News item: Align Technology Named in Class Action Lawsuit

[bbsadmin]

Align Technology Named in Class Action Lawsuit

Christopher J. Leiszler, DDS, has filed a complaint against Align Technology Inc, Santa Clara, Calif, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. A private-practice dentist in Kansas City, Mo, Leiszler alleges that Align Technology implemented unfair and fraudulent requirements for the prescription of Invisalign through the company’s proficiency requirements.

Leiszler attended Invisalign training in 2008 and has started one Invisalign case since that time. In January 2010, his Invisalign provider status was changed for failing to meet Align Technology’s proficiency requirements.

Leiszler plans to sue on behalf of himself and all other dental and orthodontic professionals similarly situated. The complaint seeks a refund of the price paid to Align Technology for Invisalign training.

In June 2009, Align Technology launched the Invisalign proficiency program to help ensure that Invisalign providers build a baseline of Invisalign product experience and knowledge though minimum annual case and CE goals. Align Technology dropped the minimum annual case requirement last month after widespread criticism from dental and orthodontic professionals, the AAO, and the ADA.

Users are still required to complete a minimum of 10 Invisalign CE hours per year. Users who do not complete the minimum will have their Invisalign accounts temporarily suspended until they do so.

Align Technology reportedly has reviewed the complaint and will vigorously defend against the litigation.

[Wireless]

I don't think I would want treatment from a general dentist who had only one training course in 2008 and had only done one case. My orthodontist is frequently going to training and getting updates on the changes Invisalign has made to treatment methods, which have changed considerably over the past two years.

My opinion is in part due to a past experience where a family dentist did my last ortho treatment with regular braces. I thought he would be ok as he had taken over the practice of my retiring dentist with recommendation. As I went through treatment, I realized this dentist was not proficient. He also made statements that once my teeth were properly positioned, they would not move. Twenty years later, I'm in treatment to fix a substantial mess caused by my teeth moving into positions that caused gum damage. While I can't say for sure, I do believe the outcome would have been better with an experienced orthodontist at that time.

This case highlights the importance of being sure of your provider's experience before starting treatment. It's important to check background and experience.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Yikes, I agree. I would only want providers that have recent Invisalign experience working on my teeth. You wouldn't expect a doctor to train in one kind of surgery, see only one case in two years and then be upset when they were no longer deemed proficient.

Interesting to see where this one goes.

[Chris Leiszler]

Yikes, I agree. I would only want providers that have recent Invisalign experience working on my teeth. You wouldn't expect a doctor to train in one kind of surgery, see only one case in two years and then be upset when they were no longer deemed proficient.

Interesting to see where this one goes.

I realize that this is a very old thread, but I came across it and couldn't help but respond. I am the dentist that initiated the class action law suit against Invisalign. I was intrigued by the responses from the previous posters regarding the law suit. It seems that the opinion of those who posted is that I am suing them because I was mad at Invisalign because they called me incompetent for not doing enough cases. The article failed to mention that I had just taken Invisalign's certification course only a few months prior to their "proficiency requirements" being implemented. I had JUST started my first case (which I was doing for free for the patient since I was new to the product). Even YOUR dentist/orthodontist had to start with one case at some point... That didn't mean was incompetent. Anyway, I had just signed up to be a provider and then Invisalign essentially tells all of us dentists that we now have a quota of 10 cases per year. If we only do 9 cases per year, that means we are not proficient. It doesn't matter if I were to do 9 cases with excellent results, and another dentist does 30 cases with very poor results (trust me, it happens). My point in suing them (well, one of my points) is that "proficiency" cannot be measured quantitatively; it can only be measured qualitatively. One of the best orthodontists in our area doesn't even do 10 Invisalign cases a year, yet the company considers him to be "not proficient". Trust me, he knows how to use the product very well, but he only recommends it when he deems it appropriate. This makes him a good doctor, not an incompetent orthodontist.

My real point in suing the company has more to do with sending a message to other large (for-profit) corporations that it is not their place to try to dictate how doctors and patients make decisions on healthcare. Can you imagine if every medical device company put a quota on doctors in order for them to be allowed to use their product? Can you imagine how many unnecessary procedures would be recommended if doctors gave in to that pressure? The point of the lawsuit is to protect patients and doctors from having to deal with unnecessary pressure and interference from greedy corporations!

Just wanted to throw in my $0.02.

Best regards,

Chris Leiszler