SmileDirectClub Reviews

I contacted Smile Direct Club for a refund of $1,750; after 45 minutes on the phone, pictures and videos, I was told via email I don't qualify for a refund. My Smile Direct Club treatment results didn't end with a straight smile, but with loose teeth and thousands more spent on preventing further dental issues. Please avoid Smile Direct Club. Seek in-person treatment and supervision from an orthodontist to prevent permanent harm and irreparable damage to your teeth.

After about 16-months of follow-up calls they FINALLY sent me the invoice that I had requested, but of course, it only showed about 75% of the payments that had been charged to my insurance card and not the remaining amount, which I obviously needed to get it all approved by my insurance. All of this was going on while I also kept on receiving calls from my insurer that the payments made had not been approved and would be sent to collections if I did not provide documentation. In an effort to stop the calls and give me a bit of peace, I paid the remaining amount out of pocket while I sorted the rest of this nightmare.

It has now been another five months since I have begun several other written and call-in requests for the remaining invoice. It is so sad that a company is willing to do this to a paying customer. I have pictures of every single one of these requests and all say that I should be receiving said invoice in 5-7 business days. The even more frustrating part is that every single one of these "customer service" reps gave me a hard time when I asked for a written email from them confirming the request. Could not expect anything less from this shady company. Hopefully, a team member on their end will see this atrocity of a service and will look to rectify the situation before I get legal guidance. Moral of the story: do NOT invest in this company!

They refer to this as an “touch-up”. After wearing the cheaply made aligners for about 8 to 10 weeks, the process starts all over again. I’ve been through this process 5 times now. I’ve asked for a refund to no avail and even asked if they could just credit the $500 balance that I owe and allow me to just part ways. The outcome was another “touch-up”. The customer service reps are very nice but completely clueless. You get the runaround and no one seems to be in charge. I’m not surprised by their recent bankruptcy. I wish I had just visited a dentist and paid for Invisalign.

As the title of this review states I am ultimately very disappointed. The main reason for this is because they were not able to align “all of my teeth.” Let me elaborate. The company does state that their aligners are for mild to moderate alignment and more severe cases should seek other options. To get started they send you an impression kit which you complete and return and then they tell you if you qualify which in my case I did with no exceptions. They also ask you what you are looking to accomplish with the aligners and again I told them exactly what I was looking for. The plan was approved and my aligner journey began.

Halfway through I began to notice that I had two premolars that weren’t moving at all. My front bottom incisors were moving slower than expected as well but more on that later. I kept an eye on both issues and when my aligner plan was on its last aligner I submitted for a touch-up which basically means they review your case and make adjustments to your aligners if need and start you on a new plan. I brought up my concerns about my premolars which to this point had not moved at all and also mentioned the incisors and they again sent me out an impression kit and created a new aligner plan. Not once up to this point had anyone mentioned to me that the company is not capable of making any adjustments to premolars which was one of my concerns from the beginning. They were able to address the incisors but again, once my secondary plan was completed the premolars had not moved at all.

I again brought this up with customer service but this time I was told it couldn’t be done. Specifically, this would require “special alignment” techniques that SmileDirectClub is not capable of providing to their consumers. What!? So basically to me this felt like a deal in bad faith. Essentially even though I mentioned the premolars as a concern of mine from the beginning that I wanted straightened and then again at the conclusion of my first plan the company never once mentioned that it wasn’t something they could help me with. Instead they gladly took $2000 payment and didn’t say a thing.

In the end I was told that it was my responsibility to review the plan they created and bring up concerns which I did. It wasn’t until the end of the plan I was told that they couldn’t help me. Very disappointing. Now after having spent 8 months to get to this point now I find out I’ll have to use one of the other options to get what I wanted from the beginning. And no offer for compensations of any kind so I’ll be paying more than double. I do not recommend this company.

When I finally called to ask about the delay this time, I was told that my order was on hold because they were waiting for a prescription confirmation. What prescription?? And why didn't they communicate to me that my order was on hold instead of waiting for me to contact them? The woman I spoke to today put me on hold, and came back a couple minutes later saying she got permission from her boss to order my retainers. So....suddenly there's no "prescription" issue? Then she precedes to tell me that, when I get my retainers I should wear them for 22 hours a day.

