Finding the time, money, and headspace to move forward with teeth straightening treatment can feel a little bit daunting. Luckily, at-home clear aligner companies like NewSmile have simplified this process — and made it significantly less expensive as well.
The average cost of Invisalign is $5,000, which makes NewSmile’s low price of $1,595 a much more budget-friendly option — but it’s still an investment. You might also be wondering exactly what your all-in cost will be, and between discounts, financing, add-ons, and aftercare, it can be difficult to navigate.
That’s what we’re here to help decipher. In this guide, we’ll lay out all the factors that contribute to your total treatment cost and give you a clearer picture of how much you can actually expect to spend on NewSmile treatment.
Table of Contents
Sticker Price
NewSmile’s sticker price is $1,595 for their “Fast Track” daytime aligner package. This package comes with an impression kit, treatment preview (digitally imagined “afters” of your smile), a full set of aligners, one set of retainers, and a bottle of whitening foam. It will also include NewSmile’s monitoring app to help them oversee your treatment process.
NewSmile’s nighttime aligner costs $1,695. This plan comes with all the same bells and whistles as NewSmile’s daytime plan — just with their Night Aligners instead.
If you can, paying upfront for your NewSmile treatment will be cheaper overall. However, if you aren’t someone whose sock drawer is aching to part with a thousand dollars, then NewSmile’s third-party financing may be a good option for you. We’ll take a closer look at this option later on!
Additional Costs
Impression Kit
When you pay for NewSmile treatment upfront through their Fast Track package, they automatically include an impression kit. However, if you are someone who likes to tip-toe into major purchases instead of cannonballing, you can first purchase a NewSmile impression kit for $139 — or as low as $49 on sale — then send your completed impressions to their professionals for a treatment preview before committing the full treatment price.
Whitening Foam
NewSmile’s whitening foam costs $39. Since they include one bottle of whitening foam in your aligner package, you will have the opportunity to see if you like it before buying it on your own.
Tray Spray
For $35, you can get NewSmile’s Tray Spray, which helps sanitize your aligners. Picture your trusty hand sanitizer — only mint flavored and non-toxic.
Aligner Case
This $20 case is a good place to store your aligners if you are traveling, or simply wish to enjoy a meal at a restaurant.
Retainers
After any teeth straightening treatment, the industry-wide recommendation is to wear retainers overnight — in perpetuity — to prevent your teeth from moving out of place. This means that the cost of retainers through the clear aligner company you choose is very important because it isn’t just a one-time expense.
NewSmile includes one set of retainers (upper and lower) in your package, but unfortunately, once it’s time to replace those retainers, their prices for additional retainers are pretty steep. If you buy one retainer outright from NewSmile, it will cost you $149. They have an option to buy two retainers at once, which would save you $76 total, but the price for each retainer is still $112.50.
By comparison, competitors like Byte and AlignerCo offer aftercare programs that mail you retainers on a regular schedule to make it as easy as possible to preserve your smile. These packages also offer competitive prices (AlignerCo’s package costs $85 per retainer). Since NewSmile doesn’t have a comparable service, your retainers will likely cost you more in the long run — and remember, this is a fairly long run!
Refinements
If, by the end of your treatment, you don’t feel your smile matches the initial treatment preview, NewSmile will work with you to resolve the issue(s). However, this will likely come at a price.
NewSmile considers a 90% attainment of your proposed treatment plan a success, so depending on the disparity between your actual smile and the initial projection, you may have to pay for additional refinements. NewSmile’s dental team will determine the cost of your refinement, but they’re typically $449.
Discounts and Promotions
Occasionally, NewSmile will run discounts on their website that take up to a couple hundred dollars off the price of treatment. They also have a discount for current or former members of the military. To receive it, you must send NewSmile customer support an email with your military ID number. Their customer support team will then send you a discount code to receive $100 off of your clear aligner treatment. Not the simplest process, but a significant discount nonetheless!
Financing
For their daytime aligners, NewSmile offers financing starting at $58/month for 36 months. For nighttime aligners, financing starts at $61/month. In either case, they don’t require a down payment, which makes getting started even easier and more accessible.
Insurance Coverage
Your dental insurance probably covers most (if not all) of your necessary procedures — things like cleanings, fillings, root canals, etc. The issue with clear aligner treatment is that some insurance providers consider it a cosmetic treatment and, therefore, not eligible for coverage. This is especially true for at-home aligners, which typically treat milder cases of misalignment. So, you’ll want to consult with your insurer to determine whether they will offer any coverage for NewSmile treatment specifically.
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), NewSmile accepts payments from either. These tax-free funds — which may receive contributions from your employer — are a great way to reduce your out-of-pocket cost. You can pay directly with your FSA/HSA debit card, or if you don’t have a debit card for those accounts, you can get a receipt from NewSmile and send it to your FSA/HSA directly for reimbursement.
How Does The Cost Compare to Other Treatment Options?
The at-home clear aligner industry has done wonders for making teeth straightening more affordable. Many at-home clear aligners cost right around $2,000 — providing significant savings compared to braces and Invisalign (which average about $5,000). That means treatment with NewSmile runs hundreds less than the at-home clear aligner industry average, and thousands less than braces or Invisalign!
That said, one area where NewSmile falls behind its competitors is the cost of retainers. Since retainers are a long-term recurring cost, these will add up over time.
Though NewSmile’s sticker price is quite low, there are some benefits to dishing out a couple hundred dollars more to get treatment through a competitor like Byte. Byte’s aligner bundle includes a high-frequency vibration device called the HyperByte, which uses gentle micropulses the company says can help reduce discomfort. Certain studies identified by our non-clinical team suggest devices like this might help teeth move faster too.
Byte also offers other perks, like a lifetime guarantee on your smile. So if your teeth ever move out of place, you will have a no-cost option to get them back into position. This could save you a lot of money in the long run.
When comparing the different values of at-home clear aligner brands overall, there are some other appealing options. NewSmile offers lower sticker prices than many of their competitors, but since their post-treatment costs add up significantly over time, another brand could be a less expensive option in the long run.
Final Thoughts
Since straightening your teeth can be such an expensive process, it is understandable that sticker price would be an important factor in choosing the ideal company for you. However, there is so much more to the total cost of clear aligners than just the initial price. For NewSmile, the low sticker price is not indicative of their long-term price, when you factor in the fairly steep cost of retainers.
All that said, NewSmile isn’t the only online clear aligner service on the market, and it’s a good idea to compare your options before moving forward with any teeth-straightening treatment. Visit our review of the five best online clear aligner services for a more comprehensive look at your options.
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