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                                                     Filed by OrthAlliance, Inc.
                           Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
                              and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the
                                                 Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                                             Subject Company: OrthAlliance, Inc.
                                                    Commission Number: 000-22975

In connection with the proposed merger, OCA and OrthAlliance will file a proxy
statement/prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Investors are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus, because it will
contain important information about the merger, OCA and OrthAlliance. After the
proxy statement/prospectus is filed with the SEC, the proxy statement/prospectus
will be available free of charge, both on the SEC's web site (www.sec.gov) and
from OCA and OrthAlliance by directing a request to Orthodontic Centers of
America, Inc., 5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 30, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
32082, Attention: Investor Relations, or to OrthAlliance, Inc., 21535 Hawthorne
Boulevard, Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90503, Attention: Investor Relations.
OrthAlliance and its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in
the solicitation of proxies with respect to a shareholder meeting to be held in
connection with the merger. Information about the participants in the
solicitation, including their interests in shares of OrthAlliance's common
stock, is set forth in OrthAlliance's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2000 filed with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional
information regarding the interests of OrthAlliance and its directors and
officers in the merger by reading the proxy statement/prospectus when it becomes
available. This does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.

A. LETTER TO AFFILIATED PRACTITIONERS FROM W. DENNIS SUMMERS AND BARTHOMEW F.
   PALMISANO, JR.

September 28, 2001

Dr. _________________
Address

Dear Dr. ____________:

We wanted to update you on where things stand on the merger between OCA and
OrthAlliance. As you know, we entered into our merger agreement on May 16, 2001
and we had a number of Town Hall meetings to meet you and the other OrthAlliance
practitioners. At the same time we have been working with the SEC to file the
necessary information so that we can bring the merger to the OrthAlliance
shareholders for their approval.

The entire process has taken much longer than either of us anticipated and
certainly much longer than any of us wanted. Nonetheless, we are fully committed
to completing this merger and we think that we are very close to obtaining the
necessary government clearance so that we can proceed with obtaining shareholder
approval. The recent


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national tragedies have added some delay, so we are all doing our best to be
understanding of the challenges that our government and our country are facing.

We have been in a period where we have not been able to provide you with any
definitive information about when OrthAlliance shareholders will vote on the
merger. However, please be assured that this does not mean that the merger is
not proceeding or that we are having difficulties with the closing. Both
companies are fully committed to this transaction. In fact, we have already
begun to offer the OCA systems to the OrthAlliance affiliated practices that
would like to use them, even though the merger has not yet closed. We think that
you will enjoy and benefit from the OCA systems.

We also want to invite you to join in an important telephone conference call
that we are going to hold on Wednesday, October 3 at 5:30 p.m. West Coast time.
In the call, we will discuss several important topics, including:

     o    A review of incentives for OrthAlliance stock doctors;

     o    Timing of the merger; and

     o    A new transition program for orthodontists.

We will distribute dial-in information for the call early next week.

If you have any questions regarding these matters, please feel free to contact
either of us, or any members of our senior management teams. We appreciate your
patience and support and look forward to providing you further information as
soon as it is available.


Sincerely,



W. Dennis Summers                          Bartholomew F. Palmisano, Sr.
Chairman and President                     Chairman and President
OrthAlliance, Inc.                         Orthodontic Centers of America, Inc.

In connection with the proposed merger, OCA has filed a registration statement
on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Investors are
urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus that is a part of the registration
statement, because it contains important information about the merger, OCA and
OrthAlliance. The registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus is
available free of charge, both on the SEC's web site (www.sec.gov) and from OCA
and OrthAlliance by directing a request to Orthodontic Centers of America, Inc.,
5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 30, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, Attention:
Investor Relations, or to OrthAlliance, Inc., 21535 Hawthorne Boulevard,
Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90503, Attention: Investor Relations. OrthAlliance and
its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation
of proxies with respect to a shareholder meeting to be held in connection with
such merger. Information about the participants in the solicitation, including
their interests in shares of OrthAlliance's common stock, is set forth in
OrthAlliance's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000
filed with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the
interests of OrthAlliance and its directors and officers by reading the proxy
statement/prospectus.