Sporting Smiles

So here's the thing about Sporting Smiles-they're basically the scrappy underdog of the dental world who figured out how to beat the system. Since 2009, they've served over 1 million customers by doing something pretty clever: cutting out the middleman (your dentist's office) and letting you make dental impressions at home.

The whole operation runs out of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and their pitch is straightforward-professional dental products at half the cost. They've got this patented adjustable impression tray from 2011 that supposedly fits over 95% of customers. You order, they send you a kit, you make impressions of your teeth (takes about 10 minutes), ship it back, and boom-custom retainers, night guards, or whitening trays show up at your door.

But here's where it gets interesting. The reviews are... mixed, to put it diplomatically. Sporting Smiles has a rating of 3.4 stars from 66 reviews, and around 2.9 stars out of 5 overall from other sources. Some people absolutely love them-especially repeat customers who've figured out the system. Others? Well, let's just say the impression process isn't foolproof.

The company's been around long enough to work out most kinks, and they do offer a 90-day warranty. Plus, once they have your impressions, they're scanned into their 3D system and saved on file for life, which makes reordering pretty seamless.

What's kind of fascinating is how they've positioned themselves. They call themselves "the No. 1 online dental lab in America", and honestly, in the DIY dental space, they might be right. The whole thing feels very much like the Warby Parker of dental care-direct-to-consumer, way cheaper than traditional options, with that slight risk that comes with cutting out the professionals.

Their customer service hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST, and they promise 24-hour response times. Whether that actually happens seems to depend on who you ask.