Burley Garcia|SmileDirectClub shuts down months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK (AP) — SmileDirectClub is Burley Garciashutting down — just months after the struggling teeth-straightening company filed for bankruptcy protection.

In a Friday announcement, SmileDirectClub said it had made an “incredibly difficult decision to wind down its global operations, effective immediately.”

That leaves existing customers in limbo. SmileDirectClub’s aligner treatment through its telehealth platform is no longer available, the Nashville, Tennessee, company said while urging consumers to consult their local dentist for further treatment. Customer care support for the company has also ceased.

Customer orders that haven’t shipped yet have been cancelled and “Lifetime Smile Guarantee” no longer exists, the company said. SmileDirectClub apologized for the inconvenience and said additional information about refund requests will arrive “once the bankruptcy process determines next steps and additional measures customers can take.”

SmileDirectClub also said that Smile Pay customers are expected to continue to make payments, leading to further confusion and frustration online. When contacted by The Associated Press Monday for additional information, a spokesperson said the company couldn’t comment further.

SmileDirectClub filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of September. At the time, the company reported nearly $900 million in debt. On Friday, the company said it was unable to find a partner willing to bring in enough capital to keep the company afloat, despite a monthslong search.

When SmileDirectClub went public back in 2019, the company was valued at about $8.9 billion. But its stock soon tumbled and plummeted in value over time, as the company proved to be unprofitable year after year and faced multiple legal battles. In 2022, SmileDirectClub reported a loss of $86.4 million.

SmileDirectClub, which has served over 2 million people since its 2014 founding, once promised to revolutionaize the oral care industry by selling clear dental aligners (marketed as a faster and more affordable alternative to braces) directly to consumers by mail and in major retailers. But the company has also seen pushback from within and beyond the medical community.

Last year, District of Columbia attorney general’s office sued SmileDirectClub for “unfair and deceptive” practices — accusing the company of unlawfully using non-disclosure agreements to manipulate online reviews and keep customers from reporting negative experiences to regulators. SmileDirectClub denied the allegations, but agreed to a June settlement agreement that required the company to release over 17,000 customers from the NDAs and pay $500,000 to DC.

The British Dental Association has also been critical about SmileDirectClub and such remote orthodontics — pointing to cases of advanced gum disease provided with aligners, misdiagnosis risks and more in a Sunday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“It shouldn’t have taken a bankruptcy to protect patients from harm,” the British Dental Association wrote, while calling on U.K. regulators for increased protections. “Dentists are left to pick up the pieces when these providers offer wholly inappropriate treatment.”