Corporate Profile: Shaping the Future of Digital Orthodontics

The clear aligner industry has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. The global market is now believed to be worth $1.5 billion and shows no signs of slowing down. With several patents due to expire in 2017, rumors have swirled about major orthodontic players eyeing the aligner market. This August, however, one of the largest dental companies in the world, Straumann, surprised everyone by announcing that it was purchasing ClearCorrect, America's second-largest aligner manufacturer, for $150 million.

The appeal of aligners is, pardon the pun, clear: They're discreet, removable, affordable and easy to use. And the technology keeps getting better; doctors now treat cases that were previously thought to be impossible with aligners. Even patients with severe malocclusion are opting for combination treatment to limit their time in traditional wires and brackets. While this level of patient and doctor acceptance is relatively recent, clear aligner technology got its start more than 70 years ago.

Clear aligners: A very brief history
In 1945, Dr. Harold Kesling invented the "Tooth Positioner." This early rubber ancestor of clear aligners could be unwieldy, unsightly and woefully inaccurate, but it was an important first step. In the 1960s, Dr. Henry Nahoum began vacuum-forming plastic to stone models and the clear aligner was born. Clear aligners remained largely an in-office novelty for many years, but awareness grew tremendously in the late '90s when clear aligners were mass-produced and mass-marketed for the first time, and millions of dollars were poured into direct-to-consumer advertising. For many years, it looked as if one company might dominate the industry as the only source for clear aligners. However, an unlikely contender sprang up to become one of the most popular and enduring alternatives.

Let's hop into the "wayback machine" and head to 2006, when general practitioner Dr. Willis Pumphrey, one of the world's top aligner providers, decided to switch to OrthoClear, an up-and-coming clear aligner company. Unfortunately, that company shut down operations abruptly, and Pumphrey was left with more than 400 clear aligner patients midtreatment and no lab willing to service him.

To tackle his problem head-on, he teamed up with Paul Dinh (now ClearCorrect's vice president of products) and they begin fabricating aligners by hand in the back of Pumphrey's practice in Houston, cutting and repositioning stone models one step at a time. Before long, word got out, and local doctors begin placing orders, looking for a more affordable, doctor-friendly alternative for clear aligners. Thus, ClearCorrect was born.

Many observers believed that taking on the industry leader was a fool's errand, but 11 years later, the company continues to thrive in Round Rock, Texas, with more than 30,000 registered providers around the world. ClearCorrect has demonstrated its competence and expertise in producing clear aligners that doctors love. Why has ClearCorrect succeeded where so many others have failed?

A touch of Texas hospitality
From the beginning, ClearCorrect set itself apart by offering exceptional, personal customer service. It was founded by a doctor, and never lost sight of the importance of putting doctors first.

Townie Dr. Jason Battle, a ClearCorrect provider for more than eight years, explains, "I love it because I'm not reacting to whatever the higher-ups in the company are telling me to do. I make suggestions, they listen and come back with feedback that actually works."

ClearCorrect appealed to doctors by making aligners more affordable, and by offering features like free registration, no minimum case submissions, online training and case management, mobile-friendly 3-D treatment setups, and compatibility with most intraoral scanners—all backed by friendly, industry-leading customer support.

Unlimited flexibility
Traditionally, clear aligners have been sold in preset pricing tiers, with each tier offering different features and a different number of aligners. To treat a patient, doctors would need to estimate how many aligners the treatment was going to require and submit the case under the pricing option that could accommodate that. If they needed fewer than the maximum allowed aligners, they'd get no credit for that. If they needed more, they were bumped up to the next pricing tier.

At the 2017 AAO Annual Session, ClearCorrect upended the status quo by replacing tier-based pricing with two new options that allow doctors to get only what they need for any patient: the economical Flex option and the full-featured Unlimited option. Doctors can choose either option after evaluating a free 3-D preview of every step, no matter how many or few aligners they need.

Flex pricing allows doctors to order exactly what they need—nothing more or less. Treatment setups cost $95 to approve, and each aligner costs $30. Retainers and replacements are available at the same price of $30, with no setup fee. This flexibility opens a new range of possibilities, particularly for single-arch treatment and shorter cases such as relapses and combination treatment.

Doctors who choose the Unlimited option pay a flat rate of $1,495 to cover any treatment setups, aligners, revisions and replacements that a patient may need for the next five years. When a patient is ready for retention, Unlimited also includes up to two pairs of aligners every six months for the remainder of the five years. Some doctors prefer the peace of mind and predictability Unlimited offers, even for relatively minor cases, and of course it's also good for accommodating lengthier, more difficult movements.

Facing the future head-on
ClearCorrect has fully embraced the digital orthodontic revolution, from intraoral scans and digital treatment planning to 3-D printing and robotic manufacturing processes. This attracted the attention of another company looking to enter the field of digital orthodontics: ClearCorrect's new parent company, the Straumann Group.

Based in Basel, Switzerland, the Straumann Group is singularly focused on manufacturing precisely engineered, high-quality products. This began in the 1950s with intricate watch and ski parts—so Swiss!—then moved to premium dental implants in 1960. The Straumann name is synonymous with quality for dental surgeons in more than 70 countries. It operates six manufacturing facilities around the world and has more than 35 years of clinical experience, with more than 100 scientific publications per year.

Now, Straumann has a new ambition: to provide complete end-to-end digital orthodontic solutions. To help it achieve this goal, it has acquired not only ClearCorrect but also intraoral scanner manufacturer Dental Wings and Rapid Shape, a 3-D printing specialist, as well as investing in Genovia, a Spanish startup that tests hybrid bracket/aligner techniques.

Mike Rynerson, a former employee of Straumann who left to become CEO of Dental Wings (and has returned to take on the role of executive vice president of Straumann's new Digital Business Unit), explains:

"The clear aligner industry, and dental care in general, has so much untapped potential. The big picture here is integrated, comprehensive treatment. Doctors will be able to digitally design and manage a treatment plan for their patients that includes orthodontia, implants and restorations, and know that the products and services they get with our team are of the highest quality."

A match made in Basel
Such a bold strategic shift demanded a reliable partner with industry experience. But Straumann didn't just acquire ClearCorrect because it was an established aligner company with enthusiastic customers and proven manufacturing capabilities (though that didn't hurt). Straumann and ClearCorrect also share core values—particularly a passion for service and unconventional thinking—and both are driven by a gung-ho spirit that made them the successful companies they are today.

"People are our success," says Marco Gadola, CEO of the Straumann Group. "It's not enough to have the right branding or machines. A successful team has motivation and energy and is dedicated to excellence. That's what made ClearCorrect the best choice for us."

"Straumann is confident in the existing team and brand," concurs ClearCorrect CEO Jarrett Pumphrey. "Straumann, like our providers, has recognized that we are onto something. It is here to help us get to where we want to go—faster. With its help, ClearCorrect can open up into even more countries, improve and expand our services and products, and continue working toward being the best clear aligner system available."

Straumann, like ClearCorrect, started as a bootstrapped family business and has expanded into a multinational success story. Both companies demonstrate what happens when you work hard, take chances and make things happen by sheer force of will. Their combined expertise and capabilities make them ideal partners to shape the future of digital orthodontics—together.