SmileSet Review

We rate SmileSet our top pick for online retainers, all-day aligners, nighttime aligners, and custom night guards. SmileSet is a direct-to-consumer dental company that sells clear aligners, clear retainers, and custom night guards, with a licensed dentist reviewing every aligner case. Aligners cost $1,295 (list $1,795, depending on when you buy), and retainers or night guards run $149 for one arch or $199 for both. The best deal is for former SmileDirectClub customers, who get retainers made from their old file with no new impression.

Key Takeaways

• SmileSet says its platform is built on SmileDirectClub’s technology and treatment records, and a licensed dentist reviews every aligner case.
• Former SmileDirectClub customers order retainers and night guards from their old file with no new impression, for $149 single arch or $199 dual arch.
• Aligner treatment costs $1,295 (list $1,795, depending on when you buy), no code needed, and the impression kit is included.
• Two virtual consultations are included, and you can preview your treatment plan for $29.99 before paying in full.
• Nighttime aligners are our pick if you will only wear trays at night, but we usually suggest daytime wear. No published study has tested SmileSet’s 10-hour protocol.
• SmileSet does not honor SmileDirectClub’s old guarantees, warranties, or refunds.

Our Verdict: SmileSet Is the Best Online Option in Four Categories

SmileSet pairs the lowest aligner price we verified among dentist-reviewed brands with a 30-day refund window¹. It is also the only brand with a retainer path that reuses a SmileDirectClub file. That combination is why it is our top pick in all four of our online categories.

Our recommendation would change if SmileSet dropped the dentist review step or shortened the refund window. Neither has happened. Here is our pick in each category:

• Best for online retainers: $149 single arch or $199 dual arch, four ways to get a fit, and the SmileDirectClub file path no other brand offers.
• Best for all-day aligners: $1,295 for a 22-hour wear plan with one complimentary adjustment during treatment, a fit guarantee, and included whitening and cleaning supplies.
• Best for nighttime aligners: the same $1,295 for a 10-hour nightly schedule. Our pick for mild cases when you will only wear trays at night and accept a slower timeline.
• Best for custom night guards: $149 or $199 for a lab-made guard, with no impression needed if SmileSet or SmileDirectClub already has your mold.

SmileSet vs. Invisalign: Which Is Right for You?

Choose SmileSet if you have mild-to-moderate crowding or spacing, want to treat it from home, and want to spend $1,295 instead of several thousand dollars. A licensed dentist reviews your plan, you check in remotely, and you never sit in a dental chair unless you book a free Smile Studio scan.

Choose Invisalign if your bite needs correcting or your teeth need rotating or pulling down. The same goes if an orthodontist has said you need attachments or interproximal reduction (IPR, the light sanding between teeth that makes room). SmileSet’s own consent form says difficult cases may need IPR or extractions with traditional braces, at your expense².

You pay more for Invisalign, but a clinician sees you in person and adjusts as you go. In-office aligner prices vary by provider and by how complex your case is.

Former SmileDirectClub Customers: What SmileSet Can Do for You

If you finished SmileDirectClub treatment and need a new retainer, SmileSet will make one from your SmileDirectClub file with no new impression. The price is $149 for one arch or $199 for both³. Order with the same email address or phone number you used at SmileDirectClub so SmileSet finds your file. Night guards work the same way: if SmileSet has your mold, you send nothing back.

SmileSet was started by the people who founded SmileDirectClub^4,5 and says it builds on SmileDirectClub’s technology and treatment records⁶. It does not honor SmileDirectClub’s old guarantees.

Three things follow from that for you as a former customer:

• Your old guarantees are gone. SmileSet says plainly that it does not honor SmileDirectClub’s Lifetime Smile Guarantee, warranties, or refunds. Any SmilePay balance went to a separate finance company, not to SmileSet. The SmileDirectClub closure guide explains the New York Attorney General refund program.
• A file only helps if your teeth have not moved. A retainer holds teeth where they are and does not correct relapse⁷. If your last retainer no longer fits, a new one cut from the old file will not fit either. Use the impression-kit path instead, or see a dentist first.
• New aligner treatment always needs a new impression. SmileSet’s aligner flow starts with an impression kit for everyone. The American Association of Orthodontists advised SmileDirectClub patients to get an in-person exam before any further tooth movement⁷. We think that is the right call before ordering aligners from anyone.

Former customers on Reddit ask whether a successor company should be using their scan at all⁸. HIPAA does not settle who holds a manufacturing file after a company closes⁹. If that bothers you, the impression-kit path costs the same and skips the file.

How SmileSet Works

SmileSet mails you an impression kit. A licensed dentist reviews your impressions and approves a treatment plan, and your aligners ship in two to three weeks¹. The kit is included in the $1,295 price.

