This fall, high-growth clear aligner challenger Candid is stacking its leadership team, with dental giants Dr. Lou Shuman coming on as Executive Consultant and Chief Development Officer and Dr. Brian Gray as Chief Dental Officer. They join Dr. Ben Miraglia DDS, VP of GP Clinical Education at Candid Academy as major leadership additions. Under the guidance of the new leadership team, Candid will be releasing a host of new features and enhancements vaulting the Orthodontics as a Service company ahead of many of its competitors.
After shuttering its direct-to-consumer clear aligner business in December 2021 and pivoting into a full provider-based model, Candid has grown its provider base over 500% in 2022.
New Executive Consultant and Chief Development Officer Lou Shuman DMD, CAGS is the CEO and founder of Cellerant Consulting and an expert in growing dental technology companies. He was immediately attracted to Candid’s tech-first Orthodontics as a Service model of partnership and support.
“Candid’s innovations, technology partnerships, and delivery of a total support model is exactly what general practitioners need right now and orthodontists will benefit by in the near future,” says Shuman. “Candid’s commitment to state-of-the-art technology as witnessed by their new massive fabrication facility, superb management team, and focus on aligner quality, already make Candid a great choice for dentists, and our planned clinical upgrades will soon make that choice even easier.”
Known for having trained nearly 30,000 dentists in clear aligner therapy over the last two decades, new Chief Dental Officer Dr. Brian Gray thinks Candid is uniquely positioned to meet the general practitioner where they are.
“I’m joining Candid because it feels like a new era in clear aligners,” says Gray. “As a clinical evaluator, I’ve tried nearly every clear aligner product out there. Candid has unlocked the convenience and predictability that clinicians have been after for years by empowering dentists with the deep clinical knowledge to protect their reputations while giving patients the safe, effective treatment they need.”
Candid rounds out its leadership upgrade with a host of new Candid Academy Faculty members, with Drs. Tom Shannon and Geoffrey Skinner joining visionaries like Drs. Ben Miraglia, Kalli Hale, and Craig Spodak. Dr. Miraglia has played a pivotal role in upgrading Candid’s Rx and through his teaching and advocacy continues to attract top clinicians to Candid Academy.
For CEO Nick Greenfield, Candid is on the road to becoming the practitioner’s choice for clear aligners.
“We’re on a similar trajectory to a company like Tesla,” says Greenfield. “Amazing product, top-flight tech, and outstanding design, but early Teslas could only go 100 miles on a charge. This massive tech enhancement means Candid can now take partner practices so much farther—with even more exciting developments on the horizon.”
Dr. Gray concurs that Candid’s expert-led Orthodontics as a Service model is poised to grab significant market share.
“I see so much in the works that I can’t wait to share with my patients and colleagues,” says Gray. “Candid has developed a number of game-changing product enhancements and techniques that lead the clear aligner segment into a new era. I see it as Ortho 3.0, and am excited to be part of this transformational change in dental health care.”
Dr. Shuman sees even more growth for Candid on the horizon.
“Sitting in a room with Candid leadership reminded me of my work with clear aligners 20 years ago,” he says, “young, brilliant visionaries coming together to create a technique poised to transform the market.”
ABOUT DR. LOU SHUMAN
Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS, is an orthodontist and founder and CEO of Cellerant Consulting Group, dentistry’s leader in growing companies of all sizes currently serving over 40 companies. He is also co-founder of LightForce Orthodontics that created the world’s first fully customized ceramic 3D printed orthodontic bracket and a venturer-in-residence at the Harvard i-Lab. He also served as Vice President of Clinical Education and Strategic Relations at Align Technology for 7 years. He is the recipient of the 2021 Global Summits Institute’s Doctor- to-Doctor World’s Top 100 Doctors and the Denobi Pinnacle Achievement Award that recognizes an individual whose leadership and ongoing contributions have dramatically impacted the dental profession. Dr. Shuman currently also has three national columns devoted to technology in Dental Economics, Dental Products Report, and Oral Health Canada journals.
ABOUT DR. BRIAN GRAY
Dr. Brian Gray has been a leader in new dental technologies for nearly four decades. He is a Master in the Academy of General Dentistry and a fellow in five other academies. He is a member of The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and The American Academy of Restorative Dentistry. Dr. Gray was one of the first dentists to use clear aligners to change people’s smiles and has taught the technique to more than 30,000 doctors over the past 23 years. As an independent clinical evaluator, researcher and consultant, Dr. Gray has contributed to the development and delivery of hundreds of products used in the dental profession on a daily basis. Dr. Gray has given full-day presentations at over 30 dental schools, the Dawson Academy, the Kois Center and for over twenty years at the LD Pankey Institute, where he is currently a faculty member. Dr. Gray is a sought-after contributor to a number of dental journals, national periodicals, magazines, podcasts, and TV shows. He maintains a private, fee-for-service practice in Washington DC.
