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ORIGINAL POST
I've always been interested in straightening my...
batmandiAugust 22, 2016
$1,750
I've always been interested in straightening my teeth, fixing some spacing on the top and crowding and rotated teeth on the bottom. My smile isn't terrible, but it's something I would like to be better! I went to an Invisaline diamond certified dentist a few years ago who looked at my teeth for about 10 seconds and told me it would take 18 months and $6,500!!! I said absolutely not! I'm not delusional about my teeth, I know they are far from perfect but I felt as if he was just gouging me. I went to a new regular dentist last year and casually asked her about Invisaline since she does it too, she didn't say how long it would take, but the receptionist told me it would be a "full treatment plan" of $3700, $3200 if I paid in full that day, otherwise I would have to pay something like $2000 before making the first appointment, and the rest at the first appointment. Oh, great, sure, I'll get right on that! Better than the original gouger, but still not within reach. I stopped even thinking about it.
A few months ago I started seeing ads on Facebook for SmileDirectClub, and after largely ignoring them because I thought it would be the same price as Invisalign, I finally took a peek at their website, watched some YouTube reviews, and decided to try.
So I took my photos, sent them in, was preliminarily approved! Paid $47.50 for my evaluation kit which took what I felt like was forever to arrive (it was like 10 days, but I was still anxious!), did the impressions the same evening it arrived, and sent them off the next day and got the confirmation email that they had received them. I just got an email over the weekend that said my treatment plan is being created! I'm assuming that means my impressions were accepted.... It was unclear.
I am waiting to see my treatment plan before I authorize my payment, only because I want to make sure I like what they are planning on doing before I proceed.
My only real con at this point is that I got multiple emails while I was eagerly waiting on my eval kit that basically said "Send us back your impressions so we can proceed!" which was frrutrating because I WANTED to, I just couldn't because DHL hadn't handed them over to USPS yet. So I just wish their automated email tracker would be able to see the shipping status before sending those kinds of emails. But that's a minor thing.
Happy so far, will continue to update!
Uploaded the photos I send to SDC for my pre-eval.
A few months ago I started seeing ads on Facebook for SmileDirectClub, and after largely ignoring them because I thought it would be the same price as Invisalign, I finally took a peek at their website, watched some YouTube reviews, and decided to try.
So I took my photos, sent them in, was preliminarily approved! Paid $47.50 for my evaluation kit which took what I felt like was forever to arrive (it was like 10 days, but I was still anxious!), did the impressions the same evening it arrived, and sent them off the next day and got the confirmation email that they had received them. I just got an email over the weekend that said my treatment plan is being created! I'm assuming that means my impressions were accepted.... It was unclear.
I am waiting to see my treatment plan before I authorize my payment, only because I want to make sure I like what they are planning on doing before I proceed.
My only real con at this point is that I got multiple emails while I was eagerly waiting on my eval kit that basically said "Send us back your impressions so we can proceed!" which was frrutrating because I WANTED to, I just couldn't because DHL hadn't handed them over to USPS yet. So I just wish their automated email tracker would be able to see the shipping status before sending those kinds of emails. But that's a minor thing.
Happy so far, will continue to update!
Uploaded the photos I send to SDC for my pre-eval.
Replies (8)
August 23, 2016
How much does it cost? Do you have to pay the whole thing at once? And do you know if Insurance covers it
August 23, 2016
It's $1750 no matter how long I have to have them, but they say some people are done in as little as 3 months, and their max is 10 months. They have two payment options, if you pay all at once I think you get like $250 off plus a free whitening kit, but I'm going with the monthly payments, which is a down payment of $250 and payments of $99. I don't have dental coverage right now so I didn't try, but I read on their website that if you have a FSA you can use that to pay for it. I think others here on realself have mentioned trying to use insurance for it, but I can't remember exactly who.
August 23, 2016
Sooooo, how much does it cost?
August 23, 2016
It's $1500 if you pay all at once I think, $1750 if you make payments of $250 down and $99 a month.
August 23, 2016
I agree! Much more attainable, plus no in person dentist visits that you also have to take off work for, thus costing even MORE money. Sometimes they want to see you twice a month! There's no way.
