With IcyOrtho™, Dr. Melissa Jones and Ariel Jones are bringing the language of fine jewelry, personal style, and cultural expression to an unexpected place: orthodontics.
By Simone Laurent
Fashion has never confined itself to clothing.
It lives in the architecture of a handbag, the flash of a watch beneath a cuff, the shape of an eyeglass frame, the stones chosen for a ring, and the details that make something functional feel entirely personal. Increasingly, beauty and dentistry are entering that same conversation. A smile is no longer viewed only through the lens of health. For many consumers, it is also part of the total aesthetic.
Dr. Melissa Jones and Ariel Jones are betting that orthodontics is next.
The mother-daughter cofounders of IcyOrtho™ are reimagining one of dentistry’s most familiar appliances—the retainer—by introducing precious metals, fine stones, craftsmanship, and customization to a space historically defined almost exclusively by clinical function.
The concept feels particularly suited to a moment when the boundaries between fashion, beauty, wellness, and personal identity have become increasingly fluid. Fine jewelry is stacked and layered. Sneakers are collected like art. Eyewear changes with an outfit. Even technology is dressed in designer cases and accessories.
Why, the Joneses wondered, should something worn inside the mouth for years remain untouched by that same desire for individuality?
For Dr. Jones, who graduated from Howard University’s College of Dentistry in 1996, the idea began with the patient rather than the runway.
What made you look at the traditional retainer and see something more?
Dr. Melissa Jones: For years, orthodontics has focused primarily on function—and of course, function and oral health have to come first. But I started thinking about what happens when treatment ends. Patients wear retainers for years, sometimes for life, yet we’ve never really given them the opportunity to make that appliance feel personal.
With IcyOrtho™, we saw an opportunity to bring together proper orthodontic function, craftsmanship, precious metals and fine stones in a way that allows patients to see their retainer differently. Instead of something they simply have to wear, why can’t it also be something they’re excited to wear?
That question places IcyOrtho™ within a broader fashion tradition: taking an object created for utility and allowing design to change the relationship a consumer has with it.
Does bringing fashion into orthodontics change the way we should think about a dental appliance?
Dr. Jones: Dentistry has changed tremendously. Today’s patients are much more involved in how they want to look and how they express themselves, and cosmetic dentistry has become a major part of the profession.
IcyOrtho™ takes that evolution into orthodontics. We’re showing that an orthodontic appliance can maintain its clinical purpose while also incorporating luxury, design and individuality.
The innovation is in bringing two worlds together that traditionally have been separate: orthodontic appliances and luxury jewelry design.
If Dr. Jones provides the clinical foundation, Ariel Jones is focused on the cultural proposition behind the brand.
And culturally, the timing is notable.
Grillz have traveled from music subcultures to fashion editorials and red carpets. Tooth gems have found an audience among a new generation of beauty consumers. Jewelry is becoming increasingly individualized, while luxury itself is moving away from simply displaying a recognizable label toward owning something that feels uniquely one’s own.
Ariel, where does IcyOrtho™ fit within this movement toward hyper-personal style?
Ariel Jones: We aren’t treating personalization as an afterthought—it’s the foundation of the brand. Consumers personalize everything now, and with the evolution of cosmetic dentistry due to the rise in popularity of diamond dentistry, we’re following the natural evolution of consumer demand and carrying it over to orthodontic products.
We saw a specific gap and honestly took a chance in predicting the future relevance of our product. IcyOrtho™ gives patients the ability to take something associated with mundane treatment and make it feel like an extension of their personal style.
That distinction—an extension of personal style—is important.
Fashion has always provided a visual vocabulary for identity. The difference now is that younger consumers appear increasingly willing to use virtually every available surface to communicate it.
Are younger consumers changing what qualifies as a fashion or beauty accessory?
Ariel: Younger consumers don’t separate fashion, beauty, wellness and identity the way previous generations did. Everything they wear or purchase can become part of how they express themselves, especially because so much of their lives is documented visually through social media.
We’re also seeing dental aesthetics become much more connected to popular culture. Grillz, tooth gems, cosmetic dentistry and other forms of dental expression have become part of fashion conversations.
Still, the founders draw a deliberate line between inspiration from jewelry and the clinical responsibility of creating an orthodontic product.
Ariel: We’re building it from within the dental industry and keeping dental professionals involved in the process. That allows us to speak the language of culture without losing the professional foundation and integrity behind the product.
It is precisely that collision of worlds that makes the concept intriguing: dentist and designer, appliance and adornment, treatment and taste.
And both women envision something larger than a single product.
What does IcyOrtho™ become if the vision works?
Dr. Jones: Long term, I see IcyOrtho™ becoming its own category within dentistry and orthodontics. The goal isn’t simply to create a beautiful retainer—it’s to help establish an entirely new luxury segment within orthodontics.
Ariel: My vision is much bigger than selling a product. We want to build IcyOrtho™ into a recognizable category and create an ecosystem around it.
Fashion, sport, music and youth culture cross borders, and those are all spaces where personal expression matters.
Ultimately, I want someone to hear “luxury orthodontics” and immediately think IcyOrtho™.
Fashion has spent generations proving that function does not have to come at the expense of beauty. IcyOrtho™ is proposing that the same philosophy can extend somewhere new.
After all, if a watch can tell time and still be jewelry, perhaps a retainer can do its job and still make a statement.
CREDITS
Brand Manager + Public Relations: An Officer and Gentlewoman, LLC @AOAGWLLC
Creative Director/Co-Founder, House of Melz: Ariel Jones @ARIELTHEBRAND
Dentist/Co-Founder, Melz: Dr. Melissa “Melz” Jones @MELZ.GRILLZ
Photographer: QualityLenz @QUALITYLENZ
Hair Stylist: @_FRENCHYDOLLFACE
Makeup Artist: Dominique Davis @MAKEUPBYDOMM
AOAGWLLC Client + PR
Coordinator: Erika Barnes @ERIKA.ROCHELLE
