In 1997, Align Technology, today known as Invisalign, was born, thanks to the idea of Stanford University students Zia Chishti, Kelsey Wirth, Apostolos Lerios and Brian Freyburger. Chishti was at the orthodontist getting his braces removed, and afterwards was given a retainer to keep his teeth straight and from moving. When Zia received his retainer, he realized that a retainer similar to his might be just as effective straightening teeth as a set of traditional metal braces. The idea came after seeing how painful and unattractive metal braces actually were. He thought to himself about how he could possibly develop a better, quicker, and less painful way to get straighter teeth, and another form of dental alignment technology was born.