SmileDirectClub Smile Spa Ultrasonic & UV Cleaner for Aligners & Retainers

I'm on my third unit and I will buy another when this one breaks down because despite the eventual failures this is still convenient and effective. This has been my experience:1) First unit, 4 months in: The hinge broke and the lid separated. I had to buy a new one. Fix: Right out of the box, lay a narrow strip of duct tape across the hinge to reinforce it.2) Second unit, 2 months in: The UV bulb partially burned out. On activation, the bulb came on to full brightness but then, within a second, dimmed to half brightness. The bulb should come on and stay on at a consistent brightness level. The sonic cleaning process doesn't rely on the UV bulb, so I continued to use this unit despite the bulb failure.3) Second unit, 10 months in: The start button stopped working consistently -- the unit would turn on about once every 5-10 button pushes, and eventually stopped coming on at all. I bought a third unit.4) Third unit, 2 months in: Going strong. Hinge is reinforced, UV bulb is bright.Why I keep buying it: It is very well designed for cleaning my retainers and keeping them safe and out of sight when I am not wearing them. I use plain tap water (no cleaner tabs or mouthwash) and the sonic cleaning appears very effective -- even when I brush my retainers before putting them in for cleaning, the left-over water shows debris that has been detached from the surface. This is exactly what I want. I don't know what difference the UV light makes but I can say that my night-time retainers that I've worn for 5 months are squeaky clean.During the day I keep my retainers in the empty cleaner where they stay dry and out of the way. This unit does take up some bathroom counter space but it is more space-efficient than rectangular sonic cleaners and doubles as a discreet retainer keeper as well.I gave this five stars because I find it very effective to clean my retainers and no other sonic cleaner is as space-efficient as this one.

I’ve used this to clean my Invisalign retainer about 3 times a week for 4 months. Sometimes I also put in the head to my electric toothbrush. I’ve always put in one of the Smile effervescent tablets or a less expensive “denture cleaner” tablet and my retainer is always super fresh and sparkly clean after about 5 minutes of bubbling and UV light. I’m glad I read reviews before purchase to be aware that the lid breaks off rather easily so I’ve been super-careful during set-up and wiping out the machine after use. Despite my care, the lid is starting to crack at the hinges so I’m not sure how much longer it’ll last. But considering the price of this is MUCH less than competitors and its really good performance, I’m very satisfied.

Edit: I bought another one and this one lasted less than 6 weeks, but just long enough to be outside the Amazon return date. I'm done, I've had 5 and every single one broke/stopped working within 3 months. I'm going to buy a Dental Pod. SMILE CLUB>>>>MAKE BETTER PRODUCTS<<<<< THIS ONE IS JUNK!First review: I read the reviews, I knew what I was getting. I knew it would likely only last a few months. But I love this little smile spa. I use it to clean my sleep apnea oral appliance, and it does a great job. Is it annoying that I have to unplug it and dump/fill the water every morning and night? Sort of. Is it worth it for the clean oral appliance that I wear all night every night? Yes.I am, however, very annoyed at the fact that after a few months, probably 4, the back linge hid broke and I had to use duct tape to keep it in place, and now it only works when I manipulate the plug in the back to "just the right spot".I am irritated that I have to buy another, but I will. Because it's inexpensive, and in the grand scheme of things, the appliance cost thousands of dollars, I wear it every night for hours, and this keeps it clean.Only 2 stars though, and buy it knowing that it will need to be replaced.

I have had the same night guard for more than 10 years and have cleaned it really well every day with a toothbrush & toothpaste as directed by my dentist. Over time, it’s become extremely discolored which I attributed to age. I purchased this product and have used it for only a few days and I am shocked at how good my night guard is beginning to look. With each use more of the discoloration goes away and it’s becoming clear again.The device itself is extremely simple to use and care for. You simply put a little water in and press the button. 10 short minutes later you have a clean and sanitized dental apparatus. I also use denture cleaner tablets with it but this is not necessary. Once you’re finished, you simply dump the water out and dry the inside with a paper towel.This product saves so much time as opposed to manual cleaning and does a significantly better job making an a must have for anyone with a retainer or night guard.

Ful discosure: This product seems to have no warranty on the box, on the product, in the paperwork that comes with it. Does it? I don't know. I returned it and they didn't even ask me to send it back. that being said:It was my second one and I love them! They just don't seem to last very long/quality issues. The first one stopped working after a couple months and this one started letting out screeches while it wa NOT in use... plugged in but off. I think the LED was going bad in the advertisement light that's in it which is totally unnecessary by the way.The unit does an excellent job of keeping clear aligners/braces sparkling clear and sparkling clean. I have been in retainers for some months now and my routine is this:-Put in in the morning in water, run oen cycle-Once complete, some time, throw in a denture tablet-Once it's gone clear, run one more cycleThe retainer are sparkling clear with no yellowing after months, which is unheard of no matter how frequently you soak/scrub/clean. It really is amazing.If the quality issues were solved this would be a 5+ star product. Fully recommended, knowing that they don't last long, at least for me.

The product worked great for a few months. And then the two plastic little pegs holding the lid on just snapped in two. I looked everywhere for a warranty and can’t find one. And you only get 30 days to return item. Seems to be happening with a few things I’ve got from Amazon lately. Bought a dehumidifier and it quit working also. There were no reviews when I ordered but then when it broke I went back and they all said the same thing: Broken or defective product. Amazon seems to be letting companies sell junk to customers and get away with not having to fix or replace after 30 days. That is not a very good way to operate a business. SO NOW IM STUCK WITH ANOTHER BROKEN PRODUCT. Shame on them.

