Align Technology Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., promises that its Invisalign system will straighten your crooked teeth, give you a dazzling smile, and do it all without unattractive and uncomfortable wires and braces.
Align is attempting to bring the low-tech world of orthodontics into the dot-com age, using computer modeling to develop a customized series of clear, plastic, removable retainers that slowly move teeth into the proper alignment.
The underlying technology is fascinating, but Align is really selling style, not substance. Just as pharmaceutical companies have struck gold marketing directly to consumers, Align is in hot pursuit of image-conscious baby boomers with a $40 million print and television advertising campaign that promotes straight teeth without a metal-mouth look.
The tag line phone number (1-800-INVISIBLE) says it all.
"The ads are working," said Dr. Harold Kaplan, a Beverly orthodontist. "Patients are calling. They're calling all the time."
Kaplan and others in the field hail Invisalign as cutting-edge orthodontics, but they caution consumers to pay attention to substance as well as style. As the Invisalign ads point out - in small type flashed across the bottom of the screen - the system doesn't work for everyone.
Its long-term effectiveness is still being debated, and it can cost as much as 20 to 50 percent more than regular braces.
"It sounds like a good idea, and I suppose it could work," said Barry Briss, chairman of the orthodontics department at Tufts Dental School. "But I would go for the traditional treatment, personally, if the patient can put up with the aesthetics."
Regular braces use wires, bracelets, and rubber bands to move a tooth's crown and root from one area of the jawbone to another. The Invisalign system works differently. The upper and lower retainers fit snugly around each tooth. They are worn in sequence, with each retainer in effect squeezing the teeth toward their orthodontic goal.
Several orthodontists I interviewed said they believe the Invisalign system merely tips a tooth's crown rather than bodily moving it and the root. They fear that teeth moved by the Invisalign system will be more likely to revert to their original positions once treatment is completed.
Officials at Align, who are preparing to sell stock in the company, insisted the system bodily moves teeth. They said some orthodontists are skeptical because they've always been taught that removable orthodontic equipment can only tip teeth, when in fact research has shown otherwise. Studies to confirm the long-term benefits of Invisalign are not complete yet, they said.
Align officials said there is a massive market for their product. About 100 million adults could benefit from some orthodontic treatment but are unlikely to try braces, they said.
With strong venture-capital backing, the company has trained more than half of the nation's orthodontists to use the Invisalign system; they have treated nearly 8,000 patients so far.
Dr. Frank DeQuattro, of Dental Associates of New England in Brookline and Waltham, has treated more than 70 patients with the Invisalign system. The target market, he said, is adults age 16 to 60 (computer modeling is not sophisticated enough for a child's growing jaw) who have mild to moderate spacing or crowding of the front teeth. The system is less effective in treating back teeth, he said.
"For certain movements, it's as good as braces," DeQuattro said.
Once an orthodontist decides a patient would be a good candidate, X-rays and a detailed impression of the teeth are taken and shipped off to Align. A mold of the teeth is made, and the information from that mold is digitized.
A three-dimensional movie showing the teeth moving into the alignment prescribed by the orthodontist is made available for review online by the patient and his orthodontist.
If everything checks out, Align then develops a series of plastic "aligners" that are worn in two-week intervals. Total treatment time is comparable to what is needed with regular braces, but usually involves fewer office visits.
Patients are urged to wear their aligners any time they are not brushing their teeth, kissing, or eating.
Unlike braces, the aligners do not irritate the tongue, and patients who have used them say they do not interfere with speaking. They are nearly invisible, unless someone looks carefully at your mouth.
There is some discomfort, particularly if the patient's teeth aren't cleaned and flossed properly after eating. But Kaplan, the Beverly orthodontist, said the discomfort is so minimal that in most cases Tylenol isn't necessary.
Kaplan should know. He tried the Invisalign system on himself before using it on his patients.
"If I can adapt to something," he said, "anyone can."
Diaper downsizing
Poland Spring isn't the only company raising prices by downsizing its products. Arnie Bearak and Rick Magnan say the diaper companies are doing the same thing.
Both men said they noticed recently that they were paying roughly the same price per package but finding fewer diapers inside. Even more surprising was the fact that the two leading manufacturers, Procter & Gamble, which makes Pampers, and Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies, downsized at the same time.
Magnan called the timing "a remarkable coincidence."
"Do these companies talk to each other when they plan a price increase like this?" Bearak asked.
Both companies, which together account for about 80 percent of the diapers sold in the United States, denied there was any collusion on prices.
But the timing is mysterious.
The companies told customers on the same day in late May that because of higher prices for raw materials (principally for paper pulp and oil) as well as the cost of product improvements, they would be raising prices an average of 6 percent during the fall.
But probably only sharp consumers noticed.
Prices actually dropped an average of 7 percent per package, while the number of diapers inside the package fell 13 percent. The average net price increase worked out to 6 percent.
The price of a jumbo package of size 5 Pampers Baby Dry, for example, dropped from $12.80 to $11.77, while the number of diapers was cut from 44 to 38. The net result was a 7 percent price increase.
Interestingly, while denying any price coordination, officials at both companies said the end result actually benefited consumers.
"It's good for us to make our counts the same," said Melissa Chrisman, a spokeswoman for Kimberly-Clark. "It makes it easier for consumers to compare."
Odds & Ends Directory assistance. With no fanfare, WorldCom has raised the charge for looking up a single phone number to $1.99. The charge, which applies if you dial 1 plus the area code plus 555- 1212, matches AT&T's fee. Fees at other companies range from $1.50 at Sprint to $1.60 at Excel. Both AT&T and WorldCom have cheaper alternatives. WorldCom suggests that customers dial around its 555- 1212 service to get to a WorldCom 10-10 company (10-10-9000), which charges 99 cents for two listings. AT&T's 00 Info service also offers two listings and a real operator for $1.49. The best deal remains Verizon's 411 service, which offers long-distance numbers for 95 cents. Find out more by going this Invisalign perth link.
Default electric service. Several consumers contacted me last week to say they, too, felt they had been improperly put on default service by their utilities. Default customers will see their power costs skyrocket to market levels Dec. 1.
In most of the cases, the only thing that had changed was the billing name on the account, but that was enough to make the utility think it had a new customer who should be on default service. My advice would be to press your case with your utility, and if that doesn't work, call the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy's consumer hot line at 800-392-6066. Spokesman Rob Wilson said the agency will go to bat for consumers.
