Rewind back to 2019. SmileDirectClub was one of the biggest and most successful clear aligner companies in the world. After developing a treatment model that delivered clear aligners directly to patients' homes, with no office visits required, they treated more than one million customers between 2016 and 2023. But today, they're out of business, leaving many former customers with pressing questions. How did it happen? And what can customers do? Here's everything you need to know.

Why Did SmileDirectClub Go Out of Business?

When SmileDirectClub filed for bankruptcy, it came as a surprise to many people. Until that point, adults looking to save money on teeth-straightening treatment had flocked to their at-home model. However, the company's rapid expansion had left them with some issues under the surface, which ended up damaging their profitability and public perception. After those issues grew too difficult to handle, they filed for bankruptcy in September 2023. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restructure their significant debts, they were ordered to liquidate in January 2024. Here are a few of the factors that contributed to their downfall.

Financial Decline

After SmileDirectClub went public in 2019, things started going downhill. The COVID-19 pandemic sent demand for at-home aligner treatment through the roof, and SmileDirectClub took on significant debt to accommodate thousands of new customers. As a result, their 2020 revenue shot up, and they built their cost structure based on those numbers. However, their earnings decreased every year after, and they could no longer sustain that same structure. By the time they filed for bankruptcy, their debt sat around $900 million, and they had no way to pay it off. They attempted to restructure, but it didn't work, and they had to shut down.

Increased Competition

SmileDirectClub might have helped start the at-home aligner industry, but as soon as it gained some momentum, similar companies began sprouting up. These companies began eating into SmileDirectClub's customer base and made it more difficult to maintain their status as an industry leader. (Byte, another major at-home brand, would later face its own collapse.)

Customer Support Woes

Look through SmileDirectClub's reviews on the Better Business Bureau and other sites, and you may notice a trend. Their early reviews are fairly positive, but as the years go on, more and more complaints accumulate.

Many customers have reported dissatisfaction with their results, which is perhaps a reflection of SmileDirectClub's at-home treatment model. Without hands-on care and in-person oversight, it's difficult to monitor a patient's progress effectively, leaving more room for error and potentially flawed results.

But SmileDirectClub made matters worse by accepting a large percentage of customers, even potentially ones with misalignments their treatment couldn't correct. The company's chief legal officer said that they accept 95% of all applicants for treatment. In our view (and the view of many orthodontists), the percentage of adults with misaligned teeth who are good candidates for this kind of treatment is much smaller. This might explain the significant number of customers who expressed dissatisfaction with their results.

Plus, according to reviewers, they often refused to honor their Lifetime Smile Guarantee, which promised new aligners for free if your teeth ever shifted, despite consistent retainer use. In some cases, SDC initially promised refunds, but then rescinded that offer later.

Legal Trouble

In 2022, Washington DC's attorney general alleged that the company had engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices by withholding refunds until customers signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). As part of a 2023 settlement, SDC agreed to pay $500,000 and release more than 17,000 customers nationwide from those NDAs.

Around the same time, SmileDirectClub lost a major dispute with Align Technology, the maker of Invisalign. An arbitrator ordered SDC to pay Align $63 million for breaching their supply agreement, an award a California court confirmed in 2023. SmileDirectClub said it would appeal, but filed for bankruptcy just weeks later.

What Happened to Customers?

SmileDirectClub left their existing customers in an unenviable position. They canceled all new orders that hadn't shipped yet, without offering refunds. And for people who were in the middle of treatment, they ceased all virtual check-ins and customer support. Those customers can keep wearing their aligners, since they have the entire set, but they can't ask the company for guidance or feedback. SDC suggested consulting either your own dentist or your SDC-assigned dentist to continue treatment, though those visits come at your own cost.

Perhaps the most frustrating outcome was for customers who had set up a payment plan. Many paid for treatment through SmilePay financing, which is serviced by a third-party company called Healthcare Finance Direct (HFD). Some customers reported that their payments didn't stop after the shutdown. HFD's position is that customers who received their aligners and completed treatment should keep making payments on an active plan, and that, as a third party, it can't recoup any payments made directly to SmileDirectClub.

There has been one meaningful avenue for getting money back. In December 2024, New York's attorney general secured a $4.8 million settlement with SDC's lenders and payment processor, providing partial refunds to more than 28,000 customers who were charged despite the shutdown. Some refunds were issued automatically, while others had to be requested from HFD within a short window that has since closed. A few customers also managed to dispute their charges with their credit card companies, though success varied and those dispute windows have largely passed by now too. In other words, most of the avenues for a refund have closed, so for many former customers the most practical step is simply to finish treatment safely with a reputable provider.

Reliable Alternatives to SmileDirectClub

Our advice for former SDC customers? Find a reputable clear aligner treatment that can help you finish what you started. At-home aligner treatment like SmileDirectClub comes with some risks, both for your health and your finances. But treatments that incorporate in-person care from a licensed dentist or orthodontist are much more trustworthy. Plus, they can handle a much wider range of misalignments.

Teeth-straightening treatments like Linea and Invisalign begin every treatment with an in-person exam and consultation, and regular communication with your dentist throughout the process. To get started with Linea, complete our smile quiz and our customer care team will help you find a local dentist who provides it. At your first appointment, your dentist will perform a full examination and check-up on your teeth and gums, take x-rays, 3D scans and photographs.

Linea will develop a full treatment plan, which your dentist can tweak based on their intimate knowledge of your teeth. Then, you'll make another appointment, where the dentist will provide your aligners, make sure they fit properly, perform any crucial procedures like attachments and IPR, and answer any questions. Throughout treatment, you'll check in either virtually via the Linea app or in person, so that your dentist can address any issues that come up.