A reader asked us if Invisalign is a scam. It depends on how you define a scam.
Invisalign is an orthodontic invisible braces brand. This one holds a unique stranglehold on the industry. The company has a near monopoly on invisible tooth aligners sold through dental practices. They were sued for this in 2021 claiming this monopoly caused consumers to pay excessive amounts of money for this product where margins were in the 75% range. The suit also accused the company of preventing dentists from using their scanners to fit other brands of invisible braces. It went after another manufacturer of scanners to prevent them from being adopted in dental clinics.
So what does this mean for you as a consumer? Invisalign costs about $8000.00 for their invisible tooth aligners and is about the only option you can find through a dental clinic. Other options are far cheaper and don’t require constant clinic visits. Those clinic visits all cost money on top of the aligner program.
Direct To Consumer Brands
These brands cost significantly less and have varied methods of creating the series of invisible aligners.
SmileDirectClub
Website: SmileDirectClub
Average Cost: Prices vary but typically start around $1,895.
Candid
Website: Candid
Average Cost: Prices typically start around $2,400.
Byte
Website: Byte
Average Cost: Prices vary but may start around $1,895.
AlignerCo
Website: AlignerCo
Average Cost: Prices vary but can start around $1,145.
SnapCorrect
Website: SnapCorrect
Average Cost: Prices vary but may start around $1,749.
Strayt
Website: Strayt
Average Cost: Prices vary but may start around $1,848.
