CVS Health is about to make it easier to straighten your teeth. The drugstore chain will open "hundreds" of SmileDirectClub locations inside its stores this year, with plans to open more than 1,000 locations over the next two years, the company announced Thursday. Called a SmileShop, customers can receive a 3D scan of their teeth that will be used to create a pair of invisible braces. CNBC reported in January that CVS was running a pilot with SmileDirectClub to fit people for clear braces inside its drugstores. At the time, the idea was being tried out at just six CVS locations. The pilot grew to 13 locations, with the test performing so well that CVS decided to expand it. "For me, [this partnership is] about how CVS is very much on the look out for innovative solutions we can provide conveniently, locally and affordably," CVS' Vice President of Beauty Maly Bernstein said in an interview. "This is one example of us making sure we're leaders in doing that."

CVS will open "hundreds" of SmileDirectClub SmileShops in its drugstores this year and may open more than 1,000 locations over the next few years. Source: CVS

CVS is trying to keep up with its changing customers. People are shopping online more, especially on sites like Amazon, hurting CVS and other drugstores' sales of everyday items like vitamins and toilet paper. CVS thinks focusing on health and beauty products and services will be a way to draw people in. Teeth-straightening start-up SmileDirectClub began online. People ordering the clear aligners online fit themselves using an at-home impression kit. If they go to a store, a "SmileGuide" performs a 3D scan for them. Bernstein's team found SmileDirectClub on social media and liked the brand's loyal following, how it engaged with customers and its convenient and affordable experience, she said. They called the Nashville, Tennessee-based start-up and pitched them on becoming their lead partner in bringing their services into stores nationwide. SmileDirectClub liked the idea and agreed to test it. "We actually proved to one another we were right," Bernstein said. "This was something customers did want, and did appreciate being able to go to their local store to have that first scan done." CVS found the SmileShop locations were attracting new, younger customers in the pilot, CVS Pharmacy President Kevin Hourican said in an interview. Of the 609 SmileShop visitors surveyed in three stores over a month, 32% weren't regular customers, he said. Many of the patients were millennials, a key demographic CVS wants to tap.

The inside of a SmileShop, where customers can get a 3D scan of their teeth before receiving a custom pair of aligners. Source: SmileDirectClub