PureAlign, founded by dental professionals Will Wraithwood and Joe Leek, has found a new home at Sheffield Technology Parks (STP), as it embarks on an AI powered venture to improve sustainability and productivity in orthodontics.

A new approach to dental aligners

Will and Joe, who have worked together at various dental practices in the past, came together to innovate the process of creating dental retainers using 3D printing.

Traditional methods involved creating a complete set of models for the duration of treatment upfront. However, more often than not, scans show halfway through treatment that teeth haven’t moved as expected and the later models are no longer fit for purpose. This results in unnecessary waste as those models had to be discarded and remade.

Will and Joe have implemented a more sustainable approach, pausing production after creating the fourth or fifth model, and consulting with dentists on patient progress before proceeding. This means that subsequent printed models are accurate and don’t go to waste. 

Embracing AI

Whilst sustainability sits at the heart of this innovation, Will and Joe wanted to introduce greater efficiency into their processes so they could better meet demand for their services.

This summer PureAlign partnered with Yorkshire AI labs to integrate artificial intelligence into their workflow. The collaboration has already signalled a dramatic increase in productivity. Will was typically handling 10-15 jobs per day using the manual process, but with AI this jumps to 200 jobs daily, all overseen by him and Joe. And these efficiencies are passed on to dentists, doubling the number of patients they can see each day.

Will has been instrumental in training the AI system, embedding his expertise into its algorithms. Once rolled out to PureAlign’s dentistry clients, the AI is designed to learn continuously from their input, enhancing its accuracy and effectiveness.

The perfect space for innovation

With the process of AI integration well underway, Will and Joe are already considering further innovation to cut non-recyclable industry waste.

“The lab space at Sheffield Technology Parks provides the ideal environment for our work,” says Will, explaining: “There’s an isolated area for the 3D printing process, which is essential for containing the noise and resin odours common in the printing process. Once we are in a position to grow the team, this separation will be important as we’ll need to do lots of experimenting without disrupting other activities.”

Additionally, the boardroom and other meeting spaces just down the corridor from PureAlign’s new lab have already supported the company’s business activity. Will reflects,

“We have already met with and presented to dentists here, to tell them about our tech. So, doing this in the boardroom and then bringing them just down the corridor to our lab where they could see it in action is great, it creates a strong impression.”

We’re thrilled to welcome PureAlign to Sheffield Technology Parks, and excited to see the growth of another key player in Sheffield’s emerging science-tech landscape. Find out more about the company: purealign.com/dentists/.

(Image credit: Yorkshire AI Labs)