SmileDirectClub is The New Ortho?

[Cold Front]

So I come home from work earlier today and kick myself and feet back into my sofa. I then pick up the TV remote to watch something to decompress myself from a long day at the office, and then this crazy TV commercial comes on during a prime time hour... SmilesDirectClub!

Long story short, this is self-Ortho / self-Invisalign system without going through a dentist/orthodontist. Patient signs up, they get impression kit in the mail, patient takes their own impression and mail it back to the company... couple of weeks later they get trays to start treatment. There are tons of people/patients on YouTube (presumably not affiliated with the company) who are making outrageous chronology on how their treatment is coming along; from the beginning to the end of the treatment. A simple YouTube search of this is like Pandora's box of cases from left to right.

Here is the same commercial I watched on TV:



Have I been sleeping under a rock, or is this the Amazon version of Ortho treatment?

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[CanaDMD]

You do realize this company is partnered with Align, right?

http://orthopundit.com/align-announces-supply-agreement-smiledirectclub/

So yes, this is the new ortho

it is what it is...

 

[Cold Front]

You do realize this company is partnered with Align, right?

http://orthopundit.com/align-announces-supply-agreement-smiledirectclub/

So yes, this is the new ortho

it is what it is...

Orthodontist's are about to get squeezed between the chains and companies like this.

 

[distressstudent]

The same with dentures too. Company would mail you an impression kit, mail back to lab, get your dentures in a few days.

Was tempted to try it out when I got really tired of setting teeth one night.

Gonna be seeing this a lot in coming years. There was a dentist on DT few months ago that said his patient was about to enroll in one of these programs. However, she couldn't get the impression taken correctly and asked the doc for help.

 

[Munks]

No IPR, no attachments, patients taking their own impressions.. yeah we'll see how much can get accomplished with that. But it is a step in the direction of 'treat at home' dentistry so it is something to worry about, both for patients and for providers.

I do feel sorry for the misinformed patients who are promised the world only to be SOL after paying $1k+ for a set of trays. Also for the dentists who get roped in and risk their license/malpractice to be a "smile provider" for this company.

 

[Cold Front]

No IPR, no attachments, patients taking their own impressions.. yeah we'll see how much can get accomplished with that. But it is a step in the direction of 'treat at home' dentistry so it is something to worry about, both for patients and for providers.

I do feel sorry for the misinformed patients who are promised the world only to be SOL after paying $1k+ for a set of trays. Also for the dentists who get roped in and risk their license/malpractice to be a "smile provider" for this company.

The limit for SDC trays is 20, and I believe each is $100, so $2,000. The lab fees and shipping cost is probably 10% overhead for SDC. This could pick up traction, patients want the home-convenience and not so much shopping for the effectiveness and science behind ortho. Also, $1-2k for trays vs. $5-7k traditional ortho, it's an unheard of discount from the patient's perspective.

I guess no one is regulating the home-level treatments yet until a patient sues SDC.

 

[Munks]

The limit for SDC trays is 20, and I believe each is $100, so $2,000. The lab fees and shipping cost is probably 10% overhead for SDC. This could pick up traction, patients want the home-convenience and not so much shopping for the effectiveness and science behind ortho. Also, $1-2k for trays vs. $5-7k traditional ortho, it's an unheard of discount from the patient's perspective.

I guess no one is regulating the home-level treatments yet until a patient sues SDC.

That's what I'm sayin'.. the worst is the unknowing patients that, after paying $1-2k for trays, still need $5-7k worth of ortho because SDC didn't fix their problems. Regarding the lawsuits, that's what I mean by I hope GPs don't fall in the trap of becoming a "SDC-provider" and then becoming a scapegoat for such complaints (ie SDC says 'oh the treatment didn't work because the GP you had take your impression did a poor job'). At this point, who knows where or when the regulation will come from (ADA? AAO?).

 

[distressstudent]

That's what I'm sayin'.. the worst is the unknowing patients that, after paying $1-2k for trays, still need $5-7k worth of ortho because SDC didn't fix their problems. Regarding the lawsuits, that's what I mean by I hope GPs don't fall in the trap of becoming a "SDC-provider" and then becoming a scapegoat for such complaints (ie SDC says 'oh the treatment didn't work because the GP you had take your impression did a poor job'). At this point, who knows where or when the regulation will come from (ADA? AAO?).

Word on street is provider gets $50 per treatment they approve. So yes I think this means provider assumes liability, but SDC also offers their own malpractice insurance and have their own set of lawyers just ready on standby

 

[ncide]

They have a doctor (maybe more now?) that checks each case. They've been popping up on my Facebook advertisements for a while now.

 

[Greyangel6]

I'm getting Invisalign treatment from my school. I think not everyone is a good candidate for invisalign and even if they are, they need trained professionals to check on the progress (also composite attachments and metal buttons can't attach themselves lol). That's just my 2 cents. I mean, if the kit comes with its own curing light and bonding system, and handpieces + the discs for IPR, I'd be tempted to do it myself. Otherwise, leave it to the professionals.

 

[BellaNella]

You can look up result videos on YouTube that people post when they are done. It is sad bc they are happy with the results but don't realize that their occlusion is obviously messed up. Some of the people ended up in cross bite in the posterior and one of the reviews I saw showed a person in cusp to cusp occlusion in the posterior. But all they know to look at is whether their teeth are straight.

 

[ncide]

I'm getting Invisalign treatment from my school. I think not everyone is a good candidate for invisalign and even if they are, they need trained professionals to check on the progress (also composite attachments and metal buttons can't attach themselves lol). That's just my 2 cents. I mean, if the kit comes with its own curing light and bonding system, and handpieces + the discs for IPR, I'd be tempted to do it myself. Otherwise, leave it to the professionals.

I've put on hundreds of attachments... You cannot do it by yourself.

 

[CanaDMD]

I'm getting Invisalign treatment from my school. I think not everyone is a good candidate for invisalign and even if they are, they need trained professionals to check on the progress (also composite attachments and metal buttons can't attach themselves lol). That's just my 2 cents. I mean, if the kit comes with its own curing light and bonding system, and handpieces + the discs for IPR, I'd be tempted to do it myself. Otherwise, leave it to the professionals.

This system doesnt use attachements and IPR.

 

[DentalAptitude]

No. Orthodontics is more than aligning anterior teeth.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[yappy]

No. Orthodontics is more than aligning anterior teeth.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I think a shortcoming of orthodontists is that they've failed to teach the public that. Most people think that ortho is cosmetic.

 

[CanaDMD]

No. Orthodontics is more than aligning anterior teeth.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

We all know that's true...

Fact of the matter is, by removing aligning anterior teeth from orthos and placing it in the hands of GPs and now directly in the hands of consumers, orthos lose their bread and butter. That's going to hurt any ortho working in private practice

 

[DrJeff]

When my wife was out at the Invisalign Providers Summit in Vegas last November, she mentioned that this was one of the big things that they, Invisalign, were talking about with their larger providers.

Apparently, the way that it's being pitched to ortho's is that this will be something similar to at home bleaching kits, where it will help expand overall market for not just this new at home segment, but also, since apparently if the case is severe enough they, smile direct, will be encouraging those who submit a "too severe" cases to an invisalign provider in that persons general area

The ortho's are skeptical for sure, as a number of years ago, they were told that Invisalign wouldn't be offered as an option for GP's even to deliver....