Are you looking to straighten your smile without breaking the bank? Would you prefer a convenient at-home treatment to a time-consuming in-office orthodontic alignment? If so, you might be interested in UpSmiles clear aligners. UpSmiles is one of several reputable companies offering Invisalign-style clear aligners you can use to straighten your teeth at home.
UpSmiles is one of the newest companies in this market. That said, they boast some unique advantages that we think make them worth considering. Here’s all the essential info you need to know if they’re the right treatment for you.
Table of Contents
What Is UpSmiles?
In 2020, Dr. Amit Kumar — a dentist who has used Invisalign in his private practice for 20 years — noticed that some at-home aligner companies were getting subpar customer reviews. He saw an opportunity to deliver a premium product at reasonable rates with more personalized treatment than most competitors, and UpSmiles was born.
UpSmiles doesn’t have a ton of experience managing alignments with the at-home model, especially compared to some competitors, like SmileDirectClub. That said, they offer reasonable prices and give you the option to pay extra for their OrthoPulse device, which they claim may reduce discomfort and provide faster results.
Based in Chicago, Illinois, UpSmiles has ambitious goals for growing its business. We think their relatively low prices and impressive efficiency give them a solid foundation for growth and advancement in the industry.
How Do I Get Started?
Like all remote aligner treatments, the first step is providing UpSmiles’ dental care team with high-quality images of your teeth. To do so, you’ll need to complete one of their impression kits. These kits can be a slight hassle, but UpSmiles offers video calls with their dental care team to make it easier. Some of their competitors have in-office teeth scans as well, but UpSmiles only offers impression kits.
Once you complete the impression kit and return it to UpSmiles, their dentists will evaluate your alignment and determine if you’re a candidate for their services. If so, they’ll ship your aligners, carrying case, chewies, aligner removal tool, and teeth whitening kits straight to your front door in 2–3 weeks.
Pros & Cons of UpSmiles
We’ll dive into our UpSmiles analysis in a moment, but first, let’s skim their primary advantages and disadvantages. Considering all of their attributes, we feel like these are the ones that make UpSmiles stand out from the crowd.
UpSmiles Pros
- UpSmiles says their average treatment takes an average of 6–10 months to complete; but they claim that with the use of their OrthoPulse device, mild misalignments can take as little as 3–4 months.
- If you prefer to only wear aligners while you sleep, rather than 22 hours per day, UpSmiles has a solution. Their nighttime alignment option costs $400 more and takes 10–12 months on average; but according to UpSmiles, that can decrease to just 5–6 months with OrthoPulse.
- You’ll receive several free bonus features, including whitening kits, retainers, chewies, and a carrying case.
UpSmiles Cons
- UpSmiles is a young company in the home aligner marketplace. By comparison, some competitors have been around for several years and have treated hundreds of thousands of customers.
- UpSmiles doesn’t have any clinics that provide in-person teeth scans, so you’ll need to purchase an impression kit to get started.
Our Review Methodology
Smile Prep’s reviews are prepared and presented from the perspective of a well-informed consumer. Our starting point for all of our reviews is a careful survey of a company’s marketing claims and available third party customer reviews. We rely on the accuracy of company claims and do not independently verify them. Our reviews use this information to help our readers get information about the available options in a centralized location. You can learn more about our review process by checking out our publishing principles.
UpSmiles Scope of Treatment
The decision to straighten your teeth isn’t one you should take lightly. After all, it requires quite a bit of time and money! That’s why you need to know that the company you choose is capable of straightening your smile. Even though it can’t treat the same range of severe cases as in-office treatments like Invisalign, UpSmiles might still be a good option for anyone with a mild or moderate misalignment.
Like most other mail-order clear aligner services, UpSmiles should work for many mild-to-moderate alignment issues, such as crowding and spacing.
If you’re trying to correct a severe misalignment or need jaw alterations, a traditional in-office treatment option like braces or Invisalign would probably be a better bet for you. That said, as long as you wear your aligners as directed (22 hours per day, or ten hours per night with their At-Night plan), the UpSmiles website says their aligners can correct the following issues:
- Mild-to-moderate spacing
- Mild-to-moderate crowding
- Certain cases of crossbite
The only way to know for sure whether UpSmiles can handle your case, however, is to purchase and complete an impression kit. Their team will review your dental molds to determine if you’re a suitable candidate for treatment.
UpSmiles will monitor your treatment remotely, but the details are unclear.
