SmileDirectClub

My experience with SmileDirectClub went from bad to worse. As indicated in the original review, the reevaluation wait period for my new set of aligners took five weeks which meant mid-treatment I was in the same aligner (to be worn for one week) for seven weeks while waiting. When I got my new set of aligners my old plan disappeared and I was given a new two-month smile plan. I wonder if this amounts to distorted data on what their average plan length is. My original smile plan was to be five months but ended up being eight months and one week.

When I got my reevaluation two-month set of aligners, I ordered my retainer online to be worn once my treatment would be completed. After I ordered a pop-up window came up and indicated SmileDirect would be charging my current credit card on file and I clicked okay. After ten days I noticed there was nothing on the website account about the retainers ordered and my card had not been charged. I called SmileDirect and was told there was no record of my order for retainers. That was frustrating but there was still time for my retainers to be delivered prior to my treatment end because the website said retainers are received in 3-4 weeks and my treatment was to end in 4.5 weeks.

The end of my treatment came and no retainers were sent and after many calls, I still have not received my retainers after 9.5 weeks from my order, yes 9.5 weeks and still counting. Every time I call or chat online I get an excuse and apology but absolutely no action. After six weeks I was told I would get a credit for the cost of the retainers. When I called 10 days later and asked for the current status of the retainer I also asked about the refund. First, I was told there was no record of the refund, then I was told that there was a note of it but it had never been processed. I did eventually get the refund but I don’t trust that I will ever get the retainers. Although my teeth are much improved they are slightly off the final presentation of my smile plan at the end. Since I wore my last aligner set for four weeks instead of two (to serve as the retainer I did not receive), and I wear them every night, my plan obviously did not get me quite to the finish line even after a reevaluation. It was close.

The scripted phone customer service phrases and lines from SmileDirect customer service might be okay if you are hearing them once or twice during your plan, but when there are problems and you are calling several times over several weeks the empty platitudes are almost unnerving. I don’t want to be asked how my day is going or how the representative can make me smile - I want real action and the problem to be solved, but instead, I get the same script.

To the consumer - don’t be naïve about the many positive reviews of the initial consultation process. Mine, too, was a very positive experience and of course, SmileDirect knows to do that to get you to enroll and pay. The true measure of a company, though, is how they treat you and follow through once they have your money. Also, the responses from SmileDirect to negative reviews on this site, in my opinion, gives the false impression that SmileDirect is intervening to solve the problem. I had several interactions with the follow up to my review and I can say in my case there was absolutely nothing done to problem solve.

I do believe the use of aligners for teeth straightening is a good way to improve your smile. I just cannot recommend this company. I have heard there are hybrid start-ups of online aligners paired with orthodontist visits at a lesser price than the typical Invisalign. This might be interesting to research. After my experience with SmileDirect, I definitely would have opted to pay more money for better quality service with a different company or orthodontist.

I have read many reviews of similar experiences to mine with SmileDirectClub. In my opinion, SmileDirect needs sanctioning from a business regulatory agency or a class action suit to get them to change.

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

I bought the aligners as a gift for my boyfriend in December 2018.

I paid online in full, and I gave the associate that took the 3D impressions a $100 off coupon (because that’s what the coupon said to do), which was never taken off the total.

The worst part is, the video they sent about what your smile will look like at the end, showed his front teeth pulled together leaving a big gap between them and the back teeth.

That was before we even got any aligners.

And now that all the sets have been worn, his teeth now actually look like that.

After the 3D impressions were sent off, the aligners came in 2 weeks, which surprised us, because she said it would take longer.

No wonder why.

In one of the earlier weeks, a pair didn’t fit right, they were too tight. We called/emailed customer service but they said they’d need pictures. How about no...you’re the ones that rushed through the process and made the mistake, waste your own time and payroll to trackback and fix it. Plus, in the box during the 4th month, there were 2 weeks with sets of tops only.

I just told him to wear the old set of bottoms and hope that the next actual complete set would fit. We were only a few weeks out from being done with it altogether, no way we were going to wait another 4+ weeks for replacements.

I felt bad for saving up the money, trying to give my boyfriend a smile he’d be proud of, and he still isn’t. How could he be? I was also foolish enough to purchase retainers in November 2019 for $200, because he can’t wear the last pair of aligners forever.

The representative said they were doing a buy 2 get 1 free promotion. I asked why he’d need more than 1 retainer, she said they’re only supposed to last 6 months.