August 24, 2016
Hi everyone! I know its cheaper guys, but this is potentially a very harmful thing to start. This type of "at-home" care is dangerous because of not being directly followed by a dental professional. Over 50% of the adult population has or has had some form of periodontal disease. This HAS to be under control before moving ANY teeth. When teeth move, the supporting bone will break down on one side of the teeth (the side it is being moved to) and build back up on the other side (the side its moving away from). The bacteria and inflammation that are under the gumline in "active" periodontal disease causes the supporting bone around your teeth to drop down, BUT IT WILL NOT BUILD BACK UP.
In a healthy individual, the bone will build back up. I just think people should be protected from things they don't know. This product will potentially work just fine in a healthy individual (and by healthy I mean one that a dentist has given the thumbs up that their teeth and gums are healthy) and if it is being directly followed by a professional. I'm not even sure why this sort of "at-home" care is legal. Also, keep in mind - for people who don't regularly floss - the mouth works wonders because it naturally "cleans" itself out during the day. When you put a tight fitting clear tray over them, it will trap in and around the teeth whatever you didn't get brushed off. You could get cavities faster than normal.
I'm an orthodontist...I want everyone to have a great smile. I just think it's safer to have a professional watch directly when teeth are being moved. I know it's a little more expensive to go see us doctors, but when there is a greater than 50/50 chance of having gum disease and potentially losing teeth I just think it makes sense. Be careful all!
In a healthy individual, the bone will build back up. I just think people should be protected from things they don't know. This product will potentially work just fine in a healthy individual (and by healthy I mean one that a dentist has given the thumbs up that their teeth and gums are healthy) and if it is being directly followed by a professional. I'm not even sure why this sort of "at-home" care is legal. Also, keep in mind - for people who don't regularly floss - the mouth works wonders because it naturally "cleans" itself out during the day. When you put a tight fitting clear tray over them, it will trap in and around the teeth whatever you didn't get brushed off. You could get cavities faster than normal.
I'm an orthodontist...I want everyone to have a great smile. I just think it's safer to have a professional watch directly when teeth are being moved. I know it's a little more expensive to go see us doctors, but when there is a greater than 50/50 chance of having gum disease and potentially losing teeth I just think it makes sense. Be careful all!
UPDATED FROM batmandi
Treat Plan is Ready!
batmandiAugust 27, 2016
Got the email today that my treatment plan was ready to view - I'm pretty pleased with it! The only issue I have looking at it now is that there will be a small gap in between my bottom front teeth, but I think that might be because of how my teeth are shaped, since you can see that from the top view they are perfectly straight in the front on top and bottom.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the treatment plan will also partially fix my overbite pretty well actually, which is awesome and totally unexpected! I was looking to do this strictly for cosmetic reasons, and I'm just even more excited to start now that it will actually fix an issue to boot!
I uploaded screen shots of all angles from start to the final tray. See the guide in the top right hand corner of each photo to see which side/area it corresponds to. I think before and after is pretty obvious between each.
Overall at this point I'm super happy with SmileDirectClub, and I can't wait to proceed!
I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the treatment plan will also partially fix my overbite pretty well actually, which is awesome and totally unexpected! I was looking to do this strictly for cosmetic reasons, and I'm just even more excited to start now that it will actually fix an issue to boot!
I uploaded screen shots of all angles from start to the final tray. See the guide in the top right hand corner of each photo to see which side/area it corresponds to. I think before and after is pretty obvious between each.
Overall at this point I'm super happy with SmileDirectClub, and I can't wait to proceed!
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM batmandi
Ordered my braces!
batmandiSeptember 8, 2016
Hey everyone, just thought I'd give a brief update. I ordered my braces this past Friday even though my digital renderings had been available for about 2 weeks. Yesterday I got an email saying they were working on printing the 3-D models of my teeth! So I'm super excited about that. I figure I should have them by October 3rd if hey really end up taking 21 business days. I hope they don't!
My only issue this far, again, is the near barrage of contact I received between getting my digital renderings and actually purchasing my aligners. I received the email with the digital rendering on August 26th, and between then and September 2nd when I actually purchased them, I received 3 emails, plus text messages prompting me to buy them. It was a little desperate and I found it very off putting. But not enough to deter me obviously!
My only issue this far, again, is the near barrage of contact I received between getting my digital renderings and actually purchasing my aligners. I received the email with the digital rendering on August 26th, and between then and September 2nd when I actually purchased them, I received 3 emails, plus text messages prompting me to buy them. It was a little desperate and I found it very off putting. But not enough to deter me obviously!
Thanks for sharing your experience so far. It will be really helpful to other members of the community considering this treatment. I hope you'll also be able to get support from members who are farther along on their journey.