Are there barriers standing between you and the smile you want? Whether it’s price, convenience, or appearance, traditional orthodontics isn’t an option for everyone. Luckily, there are plenty of innovative treatments to choose from, like companies who deliver clear aligner treatment directly to your door.
NewSmile and SmileDirectClub are two of these at-home aligner companies, and they let you straighten your teeth fully from the comfort of home — no office visits required. This cuts down on costs and time, making them more accessible than in-office treatments like Invisalign. But between NewSmile and SmileDirectClub, which is best for you? This comparison guide covers all the details, positioning you to make the best decision for your smile.
Table of Contents
Company Overviews
The battle between NewSmile and SmileDirectClub is of the newcomer vs. the veteran. Founded in Vancouver in 2020 and launched in the US soon after, NewSmile is one of the youngest aligner companies on the market. It is a fully remote treatment — so you can complete the entire process from home.
Like most at-home aligners, NewSmile is a strictly cosmetic treatment. It can close small gaps, add a little space where things get crowded, and in rare cases, correct bite issues (but only if they don’t involve the jawbone). The NewSmile team monitors your treatment via remote check-ins and they claim you’ll have a straighter grin within 4–6 months — (or 8–10 months with nighttime treatment).
By contrast, SmileDirectClub is the most established at-home aligner company on the market. Launched in 2014, they have straightened over two million smiles and operate in multiple countries. You’ll complete your treatment primarily from home, but you do have the option of getting an in-person scan to kick things off. As with NewSmile, it only makes cosmetic corrections, and they claim their treatment takes 4–6 months on average.
Scope of Treatment
NewSmile and SmileDirectClub are two great options for boosting your smile from the comfort of home. Combined, they’ve corrected millions of smiles, and the reviews show many customers who are thrilled with their results. But to achieve success with NewSmile or SmileDirectClub, you first need to determine if they can treat you.
NewSmile Treatment Scope
SmileDirectClub Treatment Scope
- Treats mild-to-moderate cases of crowding and spacing.
- Focuses primarily on the front six teeth in either arch.
- Requires bi-weekly photo check-ins.
- Primarily for mild and moderate cases of crowding and spacing.
- SmileDirectClub claims their aligners can move all teeth.
- Requires virtual check-ins every 90 days throughout treatment.
What NewSmile and SmileDirectClub Treat
According to the NewSmile representative we spoke with, their aligners can treat the following conditions:
- Mild-to-moderate crowding
- Mild-to-moderate spacing
- Mild-to-moderate overbite and overjet
- Localized crossbite
- Limited underbite
- Limited open bites
Their representative also claimed their aligners help stop damage caused by bruxism (aka, tooth grinding). While that isn’t an alignment issue, per se, it is something many adults struggle with.
SmileDirectClub says their system is “designed for minor to moderate crowding, spacing, and general alignment concerns.” They claim their aligners can treat the following conditions:
- Mild-to-moderate crowding
- Mild-to-moderate spacing
- Mild-to-moderate overbite or overjet
- Limited underbite
- Localized crossbite
At-home aligners often focus on the most visible teeth — the frontmost 6–8 in either arch. However, each treatment plan is unique, and in some cases, they might be able to move other teeth as well. SmileDirectClub claims they can move all teeth, including the molars, while NewSmile doesn’t offer clarity on this.
Just keep in mind that we couldn’t find info on how often they approve cases that require — or would benefit from — molar movement. We also don’t have data on how SmileDirectClub’s range of molar movement compares to in-office options.
What NewSmile and SmileDirectClub Customers Say
SmileDirectClub has treated over two million clients; NewSmile doesn’t come close to touching those numbers. And as a result, you can find a lot of feedback for one, but not the other. Overall, the NewSmile reviews that are available reflect their treatment scope claims. Many customers say they use them for mild-to-moderate crowding and spacing, and are pleased with their results.
SmileDirectClub reviews that customers sent to us also mostly back up their scope of treatment claims. Most say they received treatment for crowding, spacing, and overbite — and those customers gave positive reviews at a higher rate. Fewer customers reported having crossbite, midline shift, underbite, overjet, or snaggletooth, and these customers gave four- and five-star reviews at a slightly lower rate.
Clinical Oversight
Neither NewSmile nor SmileDirectClub comes with in-person oversight as part of their standard treatment. However, both require remote check-ins. NewSmile requires you to upload photos using their app every two weeks. SmileDirectClub also has you upload photos to their app, but only every 90 days. If you would prefer some in-person care and more robust remote oversight, SmileDirectClub also has a hybrid option called CarePlus.
Quality of Materials
Your aligners can only be as effective as the plastic they’re made from. NewSmile uses plastic made by RaintreeEssix, a trusted manufacturer whose premium orthodontic plastics have been used in clear aligners since 2005.
