Are Diamond Whites Aligners Worth Buying?

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The orthodontic industry is experiencing a revolution, one that’s providing alternatives to expensive and time-consuming treatments like braces or Invisalign. And remote clear aligner companies are at the forefront, empowering young adults to purchase dental aligners online and straighten their teeth from home.

Diamond Whites is one of the most exciting new innovators on the UK market, offering a blend between fully remote treatment and in-office care — for a fraction of the price you’d pay for traditional methods. Here’s your Diamond Whites primer, with all the essential info you need to decide if they’re the right fit for your smile.

What is Diamond Whites?

In 2012, Diamond Whites co-founder Ben Reed left an especially expensive dentist appointment on a mission: make teeth whitening more affordable. So he began making effective and accessible whitening products, before teaming up with cosmetic dentist Dr. Richard Marques to develop a clear aligner treatment in 2019. Dr. Marques made his name perfecting smiles for celebrities like Rita Ora, Dua Lipa, and Jamie Redknapp, and with Diamond Whites, he and Reed have brought that A-list teeth-straightening expertise to people across the UK.

They craft custom clear aligners based on impressions or scans of your teeth, specially designed to shift your pearly whites into new positions. While most Diamond Whites customers complete their treatment remotely, Dr. Marques maintains his dental practice in London for anyone who would like to schedule an in-person appointment.

Like other at-home aligner treatments, Diamond Whites can treat cases of mild and moderate crowding and spacing in the front 6–8 teeth. They offer both a daytime plan that requires 22+ hours of daily wear, and a nighttime-only one, which only requires ten. Choose either plan and you’ll have weekly digital check-ins, where you use a special device called a ScanBox to submit photos of your teeth, allowing Diamond Whites’ team to monitor your progress and make adjustments if necessary.

How Does Diamond Whites Treatment Work?

The most common way to kick off their treatment is by purchasing an impression kit for £99.99 from the Diamond Whites website. However, the company has a clinic in London and pop-up locations across the UK where you can schedule an appointment for a teeth scan instead.

Diamond Whites will use your impressions or scans to determine if you’re a good candidate for treatment. If so, Dr. Marques and his team will begin designing your treatment plan.

You’ll receive a treatment preview via email showing how the clear aligners will shift your teeth into your finished smile. If you like what you see, you’ll pay the full amount or enroll in a financing plan, then Diamond Whites will begin the manufacturing process. On average, customers receive their aligners just ten days after paying their bill or signing on to a payment plan.

Pros and Cons of Diamond Whites

There are plenty of reasons to love Diamond Whites, but it’s not a perfect fit for everyone. Here are the major pros and cons associated with their treatment.

Effectiveness

A clear aligner system can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if it doesn’t get the job done, it’s not a good investment. When you commit your time and money to treatment, you want to be confident it can effectively correct your crowding or spacing, and even though Diamond Whites can’t handle severe cases and jaw misalignments, they still deliver pretty reliable results.

Head dentist and founder Dr. Richard Marques, or Dr. Aaron (another registered dentist), reviews and approves every treatment.

It’s nice to know who, exactly, is behind your orthodontic care. With in-office treatments, it’s obvious, since you see them in person. But remote aligners don’t always let you put a face with a name. Diamond Whites does. Dr. Marques is the cosmetic dentist behind many famous celebrity smiles, and no treatment plan goes out without his approval, or the approval of his colleague, Dr. Aaron. So you can be sure there’s a highly qualified expert involved in your case.

Diamond Whites produces their aligners in the UK, but it’s unclear where.

At-home aligner companies typically take one of two routes for manufacturing their products: either produce them in house or outsource production to a dental supplies manufacturer. Diamond Whites doesn’t specify which path they take, but they say that all their aligners are made in the UK using quality, BPA-free plastics.

Their dental team will virtually examine your smile every week to keep you on track.

Part of what makes treatments like Invisalign and braces so effective is that regular office visits let your orthodontist evaluate your teeth every step of the way. Diamond Whites has replicated this oversight remotely with regular virtual check-ins.

You’ll receive a ScanBox — a phone attachment that helps take detailed photos of your teeth — plus access to a mobile app where you can upload those photos. Every week, you’ll submit photos for review, and Diamond Smiles’ team will use them to track your progress. However, your assigned dentist will only review your photos if their software flags them as concerning. Then, they’ll provide feedback through the app and address any issues before they get too serious.

Plus, if you have a concern during treatment that necessitates an in-person visit, you can schedule an appointment at their physical office. The only problem is that it’s in London, so if you live elsewhere, you’ll need to travel.

Affordability

Orthodontic treatment is an investment, not just in your smile, but also in your self-confidence. Yet it’s still an investment. Fortunately, at-home clear aligners are thousands less than in-office options like braces and Invisalign, making them a fairly affordable orthodontic alternative. But while Diamond Whites outshines their fully in-office counterparts, it’s not the most affordable at-home option out there.

