Best at home clear aligner system

How do you choose the right at-home clear aligner system?

Up until a few years ago straightening your teeth from your own home was an absurd idea. After all, you’re not a dentist and most dentists that I know aren’t willing to come to my home! Well, this has all changed. A few startups are now offering convenient at home teeth straightening options without the need to ever step into a dental office. Of course, the main question here is how do you get started with at home aligners? and who’s in charge of my clear aligner treatment? There are a few different at home clear aligner programs available. Let’s take a look at your different options here:

1. Clear aligners sold over the internet: One option is to purchase a do-it-yourself clear aligner system like Byte™ or SmileLove™ over the internet. DIY aligner programs send you a starter kit which includes impression material and trays. All you have to do is take accurate impressions of your own teeth by yourself, mail it to the aligner company and they will take care of the rest for you. You’ll receive your aligners within a few days and start your treatment at home.
2. Teeth straightening shops: Some aligner programs like Smile Direct Club™ and Candid Co.™ have opened up a few shops to help you out. You can go into one of their shops to have your teeth scanned for you. The scanning process is done by a technician and not an actual dentist or orthodontist. You don’t have access to a dentist at these stores. Therefore, be sure to obtain a clearance for orthodontic treatment from your own dentist before visiting a Smile Direct Club™ or Candid Co.™ store.
3. At home aligner program from your local dentists: Some dentists and orthodontist are starting to join the at home clear aligner movement by offering their own at home clear aligners. These are a safer alternative to Smile Direct Club™, Candid Co.™ and other do-it-yourself aligner programs. One example of this is Even28 at-home™ clear aligner program. Even28 has contracted dentists who offer at home clear aligners at a fixed low price. You must find an Even28 Clear Aligner provider to receive Even28 at-home™ clear aligners. Your dentist will perform your initial prognosis, do your workup and take care of everything else for you. You will receive a series of clear aligners and are ready to start straighten your teeth at the convenience of your own home.

As you can see, you have plenty of options when it comes to straighten your teeth from your own home. It’s up to you to decide which program best suits your needs. Either way, do your research to find a reliable program. You don’t want your clear aligner company going out of business in a few years and leaving you hanging! Plus, you only get one set of permanent teeth and you don’t gamble with your oral health.

CHALLENGES OF AT HOME ALIGNERS

Is there a dentist involved in my treatment with at home clear aligners?

There’s good news when it comes to at home clear aligner programs: You don’t have to figure out how to straighten your own smile. Hurrah! All at home clear aligner programs have a licensed dentist who supervises your clear aligner treatment. However your dentist is not physically present with you (Even28 at-home™ is the exception). The dentist in charge of fixing your smile is typically sitting in a corporate main office where he or she examines your scans and makes decisions about how to straighten your smile. Let’s hope he’s paying attention to your scans and not checking his Facebook instead!

THE NEW WAY TO STRAIGHTEN YOUR SMILE

Is it okay to not have a dentist physically present for my clear aligner program?

Obviously it’s better to have your dentist present throughout any type of dental treatment, let alone something as important as orthodontic therapy. For more complex cases you should definitely see a dentist or orthodontist in person. However, for simple orthodontic cases it’s acceptable to work remotely with your dentist. Having access to a dentist is more than for simply approving or rejecting your treatment. A lot of time your treating dentist actually works on your teeth to assist your treatment. Your dentist may contour your teeth, place buttons to rotate stubborn teeth, calibrate your bite, attach a fixed retainer to stabilize your bite, etc. These treatments can’t be handled by a dentist who’s sitting 1,000 miles away behind his or her computer. Nevertheless, at home clear aligners still work well for the simplest of all orthodontic conditions. Click here to learn more about which cases are candidates for at home clear aligner therapy

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT AT HOME CLEAR ALIGNERS

What are my options for at home clear aligners?

