What if you could get invisible braces delivered to your door, without ANY kind of visit to your dentist?

Smile Direct Club is an American service that sends aligners to a patient’s door without them having to visit the dentist. You fill out a simple survey about the current state of your teeth and what you’d hope they would look like. They then send moulds to patients for patients to make at home. These then get sent back to Smile Direct Club and are examined by dentist, the braces are then sent to the patient every every two weeks.

What does it promise?

A straighter, whiter and brighter smile. Smile Direct Club promise to deliver patients the smile they want for as little as $99 or at least 60% less than other invisible brace competitors.

 

 

Social Media Startup.

This dental start-up is appearing on the social media accounts of bloggers, vloggers, and Instagram influencers, Smile Direct Club is proving ever popular amongst the online communities.

Anyone who has had braces will know the horrible experience that is getting brace moulds!

Here in her vlog, YouTube Sensation Megan Leigh films herself and her boyfriend making her own teeth impressions to send away for her to receive her invisible braces.  Check it out here: https://youtu.be/598SFDeEcE8?t=14m17s

Dentists don’t like it.

Dentists have criticised Smile Direct Club, so what did Smile Direct Club do? Proposed a lawsuit against the dentists.

For years, dentists have been against DIY Orthodontics. You have to understand that dentists train for years to develop the skills they have to treat patients, so it is easy to see why they feel like their skills are being undermined. Smile Direct Club sent cease-and-desist letters to at least two dentists in October, threatening a lawsuit if they did not remove YouTube videos they had posted critiquing the company’s plastic teeth “aligners.”

Who mightbenefit from Smile Direct Club?

Smile Direct Club might however, be beneficial to phobic patients. Phobic patients struggle to visit the dentist due to fear or anxiety. Being able to get braces sent to their door without having to even contact a dentist seems like the ideal scenario for phobic patients.

We see both the pros and cons of Smile Direct Club. The idea is brilliant and those who fear the dentist may really benefit from it. However, the execution is something of a concern. Dentists are the ONLY people who can give real advice on improving your smile. At home orthodontics could land you in the dentist’s chair for treatment should your at-home efforts go pear-shaped.

Would you use a mail order braces services?

What do you think? Would you opt for aligners without speaking to your dentist first? What would urge you to opt for online-only aligners instead of visiting your dentist?