NEWS

Newark dentist develops new braces accessory

Emily Maddern
emaddern@newarkadvocate.com

NEWARK – Dr. Sy Viet Nguyen knows braces are not always the most fun experience for youths.

Time and time again, he has heard from his young clients at his dental practice, Central Ohio Dental Spa, that they don’t want to wear them anymore.

But he thinks he might have come up with an idea to get them to enjoy their metal mouths a little more. He calls them Bracees, rubber accessories that can be placed on top of orthodontic brackets, giving youths the chance to personalize their braces in a new way.

Bracees could feature anything from colorful shapes and letters to stars, hearts, sports symbols and more.

“When you have braces, you usually come in to change your colors every three or four weeks, and you can only have two colors,” Nguyen said. “I think Bracees can make them more fun and maybe kids won’t complain as much about having to have braces.”

Nguyen grew up in Coshocton, and knew he wanted to be a dentist since his senior year in high school. He went on to attend Ohio State University to obtain his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.

He has been practicing for 15 years at his office in Newark, at 1509 W. Main St., as well as at an office in Columbus.

It was about seven years ago that he first got the idea for Bracees. He pitched the idea to his daughters to see what they thought, and they loved the idea so much they even helped him create the mock-up designs.

The idea sat on the back burner for several years before Nguyen decided it was time to give it a try.

“I thought, if I don’t do this now, someone else will. I didn’t want to see it out there in two years and regret it,” he said. “There’s a chance it could be just some trendy thing for a few years, but I think they will still be relevant because they can be changed and we can make new designs.”

Nguyen turned to Kickstarter to get Bracees off the ground. He hopes to raise $10,000 to develop and manufacture his product, and he is committed to finding someone locally to provide those services.

He envisions selling Bracees in packs of 20 to 50. Users will be able to snap them on to wear during the day and then discard them at night. Because they are so easy to apply, youths would be able to change their brackets to match their outfits or mood for the day.

Whether or not he reaches his goal on Kickstarter, Nguyen is determined to make his dream a reality.

“I’m interested to see what kind of feedback I get now that the idea is out there. I think it’s going to happen if I get funded or not. I’m going to make it happen,” he said.

emaddern@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8513

Twitter: @emmaddern

Help Support Bracees

Dr. Sy Viet Nguyen is raising money to fund Bracees on Kickstarter. To make a donation, visit www.kickstarter.com and search for Bracees. Learn more about Bracees at www.bracees.com.