If you would rather see your plan before committing, a $29.99 kit-first option previews the plan and credits the fee toward treatment. Free in-person Smile Studio 3D scans replace the putty kit. SmileSet currently lists three Smile Studio locations: two in Manhattan (Central Park South and Tribeca) and one in Green Hills, Tennessee. Each is inside a partner dental office, and SmileSet says it’s adding pop-up locations in new cities.

The dentist review is what separates SmileSet from an unsupervised kit. SmileSet works through professional corporations that engage licensed dentists and orthodontists. The dentist who oversees you may be licensed in another state². Two virtual consultations are included, and SmileSet names six doctors, two of them orthodontists¹⁰.

The ADA’s position is that a remote exam has to give the dentist the same diagnostic information as an in-person one¹¹. SmileSet asks you to confirm you’ve had a cleaning and exam in the last six months. Actually get that exam, because moving teeth over untreated gum disease raises the risk of recession and bone loss.

Remote check-ins are photo-based. Patients describe a cheek retractor in the kit, photos sent through the app, and a QR code on each tray that tells the app when to switch. SmileSet’s consent form rules out aligners for impacted or unerupted teeth, says they will not move implants, and treats bonded retainers as contraindications. Read it before you order.

SmileSet Retainers

SmileSet retainers cost $149 for one arch or $199 for both¹². They ship free and come with a 30-day full-refund window. There are four ways to get a fit:

• Impression kit: take a putty impression at home.
• DirectSet: mail in your current retainer.
• ReplicaSet: putty-mold the inside of your current retainer while you keep wearing it.
• SmileDirectClub file: use your existing file, with no impression at all.

SmileSet describes the material only as BPA-free and wear-resistant.

If the fit is off, SmileSet sends a free impression kit and remakes it. Ask for the remake instead of following the FAQ’s suggestion to trim a tight edge yourself.

DirectSet ships in roughly a week. SmileSet says the others ship around two weeks from your order date.

Subscriptions are optional. A subscription ships a new set every six months, at 40% off the first order and 45% off after³. You can stretch it to every 12 months in your account. SmileSet frames six-month replacement as a hygiene rule, but no professional body sets an interval.

The American Association of Orthodontists says to replace a clear retainer when it cracks, warps, or stops fitting⁷. Treat the subscription as a convenience, and pause it if your retainer is still snug.

Pros: lowest dual-arch price among retainer brands that reuse an existing file, four fabrication paths, free remake, 30-day refund.

Cons: unnamed material, two shipping timelines on the site, subscription marketing overstates the need to replace every six months.

SmileSet All-Day Aligners

All-day aligners cost $1,295 (list $1,795, depending on when you buy), and the impression kit is included¹. We put one in the cart and reached the payment step with no code entered. You wear each tray 22 hours a day for two weeks, and SmileSet quotes four to six months for a full course. Its consent form says four to eight, so plan for the longer end.

The box includes a case, a removal tool, cleaning tablets, and a whitening pen. The Protection Plan is the actual contract that governs your refinements, not the FAQ. It covers complimentary touch-ups during treatment if your teeth shift off plan, plus one complimentary touch-up within 30 days of finishing¹³. After that, SmileSet charges a discounted rate for touch-ups, though it doesn’t say what it is.

To stay covered, you must:

• Register your aligners.
• Follow the wear schedule.
• Keep payments current.
• Get doctor approval for the adjustment.

If the first set does not fit, SmileSet issues a new impression kit and adjusts the plan at no charge. SmileSet gives you 30 days from the day your package arrives to return everything for a full refund.

Pros: lowest price among dentist-reviewed aligner brands we verified, two virtual consultations, fit guarantee, 30-day refund, retainers added at checkout with no second impression.

Cons: three different “as low as” monthly financing figures on the site, plan-versus-FAQ mismatch on refinements, return shipping is on you.

SmileSet Nighttime Aligners

Nighttime aligners cost the same $1,295 and use the same materials, dentist review, and number of trays. You wear them for 10 continuous hours a night and change trays every three weeks instead of two. SmileSet quotes six to nine months rather than four to six³. They are our pick if you will only wear aligners at night, because aligners you actually wear beat aligners you stop wearing.

We usually suggest daytime wear, and we would say so to a friend. SmileSet says the results are comparable to all-day wear. No published study has tested its 10-hour protocol. The one trial designed to compare 10 to 12 continuous hours against 20 to 22 hours ended early after enrolling seven people¹⁴.

Night-only wear is for mild cases: a little crowding or spacing, no bite correction, and healthy gums. If you have moderate crowding or spacing, choose the all-day plan. If your bite needs correcting, you need in-office care.

Teeth need sustained pressure to move. A tooth that shifts overnight drifts partway back during 14 hours out of the tray, so progress is slower and a tray sometimes stops seating on one tooth. That is why remote check-ins matter more on this plan: send your photos on schedule so the dentist catches a tray that has stopped tracking. Our nighttime aligner guide goes deeper on the evidence.

