Quality First

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Terms and Conditions

Specialty Appliances, LLC

Last Updated on: April 22, 2024 (the "Effective Date")

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) apply to all purchases made and orders placed by any user or customer (“Buyer”, “Customer”, or “You”) with Specialty Appliances, LLC (“Specialty Appliances”, “Company”, or “we/us”) on or after the Effective Date for any and all products or appliances manufactured or sold by Specialty Appliances (collectively, the “Products”) and to any service provided by Specialty Appliances, including the Specialty Appliances online portal (the “Portal”), and any repair, replacement, refinement, or other service related thereto (collectively, the “Services”).  Unless otherwise agreed in writing by Specialty Appliances, on and after the Effective Date, these Terms will supersede all prior terms and conditions regarding the purchase by Buyer and sale by Specialty Appliances of any Products or Services. Specialty Appliances reserves the right to further modify these Terms from time to time.  By placing an order or purchasing a Product, you are agreeing to be bound by the Terms in effect as of the date of such order or purchase.  You can review the most current Terms on the Company’s website (https://specialtyappliances.com/warranties-policies/) at any time.

THE MODIFIED TERMS SHALL BE EFFECTIVE FOR ALL ORDERS PLACED BY BUYER AND ALL PURCHASES WITH SPECIALTY APPLIANCES ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE SET FORTH THEREIN. BUYER SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE ACCEPTED THESE TERMS AND ANY MODIFIED TERMS BY CONTINUING TO USE THE PORTAL AND/OR PLACING AN ORDER WITH SPECIALTY APPLIANCES BY ANY METHOD AFTER THE APPLICABLE EFFECTIVE DATE. PLEASE NOTE THAT BY ACCESSING OR USING THE PORTAL OR PLACING ANY ORDER OR MAKING ANY PURCHASE, BUYER AGREES THAT BUYER HAS READ, UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND ANY MODIFIED TERMS. IF BUYER DOES NOT AGREE TO BE SO BOUND, BUYER SHOULD NOT ACCESS OR USE THE PORTAL OR MAKE A PURCHASE FROM SPECIALTY APPLIANCES.

EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THESE TERMS, SPECIALTY APPLIANCES DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, QUIET ENJOYMENT OR FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE IN TRADE.  SPECIALTY APPLIANCES DOES NOT WARRANT, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS, THAT ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, AS APPLICABLE.  IN ADDITION, NO WARRANTY IS MADE REGARDING THE OUTCOME OF ANY TREATMENT USING THE PRODUCTS.

THE WARRANTIES BELOW ARE VOIDED AND SHALL NOT APPLY IF THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN MISUSED, MODIFIED OR BEEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS OR EXPOSED TO ACCIDENT OR NATURAL CAUSES (SUCH AS FIRE OR EXTREME TEMPERATURES), OR FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY NON-COMPLIANCE WITH CLINICAL DIRECTIVES OR PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS.

1. General

Specialty Appliances will provide Customer statements via email at no charge.  Should the Customer require printed/mailed statements, a $10/month fee will be assessed and added to the statement.

Buyer is responsible for submitting an accurate current scan or physical model of the patient’s dentition, as applicable, with each custom appliance order.  Specialty Appliances will not be responsible for any defects or nonconformities of Products, and the warranties and policies herein shall not apply, in the case of incomplete or inaccurate scans.

Buyer acknowledges and agrees that Specialty Appliances is a medical device manufacturer and does not practice dentistry or any other practice of medicine. Buyer is responsible for both the assessment and treatment of its patients and for the content of the submitted prescription, whether any employee of Specialty Appliances offers input or guidance regardless of their qualifications. The Buyer acknowledges and agrees that the final medical/dental/orthodontic decision remains at all times with the Buyer.

Customer agrees that Specialty Appliances will not need or have access to “protected health information” (“PHI”) as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to perform the Services or fulfill orders for Products.  Customer shall restrict disclosure of its patient data that constitutes PHI to Specialty Appliances.

2. Cancellation Policy for Appliance Orders

Because Specialty Appliances manufactures custom appliances, we are unable to facilitate cancellation requests after production begins. We may, at our own discretion, honor such requests if they are made within the first 24 hours following case/order submission, or before production begins. We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee up to the full cost of the appliance as appropriate.

