Are you looking for authentic, unbiased NewSmile reviews? Well, just your luck, because this is one such open, unbiased, raw and real review of this relatively new aligner company.
NewSmile was founded in Canada in 2019, which makes it one of the newest (and fastest growing) clear aligner providers on the market. Initially, NewSmile aligners were only available in Canada, but because of the brand’s rapidly increasing popularity, the brand has expanded into the US and the UK, with further expansion on the near horizon.
But how and why, exactly, is the NewSmile treatment already so popular in an industry where clear aligner providers like Invisalign, Smile Direct Club and Candid dominate? We are sure you would like to know, so in this review, we are going to be spilling all the beans on how the NewSmile clear aligner treatment works, what it costs, why it is convenient, what the upsides and downsides are, and more.
If this sounds like what you are here for, then keep reading.
Why NewSmile aligners beat traditional braces
There is nothing wrong with traditional metal braces – after all, they have been around and have proven themselves effective for more than a hundred years. Having said that, traditional braces are usually not the best teeth straightening option you can choose today.
Clear aligners, including NewSmile aligners, offer many advantages over traditional braces. Let us take a good look at them here.
Convenience
First and foremost, NewSmile invisible aligners are so much more convenient than getting traditional braces. There are several reasons for this.
While traditional orthodontic treatment requires that you make an appointment with your dentist to get the braces installed, then return to the dentist for regular checkups and adjustments throughout your treatment, NewSmile teeth aligners are a completely remote approach. There are no dentist visits, no in-person checkups, no appointments to keep.
Your treatment and progress are still monitored and reviewed by a remote NewSmile dentist, but you do not have to show up for any in-person appointments, and because you change aligners every few weeks throughout your treatment process, there are no adjustments needed either.
The NewSmile treatment can be every bit as effective as traditional braces, with the same excellent results.
Speed
Speed is another important factor to consider, and is yet another reason to choose NewSmile teeth aligners over metal braces.
The average treatment time with NewSmile clear aligners is just 4-6 months. By contrast, traditional metal braces usually take at least 12 months, and can sometimes take up to several years to complete treatment. That is a long time to wait to enjoy your results, not to mention, it is a very long time to have to wear braces.
Discretion
One of the most appealing aspects of wearing clear teeth aligners is that they are practically invisible, therefore offering the wearer significantly more discretion than is possible with traditional braces. Even ceramic braces, which are a great modern alternative to all-metal braces, have metal wires that make them quite visible.
All clear braces are made from BPA free plastic, but the exact material composition tends to vary between aligner brands. It is worth noting here that NewSmile clear aligners are made from a sturdy but somewhat shiny clear plastic material, which means there is a distinct gleam to them. Of course, this may not bother you at all, but it means that they are slightly more visible than some other aligners.
For those who prefer to straighten their teeth without anyone knowing or noticing, NewSmile has a nighttime treatment option that allows patients to only wear their clear aligners at night. The nightie treatment option takes a little longer to achieve the same results as the daytime version, but it is worth considering if you prioritise discretion over speed.
Hygiene
Another point worth making is that NewSmile invisible braces are so much easier to keep clean than metal braces. In addition to this, keeping your teeth clean and healthy is way easier with clear aligners, since they can be taken out when it is time to eat or to brush and flush between your teeth.
Metal braces, once installed, stay in your mouth for months or even years at a time. Cleaning your teeth properly, especially flossing between your teeth, can be a chore and quite a challenge. For this reason, getting your teeth straighten the traditional way can sometimes come with unwanted consequences, primarily in the form of cavities.
Price point
The price difference between the NewSmile treatment plan and traditional orthodontic treatment with metal braces is quite remarkable.
Of course, the cost of traditional braces can and does vary from location to location, from dentist to dentist and from patient to patient, but overall it is fair to say that the cost of the NewSmile clear aligner treatment is no more than half the cost of traditional braces.
What sets the NewSmile clear aligner treatment apart from the crowd
Let us be perfectly clear – NewSmile is far from the only provider of invisible braces on the market right now. What is more, there are some aligner brands that have been around for decades, amassing long track records of the quality of their service. So, how does NewSmile compete and compare?
NewSmile clear aligners have a simple ethos, which is to provide patients with the highest quality product and service possible, with the smallest price tag possible.
Invisalign is the industry standard, but Invisalign braces can be financially out of reach for those who do not have dental insurance. By cutting out the middleman, i.e. the in-person dentist, NewSmile are able to provide a comparable product with a smaller price tag.
Because of the relatively low cost of NewSmile teeth aligners, you might be wondering if the treatment cuts any corners. Apart from in-person dental visits and check-ups, the answer is no. All NewSmile treatment plans are dentist-led, with a NewSmile dentist reviewing and checking in on your progress via an app throughout your treatment.
