SmileDirectClub
The pioneer and former leader of at-home aligners. Treatment was about $2,050 one-time or $250 down plus 26 monthly SmilePay payments before the company collapsed in December 2023. Retained here as the anchor of the market-contraction story. Sources
Sourced from each brand's published terms and primary FDA device records. Prices checked against their sources Sep 30, 2026, FDA records read Nov 10, 2026. How we verify. Not dental or medical advice.
SmileDirectClub, the category pioneer and largest US at-home brand (2M+ customers), filed Chapter 11 in Sept 2023 and abruptly CEASED ALL GLOBAL OPERATIONS on Dec 8-9, 2023, then liquidated, leaving many customers without treatment or refunds. The NY Attorney General later recovered $4.8M for consumers wrongly charged. This 2023 collapse is the defining 'contracting market' event for at-home aligners. Sources Former customers who need new retainers: where to get them now. Brands still selling aligners the same way: the alternatives, in price order.
At a glance
Prices verified Sep 30, 2026SmileDirectClub is a clear aligner brand that is no longer available to new patients, retained here for market context. See what happened above.
- Supervision
- Remote
- FDA safety
- Discontinued
- Starting price
- Wear schedule
- All-day or Nighttime (formerly)
What it can treat
In SmileDirectClub's own words: Mild-to-moderate crowding; Spacing and gaps. Sources
Was a teledentistry model: custom trays from an at-home impression kit or an in-person SmileShop 3D scan, directed by a state-licensed dentist or orthodontist with no in-person clinical exam. Sources
Safety & recalls
This brand's FDA device record under the aligner product code NXC: recalls and MAUDE adverse-event reports, verified Nov 10, 2026.
A raw count of unverified FDA reports filed under “SmileDirectClub” and product code NXC, not a rate. Larger and older brands accumulate more. Every brand's count is on the safety board.
Read from the FDA's database every day, last on Nov 10, 2026. Unchanged since we first recorded it on Sep 30, 2026.
How treatment is supervised
Impressions or a scan kit at home, a plan reviewed online, aligners mailed to your door. Suits: mild crowding or spacing, when you are comfortable with no in-person exam.
SmileDirectClub: Remote teledentistry, state-licensed dentist/orthodontist directed, no in-person exam Sources
Brand specs
- Material
- BPA-free clear plastic
- Whitening
- Whitening products offered/bundled
- Refinements / touch-ups
- Lifetime Smile Guarantee while operating (voided by the shutdown)
- Clinical oversight
- Remote teledentistry, state-licensed dentist/orthodontist directed, no in-person exam
- HSA / FSA
- Accepted
- Insurance
- Accepted some in-network insurance
- Headquarters
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Wear schedule
- All-day or Nighttime (formerly)
Clear aligners are FDA Class II devices (product code NXC, 21 CFR 872.5470), cleared through the 510(k) process. SmileDirectClub treatment is fully remote (mail-order, reviewed online).
Where the SmileDirectClub facts come from
The pages behind this brand's profile, specs and supervision model. Prices, treatment length and FDA records each link to their own source where they appear.
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmileDirectClub
- cnn.comhttps://www.cnn.com/2023/12/09/business/smiledirectclub-shutdown-bankruptcy
Worked at SmileDirectClub? Send us a correction
No longer sold
SmileDirectClub is no longer available to new patients, so it has no current price. Compare the brands you can start today.
Clinical evidence & professional guidance
No registered study names SmileDirectClub
Independent clinical evidence on individual aligner brands is limited, and both the American Dental Association and the American Association of Orthodontists advise an in-person exam and dentist or orthodontist supervision before treatment. The clear aligner studies we index cover the category as a whole (134 registered on ClinicalTrials.gov).