What Is the True Cost of SmileDirectClub in Australia?

Comparing your options for teeth straightening can feel like shopping for a new vehicle — you want a balance of affordability and quality, and there are tons of options, making it hard to find the perfect fit.

Depending on your alignment concerns and the clear aligner system you choose, straightening your teeth in Australia can cost as little as $1,500 or upwards of $8,500. Even on the low end, that’s an investment, but it’s an investment in your health and well-being.

By cutting the cost of office visits, at-home aligner systems like SmileDirectClub can offer the most affordable path to a straighter smile without cutting corners on quality. Yet SmileDirectClub’s $2,965 sticker price only covers the aligner kit, so your bottom-line price will look slightly different. What can you expect to pay? And are there ways to bring down your total? We’ve got all the answers right here.

SmileDirectClub’s Sticker Price

In Australia, SmileDirectClub’s treatment kit costs $2,965. This is a flat rate, meaning every customer pays the same price, no matter how many aligners are part of their prescribed treatment.

That sticker price isn’t pocket change, but it does represent a pretty solid value. The treatment kit includes every aligner you need to get your teeth from point A to point B, plus these important extras:

• Your impression kit or in-person scan.
• A case to keep your aligners safe when you’re not wearing them.
• A teeth whitening kit.
• Lip balm to help prevent chapping.
• The “outie” tool that helps with removing your aligners.
• “Chewies,” which are bites that help you fit your aligners snugly into place.

However, it doesn’t include everything that you need for your treatment. While that might sound like a “gotcha,” the truth is that most clear aligner systems ⁠— at-home or otherwise ⁠— do not include everything you need from start to finish.

Additional Costs

So, what are these extras that you’ll need to complete SmileDirectClub’s treatment? Let’s take a quick look.

Retainers

Once you complete your full series of SmileDirectClub aligners, you will need to wear retainers for the rest of your life to prevent your teeth from shifting back. At first, you’ll wear them all day, then transition to night-only wear.

These retainers cost $167 per set, and you should replace them about once every 6 months. This means that after roughly 9 years, you will spend more on retainers than you did on treatment. However, since these expenses are broken up over time, they won’t strain your budget too much.

Teeth Whitening

SmileDirectClub’s aligner kit includes one full whitening treatment. However, they suggest using a treatment every six months to keep your smile at its brightest. The price of this kit varies depending on which one you choose.

Unlike retainers, the whitening kit is optional. Plus, you can choose other whitening systems once you no longer wear aligners, which gives you more options that can work with your budget.

Refinements

Sometimes, teeth don’t move exactly as planned. If you reach the end of your treatment and your smile doesn’t match the one from SmileDirectClub’s initial preview, you can request a refinement. These are rarely necessary, but as long as you follow your aligner plan and SmileDirectClub approves the changes, it won’t cost you extra.

However, if you need a refinement because you wore your aligners incorrectly or you did not wear your retainers as directed, you might need to pay. The cost depends on how many aligners are required to make the changes.

SmileDirectClub Discounts & Promotions

Everyone loves a good deal, and SmileDirectClub offers discounts and promotions pretty frequently, often sending codes to their email list members for hundreds of dollars off their system.

Just keep in mind that sometimes you might have multiple discounts available to you, but SmileDirectClub does not let you combine them. So, choose the one that best meets your needs.

Financing Options

If the $2,965 price tag is too much to pay all at once, the good news is that you don’t have to. SmileDirectClub offers SmilePay, an in-house financing plan that doesn’t require a credit check, so everyone qualifies. You just make a $299 deposit, then pay $125 a month for 24 months.

This comes to $3,299 in total, which is more than treatment would cost if you paid the full price up front — but not by much. Considering it also includes two free sets of retainers, you actually break even.

What About Insurance?

National insurance typically will not cover dental treatments. This is why most people carry an additional private policy for their dental needs.

At the moment, private insurers typically consider SmileDirectClub a cosmetic treatment rather than a medical one, so you cannot use your insurance benefits to pay for it. However, the company, and others like it, are working to change this. Hopefully, in the near future, you will be able to apply private dental benefits to your SmileDirectClub treatment.

How Does the Cost Compare to Other Treatment Options?

$2,965 sounds like a lot of money — and it is. However, when you compare it to competitors’ prices, it’s pretty affordable, especially considering all the items included in your kit and the fact that there are no transportation costs involved.

Compared to in-office treatments, SmileDirectClub boasts an exceptional value. Invisalign costs $4,500–$8,000 on average, while its Express system averages $3,500. Neither treatment includes whitening products like SmileDirectClub does and both require office visits.

SmileDirectClub’s biggest competitors are other at-home clear aligner companies. And in this arena, it does fall a bit short. Its closest price-point competitor is Byte which costs $2,749. However, Byte both includes more items in their treatment kit and offers significantly faster treatment times.

SmileDirectClub’s price is beaten more significantly by EZ Smile. Though they don’t offer as many bells and whistles, EZ Smile’s $2,499 price tag is one of the lowest in the Australian market. Plus, they offer financing without a credit check, so anyone can divide their total into manageable installments.

If you are strictly looking at cost, SmilePath has the lowest price, just $1,899. They don’t offer as many fancy extras as Byte, but you still get a straight smile for more than $1,000 less than SmileDirectClub.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to correcting your smile, price matters, but it shouldn’t be the only factor in your decision. Instead, focus on finding the option that best meets your needs as a whole. Look at things like convenience, treatment times, and bonus items. With enough research, you’ll be able to determine if SmileDirectClub suits your goals, and if not, find the best alternative for you.