TruSmile vs. Brighter Image Lab: Which Is Worth Buying? - Smile Prep (2024)

Whether you purchase TruSmile or Brighter Image Lab, you’ll get a temporary smile transformation and a big boost to your confidence. On the surface, these two companies have similar products, but dig deeper and you’ll find plenty of details that set them apart.

We’re always working to take the stress out of your smile journey. That’s why we thoroughly researched TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab and compiled the info you need to feel confident in your purchase.

Company Backgrounds

Snap-on veneers are a relatively new cosmetic dental appliance, but TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab are two of the industry’s more experienced producers.

TruSmile started in 2015, and while that might make them seem young, they’ve still got a few years on most of their competitors. They quickly gained a loyal following, and as a result, they have an established track record of customer satisfaction. They’ve helped thousands of people cover up their natural teeth, so you can be confident they’ve already seen cases just like yours.

Yet TruSmile still isn’t as experienced as Brighter Image Lab. They started in 1997 as a tooth whitening company, then several years later began making the first direct-to-consumer customized snap-on veneers. Over the decades, they’ve blazed a trail for others in the industry, producing quality veneers for thousands of customers.

How Does the Quality Compare?

The number one quality a snap-on veneer should have? Quality! You want your veneers to hide your teeth behind a stunning smile, and if they’re low quality, they can look fake or break before you get much out of your investment. Both TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab have high standards for their veneers — though we’d say that TruSmile sets the bar slightly higher.

Materials

There are a variety of suitable materials for snap-on veneers, but the two most common are acrylic and crystallized acetyl resin. Companies prefer these options because they’re durable and can mimic natural teeth surfaces.

TruSmile steps outside the box by using a German co-polyester resin that’s thinner and more flexible than the standard crystallized acetyl resin. As a result, their veneers are less likely to break under the pressure of biting or chewing.

Brighter Image Lab uses a crystallized resin, but with an interesting twist — it’s a version originally developed by NASA. It’s also similar to the materials dentists use in high-end dentures, so you know it’s strong. They modify this material for their top-tier model, IncrediBIL Veneers, to make it thinner and alter the translucency without sacrificing strength.

Durability

Snap-on veneers need to be durable. If they break right away, you aren’t saving money compared to longer-lasting cosmetic dental treatments. Not all snap-on veneer companies offer the same level of durability, and their strength can vary by model.

TruSmile only makes one veneer model, which you can wear during mealtimes and for up to 20 hours a day, every day. If you care for them properly and avoid tough foods, they can last up to five years.

Brighter Image Lab has three veneer models, each with its own level of durability. Press-On Veneers are the least durable, and you can’t wear them while eating. BIL Veneers are strong enough to eat with, but they’re thicker, less flexible, and less durable than IncrediBIL Veneers, which have the longest lifespan.

But what exactly are these average lifespans? Brighter Image Lab doesn’t specify. They only state that their veneers should last “several” years with proper wear and care.

Comfort

All snap-on veneers can all feel a little funny at first, and it will take your mouth some time to adjust.

TruSmile veneers are thin and flexible, which means they’ll exert less pressure on your teeth and are less likely to cause significant soreness. If you choose to wear your veneers daily, you should adjust rather quickly.

Brighter Image Lab’s comfort level depends on the model you select. Their Press-On Veneers are the thickest model, making them the most obtrusive. Plus, they’re not designed for daily wear, so you can’t wear them consistently enough for your teeth to adjust. BIL Veneers are still somewhat thick, but they have a better fit, and you can wear them daily, allowing your mouth to adjust quickly. IncrediBIL Veneers are the thinnest, most flexible model, giving you the greatest level of comfort.

Slippage

You might hear people call snap-on veneers “Millennial dentures.” While dentures and clip-in veneers aren’t the same thing, they can both slip out of place if they’re not well made.

Some TruSmile customers have reported veneer slippage, and a few said it was so constant that they could hardly speak while wearing them. That isn’t good news, but the same customers said the company took swift action to correct the issue.

Brighter Image Lab customers report the most slippage with their Press-On Veneers. It still happens occasionally with their higher-tier models, but most video and written reviews said the company quickly and happily corrected the issue. However, we found that customers have a much different take on Brighter Image Lab’s Better Business Bureau page. There, buyers reported having a much harder time getting corrections or replacements.

Which Offers the Better Value?