I asked her to clarify why that was necessary, since I'd never been advised to wear retainers for that long. After talking for a few more minutes and explaining that I'd already gone through the aligning process, she says, "Oh, then I misspoke... I didn't realize you were done with that part of the process." So it seems they don't keep any customer information on file either. Honestly, the company just seems to not have its stuff together at all. There is zero effort at providing any kind of real customer service. Wondering if there's an alternative I could switch to moving forward.

Even though they acknowledged their mistake, getting a refund was a nightmare. They insisted on proof of the charge before issuing the refund, adding insult to injury. It took almost a week and numerous threats to finally get the money back. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with my experience. Instead, I sought out a competitor and have nothing but positive things to say about them. Their communication has been exceptional and they seem to care about their customers genuinely. Steer clear of Smile Direct Club and avoid the headache that I went through.

Before signing up, their customer service and attitude were drastically different. They painted a rosy picture of how their service would transform my smile, showing me well-edited videos and detailed treatment plans. However, once I committed and became a paying customer, it was like they flipped a switch. Suddenly, no one seemed to care about my progress, and my inquiries went unanswered.

It's apparent now that all those impressive visuals and promises were nothing but a scam to lure unsuspecting customers. SmileDirectClub's advertising is everywhere, and I wish I had done more research before falling into their trap. If you're considering SmileDirectClub, I implore you to think twice and explore other orthodontic options with proven track records. Don't let their flashy marketing fool you like it did to me. My experience with SmileDirectClub has left me with nothing but regret and a persistent gap in my teeth.

In addition to the issues with their treatment effectiveness and customer service, I've also been facing significant problems when trying to request a refund. Despite numerous attempts to contact them regarding my refund, SmileDirectClub has been unresponsive and continues to deduct money from my account without explanation or resolution.

Adding to my frustration, during my last contact with SmileDirectClub, they claimed they would send more aligners, which, in my opinion, is a complete waste of time. According to my rights as a paying customer, I expected to receive the service I paid for, but it never materialized. It's become abundantly clear that SmileDirectClub's business practices are questionable at best, and they seem more interested in retaining my money than providing the service they promised.

I am now left with no choice but to seek legal means to reclaim my money and challenge their service. Please be aware that their flashy marketing is a façade, and their promises are empty. My experience with SmileDirectClub has been nothing short of a disappointment, and I urge you to explore other orthodontic options with proven track records. Falling for their deceptive tactics has left me with nothing but regret and a persistent gap in my teeth, along with the ongoing frustration of trying to secure the refund I rightfully deserve.

I wasted countless hours and money, all for my teeth to have now shifted back to where they originally were. To their customer service, left is right and up is down. There is no reasoning with them and they will not uphold their side of the “lifetime smile guarantee”. I am happy to finally be free of dealing with their incompetence and I have made an appointment with a real dentist. I am hoping this review helps people not make the same mistake that I did.

Well here it is, almost 3 years to the day, and I give up. I requested a refund last round (May 2023) and was told they'd only refund me $170 because I'd had so many refits. I refused and decided to continue, and now I'm just done with it. My front top 2 teeth are NOT STRAIGHT. They still overlap and overall, I am not happy with my smile. Yes it is much better than when I started, but they've not accomplished straightening my teeth and are no longer answering emails or honoring any kind of so called warranty, stay far away. My teeth were not that complicated, but it didn't work for me and I'm out $1700 because they refuse to honor their guarantee or give me a full refund.

But the issue here comes from the so-called Lifetime Smile Guarantee and how ambiguous is the information they provide, creating a complete confusion for the users. Whenever you call or when someone from the company calls, you have questions and everything is "ok", "yes, of course" and "don't worry", and this and that. But not having evidence of these conversations, will be then turned against you.

Regarding the Lifetime Smile Guarantee, the company sells it as the best thing they offer right behind the low-price treatment compared to Invisalign. I'm pretty sure paying more for Invisalign and not having issues regarding guarantee could be way better. Smile Direct Club will find any way to void that Lifetime Smile Guarantee, either by making up excuses regarding treatment and by not informing users clearly. I asked for an aligner touch-up right about the end of my treatment while still wearing my last aligners, they were approved but informed me that I had to pay $300 because I was outside my Lifetime Smile Guarantee.