And that is not all to recommend NewSmile. All NewSmile treatment plans come with free retainers, which will help you maintain your new straight teeth after your treatment has ended, free teeth whitening, the NewSmile® Guarantee, which means that if you are not deemed a good candidate for NewSmile treatment your money will be refunded to you in full, and online support available and at your fingertips seven days a week.
Smile Assessment: Knowing if NewSmile aligners are a good fit for you
Thanks to the Smile Assessment tool found on the NewSmile website, discovering whether or not you are a suitable candidate for NewSmile clear aligners is both quick and easy.
The Smile Assessment quiz functions as a sort of pre-screening, and asks you a number of questions about your teeth, including what your teeth straightening goals and challenges are. For example, you will be asked to pick among three illustrations the one that best describes your current smile: Are your teeth too spaced out, crowded, or do they only require minor tweaks? You will also be asked to upload a photo of your teeth.
Once you have completed the online assessment, your answers, including the photo you have provided of your teeth, will be reviewed by a NewSmile dentist.
Unless your teeth are severely crowded, bucked or otherwise problematic, you will be given the go-ahead to begin treatment. In severe cases, however, the NewSmile dentists are likely to recommend that you go see a dentist in person instead, as traditional metal braces or even tooth extractions prior to treatment may be needed.
If you are deemed an unsuitable candidate for treatment, the NewSmile® Guarantee means that you will not lose any money and will be refunded if you have already purchased an impression kit.
The NewSmile treatment step by step
All right, you have taken the online assessment and are ready to begin your NewSmile treatment. Here is the process you need to follow, in three easy and convenient steps.
Step 1: The impression kit
Even though you have taken the online Smile Assessment, you will still have to order and complete an at-home impression kit, which will be sent straight to your door and comes with all of the instructions and implements you need to be able to make clear and accurate impressions of your teeth.
Once you have made good and clear impressions of your teeth exactly as described, send your dental moulds back to NewSmile, so they can go ahead and design your individual treatment plan.
Step 2: The 3D treatment preview
When NewSmile receive your dental moulds, their team of dentists design your proposed treatment plan, including a computer generated 3D preview of what your new and improved smile is going to look like.
You will get to see this 3D preview, ask any questions and suggest any changes if there is anything you are not completely happy with. If and when you are fully satisfied with your NewSmile 3D preview will the aligners needed for your treatment be produced and your orthodontic treatment begin.
Step 3: Receiving and wearing your clear aligners
The third and final step in this process begins once you receive your new clear aligners in the mail. The number of clear aligners you will receive is going go depend on your unique teeth and what they require. Some teeth may need more thorough straightening than others, in which case more aligners are included in the treatment, which is also going to take a little longer.
It is very much worth highlighting here that the NewSmile treatment is priced at a flat rate of $1,395 (with a monthly payment plan also available for those who prefer not to pay everything in one go), regardless of whether your treatment takes four or six months.
Step 4: Maintaining your new smile
After 4-6 months, you will have achieved your beautiful new smile, but that is not the end of your NewSmile journey.
Annoyingly, teeth have a tendency to slip back towards their old positions if not kept in check. What this means is that you will have to wear a retainer – a clear aligner, but made of a thicker and more sturdy material – now and then, preferably for the rest of your life in order to keep your new smile firmly in place.
It is worth noting that this is not just the case with NewSmile teeth straightening treatment; the same would be true if you were to opt for Invisalign, Smile Direct Club or any of the other clear aligner brands out there.
Clear aligner options
As mentioned earlier, NewSmile provide both day and night aligners, which are essentially two slightly different approaches to straightening teeth. Let us look at both options below, and see how they compare.
Day aligners
The NewSmile day aligner treatment is the most popular and straight-forward choice if you want to straighten your teeth as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
NewSmile clear aligners move your teeth by applying constant and persistent pressure on them. In this regard, daytime and nighttime aligners work much the same, with the crucial difference being that nighttime aligners only have to be worn for 10 hours out of every 24, while daytime clear aligners have to be worn for 22 hours, i.e., most of the time. You should only really be taking them out to eat and to brush your teeth.
NewSmile’s daytime clear aligner treatment costs $1,395, or starting $83/month for 18 months with $0 down. Included in the price is a pair of free retainers, and free whitening treatments. Progress is tracked and assessed through the NewSmile™ Aligner Monitoring App.
Night aligners
Night aligners are a good option to have if wearing even clear aligners by day would make you too self-conscious to pursue treatment.
NewSmile night aligners are priced at $1,495, or starting from $80/month for 18 months with a down payment of $0. Like the daytime treatment plan, NewSmile night aligners come with free retainers and free whitening foam.
Our recommendation
So, how do NewSmile day and night aligners compare?
While night aligners are undoubtedly the most convenient, discreet and therefore attractive option, our recommendation is that you opt for day aligners instead.