You’ll pay £1,990 for their standard or nighttime-only aligner plans.

For the consistent remote monitoring and quality products you get, that’s a pretty solid price, but it’s one of the higher ones among at-home aligner services. Diamond Smiles will occasionally run sales that drop it by around £100–£400, but it’s still not as low as some competitors. That said, it’s still a lot cheaper than traditional orthodontics.

Payment plans can make those prices more accessible, but you’ll end up paying more in the long run.

If you’ve got £1,990 stashed under the mattress or in a sock drawer, great. But if not, you might be looking for ways to make Diamond Whites’ prices more manageable. Good news: they offer a few different financing plans that can break those expenses into easier monthly payments.

Here are your options:

• £42.18 per month at a representative 9.9% APR for 60 months (£2,531.03 total)
• £64.12 per month at a representative 9.9% APR for 36 months (£2,308.26 total)
• £165.83 per month for 12 months with 0% APR (£1,990 total)

You’ll still need to purchase an impression kit or in-person teeth scan before treatment and retainers after.

The aligners themselves aren’t your only expense, however. To kick off your treatment, you’ll need an impression kit or dental scan, and they both cost £99.99. However, if you decide to proceed with treatment, they’ll put that £100 toward the sticker price. If you’re not a candidate, they’ll issue a refund of any amount you pre-paid for your aligners, but not the impression kit or scan.

Then, after you’ve finished your aligner program, you’ll need to keep your teeth in place with retainers. Teeth often want to shift back after they’ve moved, so you’ll need to wear retainers all day at first, then just overnight later on. Diamond Whites’ retainers cost £200 and last 4–6 months on average, although they also offer a subscription service where they only cost £150 per set.

Appearance

No matter which clear aligner brand you choose, people won’t notice you’re wearing them — unless they’ve got eagle eyes, or catch you taking them out. But every company designs their aligners differently, and some are actually less noticeable than others. Diamond Whites makes pretty discreet aligners, although they might be a tiny bit more visible than some competitors.

The plastic they use is completely transparent and has a smooth finish.

You’re probably thinking, “perfect, that makes them pretty much invisible.” And while they are pretty tough to spot, perfectly clear, smooth aligners can actually be more visible because they’re more reflective. Since your natural teeth are matte, that might make them seem unnaturally shiny.

That said, some people prefer that design because they like how shiny it makes their smile. So, really, it’s a matter of personal preference.

Diamond Whites trims their aligners to match your gum line.

Basically, there are two cuts for clear aligners: scalloped to match the gum line or cut straight across, overlapping the gums. Straight-cut aligners leave a visible edge, especially on people who show extra gum when they smile. NewSmile’s scalloped cut hides the edge in the gum line, reducing visibility.

Diamond Whites can’t outfit their aligners with attachments, keeping your mouth free of extra hardware.

When administering Invisalign, a dentist can incorporate elastics and special attachments that help their scalloped aligners make more intricate teeth movements. Attachments make the aligners more effective, but also increase their visibility.

Since home aligners like Diamond Whites typically don’t involve ongoing in-person office visits, these attachments are not possible. But that also means there’s no extra hardware on your teeth.

Customer Experience

How a company treats you can make or break your experience with their products. And with orthodontic treatment, you want to make sure you’re getting one that treats you right and delivers on their promises. Customers often report positive experiences with Diamond Whites’ support team, their refund and refinement policies aren’t as extensive as some competitors.

You can contact Diamond Whites by phone, online contact form, or using their remote monitoring app.

They don’t specify their hours, but provide a phone number and contact form on their website. However, based on customer reviews, it seems like the easiest and most popular way to contact the Diamond Whites support team is through their app. This is the same app you’ll use to submit photos of your teeth, so it’s everything you need in one place.

Diamond Whites will provide free refinements, but you must follow their guidelines.

Orthodontia is a precise science, but sometimes teeth are stubborn and don’t quite move as expected. If you reach the end of your aligner treatment and your smile doesn’t look exactly like you hoped, Diamond Whites will provide a refinement to finish the job. However, you must have completed every weekly virtual check-in on time, and you must let them know you need refinements within 30 days of your last scan. You’ll need to pay £250 if you take longer than 30 days and £500 if you take longer than 90.

You will only receive a refund if you’re ineligible for treatment or if you cancel your order within 14 days.

If Diamond Whites doesn’t think they can effectively correct your misalignment, they’ll refund you any money you paid toward your aligners (but not the £99.99 for your impression kit or scan). And if you order aligners and change your mind right away, you can cancel within 14 days and receive a full refund. After 14 days, you can’t get any money back.

