Invisalign

Invisalign is an orthodontic device that uses transparent, incremental aligners to adjust teeth as an alternative to wire braces. It is manufactured by Align Technology, a multinational medical device company headquartered in San Jose, California. The Invisalign treatment process involves taking a mold of the patient's teeth that is scanned in order to create a computerized model. Using the orthodontist's treatment plan, the computer model creates stages between the current and desired teeth positions that are used to create molds for individual aligners.

Invisalign's manufacturer and developer, Align Technology, was founded in 1997. The Invisalign product was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998. $140 million in venture capital was raised from 1997 to 2000 and another $130 million was raised in an initial public offering in 2001. The founder Zia Chishti, after being ousted from the company in 2002, started Orthoclear in 2005, which resulted in several legal disputes. By 2012, there had been two million Invisalign patients and most dentists and orthodontists in North America had been trained on the Invisalign system. As of 2005, it is unclear how well Invisalign work as they have not been well studied. No further systematic reviews have been published between 2005 and 2014.