Person putting on invisible teeth aligner

Online Clear Teeth Aligners: Invisalign vs Candid vs Smile Direct Club

Some of us are lucky enough to remember going to the old fashioned orthodontist as a kid and getting painful braces. Well nowadays there’s a lot of alternatives so in this article we provide an analysis of the best and cheapest teeth aligners available online: smile direct vs Invisalign vs candid.

How are invisible braces from Smile Direct Club, Invisalign, or Candid different from traditional braces?

Traditional braces use a visible metal to align your teeth while the teeth aligners from these three companies are invisible. Traditional braces are fixed onto your teeth while teeth aligners are removable.

Braces from a traditional orthodontist range from $5000 to $9000 dollars while teeth aligners are much cheaper and more affordable ranging from $3000 to $7000.

Managing life while braces is much easier with teeth aligners. We all remember that piece of popcorn getting stuck in our braces, but this isn’t as big of a problem with teeth aligners since they are easily removable.

Invisalign vs candid vs smile direct club: cheapest teeth aligners comparison

InvisalignCandidSmile Direct Club
Cost$3000 to $8000 or $50 to $200 per month$1900 or $88 per month$1895 or $85 per month
Insurance eligibilityHSA + FSA insurance processed through dental officeHSA + FSA will process claim for youHSA + FSA
Requires office visityesoptionalno
Requires monthly office visitsyesnono
Treatment is overseen by an orthodontist
Retainer priceFirst set free then 4 for $589First set free then $99 per set$99
Scan costVaries by doctor$95Free at studio or $49 for at home starter kit

Of the three Smile Direct Club offers the cheapest teeth aligners when accounting for the original cost of the starter kit or scan. Retainers cost similarly at all three online invisible braces retailers.

If you don’t want to go to an office your best bet is to go with Smile Direct Club or Candid because Invisalign requires regular office visits. Invisalign and Candid make using an HSA or FSA very easy. Candid will process your HSA or FSA payments online and Invisalign processes your payments through a dental office.

All three offer great results for your teeth and you really can’t go wrong with either. It really comes down to price and convenience as each product is very similar.

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