hdr terms

Terms and Conditions of Sale

American Orthodontics strives to be the best at taking care of our customers. Our warranty, return policy, and conditions of sale are clear and what you might expect of a high quality manufacturer of medical devices.

GENERAL

Because of American Orthodontics’ (AMERICAN) commitment to constant product improvement, AMERICAN reserves the right to change terms and conditions, prices, designs, or discontinue products without notice. AMERICAN products are designed and manufactured for single use and once removed from the patient’s mouth, must be disposed of properly. AMERICAN expressly disclaims any liability for the spread of disease or personal injury caused by reuse. 

WARRANTY & LIABILITY LIMITATION

AMERICAN warrants that its products are free from defects in materials and manufacture for up to one (1) year after delivery. Some instruments feature longer warranties, and these are noted below. Buyer’s sole remedies with respect to any claim arising out of any defect in any goods or services shall be limited exclusively to the right of repair or replacement of such goods (at AMERICAN’s option) or repayment of the purchase price. In no event shall AMERICAN be liable for any consequential or incidental damages including lost profits incurred by buyer with respect to any goods or services furnished by AMERICAN.

Instrument warranties vary by product line (detail below).  Cutting instruments should be reconditioned every 6-9 months; misuse, abuse, or failure to properly maintain or care for the instrument will void the warranty. Warranties do not cover routine maintenance, sharpening, or reconditioning.

Luno Instruments

  • Warranted to be free of defects for ten (10) years

Masterline Instruments

  • Warranted to be free of defects for five (5) years

Blue Ray 3 Curing Lights

  • Three (3) Year Limited Warranty: Handpiece, Charging base and Battery
  • Thirty (30) Day Limited Warranty: Optical Guide
  • Ninety (90) Day Limited Warranty: Unit repairs conducted on items not covered under the original warranty

RETURN POLICY

Product may be returned for credit under the following conditions:

  1. Product and original packaging must be in a new and resalable condition.

  2. Product will be accepted only from the original purchaser and only when delivered to our Sheboygan, WI Home Office with an official Return Number. Issuance of a Sales Return Number does not ensure that credit will be issued but merely implies consent to receive the return for review. Returns for items received without an official Sales Return Number may be delayed.

  3. Returned merchandise must be shipped pre-paid and insured for the full value. Please return items properly secured in a sturdy box.

    Please send returns to:

    American Orthodontics
    Attn: Returns (SR #________)
    3524 Washington Ave
    Sheboygan, WI 53081
    (920) 457-5051

  4. Returned merchandise must be accompanied with a note explaining the reason for the return.

  5. Restocking fees:

    End users (i.e., doctors) will have no restocking fee if the product is returned within 60 days after delivery. Products returned between 61-180 days after delivery are subject to a 20% restocking fee. Products are not eligible to be returned more than 180 days after delivery.

    Resellers (i.e., international distributors) are subject to a 15% restocking fee if the product is returned within 60 days after delivery. Products returned between 61-180 days after delivery are subject to a 25% restocking fee. Products are not eligible to be returned more than 180 days after delivery.

  6. American's field representatives are not authorized to approve or pick up return merchandise.

  7. The following products are non-returnable:

    • Elastics

    • Custom or special order products

    • Prewelded bands and direct bonds that require assembly

    • Products returned more than 180 days after delivery

  8. Claims for damage or shortage must be made within 30 days of receipt of order.

CUSTOM PRODUCTS

Custom orders may be filled 10% over or under the quantities ordered with difference charged or credited proportionately.

PARTNER DOLLARS EXPIRATION DATES

  • Partner Dollars earned on January 1, 2014 or after expire two years after they were earned (e.g. a Partner Dollar earned on January 15, 2020 expires on January 15, 2022).

CONTENT

The content, including all images, trademarks, tradenames, patented or proprietary technology, know-how, and text, is the property of AMERICAN and is protected by the United States and international intellectual property laws. The following exceptions exist and their use is for descriptive purposes only:

  • Damon, Straight Wire, and Vari-Simplex are trademarks of Ormco Corporation
  • Roth is a trademark of Roth Licensing LLC
  • Bio-Progressive is a trademark of Rocky Mountain Orthodontics
  • Complete Clinical Orthodontics (CCO) is a trademark of CCO Licensing LLC
  • McLaughlin, Bennett, Trevisi, and Sondhi are trademarks of 3M Unitek
  • Herbst Appliance is a trademark of Dentaurum GmbH & Co. KG
  • Roncone is a trademark of Dentsply GAC International

* The American Orthodontics versions of the Roth, Sondhi, Damon, CCO, and McLaughlin, Bennett, Trevisi Systems do not claim to be a duplication of any other, nor does American Orthodontics imply that they are endorsed in any way by Drs. Roth, Sondhi, Damon, Secchi, McLaughlin, Bennett, or Trevisi.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE

  1. ACCEPTANCE. These American Orthodontics Corporation (“AMERICAN”) Terms and Conditions of Sales shall govern all orders placed by buyer (“BUYER”) for products (“Products”) from AMERICAN. All orders for Products are subject to acceptance by AMERICAN at its headquarters in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. BUYER’S ORDER IS ACCEPTED ONLY ON THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED HEREIN AND THE PROVISIONS OF ANY PURCHASE ORDER OR OTHER WRITING SUBMITTED BY BUYER WHICH ARE INCONSISTENT HEREWITH SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A PART HEREOF. In the event of any ambiguity or conflict between or among these Terms and Conditions of Sale and any other agreement or writing signed by AMERICAN, these Terms and Conditions of Sale shall govern unless expressly provided otherwise in such agreement.

  2. PRICE. Products are invoiced at prices in effect at the time of the order and AMERICAN’s prices are subject to change without notice. AMERICAN researches, develops and maintains proprietary product information for its customers, including but not limited to pricing information, cost of goods sold, shipping rates, packaging fees, insurance costs and delivery times for AMERICAN products. This proprietary product information is Confidential Information that is nonpublic, proprietary, trade secret, and confidential in nature pursuant to Section 12 of these Terms and Conditions of Sale. BUYER has no authority to sublicense AMERICAN’s proprietary product information. BUYER is strictly prohibited from disclosing, distributing, selling, or otherwise using AMERICAN’s proprietary product information in any manner, and in the event of any such violation, AMERICAN shall be entitled to immediate injunctive and any other equitable relief and to receive damages resulting from the violation, including any legal fees incurred in enforcing the violation. Purchases from AMERICAN loyalty programs in the US and Canada (e. g., Partner Program) and through AMERICAN’s AO Direct service are subject to all terms and conditions herein. Program details are available via your AMERICAN field sales representative.

  3. USE OF AO PURCHASING SERVICES AND INFORMATION. In connection with using or accessing AMERICAN’s Purchasing Services (“our Services”), including but not limited to using the AO DIRECT service, BUYER agrees to comply with  AMERICAN’s policies, AMERICAN’s Terms and Conditions, and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and you will not: (a) breach or circumvent any laws, regulations, third-party rights or AO’s systems, services, or policies; (b) use our Services if you are not able to form legally binding contracts (for example, if you are under 18 years old), or are temporarily or indefinitely suspended from using our Services, or are a person with whom transactions are prohibited under economic or trade sanctions; (c) transfer or permit access to your AO DIRECT account or user ID and password to another party without AMERICAN’s consent; (d) distribute or permit distribution of viruses or any other technologies that may harm AMERICAN or the interests or property of users; (e) use or permit use of any robot, spider, scraper, data mining tools, data gathering and extraction tools, or other automated means to access our Services for any purpose, except with the prior express permission of AMERICAN; (f) interfere with the functioning of our Services, such as by imposing an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (g) infringe the copyright, trademark, patent, publicity, moral, database, and/or other intellectual property rights (collectively, "Intellectual Property Rights") that belong to or are licensed to AMERICAN. Some, but not all, actions that may constitute infringement are reproducing, performing, displaying, distributing, copying, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or preparing derivative works from content that belongs to AMERICAN; (h) commercialize any AMERICAN application (e.g. AO DIRECT) or any information or software associated with such application, except with the prior express permission of AMERICAN; (i) harvest or otherwise collect information about AMERICAN product prices without AMERICAN’s consent; or (j) circumvent any technical measures used to provide our Services.

  4. NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES. The provisions of this Agreement shall only be for the benefit of, and enforceable by, the BUYER and AMERICAN and shall not inure to the benefit of or be enforceable by any third party.

  5. DELIVERY. BUYER shall be responsible for and shall pay all freight charges. All Products will be shipped by carrier(s) of AMERICAN’s choice. For domestic shipment incoterms will be FCA AMERICAN’s Home Office in Sheboygan, WI. For international shipment incoterms will be DAP Foreign BUYER’S Address, and risk of loss and title passes at BUYER’S Address except Company is not liable for any damage incurred during importation and/or clearance into a foreign country. When BUYER nominates a carrier, Products are released to a carrier at AMERICAN’s home office in Sheboygan, WI with risk of loss and title passing to BUYER upon release to carrier. BUYER has the option to purchase insurance from AMERICAN. Shipping dates are estimates only and AMERICAN will use every reasonable effort to meet such estimated shipping dates; provided that if AMERICAN is unable to meet any shipping date, BUYER has no claim for damages resulting from any such delay in delivery. The Products shall be packed and shipped by AMERICAN in accordance with good commercial practices to ensure that the Goods are delivered in an undamaged condition.