Many at-home aligner companies provide some type of remote monitoring throughout your treatment. Typically, they’ll request photos every few weeks for their dentists to review, so they can determine if your teeth are moving as planned and make adjustments to your plan, if necessary.
On their website, UpSmiles says, “We’ll ship you your custom aligners and remote monitor your progress as you move through each set of aligners.” However, they don’t describe exactly how they do it.
UpSmiles doesn’t disclose details about their manufacturing or materials.
Some clear aligner companies provide information about where they produce their aligners and what kind of material they use, but UpSmiles doesn’t. This doesn’t necessarily mean their products are unreliable, but we’d have a little more peace of mind if they offered that information.
UpSmiles Affordability
Every at-home alignment company has lower prices than braces or Invisalign. And UpSmiles isn’t just far cheaper than those in-office options, they offer solid affordability even when compared to their at-home competitors.
UpSmiles’ pricing is better than most other at-home aligner companies.
For their All-Day treatment, UpSmiles costs $1,399. Meanwhile, if you choose their nighttime-only plan, you’ll pay $1,799. The only company we reviewed who can beat their standard price is AlignerCo, who charges just $995. UpSmiles still costs less than NewSmile ($1,595), Byte ($2,099) and SmileDirectClub ($2,250).
Remember that the OrthoPulse device costs an extra $499, so if you want to experience its potential benefits, you’ll have to pay more.
They also approve every customer for financing.
If you don’t have thousands of dollars lying around, don’t worry. UpSmiles offers a payment plan that breaks your costs into bite-sized chunks. Through their partnership with Partial.ly, you need to pay $349 down, followed by 18 monthly payments of $79.72, for a total of $1,783.95. They offer a similar payment structure for their nighttime aligners.
UpSmiles Convenience
Choose an at-home aligner company over in-office treatment and you’ll spend much less time in the dentist’s chair, and less time in treatment overall. It’s a streamlined, fairly easy process — yet in our opinion, UpSmiles doesn’t go as far as some competitors to make their treatment as convenient as possible.
Unlike some of their at-home competitors, UpSmiles doesn’t have any in-person scanning locations.
While some competitors give customers the choice of completing a DIY impression kit or visiting a retail location for a professional teeth scan, UpSmiles only offers impression kits. Impression kits get the job done, but can be difficult, since most of us haven’t created molds of our teeth before, and the company requires perfect accuracy. A professional dental scan ensures you’ll get perfect images in one try.
UpSmiles typically ships your aligners within 2–3 weeks after you approve your treatment plan and pay for treatment. These times are slightly faster than some competitors.
UpSmiles offers the option of At-Night aligners. Not all clear aligner services do.
If you’ve got a lot of meetings and social engagements, wearing clear aligners all day, every day might not be appealing.
UpSmiles’ All-Day aligners require about 22 hours of daily wear, and they take 6–10 months to align your teeth. Meanwhile, their nighttime aligners only require ten hours of daily wear, but they take 10–12 months. If you choose to include the OrthoPulse device, UpSmiles claims your treatment could take as little as three months for All-Day treatment or six months on the At-Night plan.
UpSmiles lets customers choose if they want to include OrthoPulse — a low-intensity, near-infrared light device — with their treatment.
The company that makes OrthoPulse claims that devices like it might encourage faster dental shifts for some customers. You just have to bite down on it for ten minutes per day. However, OrthoPulse is completely optional. If you’d like to include it in your treatment plan, you’ll pay an extra $499 — making All-Day treatment $1,898 and the At-Night plan $2,298.
UpSmiles includes two whitening pens and an LED whitening kit at no extra charge.
Many companies upcharge for these types of premium whitening products, but UpSmiles automatically includes them in their aligner bundles.
UpSmiles Appearance
You don’t need us to tell you that every clear aligner is significantly more discreet than metal braces. That said, they’re not all identical. Look closely and you’ll notice subtle differences between them. That said, appearance is totally subjective, so which looks best depends on your unique style and preferences.
UpSmiles (and most competitors) use entirely transparent, shiny plastic to make their aligners.
As a result, these aligners reflect light, which we think can make them more noticeable. Your teeth aren’t naturally that shiny, since they’re covered in tiny pores. So in our opinion, frosted, matte aligners like SmileDirectClub’s actually look more natural. That said, some people want their smile to gleam, so you might prefer the smooth, clear option.
UpSmiles scallops their aligners to match your gum line, which we think decreases their visibility.
