Smile Direct Club is Shutdown

Imagine dedicating over a dozen years of your life after high school to mastering a highly competitive field—in this case, orthodontics. You spend three intense years specializing, learning to provide accurate diagnoses, develop customized treatment plans, inform patients about the pros and cons of different appliances, manage possible side effects, and ultimately create healthy bites and beautiful smiles that last a lifetime.

Then, one day, a company backed by private equity introduces a product that bypasses healthcare professionals. This company promises similar orthodontic results through mail-order aligners, attracting customers with the allure of convenience and lower costs. However, this approach overlooks the critical importance of personalized care and professional expertise required for safe and effective treatment.

The company cuts corners, not utilizing essential tools like attachments, interproximal reduction, elastics, or regular monitoring by a healthcare professional. Initially, such a company can grow quickly by focusing on profits rather than patient care. But in the long run, this model proves unsustainable. After numerous lawsuits and mounting patient dissatisfaction, word spreads. The company's stock plummets after going public, and no equity firm is willing to bail them out.

There are many instances in life where saving money and opting for convenience makes sense, such as buying the cheapest rotisserie chicken, paper towels, or birthday decorations. However, healthcare is not an area where you should shop based on price alone. This approach can lead to long-term damage and consequences, requiring professional intervention to fix—something I have firsthand experience with.

Unfortunately, there are still many DIY aligner companies looking to make a quick buck. But without a mission grounded in ethics and patient care, such companies are unlikely to stick around for long.