When contacting customer service regarding this issue, most of them were very rude, acted like if they were right next time every single day of my life during the treatment and basically just said it was my fault. Not even asking me for evidence of emails received or anything were I can show that I was either never informed or that was told that I would be able to do an aligner touch-up free of charge. Information about the Lifetime Smile Guarantee could be interpreted in so many ways, that it creates so much confusion for the user, and if you call to clear any doubts, their replies are that there won't be any problems and most of their words are ambiguous as well and are open to interpretation.

Some features are allowed within the app that tracks your progress and nowhere it notifies of any issues those features could bring to your treatment and/or your Lifetime Smile Guarantee. The importance of ordering the retainers or applying for an aligner touch-up before those retainers or a specific date, is not informed nor advice as some other stuff that is in fact optional like whitening kit, wax or anything else they sell on their store.

If it were up to me, I would really like to finish the treatment the right way, fixing any aligner problems I may have and probably continue with the retainers when my treatment and/or aligner touch-up are done, but as of now, I am planning to cancel and moving on. I would not recommend this company to anyone. I read the bad reviews before joining but still gave them the benefit of the doubt and now I am regretting it.

Round 1: The teeth were being moved around top and bottom. The front teeth were starting to sit lower. With the movement the front 3 teeth no longer were touching so biting is off. Zero success for the tooth. No refund option.

Round 2: Same as before. No movements at all. I could feel the changing and pressure with other teeth, but the tooth would not budge and was not forming to the thin plastic. Was told they could fix it. So try again. Was given a small refund option. I wanted it fixed so we continue.

Round 3: The front bite is off and the teeth do not touch in the front so chewing is not good. The front tooth is not turning and there is not enough room being made. It is dropping down more. Now that it is obvious that this is not going to work either, I complained. I'm giving up. This is not going to work for something simple. Was offered a partial refund.

Once I stopped using the front teeth are getting better with touching. I was worried I would have to go to an orthodontist to fix what they messed up and possibly sue for the costs. The plastic is thin and cheap. It does not even come close to comparing to other retainers my family uses. The retainers are a joke. Very thin and do not last as you need to replace them every 6 months. Yes I paid for those as well as you need to order them in advance so that they are ready at the end.

The only guarantee is if you walk away within 30 days. There is no way to tell if it is even going to work in 30 days. Once you try it out and they fail you do not get refunded for their failure. A larger refund should be due if they can't deliver on a promise. Touch-ups are great if they worked, but what if they fail as well. Just providing touch-ups is not a guarantee. At some point you have to give up.

By the end of treatment, they were not fixed and my bite was messed up. I requested an adjustment which was approved. Did the full adjustment treatment and still no results on closing the spacing. I requested an additional adjustment and they denied it. They say that they can not fix this issue. This was the whole reason that I signed up for this treatment. Had they told me in the beginning they could not fix it, I would have never started treatment. They say your smile is 100% guaranteed, but they lie. Do yourself a favor and go to a real person. This whole thing is a sham. They don't know what they are doing and they can do more harm than good, by messing up your bite.

I called back a 4th time and was told my refund was processed on June 28th and I would receive my refund within 5 - 10 business days. Today is July 14th and still no refund. Just called customer service again. This time I was told a manager was supposed to call me before my refund could be processed. Please! do not do business with this company. Does their product work? I don't know because I've been so discouraged and pissed off with their shady business practices to try. They are nothing but thieves. My next step is to take them to court.

Well, I had a really negative experience, but I didn't get a refund, so I can't be hushed up. I actually didn't know you could get a refund if you complained enough and I was not about to lose all my money, so I stuck it out and kept insisting that they adjust my smile plan until I was satisfied. I never got 100% what I wanted, but it was about 80% in the end, and I was okay with that. The thing is, what was supposed to be around a 6 month treatment turned into 18 months and it was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

At one point I had gaps that I never had before. At another point, they actually moved the OPPOSITE tooth in the OPPOSITE direction of what I had explicitly asked for. I dealt with people writing down my concerns who seemed to barely be able to write English. I literally had to tell them what to write word for word, because what they wrote didn't make sense and did not communicate my actual concerns. I had one customer service rep actually refuse to tell me what she had written down after I had spent half an hour trying to explain it to her. (There were a lot of problems and they were complicated.)