Here are my thoughts, initial impressions on this ultrasonic cleaner and ultrasonic cleaners in general. If you don't want to read all of it, just get this for now but pay attention for new ultrasonic cleaner releases in the future because the current selection is a major letdown. Especially when you're taking about maintenance of people's dental hygiene, one of the most important pillars to one's health, this is a a major problem. Hopefully a reputable brand comes into the space soon and creates a reliable ultrasonic cleaner.I tried 2 Chinese cleaners before this one and before iSonic. The 2 Chinese cleaners had good ratings, 4.7 and 5 stars. You soon realize all these reviews are paid off the moment you get these cleaners and try them out. One stopped working on the second try and the other made a synthetic buzzing noise and wasn't not actually doing anything. You can put your finger in the cleaner after turning it on and should feel the micro vibrations in the water. You should also see the water moving albeit very slightly. Also the 2 Chinese cleaners didn't have a window to look inside while it was cleaning, I wonder if this is intentional to the hide the fact they're not actually doing anything. Very worrisome there are products like this on Amazon flying under the radar and there are probably people using them right now without realizing they've been scammed.I couldn't find any other reliable brands that I'd heard of or seem legit so I guess it kind of comes down to this and iSonic. To me, this wins out for 3 reasons: relatively small size, holes to let the potential heat escape, longer run time before auto shut off.Upsides:Size: the iSonic is the same height but twice in width making it difficult to fit on a small bathroom counter. It's just massive and will stick out like a sore thumb on any counter setup.Heat: heat is very bad for retainers and will warp the plastic. putting my finger in the iSonic using room temperature water I could notice the water heated up very quickly. Also it doesn't have any holes in the lid to let the heat escape which you can tell by the foggy lid. I think Smile Spa can still get very hot but only if you make the mistake of using hot water to begin with.Run-time: the Smile Spa runs at a nice lengthy 10 minutes albeit with slightly less strength than the iSonic. The iSonic is probably slightly stronger, more vigorous ultrasonic technology, but the trade off is that the autorun stops after just 5 minutes. I guess it just depends on your preference but I prefer the less strength of the Smile Spa since that is probably what keeps it from overheating and potentially warping the retainers in the future.Those are the upsides to the Smile Spa here's the downsides. There is a common defect where the plastic in the back starts to break, exposing the wire after a few months. I've only had it for a few days and it hasn't happened yet but it seems very common. If it happens to me outside the return window you can bet I'm going to bother Amazon about it when it happens. That's simply unacceptable. Hopefully SmileDirectClub resolved the issue with their last batch.You probably noticed I didn't say I'd bother SmileDirectClub if it breaks. Well you can't since the company shutdown last year. Meaning you're buying a product that has no support from the manufacturer. This is a major downside.The thing I'm realizing with ultrasonic cleaners in general, regardless of the brand, is it's meant to be more like a "sanitizer, not a dishwasher". It says this in the Smile Spa manual itself. My retainers were really dirty, I left them this way for a couple days to see how effective/ineffective the ultrasonic cleaner would be. It took off some "dirt" which you could see at the bottom on the tank but not a whole lot. Likely these are most effective if you're using it daily to get the bits off of it before they get larger and stick on too much, requiring a brush. But we'll see, it may be that you still have to manually brush the retainers every couple days or week to get rid of the stuff really stuck on there. I'll update this once I've had more time with it and know the results. Overall right now I think this a good addition to my bathroom counter and I wish I had started using a ultrasonic cleaner sooner.UPDATE. The SmileSpa drew too much power overnight and forced me to restart the outlet it was plugged into. So this won't work and I'm changing my star rating. Apparently Smile Club focused more on branding and having their logo be CONSTANTLY backlit and drawing power rather than making a quality ultrasonic cleaner. Due to this I'm forced to use iSonic instead but it takes up too much counter space. I guess the only way to fix that is a larger bathroom counter. You can mitigate the heat issue by opening the lid AFTER you start it and letting it stay open throughout the cleaning. If you open the lid before starting it, it won't start.UPDATE 2. I’ve decided on the iSonic for now but have also looked into jewelry cleaners. Jewelry cleaners use the same technology and have more reputable brands but they are even larger than iSonics F3900 and would hang off the edge of my bathroom sink counter. If I get a larger bathroom sink I will likely upgrade to a jewelry cleaner like InvisiClean.

This ultrasonic and UV cleaning machine is convenient for cleaning aligners, retainers, and toothbrush heads in one place. The setup is simple, and it feels like a hygienic addition to a daily routine.However, the cleaning performance did not feel significantly different from regular cleaning methods, and the results seemed somewhat limited overall. It works adequately, but the improvement was less noticeable than expected.

Dejan los alineadores súper limpios usando solo agua! Y no queda ni una mancha (como cuando los lavas con pasta de dientes)

Broke after a few months of use, now it won't even turn on

I've worn retainers to sleep every night for about 13 years, and I was looking for a way to prolong their life. Honestly, it could work but I really can't tell - at least comparing them before and after and to the videos I've see online of other products that showcase the same benefits.

This came with a U.S. style plug, but luckily I had a travel converter. For the first couple weeks of use it was great and worked how it should. Slowly the UV light would come on/off randomly, then the it started randomly stop/starting and then even when it was on the power would seem to be at about 10%. As of now I am just using it as a bath with none of the benefits it's meant to have. I would highly suggest not buying this.

The title is a bit of a joke; everything was all going well, working effectively and easily set up until I noticed the plastic around the UV light had started to crack and subsequently fallen off. It still works fine, just less appealing to look at.