IOC complain against at-home Aligner providers to DCI

The Indian Orthodontic Society or (IOS) has complained to the Dental Council of India regarding Aligner Providers in the Country who are aggressively marketing At-Home Dental Aligner treatment in most cases without involving professional Dentists. IOS has also started taking an initiative to bring it to the notice of the common public via its Smile Rally Initiative, which aims at educating consumers to not get orthodontic treatment without the supervision of a Dentist.

The IOS has issued a Public Notice to D2C (Direct to Consumer) Aligner providers that offering in-home services are violating the provisions of clinical Establishments (Registration and regulation) Act, 2010, Dentist Act 1948 and Revised Dentist (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014. Dental Council of India issued a Public Notice to all Dental Councils / Tribunals to take necessary action against such companies who do not follow the below mentioned points –

The Dental Council has stated that any procedures such as Digital Scanning of the teeth should be performed by registered Dentists only and not unqualified technicians. The Scanning procedures should be done in a Dental Clinic or Hospital and not at home as most companies are doing it. Aggressive marketing should be targeted at public to entice them in to taking Dental Treatments. The initiative by IOC was launched in Mangalore back in April 2022, with 2,500 registered Dental professionals participating in the Smile Rally going on national tour which includes public events, seminars, lectures and training courses. This rally is going to cover 30 Indian cities.

Dr Rajaganesh Gautam, IOS executive committee member, said that “Movement of teeth with respect to jaws and joints is an extremely sensitive procedure and care should be taken to ensure the best possible results with minimal damage to enamel, roots, gums, bones and joints.” The actions being taken by IOC are somewhat similar to what was seen in Europe last year where the European Federation of Orthodontic Specialist Associations issued a declaration regarding the remote treatment of Malocclusion – Any treatment of malocclusion must be “exclusively performed by a fully qualified dentist”, must be “preceded by a thorough clinical examination” and requires “regular clinical monitoring” – Joint Declaration by 31 dental and orthodontic societies in 25 countries.

Clear Aligners treatment should be performed under professional Dental Care as the movement of Teeth in the bone if done unsupervised can lead to many complications such as loss of teeth or damage to the soft and hard tissues of the Oral cavity.