Invisalign vs Smile Direct Club: The Clear Smile Solution

Pretty much every time someone finds out that I’m an orthodontist, they tell me something they wish they could change about their smile. Bank tellers, restaurant servers, the guy selling splat balls at the mall kiosk – they all point at their teeth and tell me their troubles. I nod while looking at their overbite or snaggle tooth and then invite them to come for a complimentary consultation for braces. Record scratch. “Braces?! I could never do braces!”

I get it. A mouth of metal (while more effective and comfortable than ever before thanks to the Damon bracket system) is a tough sell for some people, especially adults who may have PTSD about their previous experiences or feel they’re too old, too professional, or too busy for braces now.

That’s when I pull out my ace in the hole. “Have you considered Invisalign?” Eyes light up. “Yes! Do you do that?!” Why, yes I do. A whole lot of it.

Invisalign has advanced over the years to become an excellent tool for me to correct alignment for our patients with impressive results. Here’s the basics:

1. Invisalign straightens your teeth without wires and brackets, using a series of clear, customized, removable appliances called aligners.

2. Each aligner is precisely calibrated and manufactured to fit your mouth at each stage of the treatment plan that I create at that complimentary consultation.

3. I send precise treatment instructions to Invisalign which translates these instructions in a sequence of finely calibrated aligners, as few as 12 or as many as 48.

4. Each aligner is worn for one week and only taken out to eat, brush and floss.

5. As you replace each aligner with the next, your teeth will begin to move gradually, week-by-week until the final alignment prescribed is attained.



It’s really impressive technology, and I’ve been able to achieve fantastic results using it for hundreds of patients. In fact, I’m Chattanooga’s only Platinum Invisalign provider, which boils down to the fact that I’ve done my research and crafted the skill. Check out this video from my Facebook Live event to learn more about my approach:

Pretty cool right? Now listen, Invisalign is my preferred clear aligner treatment company. It has superior plastic and software over its competition. But it’s important to remember that the products the company provides are just that: plastic and software. It does not create the treatment plans or know its users’ individual goals. That’s my job as the orthodontist. Think of it like an artist with a paintbrush. The brush is the tool the artist uses to achieve his or her vision. Or, in the spirit of the Olympics, and my Canadian homeland, it’s the hockey stick in the player’s hand. The player has the talent, the stick is the tool used to score the winning goal.

So while there are many clear alignment treatments out there (looking at you, Smile Direct Club), consider the goal you’re going after. Are these clear aligners able to make your teeth straight? Sure, they can make your teeth straight(er). But with this unsupervised product, there is no specialist steering the course and making revisions when teeth begin to shift excessively, or your bite becomes misaligned. Taking a cheaper shortcut for what is supposed to be once-in-a-lifetime treatment has wound many people back into the orthodontist’s chair to correct an even more severe issue.

Even in the most mild cases, an orthodontist just does it easier, better and faster. The clear aligner companies sell a quick-fix, but orthodontists create smiles by hand and maintain the results. And at Scenic City Orthodontics, we have the 3D-printing technology in our office to create clear aligners inhouse and offer comparable cost as SDC, but with the security of specialized care. You don’t even have to take your own impressions over the bathroom sink – our skilled technicians do that for you, digitally (no goop!), during your complimentary consultation.

So as you can clearly see (get it?!), I’m passionate about providing my patients with a variety of treatment options to best meet your goals and financial needs. And I want you to be really happy with your new smile…not just happ(ier) than you were before. A clearly crafted smile is yours for the taking, so don’t settle. Click that little consult button today, and let’s get started!