Pros: same price and same dentist oversight as all-day, realistic for people who will not wear trays in the daytime, three-week cadence means fewer switches.

Cons: longer timeline, no product-specific study, and SmileSet publishes no candidacy limit of its own, so you have to judge whether your case is mild.

SmileSet Custom Night Guards

SmileSet night guards cost $149 for one arch or $199 for both¹⁵. They ship free and carry the same 30-day full-refund window as the retainers. New customers get an impression kit in the mail. If SmileSet or SmileDirectClub already has your mold, the guard ships straight to you.

SmileSet quotes delivery in as little as a week from a completed impression. It describes the guard as made in the USA and BPA-free, with a laser-cut “Comfort-Edge” finish. It publishes no thickness, no hardness, and no soft-versus-hard option, and it sells one construction for every grinder. We have a sample in hand.

Our sample arrived as SmileSet describes it: BPA-free, laser-cut around the gumline, and made in the USA. SmileSet doesn’t publish thickness or hardness numbers, so we have nothing to check our sample against on that front. The fit and finish matched the product description.

Two points of guidance before you order. First, a night guard’s proven job is protecting tooth surfaces from grinding¹⁶. SmileSet also promises better sleep and jaw-pain relief. A 2024 Cochrane review rated the evidence for splints and jaw-joint pain very low certainty, so treat pain relief as a bonus¹⁷.

Second, a standard night guard is not a sleep apnea device. It worsened breathing in some apnea patients in a small trial¹⁸. If you snore heavily or stop breathing in your sleep, see a clinician before ordering any guard online. Our bruxism guide covers the symptoms.

Pros: $149 or $199 for a lab-made custom guard, no impression for returning customers, free shipping, 30-day refund, remake or adjustment on fit problems.

Cons: no published thickness or hardness, and one construction for light and heavy grinders. No stated dentist involvement.

SmileSet advertises a subscription that ships a new night guard every six months, but it doesn’t publish the renewal price. You’d need to add one to your cart to see it.

SmileSet also doesn’t say whether a dentist reviews night guard orders the way one reviews aligner cases. The product page calls the guard “dentist-approved” as a general claim, not a statement that someone reviews your specific order. Its return copy just reuses the aligner Protection Plan language.

How Much Does SmileSet Cost?

SmileSet aligners cost $1,295 (list $1,795, depending on when you buy) as of September 2026. Retainers or night guards cost $149 for one arch or $199 for both. Every price below comes from SmileSet’s own store on September 2, 2026. The aligner price is a “Save $500” promotion that SmileSet could end.

Financing runs through Shop Pay installments, Affirm, Afterpay, and CareCredit at checkout¹. On the aligner product page, Affirm’s “as low as” widget quotes $89/mo.

The lender sets the APR and any down payment inside its own application. SmileSet publishes neither, so read the lender’s terms before you sign.

Two pre-tax options work at checkout. Health savings account (HSA) and flexible spending account (FSA) cards are accepted directly or through Truemed, because the store uses medical merchant code 8021³. The IRS lists orthodontic treatment as a qualified medical expense¹⁹.

SmileSet does not bill insurance, but it provides a claim form with procedure codes for out-of-network reimbursement. Adult orthodontic benefits are the exception rather than the rule, so check your plan’s orthodontic coverage and lifetime maximum first. Outbound shipping is free, return shipping on a refund is your cost, and SmileSet ships only within the United States.

What to Know Before You Order

We like SmileSet, and most of the frustration we saw in reviews comes from four avoidable mistakes, not the product itself. None of them costs anything to avoid.

• Look at the plan before you pay in full. The standard aligner order charges $1,295 before you see a treatment plan, the top complaint from a customer seeking a refund on Reddit²⁰. The $29.99 kit-first option exists for exactly this reason: preview the plan, then decide.
• Put the refund deadline on your calendar the day the box arrives. SmileSet’s refund policy is explicit that the 30-day window runs from receipt, not from when you start wearing your aligners or retainers²¹. The return starts only when you email support, and every component goes back at your shipping cost. If a homepage banner ever tells you otherwise, trust the refund policy page.
• Decide how you pay with disputes in mind. Financing moves your contract to Affirm, Afterpay, or CareCredit, and former SmileDirectClub customers found card issuers redirected disputes to the finance company²². Paying on a credit card keeps chargeback rights with you.
• Expect email-first support and follow up yourself. Customers report that phone support points you to email with a 24-to-48-hour reply window²³. One retainer-fit dispute required comparison photos before a redo kit shipped, so send photos with your first message and you’ll get a redo kit faster.

The review scores are mixed, and they make more sense in context. Trustpilot shows 4.1 out of 5 across 49,768 reviews²⁴, a strong score at that volume.

