Near the end of 2024, Byte deleted almost all of their social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. This was cause for concern for Byte customers who were currently undergoing treatments with aligners. A notice appeared on Byte’s website announcing that they would be pausing processing new orders. If you call or text the phone number on the website, no one responds. The chat also doesn’t work. What happened to Byte?
Founded in 2017, by Scott Cohen and Blake Johnson, Byte was a direct-to-consumer dental company. At one point, Byte was considered one of the largest online companies that offered aligner treatments along with SmileDirectClub who went out of business in late 2023. So what happened to Byte?
Here is what their message says currently on their website:
“Dear Valued Customer,
Patient safety is at the center of everything Byte does. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of quality and compliance and will collaborate and communicate with key stakeholders, including treating physicians and their patients as we evaluate and assess next steps. Our goal is to continue supporting treating doctors and their patients to provide quality oral care.
During review and discussion of a subset of medical device reports related to our Byte Aligner product, and through our communication with the FDA, we have determined that our patient onboarding workflow may not provide adequate assurance that certain contraindicated patients do not enter treatment with Byte Aligners.
While we continue to believe the potential risk to patients remains low, we made the decision to voluntarily pause shipment and processing of new and recently placed orders for Byte Aligners and Impression Kits while we perform a more comprehensive review.
If you are currently in Byte Aligner treatment and have known active periodontal disease, severe open bite, severe overjet, tooth malocclusion requiring surgical correction, mixed dentition, have dental prosthetics or dental implants, or are an adolescent with a skeletally narrow jaw, please stop treatment. We also recommend that you visit a dentist to review your overall oral health.”
What happened to Byte? According to their website, they are currently paused with taking in new customers as they review their business. In communication with the FDA, Byte wanted to evaluate their onboarding workflow. While Byte is paused, there are still ways to protect your smile if you have received aligners or completed treatments from them.
While SportingSmiles encourages people who need retainers to come to us for their needs, we’ve always believed that dental work that shifts teeth needs to be completed and supervised by a dentist. Aligners are oral devices that will shift your teeth into the perfect position and are created with the direct expertise of a dentist. So what happened to Byte? Byte was marketed as an option to receive aligners to your home to shift your teeth into desirable positions. Many medical professionals were concerned about the practice of Byte and their aligners as the delicate and complicated process of shifting teeth could potentially lead to damaged nerves, or severe teeth trauma if not aligned at a proper speed and manner.
Replace your lost, cracked, gross, and damaged dental retainers with a new one from SportingSmiles. Prevent your teeth from shifting using the most durable clear retainers available. Take your own impression at home and save hundreds over going to the dentist. Impression kit included. Free Shipping in the United States. Free Storage Case 90-Day Warranty
Byte has received some negative reviews on their aligners. Reviews complain about the material and how it easily breaks or disintegrates. While this is a huge issue, customer service tends to be unresponsive in recent months. Sometimes taking even weeks to get a response on the next step or to receive another set of Aligners.
While Byte currently doesn’t have any lawsuits against them, they could pop up in the future. SmileDirectClub had a huge lawsuit headed by the American Dental Association. This pushed SmileDirectClub out of business, and while Byte doesn’t have a lawsuit, it may in the future which could lead to a permanent closure.
Do you have your own molds? SportingSmiles accepts molds from new customers who have 3D Printed, Plaster or Stone Molds. We will accept 3D printed, plaster, or stone molds if you have them and opt not to choose our impression kit. When we receive your molds, they will automatically be scanned into our 3D system and saved on file for life. This means you’ll be able to reorder from SportingSmiles whenever you’d like. Own models are fragile and frail, there’s a high chance that they may become damaged in the process of working with them so to avoid that we have…
SportingSmiles wants to be clear, we craft retainers that keep your teeth in that perfect position after aligners. We always encourage our customers to go to the dentist for their teeth-shifting treatments whether that is braces or aligners. Your dentist will always have the best advice when it comes to shifting your teeth or oral issues.
Byte also gave their customers retainers once their aligner treatments were finished. These retainers are crafted to simply keep your teeth in place and prevent them from shifting. There are no sophisticated treatment plans or teeth shifting. Retainers keep your teeth in place and preserve your perfect smile which is why SportingSmiles’ business model is to provide affordable retainers to customers and not aligners.
What happened to Byte? They provided aligners which are a critical oral device used to shift teeth, and they have since paused their onboarding process as they review how they operate. They also deleted all their social media. The links for the social media on their website also go to a disabled page.
While Byte was founded in 2017, SportingSmiles has been in business since 2009 crafting retainers and night guards. These oral devices do not shift teeth and are crafted with the care and quality of the dentist. If you are a previous or current customer of Byte and have received retainers from them, SportingSmiles can continue to provide you retainers to protect your teeth from shifting.
Replace your lost, cracked, gross, and damaged retainers with emergency retainers from SportingSmiles. When you need retainers immediately, these emergency retainers will arrive in 6-7 business days GUARANTEED. Watch the video below for more information on how this works. Order before your teeth start to shift!
SportingSmiles accepts molds of your teeth and STL digital files, so if you have either of these from Byte, you may use them to receive premium retainers from SportingSmiles. If you’ve just finished up aligner treatments and need retainers, SportingSmiles can craft you them using our patented impression kit. We’ll send you an impression kit where you’ll take impressions of your teeth before sending them back with free shipping. Our expert dental lab techs will craft your retainers to keep your teeth in the perfect position. SportingSmiles has served over one million people worldwide and has a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on Google with over 2,200 reviews.
We helped save the smiles of thousands of SmileDirectClub customers when they couldn’t receive a retainer. SportingSmiles is happy to help out any Byte customers who may have their treatments paused while Byte evaluates their business. Our retainers will keep your teeth in the perfect position after aligners, or keep them in position until you find a dentist to continue the process of shifting them.
SportingSmiles offers a retainer subscription service to provide a fresh set of retainers every six months! With this service, you won’t have any reorder reminders and your impressions will be kept on file for life digitally automatically along with a lifetime warranty (as long as the service continues). This is the best retainer subscription service to ensure that you always have a backup set on hand when unexpected surprises happen. Our team will craft you a new set of tight-fitting retainers every six months and deliver them to your door. With this amazing deal, you’ll SAVE money as this is…
What happened to Byte? The company has paused its operations and put up a notice on its website. If you need a retainer or a replacement set, SportingSmiles can offer you a premium pair that is crafted to keep your teeth in place. We let the dentists do the teeth shifting, and we offer the maximum protection afterward with our retainers. If you are in an extreme rush to protect your teeth from shifting, we also offer emergency retainer options that will put retainers in your hands in 6-7 business days guaranteed.
