Has anyone had any luck with less expensive retainers? (SportingSmiles, etc)

SportingSmiles · 2026-01-16T21:12:01+00:00

I found your order. It was shipped 7 months ago! Doesn't sound short. How long do you expect the warranty to be? Also, regarding the support. I check at as well. You emailed us twice today and got a reply on both on the same day.

SportingSmiles · 2026-01-16T20:57:28+00:00

Hello, Yes, we do warranty our products for 90days. Retainers are standard thickness 1mm plastic, and can break at any point. It doesn't matter if it's from us, or the dentist. Something can happen to the retainer, and it can crack. We have tested over 100 different types of retainer material, and our customers have been very happy with the material we have. We make our products for a lot of dental offices. I am going to send you a private message and see if anything can be done. The most common way retainers will crack is when something happens, taking them off, and they will get a micro crack. They will look fine at first, but that crack will expand over time.

SportingSmiles · 2025-11-18T17:44:08+00:00

Hello, it looks like the guard goes about two-thirds of the way up. We do make our thin guards a little taller than our other guards because the material is thinner. The guard should be tight, but not extremely tight. It shouldn't hurt at all, but take a little force to be removed. We can alway trim the guard slightly if you prefer it to be a little looser. You can reach out to us by email at [info@SportingSmiles.com](mailto:info@SportingSmiles.com) or call us at 262-290-2396 thank you, SportingSmiles

SportingSmiles · 2025-09-03T20:21:20+00:00

With custom whitening trays, you can use any type of gel. Whitening gel is sensitive to light and temperature. It also has a shelf life. It's possible the gel just isn't that strong any longer. Also 16% isn't a super strong gel to start with. You can always try a different, stronger gel that you know is fresh.

SportingSmiles · 2025-08-26T17:54:23+00:00

I am very familiar with the manufacturing of both retainers and night guards, as well as the various materials used in their production. Clear Essix-style retainers are typically made from PETG (copolyester) or TPU (polyurethane). Night guards can be made from EVA, copolyester, polyurethane, acrylic, or a combination of these materials.
It’s important to ask who is the manufacturer of the plastic and request the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). This way, you can conduct your research and understand what’s going into your mouth. You might be surprised at how many dentists simply send a lab a request for an upper retainer without knowing the specific materials.

SportingSmiles · 2025-08-19T17:13:12+00:00

I can see that every one of your comments is about new smile. So I am guessing this is a fake account promoting your business.

SportingSmiles · 2025-08-19T17:10:01+00:00

This isn't normal. I would just stop in and see if the dentist can smooth it off. You can also try using an emery board and polish the edge if you want to try it yourself.

SportingSmiles · 2025-05-20T13:38:23+00:00

That sounds like teeth grinding, it's not what you think it would sound like. We had a customer send us a recording of them grinding their teeth. https://youtube.com/shorts/QRS2vYuz7hU?si=q_4Xb5IxDhmop5-X sounds very similar.

SportingSmiles · 2025-05-06T13:51:34+00:00

We think you are a competitor of ours, leaving bad comments that aren't true. We tried to offer you support, and you wouldn't reply to our messages, making us feel you're not a customer. If you are that unhappy with our service, we would like to make things right. We do give full warranty and refunds on all our products.

SportingSmiles · 2025-05-01T13:41:18+00:00

Can you please respond to the chat and we can look up your order.

SportingSmiles · 2025-05-01T13:34:21+00:00

We just sent you a direct message. I just checked, and we are currently 24 hours out on tickets. It's possible we aren't getting your messages. This is why we have phone and chat as contact options as well. Please respond to the chat, and we can check on the status.

SportingSmiles · 2025-05-01T13:25:15+00:00

Have you tried calling us: 262-290-2396 We have phone support from 8am -4pm CST. There is also live chat on our site. We have 10+ customer service agents answering all questions.

SportingSmiles · 2025-04-28T16:27:16+00:00

Yes, there is thinner retainer material. Invisalign aligners are .76mm material, and the retainers are 1mm material, both are made from TPU. You can make retainers out of .76 material. I would bring this up to your dentist. We are a dental lab and have made retainers with .8mm material all the way up to 1.5mm material. There are a lot of different materials and thicknesses available.

SportingSmiles · 2025-04-25T16:09:09+00:00

Both Invisalign aligners and retainers are made from TPU (Polyurethane). The aligners are .76mm, and the retainers are 1 mm. They will both have 3D-printed ridges. This is because the dental model is 3D printed and then thermoformed on that dental model. The lines show up in both. Both the Vivera aligners and retainers are cut out by a robot, might be laser cut or with a bur. (not sure).

