Candid Review

Overview

Crooked teeth can be embarrassing, causing you to hide your smile and never allowing you to shine in pictures. Sure, you could go to the dentist, be sent to an orthodontist, and get some shiny braces strapped to your teeth – but as an adult, who wants to look like an awkward teenager again?

Thankfully, orthodontia has finally advanced beyond just braces. Invisible aligners have proven to be equally as effective and far less noticeable. But traditional in-office treatment is still pretty expensive. Candid offers a more affordable alternative. Their treatment is designed to fit into your life, so you can get doctor-directed care without constant office visits. 

Founded by Nick Greenfield and friends, the team partnered with orthodontist Dr. C. Lynn Hurst to create a product that prioritizes care over their bottom line. While there are other companies who also deliver clear aligners to your door, Candid works exclusively with orthodontists, not general dentists.  

And when it comes to care, Candid takes it one step further by offering remote monitoring, which allows your orthodontist to track your progress throughout treatment. You can do it all from your phone, so you can skip constant office visits and live your life.

Candid Product Information

Candid helps fix mild to moderate cases of misalignment, overcrowding, or gaps/spacing. Those with more complex cases may not be eligible for Candid and instead will likely require the help of an in-person orthodontist. While aligners are effective, more complicated cases tend to take longer than the longest Candid case (which currently don’t exceed 11 months).

Before getting started with Candid, it’s important that you’ve had a dental checkup in the past year. Good overall oral health is very important to orthodontic treatment, because any issues, like cavities or gum disease, could be worsened by wearing aligners.  

If you’re up to date on cleanings and have a clean bill of oral health, you can get started for free at one of their Candid Studios. There, a member of their team will take a 3D scan of your teeth that’ll be passed along to your orthodontist to evaluate your case and create your treatment plan.

You’ll be able to review your treatment plan (a step by step visualization of how your teeth will shift throughout treatment) before ordering your aligners. Once you do, they’ll print your aligners and deliver them to your door, along with the materials you’ll need to take progress scans during treatment.

Options With Candid

If you aren’t near a Candid Studio, you can also purchase their Starter Kit, which includes materials to take dental impressions of your teeth from home. Once you send them back to Candid, the orthodontist assigned to your case will evaluate your case the same way they would if you came into the studio. This is especially helpful if you live in an area where there isn’t an orthodontist’s office nearby.

As far as payment goes, you’ve got a few options as well. The total cost of treatment is $1,895, which you can pay in one up-front payment, or in monthly installments of $99 with $299 down.

Candid Treatment Duration

Candid’s average treatment length is 6 months. With their remote monitoring, thought, that could be sped up. Because you’re checking in with your orthodontist regularly, they’ll be able to make adjustments based on your progress. So if everything looks on track a few days before your scheduled aligner change, you’ll be able to move ahead early. According to their website, this can reduce your treatment time by up to 25%.

So that you never forget, Candid will shoot you a message every time it’s time to switch aligners. The nice thing about using companies like Candid is that there is no waiting time between aligners, since everything is shipped directly to you at once. Unlike braces which require frequent appointments and waiting, as soon as you finish with one aligner you simply pop in the next one and continue on.

Candid Pricing

Compared to braces, opting for Candid can save you thousands of dollars. This is a huge amount of savings, and you will get the same standard of care and access to orthodontic supervision as you would in-person. While $1,895 is more than other e-commerce invisible aligner brands such as SmileLove and Byte, the oversight throughout is something those services don’t provide. And that oversight comes from an expert orthodontist with 20 years of experience on average. So you know you’re in great hands.

The specific pricing options for Candid are all listed in the chart below:

Following treatment, your last aligner step will act as your retainer, which helps to ensure that you maintain your new smile. Candid does offer replacement retainers for $99, so you can get a new one as-needed. It’s recommended retainers are replaced every 6 months.

Anyone that has dental coverage through their insurance company may qualify to have part or all of their treatment covered. However, this is not done through Candid and you will need to discuss this option with your provider. Candid can provide the necessary paperwork required, but they do not bill insurance companies directly.

How Does Candid Compare?

Candid is one of the few options that are available if you are looking to purchase invisible aligners, and while they are a slightly more expensive choice, they also offer some benefits that you will not find elsewhere.  

Candid has one of the best-reviewed customer service teams of all competing brands. They are available 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No matter what day, even holidays, you are able to get in touch with someone to ask questions or get clarification on your treatment. While you cannot contact your orthodontist directly, the customer support team can loop them into the conversation when needed.

Speaking of orthodontists, Candid ensures that each case is overseen by a professional in order to give each person the best care possible. This adds a higher standard of care than seen elsewhere, which one one reason that Candid is so popular. While some tout “remote monitoring,” what they mean is a bit different than what you get with Candid. Their remote monitoring technology goes beyond sending check-in emails to make sure everything seems good and actually keeps the orthodontist involved from the very first day of your treatment to the very last.

Below you will get a quick overview of some key differences between the various options when it comes to fixing misaligned teeth. Highlighting cost, benefits, and features, you can see where Candid stands in contrast to other brands.

Candid also uses a much more in-depth screening process and employees highly trained professionals, something that not every company does. If you are looking for the best possible treatment, at a reasonable cost, then Candid is hard to beat.

Bottom Line

While you may end up paying a little more, and you don’t get a free retainer, Candid still manages to deliver when it comes to value and quality. All of their aligners are BPA-Free, and the company is extremely transparent about where they source their materials from and who manufactures their products. 

When compared to braces, it is clear to see why Candid is the superior choice, as you save thousands of dollars and get professional care right from your own home. The process is simple, straightforward, and their customer care team is always available to help with any issue that you may run into.

Correcting misaligned teeth no longer needs to be a two year long process that drains your bank account and leaves you feeling self-conscious. Instead, choosing a company like Candid gives you the freedom to eat and smile with ease, as their clear aligners are barely noticeable and easily removed whenever you need a break.

If you are suffering from mild to moderate misalignment, overcrowding, or gapped spacing, fill out a pre-screening survey and see if you qualify for Candid today.