Prominent Melbourne dentist Ari Masters, owner of No Brace Centre, banned for four years for professional misconduct

High profile Melbourne dentist who developed a method of straightening teeth without braces banned for four years.

Best known as the owner of the No Brace Center in Melbourne, Ari Masters was banned during professional disciplinary proceedings arising from complaints about poor quality orthodontic treatment.

He allegedly provided substandard treatment to 10 patients, nine of whom were children, between April 2008 and January 2019.

Get the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

He presented himself as a medical practitioner who could provide an orthodontic service for children that was less invasive than that typically provided by orthodontists.

“The approach is different from what might be called ‘traditional’ or ‘conventional’ orthodontics,” according to its website.

But he was not actually qualified to undertake orthodontic treatment.

Masters, who no longer uses Doctor as an honorific, was referred to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of Victoria by the Dental Council of Australia in 2022.

He gave up his registration in August 2019 and did not attend the recent tribunal hearing led by senior member Jonathan Smithers.

“In pursuing this pattern of treatment, Dr. Masters has provided inadequate care to the 10 patients subject to this proceeding, which constitutes professional misconduct,” Smithers said in his written findings.

“He treated patients outside his area of ​​expertise…His treatment often lasted years longer than it should have, causing additional inconvenience, discomfort and expense to his patients and their parents.

“In a number of cases, the treatment produced adverse results. He made some fundamental misdiagnoses.

The tribunal found that the masters’ conduct was “damaging to the reputation of the profession”, including both general practitioners and pediatric orthodontics.

He was officially suspended for four years.

Sign up for the 7NEWS app here — the news you want, when you need it. Download now, free.