AlignerCo Smile Protection Plan: Is It Worth The Price?

Orthodontic treatment is an excellent way to invest in yourself. You’ll smile more, boosting dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, while also improving your oral health. There’s just one issue: orthodontic results don’t last forever without a little help.

Retainers are essential to preventing teeth from migrating back to their original spots, and AlignerCo’s Smile Protection Plan makes them more affordable for you. But is it worth it to invest hundreds of dollars into your smile as soon as active treatment wraps up? Here are all the details you need to decide if the AlignerCo Smile Protection Plan is a good value for you.

Breaking Down the AlignerCo Protection Plan

AlignerCo’s Smile Protection Plan is all about maintaining the results that their treatment delivers. Aligners get your teeth where they need to be, but without retainers, they won’t stay there, instead moving back towards their original positions. While there are a few different types of retainers you can use, most patients prefer aligner-style retainers — which is precisely what AlignerCo offers.

These retainers are thicker and stronger than actual aligners — an important feature since you wear them for months, not weeks! Still, over time, they will wear down, especially if you clench or grind your teeth at night. Most people need to replace theirs every six months, and the cost can really add up. In fact, it’s a major reason why so many adults stop wearing retainers and end up needing orthodontic treatment again later on.

The AlignerCo Smile Protection Plan is designed to reduce the financial strain of keeping your smile perfectly aligned. For $680 at full price or $499 on sale, you get eight sets of retainers, covering you for four years after treatment. That breaks down to just $62.38 per retainer set. Compare this to $199 per set if you just buy the retainers one set at a time and the value is clear. All the retainers are delivered at once, so you need to keep them safe, but this does mean you get to skip the hassle of multiple shipments per year.

Paying for the AlignerCo Protection Plan

With AlignerCo, you don’t have to sign up for the protection plan when you purchase your aligners; you are free to make the decision towards the end of active treatment. You just head to their purchase page and check out. The cost is $680, though it’s often on sale for $499, and includes shipping.

The one restriction is that this plan is only available to existing customers — those who straightened their smiles using AlignerCo aligners. You can purchase AlignerCo retainers if you used another aligner system, though. They cost $199 per set, and this includes the impression kit, retainers, and retainer case.

The Typical Retainer Wear Schedule

Your retainer wear schedule is unique to you, just like your active treatment plan was. While there is a “typical” retainer wear schedule, it might not be the one you need to follow. Always defer to your provider’s instructions over the guides you find online. With that said, below is a retainer wear schedule most dentists and orthodontists prescribe.

The First 3–6 Months

During the initial months of the retention phase, your retainer wear schedule is the same as with all-day aligners; you keep them in for 22 hours a day and only remove them to eat, drink, brush, and floss.

The Next Two Years

After those first few months of pretty much constant wear, you will transition to wearing retainers only at night. Unlike nighttime aligners, you don’t have to wear them for exactly 10 continuous hours, but they do need to be in place while sleeping.

Going Forward

It’s not the best news to get, but it’s the truth: retainers are for life. Yes, your whole entire life from the end of treatment forward — unless you are OK with losing the results you worked so hard for. But there is good news here: you don’t have to wear them every night. Most people will wear them every other night to every third night. Just be mindful of retainers that start to feel like they don’t fit right anymore as this can mean your teeth are shifting.

When to Replace Retainers

The industry standard is to swap out your retainers for new ones every six months. That’s why AlignerCo’s Smile Protection Plan includes two sets per year. Just know that this isn’t an exact science. If you grind your teeth or clench your jaw at night, your retainers might wear out faster than other people’s will. If you don’t and you take really good care of your retainers, yours could last longer.

So, how can you be sure it is time to switch to new retainers? Just stick to the six-month schedule and speed it up if you notice any of the following signs:

• Your retainer feels loose.
• The retainer feels like it fits funny.
• You can see cracks forming in your retainer.
• There are chips missing from the retainer.
• No scrubbing gets your retainer clean.
• The shape of the retainer is warped.
• Your retainer was lost or stolen.

While the AlignerCo Smile Protection Plan only includes two retainer sets per year, you get them all at once. So if you are someone who needs three sets a year, you just go ahead and make the switch.

Is AlignerCo’s Smile Protection Plan Worth It?

Retainers are an essential aspect of aligner therapy. Whether you choose AlignerCo or not, you’ll have to buy them. Purchasing each set separately for four years comes to a cost of $1,592. That makes paying just $499 a pretty great deal.

So, is it worth it? In our estimate, yes. But your budget and priorities are unique. Take time to consider the benefits of the AlignerCo Smile Protection Plan before you purchase aftercare retainers.