21yr Old College Kid, Never Had Braces, Trying to Fix Crowding Problem - Washington, DC

Remember how I said you have to be extremely proactive throughout this process for the sake of your appearance and dental health? Well call me Young Nostradamus because I couldn't have been more correct. Being my skeptical self, I looked through FAQ's on Smile Direct Clubs website and came across a question about wisdom teeth. It said:
"What If I Still Have My Wisdom Teeth?
If your dentist has recommended removal of wisdom teeth then please follow that direction. If not, you can purchase our orthodontic evaluation and the doctor overseeing your case can review this for you. And if it is determined that remote aligner treatment isn’t right for you, we will refund your evaluation purchase price."
When I saw this, to say I was pissed is an understatement. I still have my wisdom teeth, and have been recommended by every family dentist I've ever had to remove them but never got to due to funds with my family. I made this abundantly clear before I got into this whole thing. I spoke to one of the employees from the DC office where I got my scan over the phone and the topic of my wisdom teeth was one of the very first things I brought up. This was BEFORE I even made an appointment, BEFORE I ever got a scan, BEFORE I ever made a payment, and BEFORE I ever started my treatment. I specifically told her I have my wisdom teeth and that it's been recommended I get them removed. I asked her specifically if this would be an issue and she assured me it wouldn't be and that I can go ahead with the scanning appointment. Now, almost two weeks into my first tray I'm seeing that it is highly encouraged that I get my wisdom teeth out 6 weeks before treatment.... I'M PISSED.
Before you say anything, I know i'm an idiot and I should've logically thought that this would be a problem, but I legitimately thought these people were professionals. I called them immediately the following day (Today: 6/26) and inquired about this. I spoke to a representative named Charlene who wouldn't give me clear answers. I got a lot of "I don't knows" and "That's not my area of expertise"....What a joke. What kind of customer service can't answer legitimate questions or at least forward to someone who can? I told her calmly that I was pretty angry that I was given such misinformation after she told me that I should've gotten my wisdom teeth taken out, and she told me I was right but did NOT want to discourage me from continuing. She told me I could continue if I wanted to and it might be okay: What a dangerous lie! Do these people have any idea how complex of a process this is? You can't just say "Oh, your wisdom teeth are still in after we told you it was cool? Well why don't you just keep going and kinda find out what happens?"... My dentist was right, this is way too complicated of a situation to not have constant supervision by a orthodontic professional. I should've listened to him from the jump when he told me to tell these people to kick rocks. But here I am.
I told Charlene that I want to begin the cancellation process immediately. There is not a chance in hell that i'm going to risk my dental health over something as trivial as this. She told me she would submit my claim for cancellation to their patient care department and they would contact me in 24 hours. But this isn't daddy's first time at the rodeo. I've read COUNTLESS reviews where customer service have given people with legit concerns the run around, telling them they're working on it and then never getting back to them. I will be calling them the second they open their phone lines at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow, and checking for an update on my request as I'm 90% certain they won't get back to me in the allotted time.
Charlene also told me that their department would determine what my refund would look like after evaluation. Yeah okay, Charlene. Fat chance. I'm going to demand that I get a refund in full. I was deceived into continuing a process that could've ended up catastrophically and I refuse to take that lightly. I asked from the JUMP if this was an issue and was told no. This could have been fixed from square one but thanks to the carelessness of one of their "specialists" I was tricked into continuing.
Let me just say that I have dodged a MAJOR bullet, people.... I have seen some horrific results from SDC on this website from bad final results, facial structure changes, worse crooked teeth than before, and even tooth loss as a result of using this company. I am EXTREMELY thankful that I was on edge and skeptical this entire time because god knows what would've happened had I stuck around. Thanks to my never ending research on youtube and online (even after starting the treatment) I managed to figure out a discrepancy before it got worse.
For those currently in treatment: DO NOT STOP RESEARCHING, there are so many problems that could arise and it's important that you or your dentist be able to find these first. You are the first line of defense, and with these people running the show, probably the last line too.
For those considering SDC: DON'T. The price is extremely enticing, I get it. But it is so much more worth it to me to pay the extra two to three thousand with Invisalign, where your supervision and treatment is top notch. I'm a broke college kid but I'm going to figure this out and work on getting Invisalign with a certified provider. A lot of the success stories on this website are insanely minor cases, (small gaps, corrections from not wearing retainers as a kid, etc). If your case is even remotely moderate or severe, do NOT get invisible aligners from SDC. And if it's minor enough to go through with them, why even bother? At that point it's not even that big of a deal and you may as well use that almost $2,000 to buy a used car or something.
I will continue to post updates on my cancellation and refund process, and may or may not write about my call tomorrow depending on if anything significant happens. I can't believe I was naive enough to fall for this charade (actually I can) but I'm so glad I had the presence of mind to stay on top of my stuff. I really hope people find these reviews helpful, I'm trying to be as detailed and real as I can be.
-- Kevin