Convenience

Dental appointments can be a hassle. You need to schedule them, take time off work or school, and travel to and from the office. Yet traditional orthodontic treatments require them every few weeks — making at-home aligners a much more streamlined alternative. But even compared to their home-aligner peers, Diamond Whites is one of the more convenient options on the market.

Diamond Smiles has multiple ways to kick off your treatment.

The first step the dental team will take is assessing your teeth to determine if you’re a candidate for treatment, which means they need detailed images. If you want to complete everything without leaving your home, you can order an impression kit, which includes trays and putty to create molds of your teeth. The downside is that most people are extremely inexperienced in making these impressions, and some need multiple kits to get it right.

Some people are simply more comfortable having someone else handle that process. That’s why Diamond Smiles offer in-person dental scans at their main office in London, or one of their many pop-up locations across the UK. It’s safe, painless, and costs the same as an impression kit. Plus, it ensures you’ll get perfect images in one try.

After you place your order and pay, Diamond Whites says you’ll receive your aligners in about ten days.

That’s a lot faster than many other companies, some of which can take a few weeks to manufacture and mail your products. After you’re approved for treatment and you pay for your aligners — or enroll in a financing plan — they’ll get to work. Since they produce everything in the UK, you can expect to receive your kit within 1–2 weeks.

Diamond Whites says their average treatment plan is six months long, but that they can be as short as 3–4 months.

The milder the misalignment, the less time it takes to correct, and since Diamond Whites only accepts mild and moderate cases, their average treatment plans are fairly short. Braces and Invisalign, by comparison, often take a year or more, primarily because they treat more severe misalignments.

The 3–4-month timeframe that Diamond White says some customers can achieve, however, is shorter than some other remote aligner brands. Just remember that your specific timeline depends almost entirely on the severity of your condition, and it might even fall outside of these ranges.

With their nighttime option, you only need to wear your aligners for ten hours per day.

Standard aligner plans tell you to wear your aligners for at least 22 hours per day, removing them only when you eat or drink anything besides water. That means you’ll need to wear them to work, school, out with friends, on dates, and anywhere else you go. That schedule isn’t ideal for everyone — especially people whose job requires a lot of talking, or who snack all day long.

Go with Diamond Whites’ nighttime-only plan, however, and you can pop them in after dinner, then take them out the next morning. It’s a lot more convenient than wearing them basically 24/7. Plus, for most customers, this plan doesn’t take a lot longer than their standard daytime treatment.

What Are Customers Saying?

Customers generally love their Diamond Whites experience, and most of the company’s online reviews are enthusiastic endorsements. These reviewers often love their results and how easy the ScanBox and mobile app make weekly check-ins. Even customers who were worried about the quality of remote care said that the regular remote oversight gave them peace of mind.

We found very few complaints, but the most common ones are that Diamond Whites charges extra for refinements and that the impression kit can be difficult to use. Some customers also note lapses in customer service responsiveness, although there are a lot more positive notes about the company’s customer support than negative ones.

Sometimes the best way to evaluate a particular treatment is by listening to the experiences of other customers. Here are a couple of helpful video reviews from real Diamond Whites customers:

Best Alternatives to Diamond Whites

Straight Teeth Direct vs. Diamond Whites

Like Diamond Whites, Straight Teeth Direct has a robust remote monitoring service, giving them excellent effectiveness and customer support. Plus, they guarantee their results by providing extra aligners to achieve your ideal smile (if necessary). They’re less expensive than Diamond Whites, plus have a long track record of successful treatments, solid customer rapport, and tons of functionality in their mobile app. Straight Teeth Direct’s commitment to quality and innovative technology make them one of the best options out there.

Interested? Check out our full Straight Teeth Direct review.

Virtuoso vs. Diamond Whites

From the same parent company as Straight Teeth Direct, Virtuoso is a hybrid treatment that combines the convenience of remote monitoring with the effectiveness of office visits with a dentist. It costs slightly more than Diamond Whites, but you’ll get the reassurance of in-person care and an advanced dental scope to complete your at-home check-ins.

If that intrigues you, we’ve got plenty more info in our comprehensive Virtuoso review.

SmileDirectClub vs. Diamond Whites

SmileDirectClub stands out as the largest and most popular at-home clear aligner brand. They also offer retail locations, which makes it easier to get the ball rolling, depending on where you live. They’ve also transformed over 1.5 million smiles so far, making them the most experienced home aligner company on the market. If your priority is proven results and a long track record of success, check them out.

Read through our complete SmileDirectClub review to learn more.

Final Thoughts

Diamond Whites aligners give adults yet another option for affordable, convenient teeth-straightening treatment. They provide robust remote oversight and the option to schedule in-person appointments at their dental practice, something you rarely find with at-home aligner services. They might not be the ideal choice for everyone, but we think they’re well worth considering.