Research award program
Align Technology believes in enabling research and innovation within the dentistry industry with a goal to improve orthodontic and dental treatment for communities around the globe.
In 2010, Align Technology began the Research Award Program with the goal to support clinical and scientific orthodontic and dental research in universities across the globe. Since its inception in 2010, we have funded over $2.0 million in research awards. Research has provided insights into various areas including tooth movement efficacy with clear aligner therapy, oral hygiene and microbial bacteria presence or absence with clear aligners, and comparisons in quality of life with aligners as compared to fixed appliances.
Each year, awards are made available for dental research at universities across the globe. All applications are reviewed by an independent academic committee that forwards its recommendations to Align Technology for final selection.
Awards available for 2019 were four one-year awards of up to $25,000 each for dental research at universities in the America’s (includes Canada, Latin America and South America), four one-year awards of up to $25,000 each for dental research at universities in EMEA, and four one-year awards of up to $25,000 each for dental research at universities in APAC.
Eligible applicants for the dental research award component included full- and part-time faculty involved in dental or scientific research at universities at which Invisalign® treatment is available. All applications were reviewed by an independent academic committee that forwarded its recommendations to Align Technology for final selection.