What a rip off to keep getting money from people. I’ve been waiting for about 6 weeks now...I bet they won’t even fit his teeth. They just took the payment, I haven’t received a confirmation or a tracking number that they were even shipped.

Look at all of the negative reviews. Don’t waste your money.

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

I did the whole SmileDirect process from beginning to end, in the end when I recieved my final retainers they were extremely tight and ill-fitting. They pinched too tight on my gums and made my gums recede. The root to one of my teeth is now exposed and it's painful, and according to the dentist will cost between $1500-2000 to fix. I reached out to SmileDirectClub and told them about my problem and recieved no response. When I reached out a second time they said they had no proff of my initial response and without it, they would not offer any help. I have had receded gums and a very expensive dentist bill thanks to SmileDirectClub, I would not recommend people using this product, it cost me way more in the long run and I'm extremely unhappy with the results or lack thereof.

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

Met Shi at a SmileBus stop in my town. She (and the staff) were amazing, very kind, cheerful and professional. Did the 3D scan and took the plunge. Received my Box much quicker than I expected and the extras (lip balm, whitening pens, LED whitening kit and a nice cyber week discount to boot) are a pleasant surprise. SmileDirect has called me already, texted me (with answers to my replies) and the custom dashboard is specific to my treatment plan along with the 3D start/finish modeling. It is clear that SmilDirect is trying hard to adjust to their rapid growth and for me thus far, I have had ZERO of the experiences others have noted. If you have mild to moderate teeth issues, and desire to get them straightened, I highly suggest SmileDirectClub as they also have many physical locations in most major metro areas.

Finally, just my two cents, if you are financing your alignment, use a third party such as Care Credit to have your treatment paid for upfront. You can get promos from Care Credit such as 0% interest for 12 months etc. Good luck! (I'll revise if things go south, but again, so far so good, happy future grinner here!)

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

Everything started out okay with my aligners. I wore them for approximately 5 months and my teeth did straighten, however, they needed some additional adjustments. I visited my local SDC store and new aligners arrived at about 4-5 weeks later. They even gave me a free retainer because of the delay. After a few more months I still needed some more adjustments, not a big deal so back to SDC for another scan. I was told I needed some more adjustments and new aligners would arrive 3-4 weeks. That was 8 weeks ago and I still don't have an update on when they will be shipped. Communication from SDC is non-existent and their backend processes must be a mess because I am not the only one who has gone through this based on reviews. For this reason, I would highly recommend trying someone else.

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

Really really really bad experience!

Horrible customer service. Cut my gums, returned items, still no refund. This company outsources customer service and issues do not get handled. Still waiting for a refund. Representative or supervisor is never available. Be more careful with your money. I'm still waiting to hear back...

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

I just received the additional aligners and they only sent HALF. I then called their customer service department. They admitted they screwed up, and then were happy to tell me that it will take ANOTHER 5-6 weeks for me to get the remainder of the aligners - no special treatment - no expediting the order.

RUN FROM THIS COMPANY.

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

Chantel was amazing and so thoughtful in explaining every step of the process, the various options and packages, and the stellar freebies were icing on the cake! I can't wait to visit again!

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

I'm here to write what I had and that could happen with others too, just to let you know these guys are playing with there reviews to make the ranking to he higher! After I made a purchase for my aligners, I was expecting they would send me aligners that would match my teeth, however, they bottom side of my teeth didn't match with the aligners at all! It seems they sent me someone else's aligners, they didn't do it right! So I had to go back to the shop and show them, they rescanned my whole teeth again, took some pictures of the current issue of my bottom side, they sent a request, however, after waiting 3 weeks, I found out they rejected the request even though I showed them the proof that they are not matching my teeth! Not mentioning the back and forth process and my account manager did not even contact me to apologize, the most very rude and invaluable customer service I have ever seen in my life! So as a result, they didn't want to replace the aligners, my plan was delayed for 2 months, and a lot of headaches from trying to solve the issue with these guys, seriously, nobody cared about the complaining. So I asked for my refund and then they asked me to pay for the shipping fees! What a crappy company and what crappy customer service. I don't recommend this company to anyone. Very disappointed!

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

Michaela and Katie at the Waco, Texas location were very professional and answered all of my questions. I have worn braces before and have just a little bit of spacing issues to correct.

I was very impressed with their explanations. They handed me an actual replica of the kit and let me hold and look at each item that will be included. The scan process is very impressive. They were able to show me exactly what my teeth looked like on camera and the file that would be sent to the orthodontist assigned to my case.

I am very excited to get started!

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

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

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

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

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

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