The reason for this is that night aligners, precisely because they are only worn intermittently, do not apply persistent pressure on the teeth. Because the pressure applied to the teeth during the teeth straightening process is sporadic, night-only aligners have a higher risk of causing problems, which can rage in severity from sub-standard results and compressed ligaments to nerve damage.
Financing your NewSmile treatment
NewSmile offer different payment options for both day and night aligner treatment plans.
Patients can choose to pay the flat rate of $1,395 ($1,495 for night aligners) in full upfront, or opt for a monthly payment plan starting from just $83/month with $0 down over 18 months.
Just a few short years ago, most insurance companies would have considered teeth straightening treatment to belong purely to the realm of cosmetic dentistry, but that is slowly changing, as having crowded, bucked or otherwise misaligned teeth can pose an ongoing risk to your overall dental health.
In other words, if you have dental insurance or general health insurance that covers orthodontic treatments, it is worth looking into whether you could get your NewSmile treatment covered.
Post-treatment costs
As already hinted at earlier in this review, achieving your new straight smile is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of deal.
If you are serious about keeping your beautiful new smile, you are going to have to wear a pair of retainers once in a while to prevent your teeth from shifting back towards their original positions.
Whether you opt for day or night aligners, your NewSmile treatment includes a pair of post-treatment aligners. However, this one set of aligners is not going to last forever, and when you need a new set, NewSmile charges $149 a pop.
Product quality
NewSmile have not skimped on the quality of their product.
All NewSmile aligners are made of industry-standard BPA-free, latex-free, FDA approved clear plastic. Because they are made from a completely clear, more shiny clear plastic than most other invisible braces, NewSmile aligners can seem slightly more visible to the naked eye.
Another point worth bringing up is that the tops of clear teeth aligners can be shaped in one of two ways; scalloped or cut straight across. Aligners that are cut straight across are more noticeable, but they are also able to assert a more forceful level of pressure. Scalloped edges make for a more discreet and comfortable fit, but exert milder pressure. NewSmile aligners have scalloped edges.
Treatment oversight
If you opt for the NewSmile treatment, all of your progress is going to be monitored and tracked by yourself through the accompanying app. There are no in-person visits or checkups to contend with, and it should also be pointed out that there is no one reviewing your progress at the other end of the app.
Of course, the NewSmile customer service team is available if you need help or have any queries or issues along the way. However, it is fair to say that NewSmile is one of the most hands-off clear aligner providers out there, so if you opt for NewSmile, you should be very comfortable taking your treatment in your own hands as that is what you are going to get.
Top NewSmile alternatives
How do NewSmile aligners hold up against the competition? Well, let us take a look at some of the top NewSmile alternatives and make a brief comparison.
Invisalign
Invisalign is perhaps the world’s best known clear aligner company. Invisalign has been around for 25 years, and with more than 12 million+ Invisalign smiles around the world, Invisalign has an extensive track record of reliably straightening teeth and providing people with the smiles they deserve.
By contrast, NewSmile has only been around since 2019, and although the brand has quickly gained popularity in its native Canada and internationally, there is much less of a track record to go by.
Another important difference between NewSmile and Invisalign that you should consider. One is that Invisalign, although part of the treatment is remote, is much more hands on that NewSmile, which only offers remote treatment, with no dental health checkups in person.
Where NewSmile truly comes out ahead of Invisalign is when it comes to price point. Invisalign clear aligners are easily twice as expensive. If you do not have dental insurance that covers Invisalign, opting for NewSmile is fantastic alternative that could bring clear aligners and better teeth within your financial reach.
Smile Direct Club
Smile Direct Club is another giant within the clear aligner space, following much the same model as Invisalign.
With Smile Direct Club, prospective patients have the choice between in-person assessment and a fully remote approach, where an impression kit is sent to their homes. In other words, Smile Direct Club takes a hybrid approach, with plenty of flexibility built in. And speaking of flexibility, Smile Direct Club also offer night aligners, if you prefer only wearing your aligners at night in the privacy of your home.
In terms of price point, Smile Direct Club and Invisalign are roughly on par, except in more complex cases where the Invisalign treatment becomes more expensive.
AlignerCo
Much like NewSmile, AlignerCo is a low-cost teledentistry company that prides itself on delivering a remote yet premium service with a small price tag, thanks to cutting out the middleman.
With treatment plans starting from just $1,145, AlignerCo is the cheapest at-home teeth straightening treatment option. Another thing worth highlight about AlignerCo is that theirs are the clearest of all clear aligners, thanks to the patented material they are made from.
One aspect that sets AlignerCo apart from other remote orthodontic treatment providers is that the company does offer in-person assessment – provided that patients are able to travel to their West Hempstead, New York location.
Byte
Byte is another low-cost, high quality clear aligner provider, offering several perks and advantages. One is their unmatched Byte for Life Guarantee, and the fact you will not have to pay anything for any refinement which may be needed at the end of your treatment.
