Partnership With Top Dental Service Organization Provides Consumers New Option To Begin SDC Aligner Treatment At Dentists’ Offices
Deal With Smile Brands And Its 450 Affiliated Dental Practices Bolsters SmileDirectClub’s Office-Direct Model
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmileDirectClub, Inc. (Nasdaq: SDC), the oral care company with the first telehealth platform for teeth straightening, has partnered with Smile Brands Inc. and its 450 affiliated dental practices across 18 states to allow consumers to begin their SmileDirectClub journey in the dentist chair. The partnership with Smile Brands is the latest move for the oral care company, which launched its direct-to-office offering, the SmileDirectClub Partner Network, in January 2020. The direct-to-office treatment model creates an additional path for consumers to begin invisible aligner treatment with SmileDirectClub and its telehealth platform.
“Our partnership with Smile Brands and its affiliated practices is a key step in our continued mission to increase access to affordable, accessible care,” said David Katzman, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at SmileDirectClub. “Dentists across the country want the ability to offer SmileDirectClub clear aligner therapy to their patients, and a segment of consumers prefer to start their journey in their regular dentist’s office. Until now, the in-office clear aligner therapy solution offered by dentists and orthodontists has required too high a cost and time commitment for many patients. They can now offer a more cost effective, and equally efficacious and safe option to patients through our telehealth platform.”
The partnership will enable SmileBrands’ affiliated doctors to offer SmileDirectClub clear aligner treatment, with a 3D scan or physical impression performed in the office and treatment completed using the SDC telehealth platform. The partnership with Smile Brands provides customers with three ways to get started on their SmileDirectClub journey: with a 3D scan or dental impression performed at a Smile Brands’ affiliated dentist or orthodontist office; at one of SmileDirectClub’s SmileShops; or with a doctor-prescribed at-home impression kit. Regardless of how a customer’s journey begins, treatment is prescribed and monitored remotely by state-licensed dentists and orthodontists from start to finish using SmileDirectClub’s pioneering teledentistry platform.
“We are dedicated to making it easier for dental professionals to provide access to affordable oral healthcare, and being the launch partner for the SmileDirectClub Partner Network furthers that mission,” said Steve Bilt, Chief Executive Officer at Smile Brands Inc. “Many patients are excluded from traditional orthodontic care by cost and the challenge of missing work or school for frequent office visits. I believe this places unnecessary long-term economic and social limitations on people. This partnership enables us to meet a growing patient need while saving valuable chair time for our affiliated dental practices; a win/win for both patient and practice. Our partnership with SmileDirectClub will also introduce hundreds of new patients to our dental offices to affordably address any other oral health needs they have as they start their teeth straightening journey at Smile Brands.”
Since launching in the U.S. in 2014, SmileDirectClub has become one of the fastest-growing health technology companies and the fastest-growing teledentistry provider, serving over one million customers around the world.
About SmileDirectClub
SmileDirectClub, Inc. (Nasdaq: SDC) (“SmileDirectClub”) is an oral care company and creator of the first medtech platform for teeth straightening, now also offered directly via dentist and orthodontists’ offices. Through our cutting-edge teledentistry technology and vertically integrated model, we are revolutionizing the oral care industry, from clear aligner therapy to our affordable, premium oral care product line. SmileDirectClub’s mission is to democratize access to a smile each and every person loves by making it affordable and convenient for everyone. SmileDirectClub is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee and operates in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Hong Kong and Singapore. For more information, please visit SmileDirectClub.com.
Contact:
SmileDirectClub Media Relations: Press@SmileDirectClub.com