Of all the invisible aligners brands available on the market today, perhaps the two most popular are Byte and Candid. So why are these two brands so successful, and which one is best? If you’re trying to figure out whether to choose between Byte or Candid to straighten your teeth, keep reading as we go through a detailed comparison of these two options, including the similarities, differences, and eligibility guidelines.
Candid vs byte: The Key Differences
Candid and Byte are both brands of mail-order clear aligners. That means that unlike traditional braces, instead of comprising metal brackets and wires that connect each tooth, they are clear plastic removable trays. This makes them more similar to Invisalign, but Invisalign requires regular in-office dentist visits, whereas treatment with mail-order aligners can be completed entirely remotely.
That’s not where the differences end. Even among mail-order clear aligner brands, there are some essential differences that you should consider. Let’s have a look at some of the similarities and differences between them in this Candid and Byte reviews.
Treatment Qualifications
First, we’ll compare the treatment qualifications of Candid and Byte, taking a closer look at the requirements for each.
Candid eligibility
If you are interested in straightening your teeth with Candid, you will start by going to their website and taking a quick online assessment that will tell you initially if you are eligible for this sort of treatment. Candid clear aligners are only suitable for patients who have mild to moderate cases of teeth crowding, overbite, underbite, crossbite, open bite, spacing issues, and other types of malocclusion. Any alignment issues that are considered severe or complex will need to be treated with in-office aligners like Invisalign, or even a more traditional type of braces. The online test only gives you preliminary results. You won’t know for sure if you can complete treatment with Candid until you take the impressions of your teeth, and a Candid orthodontist reviews your case.
Byte eligibility
When you want to find out if you are eligible for Byte aligners, the process is very similar to that of Candid. You go to Byte’s website and take a quick online assessment. This will give you preliminary results as to whether or not you are a candidate for treatment (in case you are not, there are some byte alternatives that maybe would accept your case). At this point, you can order your impression kit and make molds of your teeth. You then send your molds back into Byte, and an orthodontist will review your case to determine if you are eligible. Byte treatment is designed for those who have mild to moderate cases of malocclusion. Just like with Candid, anything more severe will most likely require treatment with Invisalign or traditional braces.
Price Comparison
Now let’s take a look at the cost differences between them in this Byte and Candid review of prices.
Candid Price
Candid offers one treatment option with a price of $1,895. You also have the options of a monthly payment plan for $99 per month for 24 months with $399 down payment. Apart from this baseline price, you’ll also need to pay for your impression kit, which is $95. If you send your teeth impressions in and the Candid orthodontist decides you aren’t eligible for Candid treatment, Candid will refund your impression kit. Candid also has a limited number of physical locations called Candid Studios, where you can get 3D scans taken of your teeth, instead of taking your own impressions at home. In-person 3D scans are free.
byte Price
How much is a Byte aligner? Byte offers a standard treatment option for $1,895, or a payment plan of $83 per month for 29 months with a $349 deposit. They also provide an At-Night option, which costs $2,245 or a monthly payment plan of $98 per month for 29 months with a $415 deposit. For both plans, the impression kit is $95, with a full refund if Byte decides you aren’t eligible for treatment with them. Moreover, there is always a Byte aligners coupon code that you can use to reduce the cost of the full treatment plan.
Aligners: Manufacturing & Appearance
Both Byte and Candid offer similar cheap teeth aligners, but there are some small differences you may want to keep in mind.
Candid aligners
Candid’s aligners come from manufacturer ClearCorrect, which is actually the second-largest maker of aligners in the industry. These aligners are FDA-approved and have been since 2009. Candid aligners are cut straight across your gums, making them more effective.
Byte aligners
Byte aligners are made with BPA-free plastic and cut straight across the gumline for more effective treatment. Their nighttime aligners are made of a thicker plastic that can move teeth faster in less time.
Treatment Time and Process
The treatment time and process vary quite a bit between Candid and AlignerCo, so let’s take a look at some of the essential treatment differences.
Candid treatment
The Candid treatment process is as follows:
- Smile Assessment: Take the Candid Smile Assessment to find out if you’re eligible.
- Molds or 3D scans: Order your impression kit online to take molds of your teeth at home, or go to a Candid Studio to get 3D scans taken in-person.
- Aligners in the mail: You’ll receive all of your aligners at once in the mail, and which point you can begin treatment.
- Remote monitoring: You’ll check in with your orthodontist every ten days using Candid’s exclusive Remote Monitoring system, in partner with Dental Monitoring.
- Retainers: After completing your treatment with Candid, you’ll need to wear retainers at night for the rest of your life.
Treatment time with Candid takes on an average of six months. However, there’s a good chance that it will take less time with the Candid Remote Monitoring system, which can speed treatment up by 20% to 30%. This system involves Candid’s ScanBox, included in your treatment plan. The Dental Monitoring system is also said to hold patients more accountable and make treatment more accurate. That’s because, every ten days, you slide your phone into the ScanBox and take pictures of your teeth. The box then uses AI technology to analyze your teeth and sends information directly to your Candid orthodontist. Your orthodontist will be able to see in detail how your treatment is progressing and will let you know more accurately if you are ready to move on to your next aligners. This also means that with most aligners, you change aligners every two weeks, with Candid you could change yours every ten days if your orthodontist gives you the thumbs up.
Byte treatment
The Byte treatment plan consists of the following steps:
- Online assessment: Take the online byte assessment to find out if you’re eligible.
- Impression kit: Order your impression kit online and take molds of your teeth at home.
- Get your aligners: You’ll receive all of your aligners in the mail at once, at which point you may begin treatment.
- Remote monitoring: You will check in regularly with your orthodontist to make sure everything is going OK.
- HyperByte: With the standard Byte treatment option, you’ll wear your aligners for 22 hours per day, and use the HyperByte technology, which delivers micro pulses that speed up treatment time and relieve discomfort, for five minutes per day.
- Retainers: Wear your retainers at night for the rest of your life.
The Byte At Night treatment option steps are the same, except that you’ll wear your aligners for 10 hours every night and do 10 minutes of HyperByte per day. HyperByte is Byte’s exclusive technology. You gently bite down on it, and it uses high-frequency vibrations in the form of gentle micro pulses to help your aligners set better, speed up treatment, and reduce discomfort. Treatment time for the all day compared to at night plan is lower. The standard Byte plan is as little as two to three months, and for Byte At-Night, it is from five to six months.
Customers Reviews
On consumersadvocate.org, Byte has 4.7/5 stars, and Candid has 4.5/5 stars. Reviewers of both are happy with the customer service, and speed and effectiveness of their Byte treatment.
Candid vs byte: Which Is Better?
Have a look at the following table to summarize the similarities and differences between Byte and Candid.
In our opinion, both Candid and Byte are good options for straightening your teeth if you only need slight adjustments. We especially like these brands because your treatment is supervised by an orthodontist instead of dentists. This is important because orthodontists are specialized in the art of teeth straightening.
You may want to choose Candid if:
- You want a discreet way to straighten teeth.
- You don’t mind paying a bit more.
- You don’t mind longer treatment time than Byte (but still much shorter than traditional braces).
- You want the option of in-person 3D scans.
- You want greater accountability with Dental Monitoring check-ins every ten days.
- You have mild to moderate malocclusion.
You may want to choose Byte if:
- You want a discreet way to straighten teeth.
- You want a nighttime option (for greater cost)
- You want the shortest treatment time possible.
- You are happy with completely remote treatment.
- You want to use HyperByte to speed up treatment time and reduce discomfort.
- You have mild to moderate malocclusion.