SmileDirectClub doesn’t clarify the type of plastic they use, just that they implement Comfort Sense. They claim this means creating aligners of various thicknesses to ease customers into treatment with lighter movements before progressing to thicker, more powerful aligners.
Affordability Comparison
You need clear aligners that work, but that won’t get you far if you can’t afford them! NewSmile and SmileDirectClub can save you thousands of dollars compared to most in-office treatments, but while they’re both relatively affordable, NewSmile is one of the most budget-friendly options in the home aligner industry.
NewSmile Affordability
SmileDirectClub Affordability
- $1,595 sticker price ($1,695 for their Night Aligners).
- They include one set of aftercare retainers for free.
- The sticker price also includes whitening products.
- Their impression kits cost $49 (but they’re included when you choose the Fast Track plan).
- One financing plan available, and it requires a credit check.
- $2,250 sticker price for all-day or nighttime-only aligners ($3,900 for CarePlus).
- Doesn’t include free retainers ($125 extra per set).
- Includes free whitening.
- Their impression kit costs $59, but in-office scans are free.
- Financing requires a down payment but not a credit check.
Sticker Price
Let’s start with the most important detail: sticker price. NewSmile beats SmileDirectClub by $655–$755, depending on if you choose all-day or nighttime-only treatment. Their all-day aligners are just $1,595 while their nighttime-only plan costs $1,695. SmileDirectClub charges $2,250 for both all-day and nighttime-only treatment — or $3,900 for CarePlus.
Free Extras
That sticker price includes all your aligners (and the transformed smile they’ll deliver), but getting a few smaller bonus items makes the deal even sweeter. NewSmile includes a whitening kit and your first set of aftercare retainers in their treatment price. SmileDirectClub includes free whitening products, but you’ll need to pay $125 for your retainers, unless you choose CarePlus, which includes two years worth of retainers.
Financing Options
Both companies offer financing options for anyone who can’t pay for treatment outright. NewSmile’s doesn’t require a down payment and has plans with 0% interest. You just pay $58 per month for 36 months (or $61 per month for nighttime aligners).
SmileDirectClub also has financing, but we think it has less favorable terms. You need to make a down payment of $250 and pay $89 a month for 28 months. Plus, they charge interest, so you’ll spend more than if you paid up front. Their CarePlus financing includes a $500 down payment, followed by 28 monthly payments of $115.
Convenience Comparison
Remote aligner companies’ relatively low prices are one of their biggest draws. But many adults choose them for their convenience too. You get to skip the regular trips to your dentist, so you can take care of other responsibilities and (hopefully) enjoy more free time. We think that makes all at-home treatments easier than traditional orthodontics, and even though we consider SmileDirectClub and NewSmile convenient options, SmileDirectClub takes extra measures to ensure a smooth, streamlined process for each customer.
NewSmile Convenience
SmileDirectClub Convenience
- They don’t have any in-person locations in the US at the moment.
- Advertised average treatment plan length is 4–6 months (or 8–10 months for Night Aligners).
- Takes 7–8 weeks to design, produce, and ship your aligners.
- Night Aligners only require ten consecutive hours of daily wear.
- They have 100 retail locations, plus over 1,000 dental office partners, where you can get teeth scans.
- Advertised average treatment plan length is 4–6 months (or 8–10 months for Nighttime Aligners).
- Typically takes 4–5 weeks to create and ship your aligners.
- Nighttime Aligners only require ten consecutive hours of daily wear.
Getting Started
No matter which company you choose, the first step in planning aligner treatment is the same: submitting molds or scans of your teeth. Your provider will use them to determine if you are a candidate for treatment, and if so, start designing your aligners.
Both companies sell impression kits that you can use to create molds of your teeth at home. But because precision is key for clear aligners, your impressions need to be perfect, and some people have trouble getting them right.
To remedy that problem, SmileDirectClub introduced SmileShops, brick-and-mortar locations where professionals will scan your teeth for free instead. They have around 100 locations across the US, plus a network of over 1,000 partnering dental offices that also provide scans. And if you can’t find a location nearby, you can also purchase an impression kit for $59.
NewSmile doesn’t have any retail locations right now, so you’ll need to use an impression kit, which costs $49 — but they’ll include one for free if you pay for your entire treatment or enroll in a payment plan upfront.
How Long Does Treatment Take?
NewSmile and SmileDirectClub advertise the same average treatment plan lengths: 4–6 months with all-day aligners and 8–10 months with nighttime-only. This is pretty standard for at-home aligners.
Those timelines are much shorter than in-office treatments like Invisalign, which often take 12–18 months. But that’s because in-office treatments usually handle more severe cases, which take longer to correct.
