Sir, in India, commercial enterprises have been quick to get in on the supply of aligners and with television advertising about how 'easy' treatment is and how for many years the general public have been 'struggling under the yoke' of conventional fixed orthodontics.1,2

It is a common sight in India to see representatives of emerging aligner companies at shopping malls and other public places offering free intraoral scans to the public and promising 'instant' deliveries of aligners at their doorstep.3 It is also highly disheartening to see highly accomplished individuals such as international sportspersons4 endorsing these companies that bypass trained professionals to directly reach customers, thus ignoring sound ethical and scientific principles. Many of the established principles of orthodontic treatment are trivialised by newly emerging aligner companies and money-hungry individuals. This has resulted in online platforms such as Quora and YouTube showing many instances of aligner treatment 'gone wrong'. It is highly important that professional bodies in dentistry take cognisance of this menace, sensitise the general public and practitioners to the situation, and provide guidelines regarding the correct approach to aligner therapy, keeping trained professionals in the loop. Initiatives such as the GDC Statement on 'direct-to-consumer' orthodontic treatment5 are steps in the right direction and other associations should follow suit. One of the most important tenets of the Hippocratic Oath is to 'do no harm'. Many of the emerging aligner providers will do well to take note of this directive and to put patients' wellbeing ahead of any fleeting desire for monetary gain.