More Healthy Smiles on the Way through OrthoAccel® & Smile Train Partnership

HOUSTON, Oct. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Beautiful, healthy smiles are the driving force of OrthoAccel^® Technologies, Inc. and now those smiles are not only possible for patients who use the company's groundbreaking AcceleDent^® device to speed up their orthodontic treatment, but also through a new partnership with international children's cleft charity Smile Train. OrthoAccel is making beautiful, healthy smiles possible for thousands of children across the world who are born with clefts, helping to give them new smiles and bright futures.

Today's announcement, in conjunction with World Smile Day^®, signals the regional launch of the AcceleDent "Eco Give Back" program this fall. Pre-selected orthodontic practices will participate in Eco Give Back by encouraging patients to return their AcceleDent devices, which contain lithium batteries, with the company making a donation to Smile Train for every device received. The returned devices will be properly recycled at an authorized recycling facility.

Beyond the important charitable aspect of the Smile Train partnership, Eco Give Back is a sustainability initiative planned to keep landfills free of used AcceleDent devices and their lithium batteries.

"When I polled our team about identifying a charitable organization with a mission that aligns with OrthoAccel, Smile Train was the uncontested response and I couldn't agree more," said Michael K. Lowe, president and CEO of OrthoAccel, the leader in accelerated orthodontics. "Their goal is our goal: Improving the journey to beautiful and healthy smiles."

Lowe believes patients will be more likely to participate in AcceleDent Eco Give Back because they are not only getting their desired smile, but they're also able to "give back" in two meaningful ways – reducing landfills and their negative impact on the environment while giving a child in need the opportunity for a healthy smile.

AcceleDent providers requested a return program and orthodontists like Dr. Alvaro Figueroa believe that tying Eco Give Back to Smile Train will encourage practices and patients to get on board with this innovative partnership.

Figueroa, who offers AcceleDent to his orthodontic patients in Chicago and Naperville, Ill., is also a member of Smile Train's Medical Advisory Board. "Treating patients with cleft lip and palate has been a major part of my professional career. Without organizations like Smile Train, many children around the world would not be able to receive the care they need and I know from my first hand experience that Smile Train is the best at what it does. I am excited that my patients have the opportunity to help Smile Train's ongoing mission and goals through the AcceleDent Eco Give Back program."

The regional launch of Eco Give Back precedes a nationwide launch of the program, which OrthoAccel is planning for 2015.  With the FDA-cleared, prescription-only AcceleDent now available in more than 1,500 practices in the U.S., company representatives anticipate the potential to contribute up to $100,000 to Smile Train in 2015, based on the number of AcceleDent patients who participate in the program.

Smile Train CEO Susannah Schaefer adds, "We are so thankful that OrthoAccel has chosen Smile Train to be their charity beneficiary as they help provide the world with beautiful smiles. Their commitment to our cause will make a life-changing difference for children with clefts in the developing world, as well as their families and communities as a whole."

OrthoAccel® Technologies, Inc.

Based in Houston, Texas, OrthoAccel^® Technologies, Inc. is a privately owned medical device company engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of products to enhance dental care and orthodontic treatment. OrthoAccel developed and sells AcceleDent^® Aura, the first FDA-cleared clinical approach to safely accelerate orthodontic tooth movement. For more information visit AcceleDent.com and AcceleDent.co.uk.

Smile Train

Smile Train is an international children's charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Millions of children in developing countries with unrepaired clefts live in shame, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Smile Train's sustainable model provides training and funding to empower local doctors in 85+ developing countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery in their own communities. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.

SOURCE OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc.