Aligner war begins? This Chilean startup Wizz seeks to consolidate in the Mexican market with low cost invisible orthodontics

According to the Mexican Institute of Social Security, 90% of Mexicans have oral health problems. While having crooked teeth or as it is medically known, having a malocclusion is only part of these problems, its lack of treatment can cause worse damage in the long term. Not taking care of this condition can cause diseases such as cavities, gingivitis, periodontitis, as well as emotional conflicts due to low self-esteem.

However, dental health in Mexico is not accessible for all portfolios. According to the figures provided by Dentalia in 2020, 45% of people who do not go to the dentist is because they consider it very expensive. Indeed, the prices of alignment treatments, whether traditional or intelligent, fluctuate between 15,000 and 30,000 prisoners, a fairly high figure if one takes into account that the national minimum wage is approximately 4,000 pesos.

Empathizing with this problem that has physical and emotional consequences, is that Wizz , a Chilean 3D dental alignment startup, reaches the Mexican market with the promise not only of correcting the teeth more comfortably in a period ranging from six to eight months. , but also with affordable prices to boost dental health in Mexico. “This company arose out of my own need to undergo orthodontic treatment and not being able to do it because of its price. Then I realized that the costs for this type of care makes it difficult for the population to access dental recovery throughout the region, especially in Mexico where the Government also covers only 7% of this expense, ranking as one of the countries with less contribution of this type according to the OECD ”, commented Javier Liberman, founder and CPO of Wizz.

^{Courtesy Wizz}

In Mexico there are recognized and established players in the invisible aligners market -as is the case of Moons-, however, the costs are double and even triple those offered by Wizz. How did they manage to lower prices? “We use existing technologies, our innovative contribution has to do with optimizing each part of the production flow to deliver a Low Cost solution”, added Liberman.

Wizz aligners are also manufactured based on 3D printing, however innovation is what makes the difference. “One of the most expensive inputs in this printing process is the UV resin used by the printer, so to reach more accessible prices we develop our own resin in house, at a cost 90% lower than that found in the market” , explains the entrepreneur. It also tells that there are different softwares that allow to model the treatments, obtaining a vision of the final position of the teeth and the movements that will occur during the process. However, these programs often require manual intervention that increases the cost per hour of work. “To continue lowering the prices of our product, we developed a scratch software that allowed us to integrate simple automation tools to evolve into an automated system using artificial intelligence,” stated the Wizz CPO.

^{Courtesy Wizz}

Wizz has already returned the smile of more than 11,000 patients in the region and aims to restore the joy of Mexicans with a high-tech solution that fits their wallets. “We always seek to deliver cutting-edge cosmetic dentistry products and services at an affordable price. We are optimizing the way of doing cosmetic dentistry through innovation and technological development, because we believe that all people should have access to a beautiful smile, regardless of their socioeconomic status. We are the most convenient invisible orthodontics in Mexico ”, concluded Liberman.