Many companies cut their aligners straight across the top, so they slightly overlap your gums, which makes them slightly more noticeable in our opinion. It’s not a dead giveaway, but someone nearby might notice this overlap when you’re smiling wide. However, straight-cut aligners also use the gums as an anchor to exert more force on your teeth, so they’re sometimes more effective too.
Unlike in-office options, UpSmiles doesn’t add any attachments to your aligners.
Invisalign and other in-office aligners can add elastics and affix small attachments to your teeth surfaces to help their aligners make more complex dental shifts. While incredibly useful, these attachments are additional hardware that can make your aligners stand out. UpSmiles doesn’t use any supplementary attachments, so their aligners are slightly less powerful than in-office brands, but they’re also more discreet.
UpSmiles aligners are reasonably stain-resistant.
However, you should always remove them to eat or drink anything other than water. In a worst-case scenario, that glass of red wine you’re drinking might stain your aligners and you’ll still need to wear them until you’re ready to move to the next set!
UpSmiles Customer Friendliness
You’re committing a lot of time and money to straighten your teeth, so you want a company that treats you right and guarantees your satisfaction. It’s tough to replicate the attentiveness and personalized care of an orthodontist’s office, but many at-home brands do an admirable job. Although UpSmiles doesn’t offer any unique support services or warranties, we think they provide a pretty solid customer experience.
UpSmiles’ customer service representatives are typically available from 10am until 6pm ET Monday through Friday.
UpSmiles is such a new company that we haven’t had much of an opportunity to test out their support network yet. That said, UpSmiles says that “personal patient engagement” is one of the major advantages of its services, so we expect they will be quite prompt and helpful when responding to customer support queries via email. However, we get the impression that they are likely outsourcing customer support to a foreign country, and a couple of our questions in their online chat feature didn’t get a response at all.
That said, once you become a customer, you will receive more personalized attention from their Illinois-based dental team. UpSmiles’ interactive Patient Portal allows you to contact their support team with questions throughout the process.
Their website mentions a lifetime guarantee, but they don’t provide any details.
If they do, in fact, put a lifetime guarantee on your smile, it’s a huge advantage. Other companies who offer one promise to create new aligners if your teeth ever shift out of place, as long as you purchase two retainer sets per year and wear them as directed.
Despite mentioning a lifetime guarantee on their “Why UpSmiles” page, they don’t explain what it entails — not even in their terms of service.
What Are UpSmiles Customers Saying?
We always like to look at what real customers have to say when analyzing an at-home teeth alignment company. Some companies in this industry have hundreds or even thousands of reviews. That’s not the case for UpSmiles, as they’re newer and somewhat smaller than some other options.
We could only find a handful of genuine customer reviews. They’re all glowing and speak highly of UpSmiles’ effectiveness and ease of use, but there just aren’t enough of them to get a full picture of the typical customer experience.
UpSmiles vs. Invisalign
While UpSmiles and Invisalign share some common characteristics, there are also plenty of differences between them. They both straighten your teeth with clear aligners, but that’s about where the similarities end. Let’s take a quick look at how they match up.
Cost
You’ll typically pay somewhere between $3,000 and $8,000 for Invisalign. Their prices vary so much because they treat a wide range of conditions, even severe misalignments and bite issues. Regardless, even on the low end, Invisalign’s standard treatment is significantly more expensive than UpSmiles.
Convenience
Because UpSmiles doesn’t require office visits, we think they’re far more convenient than Invisalign. Beyond that, UpSmiles says they can align your teeth in as little as three months, while most people have to wear Invisalign aligners for at least a year. Most times, however, that’s because dentists use Invisalign to treat more severe misalignments, which take longer to correct.
Effectiveness
For anyone with mild crowding and spacing issues, UpSmiles and Invisalign will probably be equally effective. However, if you have a more complex misalignment — like a significant overbite, underbite, or crossbite — UpSmiles might not be able to help you. In fact, UpSmiles told us they only accept around half of all cases. So if you’re a suitable candidate for their services, we think you can feel confident that they’ll deliver the results you want.
Invisalign can treat a much wider scope of misalignments thanks to the hands-on care you’ll receive from your dentist or orthodontist. They can apply attachments to encourage more significant shifts than you could achieve with just aligners.
Treatment Plan
The first step with Invisalign is to visit your dentist or orthodontist for an evaluation. With UpSmiles, you will instead complete an impression kit at home. While you can complete an impression kit entirely from home, some people find them to be a messy hassle.
