Nashville, Tenn.-based SmileDirectClub will modify its advertising claims based on recommendations from the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau National Programs after being hit with challenges by two competitors.
Two updates dating back to July 21:
- Align Technology challenged SmileDirectClub's claim that its teledentistry treatment costs 60 percent less than Align Technology's Invisalign treatment. The NAD recommended that SmileDirectClub modify the claim to disclose that its clear aligners do not correct the same range of issues Invisalign might.
- Proctor & Gamble, which manufactures Crest whitestrip products, challenged the orthodontics company's claims that its fast-dissolving whitening strips made teeth two times whiter than Crest's strips and worked two times faster. After a review of the advertising claims, the NAD found SmileDirectClub's claims were not objectively verifiable by consumer studies or supported by performance evidence. It recommended SmileDirectClub discontinue such advertising.
In both cases, SmileDirectClub said it disagreed with the NAD's findings but agreed to comply with its recommendations.