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Smile Direct Club will promise you results they can't deliver
Smile Direct Club will promise you results they cannot produce, then deny you additional treatment and keep taking your money. It is 100% not worth it.
To make a long story short: I signed up with Smile Direct Club and was given a five month treatment plan. At the end of the five months of treatment, my teeth were not in the alignment shown in my Smile Plan. (If you don't know, the Smile Plan is a 3d rendering of the movement your teeth will undergo during treatment from start to finish. It is shown to you before you decide to proceed with treatment). I requested refinement treatment, went in for a scan and was approved for refinement treatment. I was given a new two month Smile Plan. After completing this additional two months of treatment, my teeth were still not in the alignment shown in either my original or refinement Smile Plans. I requested additional refinement, went in for a scan and was denied further refinement. I was told that further movement of my teeth was "not possible with Smile Direct Club protocols" (quote from the email I received from the Dental Team). Yet this movement is what was shown in my original and refinement Smile Plans. There are two possibilities: either they cannot tell what movement is and is not possible for a given patient's teeth using their protocols, or they were just being dishonest because they did not want to give me additional treatment. Either way, this is a company that will promise a result, then fail to deliver it, then do nothing to make it right and satisfy their customer.
This is the main problem, and my reason for advising one and all to avoid this company like the plague. However, there are additional problems including: lack of communication between customer service representatives and departments, lack of follow-up to inquiries for information, manipulation of customer reviews, shipping delays and problems obtaining retainers.
The last of these is the most concerning. I ordered my retainer through the online chat on 12/26/18 but received an email two days later saying I had ordered them that day, 12/28. Confusing, but not a big deal. I was told to expect my retainer in 2-3 weeks. After 3 weeks passed and no retainer arrived I contacted customer service and was told that they couldn't give me any information about the status of my retainer but that they would send the issue to their Follow-Up Team who would contact me. They did email me, and let me know that I would have to wait an additional 2 weeks for my retainer, citing a "delay in shipment". The only logical reason I would have to wait another 2 weeks is if they had never been made. I was told to expect a shipping notification on 2/5/19, which I did not receive. I emailed the Follow-Up Team, and received a reply today, 2/6, saying that my "retainer had to be re-sent through the final round of quality assurance, so it is still in production". Given my poor experience with the company so far and the inability they have demonstrated to give me truthful, forthright answers to my inquiries, I find this highly suspect and believe it may be simply an excuse for failing, once again, to manufacture my retainer within the time frame they gave to me.
I have no idea when, or if, I will receive my retainer. Meanwhile, I am having to wear my aligner trays, which have cracked because they are not meant to be worn for months on end as I have had to wear them waiting for them to make a decision about my refinement and now waiting for them to (hopefully) make my retainer. This has led to my teeth shifting position, and I am worried that my retainer will not fit whenever it does finally arrive, as it was made to accommodate the position my teeth were in when I finished treatment. I brought this issue to the attention of the Follow-Up Team in my last email, but nothing about it was addressed in the reply they sent today.
Regarding the manipulation of customer reviews: do not put any trust in the reviews on the Smile Direct Club website or any affiliated websites. I do not mean to imply that the reviews that are on there are fake, it isn't that. It is that they only let you leave a review if it is reflects positives on the company. I was given two opportunities to leave a review for their website. These opportunities came in the form of links in emails I was sent. The first thing you have to do to leave a review is to rate on a scale of 1-10 how likely you are to recommend Smile Direct Club to others. The first time I did this, I said 7, very likely, and was sent to a form allowing me to give a star rating (1-5) and leave a detailed review. I chose not to leave a review at that time as I was interrupted. The next time I was sent this email I was already very dissatisfied with the company and selected 1, not at all likely. This time I was not given the opportunity to leave a star rating or review. That seems very, very shady to me. It seems as though you won't be given the opportunity to leave a review unless they know it will be a good one.
I will try to update this review with any additional helpful information as events unfold, but the bottom line is this: Smile Direct Club will promise you results they can't deliver; will compromise your treatment results and dental health with their inabiliity to produce your aligners/retainer in a timely manner; will be less than honest with you in their communications; and manipulates reviews to make sure they are biased in their favor. Additonally, they will attempt to sue any dentists, orthodontist or others who warn people away from undergoing treatment with them. This is a matter of public record. I highly recommend visiting the BBB website and looking over the hundreds of complaints opened against Smile Direct Club if you are still not convinced.
This is the main problem, and my reason for advising one and all to avoid this company like the plague. However, there are additional problems including: lack of communication between customer service representatives and departments, lack of follow-up to inquiries for information, manipulation of customer reviews, shipping delays and problems obtaining retainers.
The last of these is the most concerning. I ordered my retainer through the online chat on 12/26/18 but received an email two days later saying I had ordered them that day, 12/28. Confusing, but not a big deal. I was told to expect my retainer in 2-3 weeks. After 3 weeks passed and no retainer arrived I contacted customer service and was told that they couldn't give me any information about the status of my retainer but that they would send the issue to their Follow-Up Team who would contact me. They did email me, and let me know that I would have to wait an additional 2 weeks for my retainer, citing a "delay in shipment". The only logical reason I would have to wait another 2 weeks is if they had never been made. I was told to expect a shipping notification on 2/5/19, which I did not receive. I emailed the Follow-Up Team, and received a reply today, 2/6, saying that my "retainer had to be re-sent through the final round of quality assurance, so it is still in production". Given my poor experience with the company so far and the inability they have demonstrated to give me truthful, forthright answers to my inquiries, I find this highly suspect and believe it may be simply an excuse for failing, once again, to manufacture my retainer within the time frame they gave to me.
I have no idea when, or if, I will receive my retainer. Meanwhile, I am having to wear my aligner trays, which have cracked because they are not meant to be worn for months on end as I have had to wear them waiting for them to make a decision about my refinement and now waiting for them to (hopefully) make my retainer. This has led to my teeth shifting position, and I am worried that my retainer will not fit whenever it does finally arrive, as it was made to accommodate the position my teeth were in when I finished treatment. I brought this issue to the attention of the Follow-Up Team in my last email, but nothing about it was addressed in the reply they sent today.
Regarding the manipulation of customer reviews: do not put any trust in the reviews on the Smile Direct Club website or any affiliated websites. I do not mean to imply that the reviews that are on there are fake, it isn't that. It is that they only let you leave a review if it is reflects positives on the company. I was given two opportunities to leave a review for their website. These opportunities came in the form of links in emails I was sent. The first thing you have to do to leave a review is to rate on a scale of 1-10 how likely you are to recommend Smile Direct Club to others. The first time I did this, I said 7, very likely, and was sent to a form allowing me to give a star rating (1-5) and leave a detailed review. I chose not to leave a review at that time as I was interrupted. The next time I was sent this email I was already very dissatisfied with the company and selected 1, not at all likely. This time I was not given the opportunity to leave a star rating or review. That seems very, very shady to me. It seems as though you won't be given the opportunity to leave a review unless they know it will be a good one.
I will try to update this review with any additional helpful information as events unfold, but the bottom line is this: Smile Direct Club will promise you results they can't deliver; will compromise your treatment results and dental health with their inabiliity to produce your aligners/retainer in a timely manner; will be less than honest with you in their communications; and manipulates reviews to make sure they are biased in their favor. Additonally, they will attempt to sue any dentists, orthodontist or others who warn people away from undergoing treatment with them. This is a matter of public record. I highly recommend visiting the BBB website and looking over the hundreds of complaints opened against Smile Direct Club if you are still not convinced.