Turnaround Times
Once the company has approved you for treatment, you’ll probably be itching to start wearing your aligners. But they won’t show up in your mailbox the next day. Because they’re custom-designed products, they can take a few weeks to create.
NewSmile takes about 7–8 weeks to produce and ship your aligners, which is slightly longer than many other companies, including in-office options like Invisalign. SmileDirectClub claims that, after you approve your treatment preview, they’ll manufacture and ship your aligners in 4–5 weeks.
What About Nighttime-Only Treatment?
One of the only inconveniences that comes with wearing clear aligners is that you have to take them out, clean your teeth, and put them back in for every meal, snack, and drink that isn’t plain water — plus whenever you would usually brush and floss your teeth.
Nighttime-only aligners let you circumvent this issue. You’ll just put them in after dinner and keep them in until morning, wearing them for a minimum of ten consecutive hours each night. Both NewSmile and SmileDirectClub offer nighttime-only plans, but according to both companies, this increases your treatment timeline to 8–10 months total.
Appearance Comparison
Appearance is what originally skyrocketed clear aligners to fame. Adults jumped at the chance to straighten their teeth with a virtually invisible alternative to metal braces. Although all aligners look the same with a quick glance, there are enough visual differences that one company might appeal to your unique tastes more than another. Here’s what you need to consider with NewSmile and SmileDirectClub.
NewSmile Appearance
SmileDirectClub Appearance
- Uses smooth, transparent, shiny plastic.
- Reasonably stain-resistant.
- Scallops aligners to match the gum line.
- They cannot incorporate attachments, preserving their low profile.
- Uses frosted, translucent, matte plastic.
- Reasonably stain-resistant.
- Cut straight across the gums.
- They can’t incorporate attachments, so aligners stay clear and less noticeable.
Aligner Material
There are a lot of different clear, dental-grade plastics, which means aligner providers have multiple options to choose from. As a result, aligner surfaces can vary between companies. In our opinion, textured, translucent, matte materials look the most natural because they mimic the porous, slightly translucent, matte look of the enamel. By comparison, we think smooth, transparent aligners can reflect light and look unnaturally shiny.
SmileDirectClub uses textured, translucent, matte plastic designed to blend in with your enamel, while NewSmile opts for smooth, shiny aligners. We should note, however, that some customers like the shiny look because they think it adds some gleam to their smile. It all depends on your preferences.
Aligner Cut
By trimming their aligners to match the gum line, NewSmile might have made them slightly less retentive, but also less visible. Their scalloped aligners hide the upper edge in the gum line, making it difficult to see. SmileDirectClub’s standard aligners overlap the gums, which can make the edge visible, depending on your smile. However, they advertise a scalloped cut for their CarePlus patients.
Supplemental Attachments
In-office aligners can incorporate supplemental attachments to improve their retention and orthodontic tooth movement. They’re often clear or tooth-colored, but they can still make your aligners more visible. Attachments require direct supervision, so at-home aligners can’t use them, helping them stay less detectable.
Stain Resistance
Both companies’ aligners may resist some stains. However, you should avoid eating or drinking colored beverages while wearing them. If you don’t, they could stain, and you’ll be stuck wearing discolored aligners until it’s time to change to the next in your series.
Customer Experience Comparison
Remote treatments don’t give you direct one-on-one interaction with a doctor. This means your experience and satisfaction rest on the customer support team and the company’s policies. Neither company can match the personalization and hands-on care of an in-office treatment, but we think both are dedicated to their customers. And even though most customers express satisfaction with their SmileDirectClub or NewSmile treatment, we think SmileDirectClub’s availability and extensive refund policies give them a slightly more customer-friendly experience.
NewSmile Customer Experience
SmileDirectClub Customer Experience
- Offers support via phone and email. They will also respond to messages on social media.
- Receives great customer feedback.
- Requires photos/videos of your teeth for check-ins every two weeks.
- Will provide refinement aligners if your end results don’t match your treatment preview.
- Doesn’t have a lifetime warranty.
- Offers support via phone, email, webchat, and mobile app. They will also respond to messages on social media.
- Has received mixed customer feedback.
- Will create refinement aligners if your results don’t match your treatment preview.
- Offers a full refund within 30 days of starting treatment and prorated refunds after that.
- Their Lifetime Smile Guarantee protects your smile forever.
Communication Channels
You can call, send an email, or reach out on social media to contact either company, but SmileDirectClub provides a wider range of options and availability.
You can reach SmileDirectClub’s support team by phone 24 hours a day. They also have a webchat feature, plus a mobile app where you can track your progress, upload photos, and chat with their representatives. NewSmile is only available Monday–Saturday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm PST and Sunday from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm PST.
