Re: Invisalign to Orthoclear Transition Information.

My son was 6 months into a 12 month treatment with Orthoclear when, as
I understand it, Align basically forced Orthoclear to suspend business
operations. We have been told that no further treatment will occur
until March of 2007.

This settlement was undertaken for the benefit of the shareholders. At
no time has either company made any attempt to contact patients. There
was no plan, nor any concern for the well being of the patients. The
motivation was self interest and greed on the part of Align and
Orthoclear.

As parents who are paying 100% of the costs of our son's orthodontia
treatment, we are angy and plan to file complaints with several state
and federal government agencies. What happens if this sort of
litigation is permitted in say, artificial body parts like knee and hip
joints or heart valves and results in significant health impacts to
patients?

My son was extremely good at trumpet - he was invited to play with a
local university wind ensemble at age 15. But then a front tooth began
to rotate such that the side of his tooth was pointed into his lip. He
eventually lost all ability to play. Our orthodontist gave us several
alternatives, including Invisalign. We decided on the latter because it
would be the fastest course of treatment to get him playing again, even
though we had to pay more for it (100% of all costs out of our pocket).
Without telling us, our orthodontist ultimately chose to use
Orthoclear. This was not our decision at all. In fact, we did not even
know we had Orthoclear until a few months into the treatment program.
The point of all this is that we are paying out of our pocket for a
functional fix to his teeth, not a cosmetic fix. This delay is terrible
and not at all what we paid EXTRA for when we agreed to the invisible
aligner treatment program.

Here is how Align Technology introduced us to their Invisalign product:
1. We just shut down your provider of care. Hah hah.
2. We have no plans for what is going to happen but wait a few weeks
and we will be sure to figure something out.
3. A few weeks later, we learn there will be about 5 month delay in
further orthodontic treatment while waiting for Align to get its act
together. (In reviewing their financial statements, I believe the ONLY
reason for the delay is to put the costs into a future quarter or
quarters.)
4. They call their program "Putting Patients First" when, in fact, they
have put Orthoclear patients dead last amongst their clients.
5. Their program punishes Orthoclear patients. "Patients First" is PR
spin when its actually "Patients Last", CEOs and shareholders FIRST!

This is how Align chose to introduce itself to new patients: "We may be
really rude and basically inept, but at least our customer service is
first rate awful!"

For us, this is the 2nd orthodontic quackery in a row. My older
daughter went through braces but the quack FORGOT (and admitted it and
the records prove it) to provide her with a retainer and within months,
her teeth reverted. We should have sued her to kingdom come but we were
naive. We ended up paying, out of our own pocket, for my daughter to
suffer through braces all over again with a different orthodontist.

Screwed by the orthodontic industry twice, I strongly discourage anyone
form pursuing orthodontic treatment unless for an extremely critical
problem. Do not waste money on orthodontic quackery. From our
perspective, the best way to describe the orthodon-tick profession is,
like the name sounds, as a group of money sucking insects!

Prospective patients and customers of Invisalign should be aware of the
company's track record in this matter before considering the Invisalign
option.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Invisalign to Orthoclear Transition Information.
    ... recieved orthoclear were informed of both systems and the decision to ... patients condition. ... We have been told that no further treatment will occur ... As parents who are paying 100% of the costs of our son's orthodontia ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Invisalign to Orthoclear Transition Information.
    ... The invisalign lab fee is more like $1495 plus sales tax for 2 arches. ... they do not offer a 4:4 treatment like orthoclear did ... will not sufice orthoclear 4:4 treatment forcing patients to get full ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Invisalign to Orthoclear Transition Information.
    ... Invisalign has an incentive program for doctors who submit more cases ... Orthoclear had everyone listed equally. ... they do not offer a 4:4 treatment like orthoclear did ... will not sufice orthoclear 4:4 treatment forcing patients to get full ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Invisalign to Orthoclear Transition Information.
    ... Invisalign has an incentive program for doctors who submit more cases ... Orthoclear had everyone listed equally. ... they do not offer a 4:4 treatment like orthoclear did ... will not sufice orthoclear 4:4 treatment forcing patients to get full ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Botox - an interesting post!
    ... Botox may be the answer for patients who have muscle splinting and ... > CAN BOTULINUM TOXIN A SAVE YOUR TEETH AND ENHANCE YOUR SMILE? ... > excellent treatment options but they are not for every patient. ... > muscles, an effect which has been used therapeutically in disorders ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)