Here are the main things I learned in those 18 months: 1. You will NEVER SPEAK TO AN ORTHODONTIST or DENTIST either directly or indirectly. You won't even speak to a dental assistant. You will speak to customer service reps who summarize your concerns and pass it on to your "team", whoever that might be. 2. Your smile plan is based on a formula, not your actual specific concerns. If your concerns fit into the formula, they will be addressed. If they do not, they will be ignored. You will have to complain to ALL HELL and let them know that you have everything in writing for them to address anything that doesn't fit their formula. (So make sure to use email and keep everything.)

3. Their formula is that your teeth should create a smooth arch along their bottom edge. But that bottom edge is not what people see. So having that arch doesn't mean that your teeth will necessarily look good if they have an unusual shape or alignment. But they don't care about that because straying from the formula means having to do extra work that they don't get paid for, which brings me to....4. The ortho who does the smile plans gets paid per case, not per hour, so their incentive is to do as many plans as possible in the least amount of time. That means they are going to apply the formula whenever they can get away with it. They're not paying attention to your concerns unless they absolutely have to. I had to write numerous emails and spend literally HOURS on the phone to get them to deviate from their "bottom arch" obsession so I wouldn't end up with two snaggle teeth.

5. The impression kit is NOT accurate when it comes to bite issues. The 3d model I saw online after doing the impressions completely shrunk my overbite, which would have led to serious issues down the road if I hadn't noticed it. Only the 3d in-person scan can accurately capture your bite and this is REALLY IMPORTANT. If your bite is messed up by the aligners it can cause pain and even tooth loss down the road. And if the smile plan does not accurately capture your bite to begin with, there is a good chance it will screw up your bite down the road.

6. They will pressure you to follow through with a smile plan even when you are not happy with it because it is more work for them to adjust a smile plan part way through than once you come to the end of it. Again, you will have to COMPLAIN. 6. Service reps have a 5th grade level command of English. Make sure you make them read back to you what they have written down. This applies when you get the scan in person and when you speak to them on the phone. Don't be afraid to tell them exactly what to write.

In short, I would say be very careful of using this service unless you have a very simple problem you want to fix. If your issues are complicated or numerous, you will likely end up having to fight tooth and nail for what you write and have to go through a treatment that goes on for a very long time because of all the plan revisions you will have to go through.

In the end, given how much it will cost you in time and energy to get what you want, you might be better off seeing a regular orthodontist who won't just be applying a one-size-fits all formula and who will also be monitoring the health of your mouth as the treatment progresses. SmileDirect does not give a damn about your dental health. I never had to see a dentist at any point in the course of my treatment. It was only recommended. What they care about is profits and efficiency.

SmileDirect Club's conduct has been utterly disgraceful. Their deceptive advertising lured me into a supposed 10-month treatment, which unforgivably turned into a 4-year struggle. The treatment plans they offered were not just ineffective but led to further health complications. Repeated attempts to communicate my concerns were met with indifference. Requests for a full refund were rejected, and instead, a paltry increase was offered. The lack of empathy and action from their side is appalling.

This experience has been a distressing, time-consuming, and unproductive saga, causing unnecessary strain and discomfort. If you value your oral health and time, I would urge you to think twice before considering SmileDirect Club. Their negligence and insensitivity have proven that they're ill-prepared to handle serious issues, leaving their customers to bear the consequences.

I call again. She says "Let me make a scan appointment for you." Nope. I've done that. They say "Did you know your touch-up will be $300." I say "No, they already requested it be waived. What's the update?" Put me back on-hold. Finally they are saying that the second touch-up is approved. It'll be a 3 month treatment. Let's hope this one works. I've wasted two years of my life. I don't understand how they are in business - just hoping people pay upfront and give up? So like, clearly the record-keeping is terrible and clearly the product doesn't work.

Joe informed me that to take advantage of the guarantee, I should have notified them within 30 days. How did I know this was not going to work in only 30 days? I have had the run around from multiple people. Aside from taking them to court, I am at a loss. I have spoken to others who informed me this company is a scam and I feel foolish that I bought into the whole thing. This has been a colossal waste of time and money.