Company
How we compare providers
How Aligners.co chooses which providers to cover, what it compares and how the comparison and finder tools work.
This page explains how provider reviews, comparison tables and the provider finder reach their results. We compare providers from their published information; we have not had treatment with them or tested their products.
Which providers we cover
We cover providers that offer clear aligner treatment to patients in each edition, and aligner systems that patients get through a dentist or orthodontist, such as Invisalign and Spark. For dentist-provided systems the practice sets the fee, so we review the system and show fees that practices publish.
When a provider closes or changes hands, we replace its review with a status page that explains what happened and what to do if you were a customer. When we cannot confirm that a provider is still supplying new treatment, its review stays up with a warning, and it is left out of the comparison page and the finder.
What we compare
- How you start. Whether treatment begins with a dental examination, a scan or a home impression kit. A scan or impression kit records the shape of your teeth; it is not an examination.
- Who checks your progress. Whether a named or unnamed clinician checks you, and whether that happens in person or from photos.
- What the price includes. The published price, what it covers, and what costs extra, such as impression kits, retainers and extra aligners.
- Finance. Where a provider publishes a monthly example, we multiply it out to show the total and how much more it costs than paying at once, and label that as our arithmetic.
- Refinements, retainers and refunds. What happens if your teeth do not follow the plan, what retainers cost after treatment, and when you can get money back.
- Availability. Which edition a provider serves, and any limits on where you can start.
Prices and offers
We show the price a provider publishes and the date we checked it, without discount codes or time-limited sales. If a provider shows only sale or limited-time prices, or its pages give different prices, we say the price is not confirmed or needs confirmation, and the review sets out the figures shown and when. We never present a time-limited offer as a provider's price. An offer with a stated end date and time can appear in a labeled offer box on the review and is removed when it ends.
Why the lowest headline price may not cost least
The headline price is not always the total. This illustration does not describe any real provider:
| Provider A | Provider B | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline price | $1,299 | $1,499 |
| Impression kit, needed to start | $69 | Included |
| First set of retainers, needed after treatment | $179 | Included |
| Total every patient pays | $1,547 | $1,499 |
| Extra aligners, only if your case needs them | $250 | Included |
Provider A looks cheaper but costs more once the unavoidable extras are added. We keep optional costs, such as whitening or extra aligners you may not need, separate from costs every patient pays.
Customer reviews
We read a sample of customer reviews on a stated date and report the problems that came up. A sample like this cannot tell you how often a problem happens, so we do not present it that way.
When we cannot confirm something
In the comparison table, a detail we could not confirm reads "Not confirmed". We do not guess, and an unknown detail is never treated as good news.
No scores or ratings
We do not give providers star ratings, scores or a ranking. Whether treatment suits you depends on your teeth, so a single number would suggest more certainty than the evidence supports.
How the comparison page works
The comparison page lists every provider available for comparison in alphabetical order. You choose which ones to put side by side. Your selection is never submitted as an inquiry or passed to providers. It is kept in your browser's session storage and is also added to the page address, for example ?providers=smileset,newsmile, so you can reload or share the comparison. When the page is loaded from that address, the selection reaches our hosting service as part of the normal page request.
How the provider finder works
There are two versions, and both sort by preference only.
The quick finder on the home page asks two questions: how you would like to start, and how you would like progress to be checked. It shows up to three providers that meet at least one of those answers and miss none, and links to the full results. Its answers stay in your browser and are not sent to us or to any provider.
The full finder asks up to six questions: your age, how you would like to start, how progress is checked, whether you need somewhere to visit near you, your budget and how you would pay. Every question has a neutral answer, such as "Not sure", "No preference" or "Prefer not to say". Age is an eligibility rule, not a preference: a provider that does not treat your age group, or one above a budget you mark as a firm limit, is listed separately as ruled out, with the reason. If the person is under 15, the finder stops after that question and suggests starting with a dentist or orthodontist instead of listing providers; nothing is saved or sent.
Both versions draw on every provider available for comparison in that edition, the same providers as the comparison page. Each answer is checked against our review of the provider and counts as met, partly met, not confirmed or not met. A detail missing from our record never counts as met. Results are grouped:
- providers that meet at least one of your preferences and miss none;
- providers that miss none, but where we could not confirm any;
- providers that miss at least one, labeled with what they miss.
Within each group, providers that meet more of your preferences come first, then those with fewer details we could not confirm, then alphabetical order. If your answers do not narrow the choice, every provider is listed alphabetically and nothing is presented as a match. The quick finder's three are the first three in the first group. There are no scores, and the featured brand and time-limited offers do not change the order.
Before your full results, we ask for your details. The quick finder's three suggestions on the home page need none. Before the full list of results, the finder asks for your first name, email address and ZIP code, and a phone number if you like. We use your first name on your results page and email you a summary with a link to them. Your results link to each provider's review and to the comparison page. Your answers and details reach a provider only if you press Email me or Call me on its result and send the request, and whether a provider takes requests doesn't change the order.
The finder cannot tell you whether treatment is suitable or safe for you; a dentist or orthodontist has to examine you to decide that.
Featured placement
The home page shows one featured brand in each edition, currently Smileie in both, and a carousel of provider cards in a fixed set and order, with Smileie first. Neither affects the finder or the comparison page.