You’ve seen metal braces, which bond brackets to teeth. But do you know about the alternative? You can now wear comfortable clear aligners—and pop them out for meals.
Invisalign invisible braces are giving patients amazing results and beautiful smiles. But that also means that imitators are popping up.
Invisalign Braces: Why You Should Not Use Mail-Order Aligners
Does Invisalign work? Millions of patient cases prove that the system works. Invisalign clear braces correct teeth and bites for patients with simple to moderate issues, including:
- Tooth gaps.
- Crooked teeth.
- Crowded teeth.
- Underbites, overbites, and crossbites.
But this success has also encouraged competitors like Smile Direct Club and Candid to advertise mail-order Invisalign alternatives.
Can you meet your dental and orthodontic needs without visiting a local dentist? Get Invisalign results without going through the established Invisalign process?
Let us lay out some honest answers about mail-order aligners.
1 | Mail-Order Could End up Costing You More
You might find that mail-order aligners lead you to higher costs in the end. Why? Because it may include unforeseen problems and poor results, which will drive you back to the dentist office to get corrective treatment.
2 | You May Need to Pay for Separate X-Rays, Scans, or Impressions
The prices that these services advertise may seem more attractive than what an in-person dental practice can offer—at first.
But what other expenses may be involved? If you want a real dental treatment—not a treatment based on at-home dental impressions—you’ll need to visit a dentist for:
- Scans.
- Impressions.
- Dental x-rays.
- Regular check-ups.
You’ll have to pay for those visits to your local dentist office. At that point, what’s the difference between Smile Direct Club and an in-person treatment with a trusted family dentist? Local treatment may be superior!
It’s vital for you to find out the hidden costs of mail-order offers. Talk to other customers. Read positive and negative reviews.
3 | The Impressions May Be Faulty
Taking dental impressions with goopy impressions material is imprecise and hard to do on your own. It takes a trained eye to even tell if an impression went wrong. We prefer to use digital impressions because they are much more precise.
Yet mail-order aligner companies expect consumers to take their own dental impressions at home! Part of the process is to send these through the mail to the company.
If experienced dentists struggle with impressions, will customers always get it right at home? Absolutely not.
But impressions are crucial. How will your clear teeth aligners be customized precisely for your teeth if the impressions are faulty from the beginning? With the wrong impressions, the following could go wrong:
- Your aligners won’t fit.
- You could injure your teeth.
- The treatment could move your teeth incorrectly.
- The length of your treatment time could be longer.
If you trust a mail-order aligner company, you’re gambling that nothing goes wrong at several different stages of an imprecise process.
4 | Clear Braces May Not Work for Everyone
Complex cases need professional planning and an experienced eye from your family dentist. In fact, during your FREE Invisalign consultation, we could even recommend a different treatment altogether—if it is best for you.
The customers who tend to succeed with mail-order aligners have very simple cases and just happen to get it right. You don’t hear much about the ones who had a bad result.
You don’t know which type of patient you are unless you talk to an Invisalign orthodontist or dentist who has seen many cases before.
5 | Your Treatment Is Not Properly Adjusted
Another major issue when discussing Invisalign vs Smile Direct Club is in-person adjustments. Often, orthodontics gets better results better when your dentist:
- Helps you place your first aligners.
- Makes any adjustments needed at the beginning and along the way.
Mail order systems don’t give you enough feedback and adjustments to be sure they’ll give you the dream smile you’re after.
6 | You Can NOT Get Orthodontic Acceleration
At our dentist office in Calgary, we offer advanced techniques for accelerated orthodontics. In some cases, this speeds up treatment by about 50%!
Imagine being finished with your Invisalign trays in half the time. It’s very satisfying for our patients.
But amazing results like this are only available when your Invisalign dentist is able to use in-person acceleration techniques—which you can’t get through the mail.
7 | Can Mail-Order Aligners Mess up My Bite?
If mail-order aligners were to push your teeth to the wrong positions—based on faulty impressions, for example—that could misalign your bite.
A problematic bite, such as an overbite, may lead to:
- Headaches.
- A clicking jaw joint.
- Joint pain.
- Rapid tooth wear.
And other issues.
8 | Mail-Order Technology Is Usually Outdated
At East Village Dental, we consistently upgrade our technology, treatments, and approaches. We make sure that you get the latest and best of everything so you get dental services that work for you.
Mail-order companies may not be able to say the same. You can’t be sure. You are not dealing with your local dental clinic that cares about outcomes for our friends and neighbors. You are dealing with a big company that just wants to get money.
Are You Ready For a Stunning Smile? Call for Your FREE Consultation Today!
At East Village Dental, we offer a FREE Invisalign consultation to any Calgary-area patient who is interested. If you want a stunning new smile with local dentists who care, contact us today.
Our mission is to improve your smile and health while keeping you comfortable in our friendly office.
Call now for a risk-free appointment.