Orthodontic care has been advancing ever-more swiftly in the 21st century, with major technology breakthroughs such as clear aligners, autopilot wires, and 3-D digital imaging. These innovations are driving patient expectations of improved convenience and comfort, quicker treatment, and dazzling results.

At the same time, the Orthodontics market is experiencing a huge growth spurt, with more teens than ever sporting braces or aligners and many adults choosing aligners.

Those trends and others in the fast-evolving landscape have orthodontists looking for the best way to operate more efficiently, meet the patient demands of today and anticipate their future needs, while elevating care to a new gold standard.

I founded OrthoNu^® to help fellow Orthodontists do just that for patients with braces and aligners.

Through OrthoNu, we are enabling Orthodontists to provide a better experience, by offering patients the first full line of professional-grade, self-care orthodontic products that focus on emergency care, oral hygiene, oral aesthetics, and oral health.

Even with the advances that we’ve seen, disruptive emergency visits to fix painful problems like broken wires, broken brackets and sharp edges on aligners still remain. In fact, about 85% of orthodontic patients experience an orthodontic emergency during the course of their treatment.

But I know as Orthodontists we can do much better for our patients than having them be inconvenienced until they can come in for emergency care.

OrthoNu’s products – designed by an Orthodontist for other Orthodontists – are creating a new category of self-care tools, driven by science and based on the professional tools that we know and trust. The OrthoNu tools will help Orthodontic offices run more smoothly and be more profitable by creating efficiencies in the practice. Fewer unplanned immediate after-school appointments to address emergencies will lower stress for everyone, reduce use of chairs and sterilization of additional tools needed for those visits, and free up significant time for the care team to see additional patients.

Empowering both Orthodontists and patients to improve the treatment experience was my goal, professionally and personally, in founding OrthoNu. I was inspired partly by my hard-working immigrant father, who taught me that I could achieve all my goals and still the greatest gift I was given was the ability and opportunity to accomplish greatness for others.

I was also strongly influenced by my own experience as a lifelong dental patient. When I was a young girl, my teeth, facial bones and jaw were broken in a traumatic car accident. Dentists from virtually every specialty worked in succession to restore my teeth and mouth. I still frequent dentist offices to maintain a healthy mouth and continuously learn to improve upon each part of that experience.

I drew inspiration from the kindness and compassion of an Orthodontist who was a key member of my treatment team back then. I remember him telling me that “great things would come from this life-changing experience,” that “I would change people’s lives!” I wanted to be the same type of doctor, one who encouraged patients and gave them confidence that they could handle any difficulties in their treatment.

So I attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, where I earned a DMD and a degree in Clinical Orthodontics. I completed my Residency at New York Presbyterian, taught Aesthetic Dentistry at New York University and worked as a Cosmetic Dentist in New York City before I began working as an orthodontist. I started looking for that way to empower patients with confidence and make the impact that my father had intuitively predicted.

Founding my company, OrthoNu, gave me the perfect vehicle to do it.

I knew what children and parents went through when something went wrong with their braces or aligners. I was on the other end of many calls with the patient crying in the background, the parents clearly upset and both very frustrated that they couldn’t do anything at home to manage a solution. The advent of COVID-19 greatly exacerbated that situation, preventing many patients from coming into their orthodontist’s office.

Now, the status quo will change with the launch of OrthoNu’s first product, called Tweakz®. There are two Tweakz® tools, one for patients with braces and one for those with aligners. Both self-care devices have four tools that enable patients to confidently resolve most common emergencies on their own as well as create a more strategic way of handling inevitable issues that come with Orthodontic treatment. Empowered patients can then keep up with their busy schedule without missing a beat.

This is just the beginning of my vision of future care and powerful innovation.

OrthoNu has partnered with researchers at Penn’s Dental and Medical schools as well as the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry (CiPD) at the University of Pennsylvania with world-renowned Dr. Koo in creating and validating two revolutionary preventative medicine vehicles for patients and doctors. OrthoNu is pioneering a complete suite of sophisticated self-care tools. Already, OrthoNu has 14 patents pending on state-of-the-art tools that we are developing to keep patients comfortable and improve both their oral and overall health.

To ensure the highest quality of our products, OrthoNu has enlisted J&J Instruments, a leading manufacturer of orthodontic tools, to produce our premier product, Tweakz^®.

By providing our high-quality products to patients, orthodontic practices will mitigate most of their immediate emergency needs and be able to run their offices more efficiently. This is becoming crucial due to the surge in people seeking orthodontic treatment for improved oral health and aesthetic appearance.

Globally, revenue from orthodontic treatments and sales of orthodontic products is forecast to nearly triple from $5.9 billion in 2021 to $16.2 billion in 2028, according to market research and consulting firm Precedence Research. That growth is being driven by multiple factors.

While misaligned teeth remain common, in today’s world of selfies and social media many people desire a more attractive smile. Increasing research and development, often incorporating the use of computer-assisted design and artificial intelligence, are bringing major advances in orthodontic treatment, widening its appeal to a bigger circle of people.

Few innovations have had the impact clear aligners have since they hit the orthodontics market in 2018. Droves of adults who wouldn’t consider wearing metal or even ceramic braces have joined the many teens getting the clear plastic aligners. Besides being removable, less obvious and more comfortable, for some specific types of orthodontic cases, aligners can reduce treatment time compared to braces.

Today, there are more than 20 companies that have new aligner products in the works. As they begin reaching the market, they’ll bring down prices and further drive up the number of orthodontic patients.

As orthodontists adapt to increased patient loads and ever-changing technology, OrthoNu will serve as the trusted partner helping them to better serve patients. This will give patients more trust in their provider, more confidence in their treatment, and ultimately, and a more positive overall experience.

At OrthoNu, we are committed to driving new, dynamic science-driven discovery to support you, the orthodontic community.

You got this!

Sima