3. Warranty, Replacement, Refinement and Returns Policy

Specialty Appliances' warranty policy reflects our desire to ensure that you have peace of mind when working with us, and that you see our Quality First mindset.  We follow all FDA Good Manufacturing Practices and are ISO 13485 Certified.  To provide the most effective safety measures for both our employees and our customers, Specialty Appliances will not make repairs on any broken appliance or part.  In the event of a broken appliance or part, Specialty Appliances will remake or replace such appliance in accordance with the terms below.

Traditional Orthodontic Appliances

This policy applies to all custom appliances made to order by Specialty Appliances, other than those comprising the Clear Image® Aligners or Hybrid Complete™ custom product lines, each of which are subject to the applicable terms and conditions set forth herein, under the sections titled “Clear Image® Aligners” and “Hybrid Complete™”, respectively.

Remakes/Replacements 

Specialty Appliances shall remake or replace custom appliances in the event of a manufacturing defect or a nonconforming Product due to improper fit in accordance with the policy below.  Claims for remake or replacement (“Claim”) shall be made in accordance with the Claims process below.  We reserve the right to reject any such Claim in our discretion.

Claims Process:

  • Each Claim shall be made within the specified time frames set forth below.
  • To make a Claim, Customer must return the appliances and/or parts for our evaluation. There are three ways to return an item:

4905 Hammond
Industrial Dr., Suite J
Cumming, GA 30041

The appliance and/or part must be delivered or attempted to seat at the delivery destination within the specified time frame to be eligible for the applicable replacement /remake rate.

  • Customer shall submit an updated scan or physical model of the patient’s current dentition, if applicable. Digital scans shall be sent to Specialty Appliances via the Portal or via the Customer’s scanner.  If no updated scan is submitted with the Claim, Customer agrees that Specialty Appliances will proceed with the scan on file and that Specialty Appliances will not be responsible for any defect or nonconformity of a replacement or remake if the scan on file was no longer an accurate representation of the patient’s current dentition.
  • Claims for defects identified by visual inspection are to be made to Specialty Appliances within 10 days of receipt.

Manufacturing Defects

  • Specialty Appliances will remake any defective Herbst appliance at no charge if the Customer submits a Claim within 9 months of the invoice date. Any Claim for Herbst appliances submitted 9 months after invoice date is subject to full replacement charges.
  • Specialty Appliances will remake any other defective appliance/retainer at no charge if returned within 6 months of the invoice date.

Fit Issues

  • Specialty Appliances will remake any appliance returned due to a fit issue at no charge if the Customer submits a Claim within 30 days from invoice date.
  • For Claims submitted between 31-60 days from invoice date, Customer will incur a remake charge of 50% of the price charged for the appliance.
  • Appliances returned after 60 days from invoice date due to fit issues will be remade at the regular full price of the appliance.

Exceptions:

  • In some cases (e.g. incomplete scan, unerupted molars, etc.) a customer service representative of Specialty Appliances will advise the Customer that the appliance will only be made or remade/replaced as a “No Guarantee” case. By choosing to move forward, the Customer understands and agrees that the appliance will no longer be subject to any warranty or remake/replacement policy expressed herein.
  • Except as set forth above, any Claim submitted 6 months after invoice date, regardless of reason, is subject to full replacement charges.

 

Clear Image® Aligners

These terms and policies shall apply to Clear Image® Aligners Orthodontic Appliances.

Treatment Planning

Upon receiving an order from Customer for the manufacture of Clear Image® Aligners, Specialty Appliances will generate and submit a clinical plan or “setup” for Customer’s approval prior to commencement of aligner fabrication.  Customer acknowledges and agrees that Specialty Appliances may share order data (including scans, etc.) with third-party service providers solely for purposes of creating a setup and/or fulfilling Customer’s order.  Customer must first approve setup before we proceed with aligner fabrication. If after review of a setup, Customer does not proceed with fabrication of Clear Image® Aligners for any reason, Customer shall incur a Treatment Planning Fee of $50 for a single arch and $75 for a dual arch plan.

Refinement Policy

Clear Image® Aligners are covered by this Specialty Appliances Refinement Policy.  Refinement for Clear Image® Aligners will be performed at a reduced rate in accordance with the policy below.

Refinement Request Process:

The Customer must submit the following details on each refinement request Rx form (the “Request”):

    • State the new or persisting goals of the case so the set up can be tuned to accomplish the desired result.
    • State if IPR was performed and if the patient wore the aligners as directed.
    • State any additional relevant details as notes are used to determine refinement price.

