British Orthodontic Society responds to ASA ruling on misleading claims

The call comes following a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that marketing claims in support of Acceledent, a device designed to speed up treatment, are misleading.

OrthoAccel Technologies Inc, based in Germany, claimed on its website that Acceledent can speed up treatment by up to 50 per cent and that the device was clinically proven to reduce the pain and discomfort associated with wearing braces by up to 71 per cent.

Following a complaint in relation to two claims, the ASA examined research and case studies provided by OrthoAccel Technologies and ruled that the claims could not be substantiated and were misleading.

The ASA ruling states in its adjudication, “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told OrthoAccel Technologies Inc not to make claims that their Acceledent device could move teeth faster and reduce pain for brace wearers unless they held adequate evidence to support such claims.”

Acceledent is a hand-held oscillating device which can be purchased by patients wearing braces or aligners. The theory is that the vibrations of the device help the teeth to move faster.