You’ll also submit photos of your teeth every two weeks for NewSmile and every 90 days with SmileDirectClub. Their dental teams might provide feedback based on what they see, but this isn’t a dialogue with them. If you have further questions, you’ll need to contact their support teams.
Choose the CarePlus treatment and SmileDirectClub says you’ll have video check-ins with a hygienist or dental assistant every six weeks. Plus, you’ll have the option of scheduling extra in-person appointments with your partner dentist.
Responsiveness and Helpfulness
Full disclosure: we haven’t tried NewSmile or SmileDirectClub treatment personally. But we examine a lot of reviews from actual customers, and they’re overall happy with their experiences.
NewSmile reviews are still pretty sparse, given how recently they launched. Still, the available reviews show customers are happy with the support they’ve received. SmileDirectClub’s reviews are more of a mixed bag, but that’s expected, given they’ve worked with millions of customers. Plus, during their rapid expansion in 2017, they struggled to expand their customer support to match their growth. But we think they’ve made strides toward improvement since then.
Refund & Warranty Policies
The industry standard for refund policies is if you complete the impressions or scans and the company decides you aren’t a good candidate for treatment, they’ll refund whatever you’ve paid. Both NewSmile and SmileDirectClub offer this refund.
However, SmileDirectClub goes further. If you change your mind within the first 30 days of treatment, they’ll issue a full refund. Beyond that, you can get a prorated refund based on how many aligners you have left — a policy that most companies don’t offer.
If you reach the end of your aligner plan, but your smile doesn’t match the one the company promised, both will create refinement aligners to put the finishing touches on your smile. To maintain eligibility for this guarantee, you need to wear your aligners as directed and complete all your virtual check-ins. Otherwise, you might need to pay extra.
Once you’ve achieved that perfect smile, SmileDirectClub puts a lifetime warranty on it. If your teeth shift down the road, they’ll create new aligners to straighten them again, as long as you purchase two sets of retainers every year and wear them diligently.
Which Should You Choose?
We think both NewSmile and SmileDirectClub are quality companies. However, neither will be better than the other in every case because they have unique strengths and weaknesses. You have to determine which best aligns with your goals and expectations.
Who Should Consider SmileDirectClub?
SmileDirectClub could be great for people who:
- Want a more comprehensive refund policy.
- Prefer to work with a highly experienced provider.
- Want to get your teeth scanned in person.
Who Should Consider NewSmile?
NewSmile might work well for those who:
- Aren’t afraid to embrace a newcomer.
- Need a low price.
- Want more regular remote check-ins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get started with NewSmile or SmileDirectClub?
Get started with either company by going to their website and ordering an impression kit. SmileDirectClub also lets you schedule an in-person scan at one of their SmileShops or partnering dental offices instead.
How much do NewSmile and SmileDirectClub cost?
NewSmile’s all-day aligners are just $1,595 while their nighttime-only plan is $1,695. SmileDirectClub charges $2,250 for both all-day and nighttime-only treatment — or $3,900 for their CarePlus option.
What are NewSmile and SmileDirectClub customers saying?
On the whole, customers are happy with both companies, but SmileDirectClub has more negative reviews. This is mostly because they experienced rapid growth back in 2017 and struggled to adjust. Plus, larger companies will have more mixed reviews simply because they have more reviews overall.
How long do NewSmile and SmileDirectClub take?
Both companies claim their average treatment plan length is 4–6 months, or 8–10 months for nighttime-only treatment.
Can I wear my aligners only at night?
Yes, both NewSmile and SmileDirectClub offer nighttime-only options. This typically extends your treatment time and NewSmile charges extra for these aligners.
What conditions can NewSmile and SmileDirectClub treat?
They typically treat mild or moderate levels of crowding and spacing. In limited cases, they can address slightly more significant issues.
Does insurance cover clear aligners?
It depends on the brand of aligners, the specifics of your case, and the terms of your policy. Your best bet is to contact your insurance provider to check your coverage limits.
Are home aligners safe?
At-home clear aligner treatment plans are always designed and/or approved by a licensed dentist or orthodontist — as long as you’re buying from a legitimate clear aligner service.
The main concern regarding the safety of fully-remote clear aligner treatment is the lack of face-to-face care. Since you won’t be seeing a dentist in-person during treatment, you won’t receive the same level of support that you’d get with traditional in-office aligners like Invisalign or ClearCorrect. That said, a recent NIH-funded survey found the majority of at-home aligner customers were satisfied with their results, and only 6.6% experienced side effects necessitating a visit to their local dentist.
Read our guide to safe home teeth straightening treatment for more information.
Do clear aligners hurt?
They can cause tooth soreness when you first wear them and with each aligner change. However, this shouldn’t be intense and goes away quickly.
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