Let’s take a closer look at a few different at home aligner programs to help you better understand your options:

SMILE DIRECT CLUB™

Smile Direct Club™ was founded in 2014 by co-founders Alex Fenkell and Jordan Katzman. While neither one is an actual dentist, they did manage to create a system to supply clear aligners directly to consumers without having a dentist physically present. Smile Direct Club™ offers BPA-free clear aligners which move your teeth every 2 to 4 weeks until they settle into their desired position. There are two ways to obtain Smile Direct Club™ clear aligners:

• Purchase a starter kit and take your own impressions. All you have to do is mix the putty, fill in the trays, cover your teeth surfaces and capture every single tooth surface in your mouth. Then, simply mail in your starter kit back to Smile Direct Club™ and they will ship your clear aligners directly to you.
• A second option is to visit a Smile Shop™ if you happen to live near one. You can complete a scan directly at these shops with a technician (not a dentist).

There are no dentist visits involved with Smile Direct Club™ aligners. Therefore you still need to see a dentist in advance to obtain clearance prior to starting any Smile Direct Club™ program.

CANDID CO.™ (CANDID TEETH)

Candid Co.™ was founded in 2017 and works nearly identical to Smile Direct Club™. The cost, the process and the overall experience is nearly the same as that of Smile Direct Club™. Again, you can get started with Candid Co.™ by either purchasing a starter kit online or going into a Candid Studio™. There are no direct dentist visits involved with Candid Co.™ either and you never meet your treating dentist in person. Since there are no dentist visits required for Candid Co. aligners™ you must still obtain a clearance from your regular dentist before starting any Candid Co.™ program.

EVEN28 AT-HOME™

Even28 Clear Aligners offer two clear aligner programs: Even28 at-home™ and Even28 at-dentist™. Even28 at-home™ is an at home clear aligner program which offers similar pricing, same at home aligner experience and similar goodies (such as outies, chewies, etc.) as Smile Direct Club™ and Candid Teeth™. The big difference here is that Even28 at-home™ requires an initial visit to a participating Even28 Clear Aligners provider in order to start your clear aligner treatment. There are several advantages and disadvantages to seeing a dentist. The biggest advantage here is that your dentist can perform a comprehensive exam and clear you to start your aligner program. Plus, your Even28 Clear Aligner dentist will take all necessary photos, impressions, scans and basically take care of everything for you. This saves you time and money and typically gives you better end results as well. The disadvantage is that you need to find a participating Even28 Clear Aligner provider near you before starting your Even28 at-home™ clear aligner program. Click on the link below to search for an Even28 Clear Aligner provider near you:

OTHER DIY ALIGNER PROGRAMS

There are a few more direct-to-consumer clear aligner systems such as Byte®, Smilelove™ and a few more. All these programs work more or less similar to Smile Direct Club™ and Candid Co™. Plus, they all cost about the same, come with affordable clear aligners which you must wear at home and pretty much work identical to one another. You must purchase their starter kit to get started. Take your own impressions by yourself, mail them back to the aligner company and receive a set of clear aligners in the mail. Then start wearing your clear aligners to straightening your smile at home.

SMILE DIRECT, CANDID TEETH, BYTE, EVEN28 AT-HOME

How do I choose the right at home clear aligner system?

There are several different at home clear aligner programs to choose from. Now that you understand how each one works, it’s time to help you find the program that’s right for your needs. Keep in mind, costs is really not a determining factor here as all DIY and at home clear aligner programs cost almost the same. In fact, Smile Direct Club™, Candid Co.™ and Even28 at-home all cost within $100 of one another! Plus, they all offer flexible monthly financing options for those of you who are interested. So here are some factors which you should consider when choosing the right at home clear aligner system to fix your smile:

• Are you a candidate for wearing at home clear aligners?
• Have you received clearance from your dentist to start orthodontic treatment?
• Which at home clear aligner program is best for your needs?
• What’s included and not included with your program?

Candidates for at home clear aligners 

Straighten your teeth with at home clear aligners sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, not everyone is a candidate for at home clear aligner therapy. At home clear aligners only work for the simplest of all orthodontic conditions. More complicated tooth movements always require dentist supervision. Take our smile assessment quiz to see how likely you are to qualify for wearing at home clear aligners. Click here to learn more about how at home clear aligner programs straighten your teeth. To learn more about which cases are better suited for dentist-directed clear aligners click here.

Clearance to start clear aligner therapy

You must obtain clearance from your dentist before starting clear aligner therapy or any other orthodontic treatment. Your dentist will examine your teeth and gums to make sure that wearing clear aligners is safe for your teeth and gums. Getting a clearance from your dentist is very important. For example, if you wear clear aligners  and you have untreated cavities or active gum disease, you can cause irreversible harm to your teeth and gums. Wearing aligners on top of teeth with cavities or gum disease can lead to pain, infection and tooth loss. Therefore, you must see your dentist to obtain a clearance prior to starting any type of at home clear aligner program. This goes for Smile Direct Club™, Candid Co.™, Byte and all other at home clear aligner programs. If you choose Even28 at-home™ program your Even28 Clear Aligner provider can clear you to start aligner therapy. This saves you a visit and you can start your program right away. Click on the link below to search dentist near you using our Search Engine. Look through their profiles to find a consultation for Even28 at-home™ to see if you qualify:

Selecting an at home clear aligner program

You’re now ready to choose a clear aligner system to straightening your smile. Each program has its own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, Smile Direct Club™ is very active on social media. Candid Co.™ includes a set of free clear retainers. Even28 at-home™ offers the option to fix your entire mouth with your Even28 dentist if you choose to do so. It also offers you an initial visit with a dentist to go over your treatment. If you need additional dental treatment, such as deep cleaning, cavities or dental implants, we recommend that you choose Even28 at-home™. Your dentist can straighten your smile and fix your other dental problems over time. Either way, do some research before choosing a clear aligner program. Make sure it’s one that you like and trust. To help you out with your research, here are a few links to some of the more popular at home aligner programs:

Smile Direct Club™

Candid Co.™

Byte®

Even28 at-home™

What’s included with you clear aligner program

All at home clear aligner programs offer affordable clear aligners. Some come with free or discounted teeth whitening products and/or retainers. Smile Direct Club™ comes in a cute purple box which includes a generic teeth whitening kit, aligner container and a few other helpful accessories. Candid Co.™ is nearly identical and comes with similar goodies to help you get started. Even28 at-home™ also includes useful aligner accessories such as Chewies and Outie to help you wear your aligners with more ease. Because Even28 at-home™ requires a dentist visit, it’s the only program that allows you to buy more advanced dental accessories. These include:

• Custom night guards
• Custom whitening trays (not generic ones)
• Custom athletic guard
• Removable retains (clear retainers and Hawley retainers)
• Fixed retainers

You can purchase these accessories alongside your Even28 at-home™ clear aligner program at discounted rates. Your accessories will arrive at the same time as your clear aligner package and you can start using them as soon as you finish your clear aligner program. The other programs don’t offer these custom accessories since there’s no local dentist to fit or adjust them.

If you already own a custom dental appliance, you will probably need to get a new one following your aligner treatment. Once your teeth shift into their new position your old night guard or sport guard is no longer going to fit. If you’re interested in purchasing these custom dental accessories alongside your clear aligner program we recommend you go with Even28 at-home™.

START STRAIGHTENING THOSE TEETH TODAY!

Teeth straightening with clear aligners at your own home

Choosing the right at home clear aligner system is an important decision. Which do you choose: Smile Direct Club™, Candid Co.™, Byte®, Even28 at-home or something else? Regardless of which program you choose to straighten your smile, be sure to follow their rules. Here are some helpful hints to get you wear your aligners the correct way:

• Try to wear your clear aligners about 21 to 22 hours a day, including when you’re sleeping (unless you’re doing a daytime only program)
• Continue wearing each aligner set for at least 2 weeks (unless specified otherwise)
• Remove your clear aligners only when eating, drinking or brushing your teeth
• It’s okay to leave your aligners in when drinking water
• Be sure to clean your clear aligners every night
• Store your clear aligners in a safe place when not wearing them
• Don’t throw away your aligners and store them in a safe and secure place in case you ever decide to go wear them (for instance if your teeth shift again!)

Follow these simple instructions until your at home clear aligner program is complete. Achieving a straighter and more beautiful smile is easier than you think with the right at home clear aligner system. Pick up the phone, or click on the websites listed above, and get started with your new smile using at home clear aligners!