The other big difference is that UpSmiles delivers your entire alignment kit straight to your home. Invisalign ships their aligners to your dental professional, who will show you how to wear them and schedule your follow-up appointments.
UpSmiles vs. Other Home Aligners
We think UpSmiles is an excellent choice for at-home teeth alignment, but they’re far from your only option. There are several other reputable companies offering clear aligners for home application, so let’s see how UpSmiles stacks up against some of the top options.
UpSmiles vs. Byte
Byte is our #1 recommended at-home clear aligner service. Like UpSmiles, Byte also offers a high-frequency vibration device, which they say may reduce discomfort and encourage faster dental shifts for some customers — but unlike UpSmiles, Byte includes it in the cost of their aligner bundle.
Byte has far more industry experience than UpSmiles, an outstanding reputation, and a high volume of high-quality customer feedback.
Learn more about our #1-recommended clear aligner service in our in-depth Byte review.
UpSmiles vs. Candid
Candid began as an at-home clear aligner service like UpSmiles. However, they’ve since evolved into a hybrid at-home and in-person treatment model that requires an initial consultation with a local dentist. Most of Candid treatment still takes place remotely thanks to their CandidMonitoring system, which allows you to submit biweekly photos of your teeth to your dentist and the Candid team from the comfort of your home.
However, all of this comes at a high price, as Candid costs $3,500+ (depending on your dentist).
Learn more in our review of Candid.
UpSmiles vs. SmileDirectClub
SmileDirectClub has much more experience than every competitor in this industry, as they’ve already transformed more than two million smiles. SmileDirectClub also offers free teeth scans at their many SmileShops, financing for every customer, and a lifetime guarantee. On the downside though, SmileDirectClub costs more than UpSmiles, and their customer feedback is a bit of a mixed bag.
For more info, check out our full review of SmileDirectClub.
Is UpSmiles Right for You?
UpSmiles didn’t quite make our list of the best home alignment companies in the US, but they do have some attributes that make them worth a look. We love their incredibly efficient alignment times, and their prices are lower than several of our favorite companies.
Our top pick, Byte, has higher prices than UpSmiles, but they have significantly more experience treating patients from home and an outstanding reputation for delivering top-quality services. That’s why they remain our number-one overall choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does UpSmiles offer discounts?
We are not aware of any UpSmiles discounts. That said, their prices are already pretty reasonable.
Can UpSmiles correct my condition?
Everyone’s smile is unique, but in general, home aligners are a great option for minor issues like crowding and spacing. On the other hand, if you have a more severe condition, like an overbite, crossbite, or underbite, you may need to pursue traditional orthodontics.
UpSmiles only accepts about half of all treatment candidates. Therefore, if they say they can fix your specific alignment issues, we think you’ll achieve a quality outcome.
What about Invisalign?
We think Invisalign is still the gold standard for clear aligners, and they offer a highly personalized alignment process. Unlike at-home alignment, Invisalign requires regular office visits where your dental professional can adjust your treatment, add attachments to exert more force, and more. UpSmiles is cheaper, but Invisalign can fix a much broader range of alignment issues.
How much will I end up paying?
While UpSmiles charges $1,399 for its standard alignment package, you may end up paying more than that. For instance, they charge $1,799 for night-only aligners, and their payment plan also ends up costing more than these sticker prices.
How do I get started?
With UpSmiles, you’ll need to complete one of their impression kits at home. Once you’ve successfully taken quality molds of your upper and lower teeth, send them back to UpSmiles so they can evaluate your smile. They will determine if you’re a suitable candidate for their services and send you a preview of what your results could look like.
How long will it take?
Their standard treatment takes 6–8 months on average, while their At-Night plan usually takes 10–12 months. If you purchase their optional OrthoPulse device, UpSmiles says your treatment could take as little as 3–4 months — or 5–6 months for nighttime aligners.
Does insurance cover UpSmiles treatment?
Most insurers will not cover home aligners because they’re often considered an optional, cosmetic treatment. That said, it doesn’t hurt to ask!
What is the cheapest home aligner service?
AlignerCo charges just $995, making them the cheapest home aligner service available in the US. They also sometimes offer discounts, driving that price even lower.
Do clear aligners hurt?
You might feel some minor discomfort whenever you switch to a new set of aligners, but for the most part, you’ll probably barely even notice you’re wearing them after a day or two.
Is home aligner treatment 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.
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