Perhaps the biggest draw of snap-on veneers is their price, which can be thousands less than traditional cosmetic dental treatments. Even though they’re all relatively affordable, some snap-on veneer companies offer a better value than others, and TruSmile comes out far ahead in this category.

Sticker Price

TruSmile only offers one model, and it costs $299 for one arch or $499 for both. These are the lowest prices we’ve seen for a daily-wear veneer model. Brighter Image Lab is all the way on the other end of the spectrum, getting the dubious honor of being the most expensive remote snap-on veneer provider. Here are their prices:

• Press-On Veneers: ​​​$1,290 for both arches or $​​​795 for one.
• BIL Veneers: $1,590 for both arches or $995 for one.
• IncrediBIL Veneers: $2,495 for both arches or $1,495 for one.

Press-On Veneers aren’t for daily wear and the company states they won’t match your gumline perfectly. Yet they still cost almost three times more than TruSmile, which offers all-day wear and a better fit. BIL Veneers are the most comparable to TruSmile, and they cost more than three times as much.

Brighter Image Lab also uses a different pricing structure than other companies. They only offer veneers at a certain price until they sell an unspecified number. After that, their prices could change. We’re not sure how often this happens, but it feels like they are trying to generate FOMO to push uncertain customers into making a purchase.

Financing

TruSmile is significantly more affordable than Brighter Image Lab, but you still might find that the cost of your veneers is more than you can pay upfront. If this is the case, financing can help your veneers better fit your budget.

TruSmile offers two options. You can pay half the cost upfront as a down payment. Then, you’ll pay the other half before they ship you your veneers. The second option is to work with Partial.ly. Their terms are more flexible, but their plans include a credit check and interest.

With Brighter Image Lab there are two financing options. Through their in-house financing plan you can pay half of the total upfront and the other half when you return your completed impression kit. They also offer a third-party financing option, which requires you to pass a credit check (though there is 100% approval) and significantly increases your total cost.

This third-party financing option is advertised as interest free, and while that is technically true, you’ll still end up paying more in the long run. Brighter Image Lab claims that they are able to secure deals with the lab that the third-party financing partner is not able to match. Basically, what this means is that if you opt for financing you will be charged between 48%-60% more than if you bought the product outright (or used their in-house option).

Insurance Coverage

Dental insurance doesn’t cover remote snap-on veneers because they’re a fully cosmetic treatment. The companies that do offer partial coverage for certain cosmetic treatments might be open to in-office clip-in veneers, like Snap-On Smile, but not remote companies like TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab. If you have a health savings account, you can potentially apply those funds to the cost of snap-on veneers. Speak with your account administrator to clarify the terms of your account.

Additional Expenses

When you are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a product, you don’t want to feel pressured into spending even more. TruSmile doesn’t require you to purchase any extras; the sticker price includes all the essentials, like the impression kit and carrying case. However, if you don’t get a usable impression with your first kit, they might charge you for a new one. You can also pay $145 for expedited production and shipping if you’d like.

Brighter Image Lab has a lot of extras available. Technically, they are optional, but some customers might find two of them pretty crucial to the wear experience. These are:

• Extra teeth added to the veneer ($125 each)
• Glazing ($99)

Brighter Image Lab veneers do not cover all the molars. If your molars are in good shape, this isn’t a big deal. However, if you’re missing a couple or you don’t like the way they look, you’ll need to pay extra to cover them. The glazing increases stain protection, so it’s optional, but if you don’t pay for it, your veneers are at a greater risk of discoloration.

Besides these expenses, Brighter Image Lab has four other add-ons that might interest you:

• Express Processing ($149) and Ultra Express Processing ($249)
• A two-year extended warranty ($149)
• Printed teeth models ($99 each)
• An UltraSonic Cleaning System ($74)

Each of these could enhance your experience, but they are not essential to using snap-on veneers.

How Do Their Appearances Compare?

If you’re purchasing snap-on veneers, you’re after a more attractive smile. Before buying, you need to be assured that a company’s veneers will match the perfect smile you’re imagining. Since what looks good is pretty subjective, consider your own tastes and priorities as you make your decision.

Materials

We already know TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab use quality materials, but how do those materials look? The most durable materials aren’t always the most discreet.

TruSmile’s material is thin, which means it doesn’t make your teeth look overly long and it doesn’t push the lips out, so most people won’t notice them at all.

