SmileDirectClub price: Smile Direct Club sells clear aligners that can safely straighten your teeth in 4-6 months or less at a 60% savings compared to Invisalign®.
However, the average cost will vary significantly depending on how you choose to pay, if you use a coupon, and if your insurance covers any of the expenses. Here’s exactly how much Smile Direct Club costs, plus how to get the best price when you sign up. (*Updated for 2022)
Smile Direct Club: Pricing | Payment Plan | Insurance Cover | Worth It?
Smile Direct Club Cost in 2022:
What’s the total cost of Smile Direct Club? The total expense depends on which of the 2 payment options you choose:
- Single Pay: If you choose to pay up-front it’s the cheaper option, totaling $1850 (after $29 rebate and $100 coupon).
- SmilePay™: The Smile Direct Club payment plan requires a $250 deposit and 24 monthly payments of $89 each for a total cost of $2386. As you can see, the payment plan is convenient but more expensive!
Both payment options include free premium whitening, but you can’t use coupons towards the payment plan. After your treatment ends, Smile Direct will encourage you to purchase a retainer for $99 to keep your teeth from shifting back.
Here’s more about how much Smile Direct Club costs:
Why the Payment Plan Is NOT a Good Deal:
As you can see, convenience has a price. In this case, choosing monthly payments will cost you $536 over 24 months. Many people can’t afford an $1850 charge to their credit card and don’t have a choice to pay in full in one payment. However, if you can manage it, it’s worth doing.
Tip: Try to pay in full with Single Pay if possible, as the payment plan equates to nearly an 18% interest rate compared to a one-time payment! With interest rates near 0%, you are better off using money from a savings account or borrowing from a parent than agreeing to such a high-interest rate!
Retailers have learned that big purchases are much more manageable with payment plans, and even $40k cars can be broken down into seemingly manageable monthly payments. However, before agreeing to pay for anything in monthly installments, estimate the interest rate to see if you’re getting a good deal. If it is much higher than the prime rate, then financing isn’t a good deal.
Does Insurance Cover the Cost?
Does insurance cover SmileDirectClub? If your insurance plan includes dental, they may reimburse the policyholder and dependents for orthodontics including Smile Direct Club. In fact, SmileDirectClub is in-network with Aetna and United Health Care and they can help request reimbursement from Cigna, BlueCross, BlueShield, Delta Dental, and more. Here’s an example of average savings with insurance:
Smile Direct Club also accepts HSA, FSA, (flexible spending account), and CareCredit payments. To use FSA dollars to pay, just process your FSA/HSA debit card as you would any credit or debit card.
Tip: You may be able to pay with FSA and also find that your dental plan will reimburse you for part of the cost. This could reduce what you actually pay to under $1000!
Is Smile Direct Club Worth It?
The total cost of Smile Direct Club is about 60% less than the price of Invisalign®. This is almost exactly the same total price as rival Byte. However, when you get clear aligners or retainers through your orthodontist or dentist you are also paying for in-person attention. The one thing that at-home teeth aligners and retainers can’t replicate is the personal attention that you get with office visits.
When you eliminate seeing a doctor or professional from the teeth-straightening process, you are forfeiting the attention and safeguards that come with making sure the treatment is going well.
Tip: Unlike its competitors, Smile Club Direct does have 250+ SmileShop locations for in-person attention!
If you have more than just moderately crowded teeth or spacing issues you would probably benefit more from that personal attention and oversight. Conversely, if you don’t have major issues then at-home teeth alignment with brands like Smile Direct Club might be a very good option that saves you thousands of dollars, even with the payment plan.
So, is Smile Direct Club worth the cost? I would say that while direct-to-to-consumer clear aligners save you a lot of money, there is still a “buyer beware” component, especially if you don’t have access to in-person attention at one of their SmileShops. While the process is amazing and the 3d-printing technology continues to impress, Smile Direct by mail-only can never fully replicate seeing an orthodontist in-person.
Having said that, I believe that SmileDirectClub is the best of the direct-to-consumer clear aligners, and their SmileShops add value by allowing you to see a professional in-person for more supervision.
If you do consider Smile Direct, click here to learn more and apply a $100 coupon.
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