I see certain parallels with the opioid crisis. You have a product (Opioids/Aligners) that are well funded by large, share holder corporations whose ONLY objective is to make MO MONEY. The Corporations make more money by administering more opioids/aligners to as many people as they can. Doctors rely on the maker of the products to ensure they are safe and that they provide an acceptable amount of correction for the problem.
This is where the disconnect lies. Again speaking about aligner tx. Most patients believe that aligner treatment is the SAME or better than conventional orthodontics. My issue is that patients are just happy with straight front teeth and have NO IDEA how lousy their occlusion is post-aligners. In a way people are being misled about the efficacy of aligner treatment. Who loses? The patients. Who wins? Big corporations and those middle people (distributors) who provide these items to an unaware public.
ETA: I'm not making light of the opioid crisis. It is real.