Refinement Costs:

Specialty Appliances will evaluate each Request to determine whether to offer refinement, in its sole discretion.  If applicable, Specialty Appliances may offer a reduced rate to the cost of refinements.  The reduced rate for refinements will be determined by Specialty Appliances on a case-by-case basis in its sole discretion, taking into consideration the following factors:

    • Time: A refinement Request must be made within the following time frame to be eligible for a reduced rate. If submitted outside the following time frame, the case will be made at Customer’s standard aligner cost for that specific case.
      • Refinement eligibility time frame is treatment time + 6 weeks.  Treatment time is number of aligners * 2 weeks.
      • Cases with less than 5 aligners are not eligible for reduced refinement rate pricing.
    • Set Up: We will evaluate the original set up to determine if the goals of the case were met. If there is any discrepancy, the refinements will be made at a reduced rate.
    • IPR: If IPR was recommended on the original case and it was not performed or if IPR was not recommended, but IPR was performed, Specialty Appliances is not responsible for the cost of remaking aligners to complete the case. If IPR was recommended incorrectly, the refinements will be made at a reduced rate.

Exceptions:

Specialty Appliances does not offer a reduced rate for, and is not responsible for the cost of, refinements for a non-compliant patient. Additionally, lost or broken aligners, or cases in which a new goal is requested do not qualify for refinements.

Hybrid Complete™

Terms and Conditions

These terms and policies shall apply to the Hybrid 3D Indirect Bonding treatment and Hybrid Complete™ set of Products.

Treatment:

Once Buyer places an order for Hybrid 3D Indirect Bonding treatment, the order is non-refundable, even if Buyer decides not to use aligners after beginning treatment. Hybrid Complete™ pricing covers bracket removal between phases. Scans with wires and/or bands will not be accepted for orders for Hybrid Complete™.

To begin the aligner portion of Hybrid Complete, Customer must take and submit to us new scans when treatment with brackets has finished. Aligner cases should be submitted before or on the day of bracket removal.

Appliances:

For the aligner stage of the treatment, the warranties and policies for Clear Image® Aligners or Traditional Orthodontic Appliances, as applicable, shall apply.  PLEASE NOTE SPECIALTY APPLIANCES IS NOT LIABLE, AND THE WARRANTIES SHALL NOT APPLY, IF TEETH SHIFT BEFORE ALIGNERS ARE DELIVERED.

 

Specialty Products

These terms and policies shall apply to all non-custom (i.e., off-the-shelf) Products (the “Specialty Products”).

Warranty

Specialty Appliances warrants that the Specialty Products will materially conform to their description, they will be free from substantial defects in materials and workmanship, and they will be of a reasonably satisfactory quality within the industry standard for sixty (60) days from the date of delivery. THIS WARRANTY IS VOIDED IF THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN MISUSED, MODIFIED OR BEEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS OR EXPOSED TO ACCIDENT OR NATURAL CAUSES (SUCH AS FIRE OR EXTREME TEMPERATURES). NO WARRANTY IS MADE REGARDING THE OUTCOME OF ANY TREATMENT USING THE PRODUCT.

Return Policy

Specialty Products may be returned within thirty (30) days of the delivery date for a full refund in the form of a credit to Buyer’s Specialty Appliances account, so long as the product is unused and in its original packaging. After thirty (30) days and before sixty (60) days from the date of delivery, Specialty Appliances will evaluate any return for a refund subject to shipping fees and a twenty percent (20%) restocking fee. In our sole discretion, if the Specialty Products do not meet the Warranty above, subject to reduction for shipping and the restocking fee, a credit to Buyer’s Specialty Appliances account may be granted. Specialty Products are not eligible for account credit after sixty (60) days from the date of delivery.

There are three ways to return a Specialty Product:

    1. Contact Customer Service to request a mailing label;
    2. Using the pre-paid USPS mailing label available on our website (https://specialtyappliances.com/shipping-information/); or
    3. Sending the Specialty Product via FedEx/UPS to the following address:

4905 Hammond
Industrial Dr., Suite J
Cumming, GA 30041

Buyer is responsible for all return shipping charges for Specialty Products.  A charge for the pre-paid mailing label will be applied to the credited amount, if applicable.  The Specialty Product must be delivered at the delivery destination within the specified time frame to be eligible for the applicable credit.

After receiving your return and inspecting the item, we will process your return.  Your refund will be applied as a credit to your Specialty Appliances account.

 

4. Payment Terms

Payments for all Specialty Products are due at checkout.

If the Customer makes payment on terms and does not pay on time, Specialty Appliances reserves the right to charge late fees of up to 18%, in its sole discretion.