Woman wins clear aligner lawsuit

A woman who sued a direct-to-consumer orthodontics company in Canada claiming that her clear aligner therapy failed to straighten her teeth has won her case and will receive a refund plus the cost of her legal fees, according to recent court decision.

The Vancouver-based NewSmile Technology must pay $1,407 in damages to Marie Landry, according to an order dated March 1 from the Provincial Court of British Columbia.

In July 2021, NewSmile created a treatment plan along with a preview of how Landry's teeth would look after it was completed. After agreeing to the plan, she purchased the company’s aligners for $1,200.

Landry reportedly contacted the company after her treatment claiming that her teeth did not look like the provided preview. In an email, NewSmile told Landry that her teeth had shifted back to their previous position and that she could get the smile she wanted by buying additional aligners for $499, according to the ruling.

She claimed that her teeth hadn't relapsed, didn't purchase the extra aligners, and requested a refund. However, NewSmile claimed that Landry wasn't owed a refund because she failed to follow her treatment plan and didn't upload photos of her teeth as required in the company's refund policy.

The court found that Landry followed her treatment plan and that she did not violate the refund policy term, which required that progress photos be uploaded every two weeks. That term was added to the refund policy after Landry's completed her treatment, according to the decision.

"I find that Ms. Landry complied with NewSmile's refund policy as it existed when she purchased her aligners and during her treatment," according to the court order.