True Blue

Cleaning up clear aligners.

Palm trees and surfboards set a beachy vibe in Dr. William Crutchfield II’s office. But the Chantilly orthodontist has taken his love of the ocean a step further by cofounding Clear Blue Smiles, a new, eco-friendly clear aligner business. The company uses biodegradable packaging and recycles used plastic aligners, which patients receive about every two weeks to move their teeth incrementally. 

Clear Blue also donates $100 for every patient to the Ocean Blue Project, which focuses on cleaning up and improving the health of oceans and other bodies of water. Crutchfield says it costs about $1 to remove a pound of plastic from the ocean. Clear Blue Smiles will contribute enough money to remove 100 times the amount of plastic used in every patient’s clear aligner treatment. “We feel like we have a social responsibility,” he says. “Our concern was all the plastic that’s being dumped into our waterways.” ClearBlueSmiles.com