The fund’s investments can be made in promising, innovative companies focused on advancing the specialty and who are aligned with the AAO strategic plan.
The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) is taking another step forward in supporting the orthodontic profession by investing in advancing the specialty and patient care via its Innovation and Transformation Fund.
The fund—which can be used to develop new products and services for orthodontists and patients by building, partnering, or investing—made its second move by investing $50,000 in KLOwen Custom Braces System, an in-office, same-day, custom bracket solution, which increases doctor efficiency.
Developed by Brandon Owen, DDS, MS, who holds seven patents, with 20 more patents pending, and who was named the 2019 AAO Ortho Innovator Award recipient, the KLOwen Custom Braces System uses the newest technologies, including 3D printers and custom-shaped braces. According to KLOwen Braces, the system can work on any orthodontic case, even those requiring functional appliances, expansion or surgery.
By leveraging a unique software platform, the solution automatically places the ideally shaped bracket for each tooth out of a kit of 27 pieces. Then, using 3D-printed IDB (indirect bonding) trays, brackets are bonded precisely where approved on the software, completing the customization. By filling the slot completely, the system allows the wires to be more completely expressed, eliminating or greatly reducing wire-bending or bracket-repositioning.
“Created by orthodontists for orthodontists, our revolutionary system empowers orthodontists and the patients they serve with an effective, custom solution that leverages the most innovative technological advances to ensure patients experience less discomfort, less time in braces and less missed school and work,” says Owen. “We are tremendously grateful to the AAO. Having their financial support and industry expertise is a tremendous vote of confidence in our product and services. It will help us execute the joint vision to bring much-needed change to an industry that has not experienced such since the 1980s.”
According to a press release from the AAO, in addition to investing in KLOwen Braces System, a member of AAO leadership will be seated on the company’s board, further assuring the best interests of orthodontists—and their patients—will remain the top priority.
“We’re thrilled to make this investment in KLOwen Custom Braces System and to continue to support the ever-evolving industry of orthodontics,” says AAO President Chris Roberts, DDS, MS.
The AAO’s Innovation and Transformation Fund can be used to develop new products and services for orthodontists and patients and will drive non-dues revenue for the association. The fund’s investments will reportedly be focused on promising, innovative companies focused on advancing the specialty and who are aligned with the AAO strategic plan.
The fund’s first investment went to PhotoDynamic, a Canadian startup that developed a patented light-activated antimicrobial oral hygiene technology designed to kill bacteria-causing plaque.
