How Invisalign Became the World’s Biggest User of 3D Printers

Joe Hogan sees a lot of smiles. When people ask him where he works, he responds with “Align Technology,” which inevitably prompts the follow up: “What’s that?” It’s the $12 billion company behind Invisalign, the hellish and expensive pieces of clear plastic worn about 22 hours a day that brute-force teeth into better alignment. After months, sometimes years, the discrete rival to braces promises to give people smiles they will want to show off. Hogan gets a look at them all. And he’s eager to see more.