I've always had a bad crowding problem with my teeth, particularly my bottom teeth. To me it's always seemed pretty bad but dentists have always called it a minor issue so i'm hoping to be able to fix it with smile direct club. I understand that these people are NOT the gold standard of invisible aligners (considering the price) because they can only adjust the first 4-6 teeth and nothing else. It's also seemed apparent to me that the communication with customers is pretty bad so I've learned to be on my toes to watch anything that may go wrong because if you or anyone else doesn't address a concern in terms of teeth movement, bite placement, etc, continuing the treatment could worsen your teeth substantially. I've seen it. But I figured it'd be worth a shot with my self consciousness getting worse and my budget not increasing.

I went to the actual Smile Direct Club office in Washington D.C. since I live a jump and a skip away, and got a 3D scan and filled out forms then and there. If you have the opportunity to go to an office; TAKE IT. Judging by the other reviews, mailing in your molds is a lot longer and tedious of a process. Mine was quick and easy and cost me NOTHING. This is because I've known about SDC for about a year but waited to see reviews before doing anything. In that meantime I got a bunch of offers for discounted scanning, and eventually I was offered a free one, so I took it. I got scanned in mid to late May, and confirmed my treatment and payment later that same week.

I chose to do the monthly payment plan of around $1900 total with about $250 down and $99 per month following that. I also HIGHLY encourage that you look up discount codes online before paying online as there are always discounts of anywhere from $100-$150 off treatment. I went to google and found a page that had pages and pages of codes to use. I used about 6 (which all failed) until I found one that worked for $100 off. Be patient, and search hard. This will be tedious but worth it. Instead I am paying $1800 total now. That's only $100 away from what I'd pay had I chosen to pay in full ($1700).

I got my first aligners in the mail on Friday, June 16th at around 1 or 2pm. I was so excited and immediately put them in! I'm so sick of people looking at my teeth when I speak to them trying to figure out wtf is wrong with my mouth, combined with confused and grossed out expressions. People don't realize that we notice that stuff, and it really hurts. Anyway, I put the aligners in immediately, having been warned through other reviews not to do so until night time when I sleep because it hurts. They surprisingly weren't uncomfortable at all. They fit snug and tight, and I could tell which teeth were being pushed but wasn't in any pain at all. I guess it depends on the severity of your case and maybe how much of a wimp you are lol. One thing I will say is that in my case, these aligners are not very "discreet" at all... there are a series of lines and indents on the trays which i'm assuming are providing push and pull on the teeth. These lines however cast a bit of a shadow, and it looks like there's a series of black stuff just sitting at the top of my teeth but its just the shadow, and I've seen people notice it when I talk to them and they get VERY grossed out probably thinking its tartar, but never say anything out of kindness. Also, after about 5 days the trays aren't very snug any more (which is completely normal) but they literally just do not sit tight at all they hang off by a little bit, a lot of spit moves through them, and it's 10x more noticeable when I speak in terms of a painfully obvious lisp that has lasted longer than the amount of time warned in the aligner guide. Either way, i'm still on my first week of my first tray, so I won't be too brutal on SDC... YET. I'm new to this website and not sure how to update this review but once I figure it out i'll continue to post updates that are as comprehensive and thoughtful as I can.

I wanna finish off this initial review by again saying PLEASE BE UP THEIR ASSES ABOUT YOUR TEETH AND TRAYS. These people are not holding your hands through this process (which they should considering the complexity of this procedure) and so it is up to you to make sure everything is on the up and up. If you see a certain tooth moving in a way you're unsure about, or if you feel there's anything wrong with your trays at all, call customer service or go to the website chat and contact them. I will repeat that I have seen reviews where people have gotten even more crooked through SDC and this could be in part to carelessness on the sides of both parties. I personally have no shame, and anytime I'm concerned about ANYTHING no matter how dumb it is, I will bother the hell out of them until I get an answer that satisfies my concern. I understand that their main concern is my money and not my teeth, so I will be a pain in the ass unless they do this right. I also super highly encourage that you be in touch with your family dentist throughout the whole process. They aren't experts in orthodontics but they will absolutely be the first ones to tell you if something is going wrong. My dentist actually highly discouraged that I go through with SDC and that I instead go to an Invisalign provider, but I kind of like my money so I stuck with the cheaper route. He was kind enough however to agree to have me come in every few months for the entirety of this process in order to give me a heads up with anything going wrong. Although I am extremely grateful for this company, I'm not taking any chances with SDC and I refuse to put my full trust in them, and neither should you. So please, bother the hell out of them and be in touch with your dentist!
-- Kevin