I recently learned of a company called SmileDirectClub. You can get Invisalign for much cheaper online. Is this legitimate? Does it work?
Melissa
Dear Melissa,
I’m familiar with this group. They used to be named Smile Care Club. I’m not sure why they changed their name. However, I can answer your question either way. First, you’re not getting Invisalign. You’re getting their brand of invisible aligners. There’s nothing wrong with that. There are many legitimate companies with clear aligners. I just wanted me make sure you knew it wasn’t the same brand.
They are a legitimate company. Does it work? For some people. I do have some concerns though.
SmileDirectClub Versus Invisalign
The treatment plans are similar. You wear clear plastic aligners with a plan of gently moving your teeth into a new position. You’ll switch them out every two weeks for Invisalign and three for SmileDirectClub. That’s pretty much where the similarities end.
With Invisalign and other brands a dentist uses, you get a dentist who has eyes on your case. While SmileDirectClub does have you send in pictures, there are many issues which can’t be discerned from photos. For instance, if you have the beginnings of gum disease, that has to be dealt with before any treatment moves forward. Without proper care, you could end up losing your teeth.
Can a dentist tell if you have gum disease from a photo, without any physical examination? That would be tricky, since diagnosis requires x-rays and physically probing around the teeth to see if there are pockets in the gums.
There are other issues which can arise, such as teeth not rotating that should have along with a host of other problems. There are some YouTube videos showing that some patients get into true horror stories because of problems that have arisen that they haven’t been able to properly attend to remotely.
While it will work in many cases and the patient could save money using it. There’s no way to know if you’ll be one of those cases with a complication. If you are, your problems will likely get overlooked and you’ll end up with a disaster and possibly in need of emergency dental care and finding a replacement for lost teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Susan Dennis who provides orthodontic services in Portage, MI.
