Sunday, August 30, 2009

Markham Centre Orthodontics Softball Team Competes in Unionville


Markham Centre Orthodontics is happy to support our patients in various sports or activities. This summer, one of our patients and coach of the team, Michael, approached Dr. Tam for sponsorship of a team in the peewee/bantam division of UMSC. The team sported royal blue jerseys and has had a lot of fun.

Last week, Dr. Tam and Wanda went out to one of the games to support their team. Each player was given an MCO bag and BPA-free Nalgene water bottle. Unfortunately, the field crew were unable to get the lights on, and the game had to be canceled.

TeamMCO wishes the team all the best as they approach the playoffs!




Monday, August 17, 2009

Markham Invisalign Orthodontist Breaks the Story on Settlement Between Invisalign and Ormco

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN) today announced that it has reached a settlement with Ormco Corporation (Ormco), a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR), to end all pending litigation between the parties and to begin a new strategic collaboration. As part of the settlement, Align will make a cash payment of approximately $13 million to Ormco and issue approximately 7.6 million shares of Align's Common Stock to Danaher Corporation, Ormco's ultimate parent, that after issuance will be equal to approximately ten percent ownership interest in Align. Based on the closing price of Align's Common Stock on Friday, August 14, 2009 the value of the shares is approximately $77 million. The issuance of a portion of the shares is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. For a summary of the terms of the transaction, please refer to the Company's Form 8-K filed today.

Align and Ormco have also agreed upon an exclusive collaboration over the next seven years to develop and market an orthodontic product that combines the Invisalign(R) system with Ormco's Insignia(R) orthodontic brackets and arch wires system to treat the most complex cases. Each party will retain ownership of its pre-existing intellectual property, and each party will be granted intellectual property licenses in their respective field for jointly-developed combination products.

"We are pleased to resolve this ongoing litigation with Ormco and to begin a new relationship that meets our shared goals of providing innovative products and excellent service to our orthodontic customers," said Thomas M. Prescott, Align Technology president and CEO. "This collaboration with Ormco, a fellow innovator in digital orthodontics, gives us the ability to compete for a segment of the market that is difficult to treat with Invisalign alone, and accelerates our long-term plan for a combination product."

Per the terms of the agreement, Ormco and Align have requested that judgment be entered on the claims resolved by the jury and all remaining claims in the litigation between the two parties be dismissed with prejudice. Additionally, as part of the settlement agreement, Ormco has agreed to release all past claims asserted by Ormco against Align based upon the '444 patent and has agreed not to sue Align for any claim of infringement based upon the '444 patent as a result of Align's relating to removable aligners.



Wednesday, August 12, 2009

New Markham Braces and Richmond Hill Invisalign Team Members Join MCO!


If you’ve been in the office lately, you will have noticed a few new faces at Markham Centre Orthodontics. As we continue to grow, we are committed to bringing on only the best orthodontics team members possible, in keeping with our high standards for treatment and customer service. In this way, we hope to continue to be your choice for Markham braces and Richmond Hill Invisalign.

We are happy to have Jenny join Megan at our reception area to serve you better. Interestingly, we met Jenny as she was referred to our office as a patient by her dentist. She joined our team mid-treatment and is currently in the process of closing up 4 spaces where premolars were extracted for optimal facial aesthetics and profile. Fluent in chinese, particularly cantonese and with a working knowledge of mandarin, Jenny is here to help you with payments, statements, and scheduling your appointments. Be sure to see her or Megan before you leave the office to schedule your next visit!

Aya is the newest member of our clinical team. A dental hygienist for over 7 years, she was educated at George Brown College, where she also took part in the orthodontic study module for dental hygienists. She has completed the local anaesthesia course at the University of Alberta, but is happy that we don’t need to give needles at MCO :). Aya will be seeing you for your adjustment visits, placing/replacing braces, and on that awesome day when your braces are removed! Recently married, and now living in York Region with her husband, Aya is extremely excited to join our team at MCO.

Don’t forget to welcome both team members to TeamMCO. We thank you for your support as we continue to grow as your choice for braces in Markham and Invisalign in Toronto!