I visited SmileDirectClub to discover the tech that would give me a straighter smile
Hey, internet! I’m Corey, Senior Creative Strategist here at Mashable, and I’m going to take you back in time. Let me set the scene. To use a phrase that once sounded very futuristic, it was the year 2000. A sophomore in high school, I walk into AP European History fresh from the orthodontist, interrupting a discussion on the Thirty Years’ War. All eyes turn toward me, behind each gaze a burning question — does he have something to share that’s more exciting than the Treaty of Westphalia? Yes, I do! After years of wearing braces, I can now show off my beautiful, gleaming, straight teeth.
Hubris. As a teenager, I couldn’t be bothered to wear my retainer every night after my braces came off. Now, twenty-plus years later, my smile isn’t quite as immaculate. I know my teeth will keep shifting as I get older, and though I think my crooked smile has “character,” I’ve wondered about ways to fix my teeth without further time in braces (never again!). Enter SmileDirectClub, who offer custom at-home aligners to straighten your teeth, no braces required. On a recent afternoon, I went in for an appointment at my local “SmileShop” to see what it’s all about. Here’s what I learned.
The space
My local SmileShop happens to be in Beverly Hills, a land of very bright and very straight smiles (check here for your location). The office, decked out in warm lighting and blonde wood, felt welcoming and upscale — I didn’t miss my childhood orthodontist’s chilly, clinical digs. The staff’s clear adherence to social distancing and mask protocol made me comfortable, as well. After a few minutes perusing the merchandise in the waiting area — SmileDirectClub’s purple would be a good color for me — I was taken into one of several exam rooms by a very friendly associate, Yanet.
The tech
In the exam room, Yanet took me through how SmileDirectClub’s treatment plan would work. First, she’d take some 3D photos of my teeth and chat with me about what areas of my smile I’d like to improve. Yanet had me bite down onto those plastic devices that stretch your lips away from your teeth, so we could take a simple set of photos of my teeth. She showed me how SmileDirectClub’s app features a selfie function that brings an overlay onto your screen; I adjusted my pose to sync up with the overlay’s instructions, making it easy to snap the necessary photos on the first try.
Then, things got real. Yanet used what I can only describe as a magic wand to take more detailed photos of my teeth. As she swiped the device around in my mouth, it captured images — a whopping 6,000 photos per second, to be precise — to create a 3D composite photo of my mouth, which I could watch on a screen as it developed. This 3D imaging, complete with information about the pressure points in my bite, will be the key to creating my set of custom aligners.
The next steps
After our appointment, state-licensed dentists and orthodontists would review my info and formulate a personalized treatment plan for me, which I’d receive within 72 hours. If I decided to give it a go, I’d receive my custom aligners in the mail — all of them, all at once, so I wouldn’t ever be stuck waiting on a shipment. The aligners, which I could wear for 22 hours a day (removing them for meals), would move my teeth slowly, and each subsequent set of aligners would mark the next step in adjusting my smile.
Typically, treatment plans last for four-to-six months, with check-in telehealth appointments every 90 days to measure my progress — where that selfie function on SmileDirectClub’s app will come in handy, helping me take accurate photos for my doctor to use when assessing whether my aligners are working properly. As a bonus, I’d also receive whitening tech with my aligners to keep my smile bright.
It all sounds pretty foolproof to me, with SmileDirectClub sending steady reminders when it comes time to switch to your next set of aligners. Yanet made the whole experience fun, and she answered all of my questions with ease and professionalism. I might not be able to recapture the magic of debuting a fresh smile to my high school classmates, but SmileDirectClub offers the next best thing.
