I have seen ads for Smile Direct Club (SDC), all over social media, for what feels like a decade. Every time I scroll through Facebook or Instagram, I see an ad that promises three things: straighter teeth with a payment plan, for half the price. In the land of veneers, it is almost like they knew I was insecure about my teeth.

Ever since I was ten, I begged my grandmother for braces. I hated that one of my front teeth was pushed behind the others. My grandmother said we couldn't afford it but it was something I knew I wanted to do as an adult. When I was 19 years old, I saved up $2,000 and went to the dentist to get a quote. I was so excited and had planned to find some way to make this work. Even if I had to get wire braces over clear or just a set for the top, I was going to make it work. At the end of my appointment, the dental assistant outlined the expenses. It would be $5,000 ( $2,000 down payment and monthly payments of $400). "Well, what if I get wire braces instead?," I asked. "It'd be more because you would need to come into the office to get them tightened," the nurse responded. "But what if I just don't the top?" I said, desperately. "You can't do that, it is a set," she said firmly. I left feeling crushed.

I saw the ads for a long time before I was ready to commit the company. Like everyone else, I didn't know if I trusted an online retailer with such a large purchase. It was not until a friend-of-a-friend tried it herself, was I comfortable ordering a kit for $250. Disclaimer: if you just ordered SDC, then this may not be the article for you. I'm sorry to tell you but it is going to be a bumpy next six months, my friend.

The molding kit took about a month to come in. It was relatively simple to follow, or so I thought, because they asked me re-do the entire kit. Aside from the $250, it would cost about $2,000 ($80/ month for two years) plus $100 retainers, which last six months. It was definitely a lot more attainable and I did not hesitate.

I never thought that a photo I took for SDC would be out on the internet for the world to see, but this is both TMI and an important visual.

It took months to receive my kit that contained six months worth of clear aligners. When I got the kit in the mail, I ripped it open and was so excited to get the process started. The plastic trays were much thinner than I imagined. It was hard and very, very thin. As I slid them onto my teeth, my gums immediately start bleeding. The plastic edges were so jagged at the top that it not only cut into my gums but cut into my cheeks as well. It was so painful that I could barely talk while wearing a tray.

I called customer service, who assured me that I would get used to the pain after time. I assumed that they were right and that I should suck it up for a few weeks. Week-by-week the pain did not go away. I started to use Orajel all over my mouth, every thirty minutes, just to get through the day. At this point, I was so invested that I refused to stop using them because my teeth would revert back.

The quality control was an issue for almost every single aligner tray I used over a six month period. Every tray was morphed or jagged in some sort that caused me a lot of pain. I began to use scissors to trim the tops to minimize jagged edges. This probably made the trays looser which affected the straightening process. Some were so morphed that they looked like they had melted in the sun, even though they never left my air-conditioned room. I called one customer service operator to get a morphed tray replaced by the company because it looked bent in half and would not fit on my teeth. I told the young man that I was having an issue with quality control and needed a tray replaced. He told me to "trust the process" and that since this was my first replacement request it would be free. It blew my mind that I would potentially have to pay to replace a $2,000 piece of thin plastic, that they mailed morphed.

My teeth were not noticeably straighter until the last month. Even though I basically only had one crooked tooth, that one tooth never got "wire braces straight." My other teeth that were slightly crooked look exactly the same. I have a small gap between two teeth on my lower jaw that I did not have before. Now I realize that they advertise "straighter" teeth not "straight."The retainer is a much thicker plastic and does not hurt the way the other trays did. It is probably the only one I got without problems. If I fall asleep without my retainer for just one night, I can see a big difference in my teeth. It will take a few weeks to get my teeth back on track. The website said that the retainers only last six months but mine is on month eight without any problems.

The first photo I posted after finishing six months with SDC. I captioned the Instagram picture using the great words of Cardi B, "Got a bag and fixed my teeth. Hope you hoes know it ain't cheap."

Now that my bank account is linked to Smile Direct Club, I see a lot of their targeted ads. Almost every day, when I scroll through my news feed I see people commenting on their post asking if the service is legitimate. I once commented on a post and shared a snippet of what I shared in this article. I received a comment from the company that said, "Beauty is pain." Their Instagram account also deletes comments. I can tell because it is just responses telling people to contact their customer service team, without the original post. I'm not sure who is training their customer service team but they need to be stopped.

The comment thread on a photo on SDC's instagram page. The original posts are not on the thread, just their responses.

The experience was not all bad though. I got a lot of what I wanted out of it: I have relatively straighter teeth at an affordable monthly rate. I smile much more now and don't hide my smile from people the way I used to. I got from SDC what I could not get anywhere else. However, if anyone is considering SDC to achieve straighter teeth, I would wait just a few more years. More companies are coming out with the same style of orthodontics, which I'm sure is all over everyone's feeds. I'm sure cost-friendly invisible braces are around the corner, but SDC is not it.