Digital Design student Amos Dudley has created the very first pair of DIY braces. That’s right folks, DIY braces…and the best part…they cost roughly $60 to make and they really work!
It’s a lengthy process filled with precise measurements, minuscule adjustments and the possibility of harming your dental health if something goes wrong, however.
A set of clear braces, which are far less noticeable than traditional metal brackets, can cost around $8,000. Dudley, a 24-year-old student, couldn’t afford that much paper for a better smile, so he devised a way to hack the industry.
Using his school’s equipment and only $60 worth of materials, Dudley designed a series of clear braces that would straighten his teeth without making his bank go into the black.
Check out the photos below to learn more about how Dudley pulled off this bizarre feat. Were the results worth it?
Amos Dudley studies design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
He used his college’s equipment to print 3-D models of his teeth and then used those to create plastic molds that would serve as his braces.
If you don’t factor in the price of the school’s printer, Dudley’s braces cost a grand total of $60.
It was actually more like a series of retainers than braces with brackets. By measuring how much his teeth needed to shift, Dudley was able to map out a regimen for the next 16 weeks.
The methods Dudley used were nothing revolutionary. Orthodontists do essentially the same thing, only they’ve spent years studying the human mouth. For Dudley, the process was pretty difficult. He had to teach himself how teeth move and apply that knowledge to his mouth’s own unique requirements.
But, at the end of the 16 weeks, it looks like he got the results he was looking for. Dudley’s method could foreshadow a new future for orthodontics. With 3-D printers becoming more functional and affordable, who’s to say we won’t all be printing our own clear braces in a few years?
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