Our CEO & Founder, Marina Domracheva, was honored to meet and have an hour-long conversation with Ray Stewart at the EAS meeting in Seattle. Ray, a PhD in chemistry and holder of over 30 issued U.S. patents, invented new plastics for aligners—including Zendura—and revolutionized the industry.
The aligner industry could not have evolved without material innovation.
Today, we are spoiled, we take a good plastic for allergens as granted, and mostly negotiate on price. But 20 years ago, there was no good plastic.
There are criterias which plastic for aligners should meet:
Plastics for aligners need to be flexible and move teeth at the same time, while also being chemical resistant (to water, alcohol, olive oil, etc.), crack resistant, stain-resistant (patients do drink coffee and red wine), transparent, biocompatible, and easy to thermoform.
Today we take these properties as the standard, but 20 years ago they were a real disruption. It was fascinating to hear how even a small change in formula can make plastic stain-resistant.
Dr. Ray developed it. What a legend.
Now we are facing another revolution—direct printing. Excited to see what’s next.