The Better Business Bureau shows 2.33 out of 5 across a much smaller sample of 21 reviews²⁵. The complaints center on refunds, results, delivery, and service. BBB profiles tend to attract people who already have a problem, so a low score there alongside a high Trustpilot score isn’t a contradiction. Some of SmileSet’s reviews go back to the SmileDirectClub days, so check the dates before you weigh an old complaint against a new company.

SmileSet’s terms also require binding arbitration and waive class actions, including for malpractice claims²⁶. That’s standard for this category, but still worth reading before you click accept.

Who SmileSet Is Right For

SmileSet fits three readers well, and two should look elsewhere.

Order from SmileSet if you:

• Finished SmileDirectClub or SmileSet treatment and need a replacement retainer or night guard from your existing file.
• Have mild-to-moderate crowding or spacing, a recent dental exam with healthy gums, and want a dentist-reviewed plan for $1,295.
• Have a mild case, will only wear aligners at night, and accept a six-to-nine-month timeline in exchange.

Skip SmileSet if you:

• Have a bite problem, impacted teeth, implants in the area to be moved, or a bonded retainer. SmileSet’s consent form rules these out, and an in-office provider is the better fit.
• Want a guarantee that survives the company. SmileSet honors none of SmileDirectClub’s, and its own Protection Plan is a contract that lasts only as long as the company does.

Talk to your dentist before starting any tooth movement, online or in an office. No review replaces an exam of your own mouth.

How SmileSet Compares to Other Brands

SmileSet’s $1,295 aligner price is below every dentist-directed option and above most mail-order brands. Its $199 dual-arch retainer is within $60 of the cheapest online retainers we checked. Every competitor price below was checked on September 2, 2026, and several were running sales that day, so treat them as a snapshot.

ALIGNERCO and Smileie undercut SmileSet on aligners, and the $139 to $140 retainer brands beat its $199. SmileSet wins on the combination: a dentist-reviewed plan, an included kit, a 30-day refund, and a retainer path that reuses a SmileDirectClub file. Our online retainer guide, cheapest clear aligners roundup, and best night guards list break down each competitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SmileSet the same as SmileDirectClub?

No. SmileSet is a separate company that says it acquired SmileDirectClub’s technology and assets and builds on its treatment records. It does not honor SmileDirectClub’s guarantees, warranties, or refunds. Former customers can still order retainers and night guards from their old file.

How much does SmileSet cost?

Aligner treatment costs $1,295 (list $1,795, depending on when you buy), with the impression kit included. Retainers and night guards cost $149 for one arch or $199 for both. A kit-first option costs $29.99 and is credited toward treatment.

Is SmileSet as good as Invisalign?

For mild-to-moderate crowding or spacing, SmileSet delivers a dentist-reviewed plan for a fraction of the price. Invisalign is the better choice when your bite needs correcting or your case needs attachments, IPR, or in-person adjustments, because SmileSet does not offer those.

Is SmileSet safe?

SmileSet is safer than an unsupervised kit because a licensed dentist reviews your case and approves the plan. Its consent form screens out impacted teeth, implants, and bonded retainers. Any tooth movement carries risks, including root shortening and gum recession. Get a dental exam first, and treat your remote check-ins as required.

Is SmileSet FDA approved?

“FDA approved” is the wrong term for any clear aligner. The FDA regulates sequential aligners as Class II devices through the 510(k) clearance pathway²⁷. SmileSet describes its aligners as FDA-cleared. What we verified ourselves is that a licensed dentist reviews your case and treatment plan.

Should I get SmileSet’s nighttime aligners?

Only if you will not wear aligners during the day and your case is mild. We usually suggest daytime wear, because no study has tested SmileSet’s 10-hour protocol and the one trial of night-only wear ended early. If night-only is the plan you will actually follow, SmileSet is our pick, with a six-to-nine-month timeline.

Why Trust This Review

This review is built from SmileSet’s own store, its legal documents, public records, and products in hand. Every clinical claim is checked against a professional guideline or peer-reviewed source.

• Went through checkout with an aligner in the cart on September 2, 2026, and confirmed the $1,295 price with no code entered.
• Read the consent form, terms, refund policy, and Protection Plan in full, and flagged every place they disagree with the marketing pages.
• Checked SmileSet’s account of its SmileDirectClub connection against outside sources rather than repeating it.
• Inspected SmileSet retainer and night guard samples for material and fit. The aligners arrived as ordered. Taking the impressions felt similar to other at-home aligner kits we’ve tried. The nighttime aligners felt like similar quality to other nighttime aligners we’ve tested.
• Read dozens of customer accounts on Reddit, YouTube, Trustpilot, and the BBB to set expectations, never as clinical proof.

We apply the same criteria to every aligner brand we cover: treatment process, oversight, pricing, refund and support terms, and reputation. Individual needs vary, so confirm any decision about your teeth with your dentist.