SmileDirectClub is having yet another news-filled week, announcing it will begin selling its teeth-straightening products to dentists and orthodontists. Also, the company scored a legal victory with a New Jersey court finding it does not engage in the “corporate practice of dentistry.”
The Nashville-based clear-aligner company will sell its products to clinicians in 2020 to put itself in direct competition with its ex-partner, Align Techology’s Invisalign. Its supply pact with Align, which only permitted SmileDirectClub to sell its products online and in retail shops, expired at the end of 2019.
“We have seen increasing demand from the dentists and orthodontists in our network who wish to provide SmileDirectClub clear aligners to their in-office patients, and with our agreement with Align Technology now expired, we are no longer obligated to stay in the direct-to-consumer channel,” said Alex Fenkell, SmileDirectClub co-founder, in a statement.
Align Technology, however, says their agreement never prevented SmileDirectClub from selling to dentists.
Source: SmileDirectClub wins in courtroom, dental offices / DrBicuspid.com