Similarly to NewSmile, Byte’s HyperByte aligners are so effective that the treatment timeframe can be trimmed down to as little as four months.
Candid
Last but by no means least, Candid. Of all of the clear aligner brands mentioned here, Candid offers the most comprehensive treatment plan.
Candid was founded in 2017, but has quickly amassed a stellar reputation as a provider of safe and effective teeth straightening care. Candid offer in-person assessments if the at-home impression kit process does not appeal to you.
Candid is a mid-tier teeth straightening option, with results that are on par with Invisalign, just with a smaller price tag.
Who NewSmile aligners are perfect for
So, should you choose NewSmile aligners, or go with one of the competitors instead?
This really depends on you, your budget and your preferences. If you are in the market for low-cost, high-quality aligners that are able to effectively correct your teeth and give you a better smile in record time (As little as four months!), then the NewSmile treatment may well be a perfect fit for you. If, on the other hand, you prefer the in-person care and attention that only a trained dentist can provide, you should consider Invisalign, Candid or Smile Direct Club instead.
If you do opt for NewSmile teeth aligners, be prepared to be very independent in your process, as there are no dentists visits along the way, and no one monitoring or tracking your progress.
Who NewSmile aligners are not perfect for
If your teeth misalignment, crowding or spacing is severe, you are unlikely to be deemed a good candidate for the NewSmile treatment. While clear aligners are very capable of straightening mildly to moderately misaligned teeth, severe cases can only be handled by a dentist in person, and potentially traditional metal braces.
Another reason the NewSmile approach may not be a good fit for you is if you prefer a teeth straightening treatment plan that is more hands-on and includes a higher degree of service.
Newsmile reviews FAQ
How much does NewSmile cost?
NewSmile offers several, differently priced products.
The most popular NewSmile product by far is the NewSmile aligner treatment plan, which includes several sets of clear aligners as well as a retainer and whitening. The NewSmile treatment plan is priced at $1,395 or $83/month for 18 months, with as little as $0 down.
Do NewSmile clear aligners hurt?
No, NewSmile aligners do not hurt your teeth or gums.
Having said that, it is very normal to experience a small amount of discomfort the first few times you are wearing a new pair of clear aligners. The reason for this is that your teeth have not had any time to adjust to the aligners yet, which can make them feel tight and uncomfortable.
Can I get NewSmile in the US?
Yes!
NewSmile is a Canadian company, and the aligners used to only be available within Canada. Now, however, thanks to the NewSmile’s rapidly soaring popularity and expansion, NeSmile aligners are accessible in both the US and the UK.
How do I properly care for my aligners?
The best way to care for your aligners correctly is to rinse and gently brush your aligner trays whenever you take them out, whether to eat or to brush your teeth.
It is best to avoid cleaning your aligners with toothpaste or soaking them in mouthwash, as this can have a deteriorating effect on the material the aligners are made of. Instead, rinse then with clean water and use a small amount of antibacterial soap and soft bristled brush to clean them.
Are NewSmile aligners BPA and latex-free?
Yes, NewSmile aligners are completely BPA and latex-free, in addition to being FDA-approced in the US.
Our verdict
Are you ready to get your hands on your first set of NewSmile aligners so you can start moving towards your dream of straighter teeth and a more attractive smile? If so, then NewSmile is a fabulous option.
Not only are NewSmile aligners themselves of premium quality while remaining low cost, everything about the treatment is wonderfully streamlined and expedient. Provided that you are a good candidate for NewSmile aligners, you can achieve your new smile in as little as four months! With NewSmile, you can usually expect the same great results as you would get if you had chosen to go with one of the higher priced clear aligner providers, such as Smile Direct Club or Invisalign.
If there is a downside to the NewSmile treatment plan, it is the minimal amount of oversight and the lack of in-person service that more expensive aligner brands provide. For example, if you opt for Invisalign, you will be able to get a specially trained Invisalign doctor to make your impression and assess your teeth, whereas with NewSmile, it is up to you to carefully follow the instructions that come with the at-home impression kit in order to get good and accurate impressions of your teeth, just as it is up to you to track the progress of your treatment via the app.
Having said that, if you are completely comfortable with the fully remote approach to teeth straightening, NewSmile could very well be the right option for you. The benefits you reap by cutting out the middleman, i.e. the dentist, is a very affordable clear aligner treatment plan, which oozes convenience from start to finish.
If you are ready to order your NewSmile impression kit and get started on your journey to a better smile today, head on over to the NewSmile website and take the Smile Assessment. And remember, if you turn out not to be a good candidate, someone likely to benefit from the NewSmile treatment, the NewSmile Guarantee is in place and means that you will receive all of your money back.
In other words, you have nothing to lose, only a great new smile to gain.