  6. RESALE OF PRODUCTS PROHIBITED. BUYER may not resell any Products purchased from AMERICAN as a finished good unless BUYER enters into an agreement to become an authorized licensed distributor of AMERICAN’s products (herein an “authorized AMERICAN distributor”). Nothing herein provides BUYER with any rights to use AMERICAN’s intellectual property for the advertisement, offer for sale, or sale of Products unless BUYER is an authorized AMERICAN distributor, and then only under the express terms of the authorized AMERICAN distributor’s agreement with AMERICAN. AMERICAN is not obligated to provide any technical or service support for any Products not purchased directly from AMERICAN or from an authorized AMERICAN distributor. All warranties for any Products not purchased directly from AMERICAN or from an authorized AMERICAN distributor are expressly voided upon each unauthorized resale.

  7. FORCE MAJEURE. AMERICAN shall not be liable for any delay, failure of delivery or other nonperformance attributable to any circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, any nonperformance or delays because of breakdowns in production equipment or unexpected production difficulties, strikes, work stoppages, unavailability of materials, accidents, shut-down or delay of suppliers, government orders, fires, explosions, weather or other acts of God, embargoes, inability to secure transportation facilities, or contingencies arising out of national defense activities, war, terrorism, or emergency conditions.

  8. PAYMENT. Unless otherwise stated in the invoice, payments must be made in U.S. Dollars within 30 days of the date of invoice. All orders are subject to the approval of AMERICAN’s credit department and AMERICAN may require full or partial payment in advance. Overdue invoices are subject to collection and carry a service charge of 1.5% per month or the maximum legally allowable rate. BUYER shall pay AMERICAN all legal costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by AMERICAN in connection with its collection of BUYER’S overdue account.

  9. INDEMNIFICATION. To the maximum extent allowed by law, BUYER must indemnify, hold harmless, and at AMERICAN’s request, defend AMERICAN, its officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, successors and assigns from and against all sums, costs, liabilities, losses, obligations, suits, actions, damages, penalties, fines, interest and other expenses (including attorneys’ fees) that AMERICAN may incur or be obligated to pay as a result of (i) BUYER’S negligence, use, ownership, maintenance, transfer, transportation or disposal of the Products, including, without limitation, any third party claims for personal injury or property damage; (ii) any infringement or alleged infringement of the industrial or intellectual property rights of others arising from BUYER’S plans, specifications (including BUYER’S trademarks and brand names) or production of the Products ordered by BUYER; (iii) BUYER’S violation or alleged violation of any applicable international, federal, state, county or local laws or regulations; and/or (iv) BUYER’S breach of these Terms and Conditions of Sale.  AMERICAN’s remedies hereunder are cumulative and in addition to those provided by law.

  10. DATA PRIVACY. BUYER shall provide all specifications and other information to AMERICAN in accordance with all applicable international, federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, all applicable laws, rules and regulations governing data privacy and protected health information.

  11. NON-WAIVER. AMERICAN’s failure to enforce any provisions of these Terms and Conditions of Sale or any rights hereunder shall not operate as a waiver of such provisions or rights.

  12. ASSIGNMENT. BUYER may not assign its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of AMERICAN and any attempted assignment without such consent shall be null and void.

  13. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Sale shall under any circumstances be deemed invalid or inoperative, these Terms and Conditions of Sale shall be construed with the invalid or inoperative provision deleted, and the rights and obligations of the parties shall be construed and
    enforced accordingly.

  14. APPLICABLE LAW. Any dispute regarding the interpretation or validity hereof shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of Wisconsin without regard to any choice or conflicts of law provisions thereof. BUYER irrevocably and unconditionally (i) consents to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, for the resolution of any dispute between the parties concerning the Products or these Terms and Conditions of Sale; (ii) agrees not to commence any such proceeding except in such courts; and (iii) waives any objection to the laying of venue of any such proceeding in the state or federal courts located in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.  The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) does not apply to any transaction between AMERICAN and BUYER.

  15. CONFIDENTIALITY. The existence and terms and conditions of the order are proprietary business information of both parties and shall be kept confidential and used only in furtherance of a party’s performance of its obligations hereunder, and such confidentiality obligations shall survive the fulfillment, modification, or cancellation of the order. The foregoing confidentiality obligations shall apply with respect to any non-public confidential or proprietary information provided by a party to the other party in connection with the solicitation of or work on the order, and expressly includes all proprietary product information of AMERICAN. The obligations of confidentiality do not apply to: a) information which at the time of disclosure is in the public domain, prior to the date of the disclosure by AMERICAN; b) information which, after disclosure, becomes part of the public domain by publication or otherwise through no breach of these Terms and Conditions of Sale by either party or a third party; c) information that was in both parties’ possession at the time of disclosure; d) information received from a third party who is not under an obligation of confidentiality to AMERICAN; or e) information that is independently developed by BUYER without reference to the confidential information of AMERICAN.