Burke, Fairfax and Fairfax Station VA
SmileDirectClub — a once-popular direct-to-consumer aligner company — has failed on its “lifetime smile guarantee.” Instead, it has left tens of thousands of consumers angry and in limbo when it filed for bankruptcy and announced in December 2023 that it was closing its global operations, halting all of its teeth-aligner treatments and shutting down its customer care support, reports the Associated Press. This has left consumers — many of whom have paid hefty deposits and payments — empty-handed and with questions about how to complete the remainder of their treatment. Many of them will likely never be reimbursed for the money they paid to the company.
Dental and orthodontic providers have long predicted this sad outcome, pleading with patients not to trust direct-to-consumer aligner promises to straighten teeth while saving money and time and eliminating dental or orthodontic visits. Unfortunately, companies like SmileDirectClub profited from the empty and careless promises they delivered, and the “lifetime smile guarantee” has left consumers with nothing at all to smile about.
Today, Dr. Pam Marzban, our Invisalign dentist in Burke, is sharing some of the risks and dangers of using these so-called “at-home orthodontics” companies and a way our office in Northern Virginia is answering the call to help. If you have used SmileDirectClub or any other direct-to-consumer orthodontic company, please read the following warnings and be in touch with our office soon to schedule a free virtual consultation for ways you can care for your oral health.
Displacement of patients
Unlike a brick-and-mortar dental or orthodontic practice where you can visit and develop a relationship with a real dentist, orthodontist or other healthcare provider, workers affiliated with at-home orthodontics are impossible for patients to hold accountable. As in the case of SmileDirectClub, patients are displaced and left unsupervised with tons of questions and empty pocketbooks.
Risks of DIY braces
DIY orthodontics at home carries many risks, including rapid tooth movement with no supervision or guided direction by a professional. This severely compromises a patient’s gum and bone health and could cause severe dental issues, such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
Patients who have tried DIY orthodontics at home are at increased risk for gum disease, jaw bone loss, tooth loss and severe damage to the jaw joints and muscles that control how the teeth fit together long-term and how they will react to new, largely unsupervised positioning of the teeth.
Teeth misalignment can result in TMJ disorder, which often causes limited jaw movement, chronic headaches, ringing and pain deep in the ear, hearing problems and neck/shoulder spasms.
Dr. Marzban is committed to serving any of the patients in the Northern Virginia area who have been displaced by the bankruptcy and sudden closing of SmileDirectClub or any other direct-to-consumer company selling DIY at-home orthodontics.
The Danger of DIY Orthodontics in Burke, Fairfax, and Fairfax Station, Virginia
If you are in the Northern Virginia area near Burke, Fairfax and Fairfax Station and you have been left stranded by a direct-to-consumer company that promised — then failed to deliver — on straight teeth, please contact our office as soon as possible at (703) 323-8200. Dr. Marzban is offering free virtual consultations to speak with former consumers of these companies about the increased risks you’re facing and ways we can customize a treatment program to make sure your oral health is on track.
