<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>The sale of orthodontic materials, considered as medical devices, is regulated in order to protect patients. The availability of orthodontic products on e-commerce platforms, however, may go unregulated and compromise patient safety.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Objective</h3>
<p>The present study aimed to investigate the sale of fixed orthodontic appliances on a local and global e-commerce platform.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Materials and Methods</h3>
<p>A cross-sectional analysis of orthodontic materials sold on Shopee and Amazon was conducted using a specific keyword search for brackets, arch wires and ligatures. After deleting duplicates and irrelevant search results, the top 50 products for each keyword search were analysed. Product name, the type of product, seller, cost, star rating, the number of reviews, the number of sales, shipping location and brand identification were recorded. Brand registration with a medical device regulatory authority was checked. Collected data were tabulated in Google (spread)sheet to derive descriptive statistics and frequency tables.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>A total of 800 search results were screened. Three hundred and forty-eight relevant results were identified, approximately two-thirds of which originated from Shopee. Ligatures generated the highest search outcome in both Shopee (39%) and Amazon (80%). Fixed orthodontic materials sold on Shopee resulted in a larger number of reviews, higher star ratings and a lower cost per item compared to those supplied by Amazon. Products on Amazon were more likely to have brand identification (97%) compared to Shopee (5%). None of the identifiable brands on Shopee were registered with regulatory bodies, whereas eight products listed on Amazon were registered. A large portion of shipping locations originated from China for both e-commerce platforms.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>Orthodontic brackets, arch wires and ligatures are more readily available on Shopee compared to Amazon. The quality and safety of these products cannot be assured as the majority of the products were either not clearly labelled or their registration was not identified under the regulation of medical devices.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Introduction
The sale of orthodontic materials, considered as medical devices, is regulated in order to protect patients. The availability of orthodontic products on e-commerce platforms, however, may go unregulated and compromise patient safety.

Objective
The present study aimed to investigate the sale of fixed orthodontic appliances on a local and global e-commerce platform.

Materials and Methods
A cross-sectional analysis of orthodontic materials sold on Shopee and Amazon was conducted using a specific keyword search for brackets, arch wires and ligatures. After deleting duplicates and irrelevant search results, the top 50 products for each keyword search were analysed. Product name, the type of product, seller, cost, star rating, the number of reviews, the number of sales, shipping location and brand identification were recorded. Brand registration with a medical device regulatory authority was checked. Collected data were tabulated in Google (spread)sheet to derive descriptive statistics and frequency tables.

Results
A total of 800 search results were screened. Three hundred and forty-eight relevant results were identified, approximately two-thirds of which originated from Shopee. Ligatures generated the highest search outcome in both Shopee (39%) and Amazon (80%). Fixed orthodontic materials sold on Shopee resulted in a larger number of reviews, higher star ratings and a lower cost per item compared to those supplied by Amazon. Products on Amazon were more likely to have brand identification (97%) compared to Shopee (5%). None of the identifiable brands on Shopee were registered with regulatory bodies, whereas eight products listed on Amazon were registered. A large portion of shipping locations originated from China for both e-commerce platforms.

Conclusions
Orthodontic brackets, arch wires and ligatures are more readily available on Shopee compared to Amazon. The quality and safety of these products cannot be assured as the majority of the products were either not clearly labelled or their registration was not identified under the regulation of medical devices.

Orthodontics on sale: fixed appliances on E-commerce platforms

Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry

Australasian Orthodontic Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Orthodontics on sale: fixed appliances on E-commerce platforms"}

Introduction
The sale of orthodontic materials, considered as medical devices, is regulated in order to protect patients. The availability of orthodontic...

Orthodontics on sale: fixed appliances on E-commerce platforms

Published Online: Jan 04, 2022

Page range: 22 - 28

Received: Oct 01, 2021

Accepted: Dec 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/aoj-2022.003

© 2022 Yasmin Kamarudin et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.