# American Association of Orthodontists

> American Association of Orthodontists is a VC fund in St Louis backing Dental and Health Care. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: St Louis, United States
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Sep 2023
- Lead investor: 67%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-association-of-orthodontists
- X (Twitter): https://www.twitter.com/aaoinfo
- Website: https://www.aaoinfo.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaoinfo

American Association of Orthodontists is a VC fund in St Louis focused on Dental and Health Care. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) is the world’s oldest and largest dental specialty organization.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dental | 5 | 83% |
| Health Care | 4 | 67% |
| Wellness | 2 | 33% |
| Medical Device | 2 | 33% |
| Medical | 1 | 17% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 2 | 33% |
| Corporate Round | 2 | 33% |
| Series A | 1 | 17% |
| Series D | 1 | 17% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 4 | 67% |
| Canada | 1 | 17% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Synapse Dental | Synapse Dental provides a pain-free dentistry a reality for dental professionals and consumers. |  |  | Sep 22, 2023 |  |
| Lightforce Orthodontics | LightForce Orthodontics, founded in 2015, makes the world’s first and only fully customized 3D-printed bracket system that is based on the anatomy and tooth morphology of each patient. The company’s mission is to apply modern technology and mass-customization to improve the orthodontic experience for both patients and doctors. LightForce’s platformunites the latest in digital treatment capabilities with cutting-edge, on-demand, 3D manufacturing to offer clinicians the first significant advancement in bracket-based treatment protocol in the past 50 years. A first-of-its-kind in the orthodontic space, Lightforce offers an unparalleled platform for orthodontists and LightForce technicians to collaborate on treatment plans for each individual patient. The company’s solution significantly reduces patient visits to the orthodontist and time spent wearing braces by providing 100 percent fully-customized solutions that improve both convenience and quality, ensuring patients receive the gold standard of care. | $80M | Series D | Aug 02, 2023 |  |
| KLOWEN Braces | KLOWEN Braces offers braces system that uses prefabricated, modular brackets to straighten teeth, faster, better, and more comfortable than conventional braces. It was established in 2019 and is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. | $10.5M | Series A | May 20, 2022 |  |
| Grin | Grin is a comprehensive digital orthodontic platform providing teeth straightening for all types of patients with a real local orthodontist. The platform also connects patients with a real orthodontist from the convenience of their smart device. They deliver responsible care from orthodontic specialists in an easily accessible and cost-effectiveway, Grin provides patients quality care that results in an exceptional smile together with all of the modernized convenience that they expect.Grin technology, aligned with a network of local trusted orthodontists, ensures that every patient gets the right care. The platform Grin App and Grin Scope is a patent-pending technology that offers remote monitoring for a variety of orthodontic needs. The Grin experience includes high-quality self-scans with the latest teeth straightening solutions. Practitioners and patients can now use these telemedicine tools to achieve a new, more convenient treatment journey.It was founded by Dr. Adam Schulhof, Pamela Oren-Artzi, and Alon Lipnik in 2019 and is based in New York and Austin. |  | Corporate Round | Mar 10, 2022 |  |
| KLOWEN Braces | KLOWEN Braces offers braces system that uses prefabricated, modular brackets to straighten teeth, faster, better, and more comfortable than conventional braces. It was established in 2019 and is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. | $50K | Corporate Round | Jul 07, 2020 |  |
| PhotoDynamic | PhotoDynamic is developing a device that uses natural extracts from a wild Nova Scotia plant to erase heavy plaque buildup on teeth. | $2.3M |  | Jan 21, 2020 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Tyche Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tyche-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Ally Bridge Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ally-bridge-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [CareCapital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/carecapital-advisors) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Columbia Pacific Advisors](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/columbia-pacific-advisors) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Ensemble Innovation Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ensemble-innovation-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Island Capital Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/island-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Bpifrance](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bpifrance) — VC Fund
- [SFC Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startup-funding-club) — VC Fund
- [HTGF (High-Tech Gruenderfonds)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/high-tech-gr%C3%BCnderfonds) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does American Association of Orthodontists invest in?

American Association of Orthodontists invests primarily in Dental, Health Care and Wellness startups, most often at Funding Round and Corporate Round stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did American Association of Orthodontists last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for American Association of Orthodontists closed in Sep 2023. Shizune tracks 6 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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