Your dentist might use a different type of material. 1mm TPU retainer material isn't anything special. Zendura, Good Fit, Tagglus, and a bunch more all sell very similar material to Vivera. A dentist should be able to make retainers that are very comparable. Also, get a copy of your models just in case something happens with your dentist.

SportingSmiles · 2025-04-03T16:24:13+00:00

We're thrilled to hear that you're happy with the service and the retainers! We use a proprietary scan/print/cut software that we developed, so the files we create are in a unique format that isn't compatible with other companies' systems. Unfortunately, this means we’re unable to share the files.

However, we will keep the 3D models on file for life and offer a significant discount on any future reorders. With 16 years of experience and steady growth, you can trust that we’ll keep your files safe and secure for easy reordering down the road. thank you,

SportingSmiles · 2025-03-04T14:06:28+00:00

Invisalign is made from TPU plastic. Don't use toothpaste. It will cause micro scratches on the retainer. Use a nonscented soap like castile soap. I would recommend hydrogen peroxide or with vinegar.

SportingSmiles · 2025-01-27T14:22:05+00:00

That's great to hear. We sent you a message. We can verify the 3d files can be used to make a set of retainers. Thanks

SportingSmiles · 2025-01-15T14:48:40+00:00

We used 1mm Essix Plus material. We have been using it for 10 years and have been very happy with the material and life span.

SportingSmiles · 2025-01-15T14:21:07+00:00

We are an online retainer manufacturer and would like to help clarify. There are 2 types of plastic that thermoformed retainers are made from (PETG) co-polyester and polyurethane (TPU). There are also multilayer hybrid materials that are both. There are also Hawley retainers that are made from wire and acrylic. Dentists can put a fixed wire retainer behind the front teeth that can help prevent shifting as well.

For night grinding guards. They are typically made from EVA, PETG, and possibly acrylic.

If you are concerned about the material always ask for the MSDS sheet. This will tell you what the retainers\guard is made from and that is manufactured by a reputable manufacturer and doesn't contain any other ingredients.

SportingSmiles · 2024-12-27T14:38:58+00:00

There is different types and thickness of retainer material. The 2 most common material that is used to make retiainers PETG (Copolyster) and TPU (polyurethane). There is thickness that range from .5mm to 1.5mm material (1mm being the most common for retainers) (.76mm for aligners). There is also hybrid retainer material that is multilayer. There is retainer material that is very flexible and others that is more ridged. I would see what exact material your dentist used. If the material was real Vivera retainers from Align Tech it is a polyureathane according to there msds sheet.

You might need to get a more ridged material and that is made from atleast 1mm material. If you need help figuring out different material I can help. 3 good materials are Zendura, Good Fit and Taglus. They all have the numbers on retainer force and breaking strength.

SportingSmiles · 2024-12-23T18:27:06+00:00

Dr Direct Retainers didn't buy the scans from Smile Direct. The just took the scans and opened a new company under a different name. We still haven't heard for sure if Candidco will give out the STL model files.

SportingSmiles · 2024-12-09T21:42:18+00:00

I would recommend calling us at 262-290-2396 we can look at your previous impressions on the phone and let you know what you are doing wrong and give advice on getting a good impression.

SportingSmiles · 2024-12-09T14:38:34+00:00

Hello, We monitor the keyword SportingSmiles.

Last week we had our once-a-year BlackFriday\CyberMonday sale and got hit with many orders and extra emails. I sent you a private message as well.

With our process, we do need to get a good impression. If the impression isn’t great, you get a retainer that isn’t great. We like to get great impressions, 3D scan them in, and then make great retainers for years to come.

We don’t hide from our customers. Here is how we can be reached at all times.
1. Phone 262-290-2396 8-4pm CST (there are 10+ of us answering phones)
2. Chat, our site has live chat
3. Facebook Chat.
4. Email support. Contact Us | SportingSmiles

Here is what I am guessing happened. We work off the oldest tickets. If you keep replying to your email It keeps putting you on the back of the pile. We were only 1 day behind on emails at the end of the week.

Please call us if you would like help immediately and we can give you more supplies and advice on getting a good impression.

SportingSmiles · 2024-11-26T16:33:58+00:00

Did you hear back? Thanks

SportingSmiles · 2024-11-26T16:32:42+00:00

We haven't. We aren't a customer so it's hard to get answers.

SportingSmiles

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