Align Technology, a global medical device company that designs, manufactures and sells the Invisalign System of clear aligners, iTero intraoral scanners and exocad CAD/CAM software for digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry, has introduced new innovations across its integrated Align Digital Platform. The updates are designed to help clinicians visualise, plan and deliver treatment with greater confidence and predictability.
Through enhanced visualisation tools for Invisalign case outcomes, streamlined workflows and expanded treatment capabilities, the new features are designed to help clinicians:
• Communicate with patients about oral health conditions and treatment options, to enhance patient education and treatment acceptance
• Plan Invisalign treatments, including ortho-restorative cases, with greater confidence and control through data-driven planning tool
• Treat a broader range of case types with predictable outcomes, enabled by an end-to-end digital workflow
Together, these and other planned innovations reinforce Align’s long-term strategy to move beyond individual products towards connected experiences and outcomes. The company aims to support prevention, early intervention and digitally driven care delivery across dental and orthodontic practices worldwide.
“These latest treatment planning and patient engagement innovations for Invisalign were developed to help our customers visualise treatment options and outcomes, engage with and treat their patients with confidence, and simplify clinical workflows while more fully connecting steps in the digital treatment journey,” said Sreelakshmi Kolli, Align Technology’s executive vice-president and chief product and digital officer. “By streamlining complex processes and integrating every step, we’re helping doctors plan with greater precision, work more efficiently and treat each patient with confidence, delivering even better patient experiences with the predictable Invisalign treatment outcomes doctors and their patients expect.”
Visualise and engage
“One of the most valuable aspects of these digital planning tools is the ability to show patients the complete picture,” said Dr Lovedeep Randhawa, a general dentist based in British Columbia, Canada. “By integrating the iTero Lumina scan with the Gumlines viewing tool, Invisalign Outcome Simulator Pro and Invisalign Smile Architect, I can help patients understand how tooth position, gingival architecture, bite, function and restorative needs are interconnected and influence their long-term oral health. When they can clearly visualise those relationships, the conversation shifts from cosmetic improvements to long-term oral health outcomes, helping them understand why treatment is recommended and make informed decisions with confidence.”
The Align Oral Health Suite now features AI-powered Align X-ray Insights integration and a new gumline tool, helping clinicians more clearly identify and explain oral health conditions, such as interproximal cavities and potential gum recession.
Invisalign Outcome Simulator Pro, Align’s next-generation in-face patient simulation tool, now includes interactive enhancements such as Arch controls and Occlusogram. The features are designed to support more informed Invisalign treatment discussions by illustrating different treatment approaches and the patient’s occlusion.
The 3D Tissue Animation feature in ClinCheck treatment planning software enables clinicians to simulate changes to each patient’s facial soft tissue by the end of Invisalign treatment. This helps them assess aesthetic outcomes and communicate potential changes in facial profile, lip support and smile to patients in a more engaging way.
“With 3D Tissue Animation, I can help patients visualise potential Invisalign treatment-related changes through a highly personalised 3D view of their own face and smile,” said Dr Marta Baird, an orthodontist from California and a participant in the limited market release. “Seeing potential outcomes through the lens of their own facial anatomy brings an entirely new dimension to patient education. It transforms complex orthodontic concepts into meaningful conversations, helping my patients better understand treatment goals, engage more actively in the decision-making process and move forward with greater confidence.”
“These digital tools have been a game changer for how I interact with Invisalign patients. When I can show patients exactly what I see, it helps guide our conversation,” said Dr Manal Ibrahim, an orthodontist in Illinois and a participant in the limited market release. “It’s now much easier for my patients to understand why treatment is recommended, visualise the finish line we are going to achieve and get excited about starting their Invisalign clear aligner journey.”
Simplified and efficient workflows
The latest updates enable more connected and efficient restorative and ortho-restorative workflows to support practice growth.
“From the very first appointment, I can now walk the patient through their periodontal issues using the Gumlines viewing tool, correlate them to potential bone loss using AI-enabled X-rays on Align X-ray Insights and potentially design a crown on the same day using the AI crown feature in iTero Design Suite, all through Align’s interconnected workflow,” said Dr Pablo Ramirez, a specialist prosthodontist based in Spain. “This has transformed my practice.”
Invisalign Smile Architect now offers a preferences template and a Dual Flex prescription option (Dual Flex Rx) to simplify integrated orthodontic-restorative treatment planning.
iTero Design Suite has also been enhanced with AI-powered crown and bridge design and a new AI Splint feature, supporting more efficient same-day restorative workflows.
These new innovations build on recent announcements highlighting the capabilities of Align’s integrated digital platform, including:
• The Invisalign Specifix Attachment System — a 3D-printed attachment solution that combines attachments 3D-printed to the exact shape and size indicated in the clinician’s treatment plan with a novel bonding accessory for precise placement. The Specifix system is designed to reduce variability in attachment size and placement, increase consistency and streamline the attachment workflow.
• Invisalign integrated buttons — a new digital approach to the small, bonded accessories used to anchor elastics and apply targeted forces during treatment. Digitally integrated buttons incorporate button planning into the ClinCheck treatment planning workflow, replacing the standard manual process. With this digital approach, button type and position are determined within the software during treatment planning, helping to reduce chairside guesswork, improve placement accuracy and deliver more flexible, precise and efficient bite correction.
• Invisalign Palatal Expander System with integrated hook features — a further evolution of Align’s 3D-printed palatal expander system, designed to help clinicians treat a broader range of patients with added flexibility. Building on the clinically effective Invisalign Palatal Expander (IPE) System, the new forward- and backward-facing integrated hooks are compatible with elastics, offering intuitive enhancements to palatal expansion treatment.
• Invisalign clear aligner custom trimline option — gives clinicians greater control over aligner gingival margins to support versatility in aesthetics, comfort and clinical flexibility. In cases where clinicians feel there is insufficient retention, they can consider an extended scalloped trimline for short clinical crowns, erupting dentition cases, preferences for fewer attachments, extended tooth coverage in gingival recession and coverage extending to the undercut of the clinical crowns. Integrated directly into the ClinCheck digital treatment planning workflow, custom trimlines allow clinicians to personalise aligner design based on individual patient anatomy and treatment.