Brighter Image Lab changes their materials based on the veneer model. Press-On Veneers and BIL Veneers use the same material, but they’re manufactured differently, causing some variations in appearance. Press-On Veneers customers sometimes complain that their thickness makes the teeth look too long, complaints you don’t find as much with BIL Veneers. IncrediBIL Veneers use a unique thinner material, which barely affects the thickness and length of your teeth.

Colors

Whenever you invest in a smile makeover, whitening is usually part of the deal. However, you might not want blindingly bright teeth. TruSmile offers three shades to choose from: a bright white, a natural white, and a natural stain.

Brighter Image Lab keeps it simple by offering just two different shades: bright white and natural white. The only exception is Brighter Image Lab’s Press-On Veneers, which only come in natural white.

Natural Appearance

Covering up your smile doesn’t solve your aesthetic concerns unless your veneers look natural. You don’t want veneers that are more Halloween than Hollywood. TruSmile does very well here. They cut their veneers precisely and give them a slight texture that mimics natural teeth.

Brighter Image Lab also looks pretty natural, but how natural depends on the veneer model. Press-On Veneers are bulky and don’t promise a cut that perfectly follows the gumline. The closer you get to someone wearing these veneers, the more likely you are to notice them.

BIL Veneers and IncrediBIL Veneers are thinner and more precisely cut than Press-On Veneers. IncrediBIL Veneers also have a slightly translucent outer layer — just like our enamel — which gives them a hyper-realism other companies can’t match.

Tooth Division

The whole point of snap-on veneers is to make people think they’re your real teeth. But unlike real teeth, these veneers don’t have spaces between them.

TruSmile makes the ridges between your teeth as deep as possible without weakening the veneers. Brighter Image Lab scales their tooth definition by model. The ridges are most shallow with Press-On Veneers and deepest with the 3D-printed, hand-detailed IncrediBIL Veneers.

Missing Teeth

Many people in the market for snap-on veneers are motivated by missing teeth. But gaps can alter the color of your veneers. Brighter Image Lab fills these gaps with thin shells to keep the color uniform and keep your missing teeth secret. Unfortunately, TruSmile doesn’t place anything in these gaps, so the color uniformity is less certain.

Stain Resistance

Both TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab are stain resistant. However, Brighter Image Lab charges extra for the glazing service to enhance that resistance. Just keep in mind that stain resistance means preventing discoloration of the actual veneers. Surface stains can still build up if you are not cleaning your veneers properly.

Which Is More Convenient?

Snap-on veneers will add a few steps to your daily routine. However, you don’t want them to become a major inconvenience. From start-up to everyday wear, both companies’ procedures are pretty simple and easy.

Start-Up Process

Before you can transform your smile with snap-on veneers, you need to make molds of your teeth and mail them to your provider. Typically, this is the hardest part of the process. TruSmile gives you room for error, including multiple sets of putty in case you get it wrong the first time. They also host video tutorials and offer a video chat to walk you through it.

Brighter Image Lab also includes multiple sets of putty. Although they don’t offer video call walkthroughs, they do have one of the best impression tutorial videos we’ve come across. It features founder Bil Watson taking his own impressions in real time, making all the mistakes customers might make so you can avoid them.

Shipping and Production Turnaround

You might want snap-on veneers for a major life event like a wedding or graduation, or you might just want a new smile within the next two months. No matter your ideal timeline, you won’t want to wait forever for your new smile. TruSmile has a 3-5-week turnaround from the day they receive your impressions. If you upgrade to express processing, you can get them back in about two weeks.

Brighter Image Lab has one of the lengthiest turnaround times in the industry. In most cases, standard processing and shipping takes more than 30 days to reach you, with no cap on how long you might wait. This is because they only start production on a particular batch once they receive an unspecified number of orders. If you don’t want to wait, you can pay $149 for Express Processing (14-17 days) or $249 for Ultra Express Processing (7-10 days).

Daily Wear Experience

Overall, wearing snap-on veneers is pretty easy, though it will add some steps to your routine. These steps are the same no matter which veneers you buy: you’ll clean your veneers and teeth prior to putting them in, even if you only took them out for a moment. And when you’re not wearing them, keep them in their protective case.

The only difference is if you buy Press-On Veneers from Brighter Image Lab, which you need to remove before eating. TruSmile and other Brighter Image Lab veneers are strong enough to leave in during meals.

How Well Do They Support Their Customers?

TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab are both fully remote companies, so their customer support team can make or break your experience. Whether you want guidance on taking impressions or need a repair, you want support representatives you can rely on, and while TruSmile is pretty reliable, Brighter Image Lab has a little room for improvement.

Guarantees

TruSmile has a 30-day warranty that covers veneer fractures. While the period of coverage is short, the terms are more comprehensive than most other companies offer. They also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which sounds wonderful, but the details aren’t so inspiring. Essentially, it covers one free remake of your veneers, but only if they don’t properly fit your teeth. If you want a remake for other reasons, you might need to pay.

Brighter Image Lab also has a satisfaction guarantee. If you aren’t happy with your veneers’ fit, you can fill out their “Return for Adjustment” form, then return your veneers according to the steps outlined in their terms and conditions, and they will either remake or repair them.

They also have a 30-day warranty that covers issues related to structural integrity, but wearing them incorrectly or failing to care for them properly voids this coverage. Plus, some customers have complained that Brighter Image Lab has either denied their requests, or charged them fees for remakes, then never delivered.

Refund Policy

The snap-on veneers industry’s stance on refunds for veneers is pretty universal — companies just don’t offer them. Some offer refunds on unopened impression kits, but this is usually just a partial refund.

TruSmile has a nuanced refund policy. They never offer full refunds on veneers, but they will make adjustments or remake them (once, according to their guarantee). They’ll also offer partial refunds in the following situations:

• When the customer returns their unopened impression kit within 20 days of ordering (full refund minus shipping).
• When the customer returns an open and used impression kit within 20 days of ordering (partial refund that excludes the cost of the impression kit and shipping, as well as a processing fee).
• When the customer escalates the refund request and the TruSmile billing department determines that there is a case (refund is the cost of the purchase minus 25%).

Brighter Image Lab isn’t clear on their refund policies, stating only that they won’t offer full refunds unless your impressions show you aren’t a suitable candidate. With either company, don’t place your order unless you are confident in your purchase.

Customer Education

Starting something new inevitably means feeling a little lost. That’s why companies offer customer education to bridge the knowledge gap. TruSmile has great guides on their website, but their video content is lacking. Brighter Image Lab is the opposite; their website isn’t very user-friendly and has minimal info, but their YouTube channel is robust, with well-produced, informative content that presents interesting perspectives and answers to common questions.

Customer Service Responsiveness & Helpfulness

When you’ve got a question or concern, you want fast, helpful responses from customer support. TruSmile’s team is only available by phone and email Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 4:00 ET. Contact them during those hours and you’ll hear from helpful representatives who are happy to assist you.

Brighter Image Lab is much more available. You can contact them by phone, email, and web chat Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day. Their representatives are also available on weekends, but the hours vary. Their web chat is highly responsive and the agents are well-versed on their products. We reached out multiple times and always got a detailed response within one minute. However, some customer reviews have stated that the company is difficult to contact or unhelpful regarding returns and remakes.

What Are Customers Saying?

Whenever we research a snap-on veneer provider, we start with genuine customer reviews and testimonials. If actual customers don’t have great things to say, we know a company isn’t worth your investment. Here’s what TruSmile and Brighter Image Lab customers are saying.

TruSmile

TruSmile has mixed reviews, but overall, they lean positive. While they have some room for growth, customers love their affordability, durability, and natural appearance. However, some people found their veneers far too loose to wear, and said they struggled to get them corrected. Although, in most cases, it seems like TruSmile is ready and willing to help if anything goes wrong.

But don’t take our word for it. Here are some helpful TruSmile reviews on YouTube where you can hear it from the customers themselves.

Brighter Image Lab

Brighter Image Lab reviews are even more mixed. Video testimonials on YouTube are pretty positive — at least from those who got the BIL or IncrediBIL Veneers — raving about the hand detailing, realistic appearance, and great fit these products offer.

However, their Better Business Bureau profile is loaded with complaints, particularly about their prices and production times. And we didn’t come across anyone who was truly impressed with their Press-On Veneers.

Of course, we’re just summarizing what customers had to say. Now it’s time to hear it from them yourself.

Which Should You Choose?

Still not sure which snap-on veneer company is right for you? Here’s what we recommend.

Choose TruSmile if…

A low price is your top priority, but you don’t want to sacrifice quality just to save.

Choose Brighter Image Lab if…

You want to partner with an experienced company that hand details their premium veneers.