{"id":830,"date":"2024-10-04T21:31:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T21:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smilebydesignva.com\/blog\/?p=830"},"modified":"2024-10-30T21:36:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T21:36:07","slug":"mail-order-clear-aligners-invisalign-whats-the-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smilebydesignva.com\/blog\/mail-order-clear-aligners-invisalign-whats-the-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Mail Order Clear Aligners \u2013 What\u2019s the Big Deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It seems like you can get anything shipped these days; would you be surprised to learn that you could get clear aligners<\/a> through the mail? As convenient as that might sound at first, there are some good reasons why dental professionals are making such a big deal out of mail order orthodontics. Keep reading to stay informed and learn why you might not want to consider this method for straightening crooked teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Are Mail Order Clear Aligners?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name more or less sums it up: mail order aligners are orthodontic trays that you can purchase from direct-to-consumer companies and have shipped straight to your door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These trays look and work a lot like Invisalign, except that dentists are taken out of the process. A company like the late Smile Direct Club completely relies on self-reporting to determine whether you\u2019re a good candidate, and then you\u2019re left to wait for your treatment results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are They Professionally Approved?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nope! On the contrary, most dentists speak out against mail order aligners. The American Dental Association (ADA), which is a recognized authority on safe dental practices, even pointed out that this system does not meet FDA regulations for Class II medical devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, Class II medical devices like clear aligners should be distributed by \u201cprescription only.\u201d Since the mail order version doesn\u2019t have a licensed doctor evaluating patients and prescribing orthodontics at any point in the process, this does seem to be legally problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Dentists Don\u2019t Like Them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Besides being a generally sketchy practice, there are other reasons dental professionals strongly oppose mail order aligners. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n