feb 25, even though I ordered them online in Nov 2, 2019. I was told in early Jan they "forgot" the order and again Jan 30 and it was being put in those times. I received an email on Feb 25 that my order was placed then and today, Mar 1 2020, told I should have them in a month. Thank goodness I kept my last month's aligner but it is wearing out and my teeth are trying to shift. Will be filing complaint with BBB. Buyer beware. I'm just glad I didn't have the nightmare situation a lot of others had in the beginning. I may have to pay an orthodontist to straighten my teeth again if the aligner I receive doesn't work. With so much time passed, we will see.

And worst of all, the retainers that I received fit horribly to the point where I was bleeding because of the way they cut into my gums. When I contacted customer support they said they didn't believe me. After I sent them a ton of pictures they said the pictures need to be of the retainers in my mouth. THE **? I just told you idiots that they go straight into my gums. Their solution was to CUT THEM WITH SCISSORS! If I knew this company would be such a cluster after I gave them my money then I would have gone elsewhere. ** these guys.

My account manager had told me prior to this that I can submit photos to either process a refund, or proceed with another refinement. Interestingly enough, as soon as I said I’d like to submit my photos for a refund, I was assigned a new account manager and told I needed to submit ridiculous amounts of very personal information as well as medical information. When I sent in screenshots from my account manager stating I only needed to submit a statement and photos for a refund, I was ignored. SDC has assumed no responsibility and refused to issue me a refund.

The only assistance they’ve offered is to cancel my remaining balance (which is essentially paid off). In order to do this, I’d need to sign a four page agreement waiving my rights to a refund, waiving my rights to litigation, and allows SDC to sue me for any reviews I leave or anything I post about the company. Run away, this company is a scam and a complete joke. They’ve done severe damage to a lot of mouths and it’s amazing they’re still in business. Not surprised they have so many class action lawsuits against them.

Late July I start having issues again with fitting on one side. It wouldn’t fit correctly causing comfort issues and stalling my progress. I went back into the smile shop and had scans done. I was approved for refinements again. This was in August. I start getting update emails on it being 4-6 weeks to receive them. 2 months go by and they still haven’t been shipped. I hear there are delays due to overwhelming orders. November comes and another email stating it would be another few weeks! This is unacceptable! You’re telling me it may be 4-5 months at this point and I’m supposed to wear the same aligners from M3w1 (month 3 week 1) for 4-5 months?! No! I’m paying almost $80 a month and getting nothing! No improvement, no results, nothing. So what was supposed to be a 6 month Process is now going 9-10 months and I’m getting no where.

I request to cancel at this point bc this is too much trouble at this point and I don’t even wanna risk doing this going forward anymore. On November 6th, an account manager called me named Sydney and offered $100 off of the price, I declined; she offered the free retainer and I declined bc I already had been offered that. She offered to ship the aligners out within 7-10 days! Ridiculous!!! The worst thing you can do is offer to ship something to someone in days that they’ve waited MONTHS for. She mentioned sending me an email requesting progress photos so they could get a full refund started. I never received that email. I emailed customer care the next day requesting that email. It never came. Nov 11th, I called and spoke with a representative who said they’d send it. Nope! Nothing!

I called back hours later and spoke with Juan and I told him I wasn’t hanging up until I got the email on how to get this cancellation going. He emailed me and sat on the phone until it came! It was only the return instructions though. I did what the email asked. I received an email from Sydney a few days later asking for the photos - I sent more than enough showing I haven’t had any progress since my 3rd month until this which was when I got my first refinements. That means for now 10 months -I’ve spent $800 on nothing! Everytime I call, I get crap! No one can help me! I finally got Jamal who emailed me stating I owe money, the other day who was helpful. I expressed to him that I needed someone to pull that call from nov 6th with Sydney bc she didn’t note the account at all about the full refund offer. He stated he would get the matter to an account lead and a supervisor and have the call pulled.

I receive a call yesterday (11/29) from Sydney and she states that she only offered a full refund if I allowed her to ship me the refinements out. I asked her to please help me understand bc I have been waiting MONTHS for that opportunity and I can’t after all this time get a full refund, but after they send me more product that will product that will cost us both money and if they don’t work out; THEN I can get a full refund?! How much sense does that make?! She states to me that she’ll have a supervisor call me.

Today (11/30) a gentleman called that I could barely understand just to tell me he couldn’t help me and he’d have Sydney call me again. This has been the absolute worst run around and customer service. I was emailed earlier this week stating I still owe money and never offered any credit for the refinements I was promised and didn’t receive! A multi-million dollar company can’t even try to make sure they’re doing any and all things to resolve this peacefully. Instead I’m getting the worst run around and biggest headache!

So I finally decided to sent a nice letter to the BBB, company finally got back to me with some answers, not good news but news none the less, I will be waiting another month before they ship my order that I placed on Sept 4. If I do not get my order on or before the date they got back to me with I will ensure everyone is warned about this company. Updates to follow.