Align Technology, Inc. (“Align”) (Nasdaq: ALGN), a leading global medical device company, designs, manufactures, and sells the Invisalign System of clear aligners, iTero intraoral scanners, and exocad CAD/CAM software for digital orthodontics and restorative dentistry. Align shared highlights from the 2023 Invisalign GP Summit, the company’s premier clinical education and networking experience designed to help doctors transform and grow their practice with Invisalign clear aligners, iTero scanners, and the Align Digital Platform. Over the course of three days, more than 1,000 doctors and practice team members from across North America came together, alongside Align and peer-to-peer speakers, to share treatment and workflow best practices, engage in hands-on experiences to refine clinical skills, and discuss practice growth and marketing strategies.
A key component of the Summit featured recent Align innovations developed to enhance the Invisalign treatment experience across the Align Digital Platform. This proprietary combination of software, systems, and services is designed to provide a seamless experience and workflow that integrates and connects all users – doctors, labs, patients, and consumers.
Together, these technologies further revolutionize digital treatment planning for orthodontics and restorative dentistry. They provide doctors with greater flexibility, real-time treatment plan modification capabilities, and digital solutions to improve practice productivity and enhance the patient experience. Innovations that prominently featured in peer-to-peer presentations included ClinCheck Live Update for 3D controls, Invisalign® Practice App, Invisalign® Personalized Plan (IPP), Invisalign Smile Architect, iTero-exocad Connector, Invisalign Outcome Simulator Pro, and Invisalign Virtual Care AI software. In addition, the importance of incorporating tooth movement prior to restorative procedures for improved restoration quality was a common theme presented by doctors. This approach aims to not only enhance aesthetics but also functionality.
Several upcoming innovations were announced during the Invisalign GP Summit, including the Invisalign Palatal Expander System, Plan Editor, SmartForce attachment-free aligner activation feature, and new software innovations. These innovations will leverage data-driven insights from over 15.7 million Invisalign-treated patients to enhance patient satisfaction, support practice efficiency, and optimize digital practice workflows.
Dr. Mitra Derakhshan, Align senior vice president Global Clinical said, “We appreciate that doctors are focused on clinical excellence that addresses the unique needs of each patient. For that reason, we develop innovations that enable more personalized care and treatment planning, from initial iTero scan and chairside visualization to digital treatment planning to aligner delivery and treatment monitoring. The innovations highlighted at the 2023 Invisalign GP Summit represent a multi-year journey to deliver a customer experience that demonstrates quality and consistency of case set up and enables doctors to provide a highly customized Invisalign treatment experience and superior clinical outcomes whether for orthodontics alone or tooth movement in combination with restorative procedures.”
“Innovations from Align have transformed the way I practice dentistry and enabled me to achieve the highest-level clinical outcome together with maximum convenience for my dental practice and patients,” said Dr. David Galler, a dentist originally from New York City who has been at the forefront of innovations with Align. “I’m able to apply my specific treatment preferences with IPP and ClinCheck Live Update for 3D controls, help patients visualize their future smile with the iTero scanner, and quickly begin the workflow toward Invisalign aligner delivery and then monitor Invisalign treatment progress with Invisalign Virtual Care AI.”
Dr. Galler’s presentation at the 2023 Invisalign GP Summit brought his treatment workflows to life on stage and demonstrated how he uses Invisalign System and iTero scanner innovations to provide excellent patient treatment experiences from first scan through Invisalign treatment and retention with Vivera retainers.
A description and link to more information about the recent Align Digital Platform innovations is provided below:
- ClinCheck Live Update for 3D controls [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-continues-revolutionize-orthodontic-and] – enables real-time ClinCheck treatment plan modifications that improve practice productivity significantly, while also improving quality of treatment plans
- Invisalign Practice App [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-continues-revolutionize-orthodontic-and] – provides mobile integration with the Invisalign Doctor Site (IDS) and enables doctors to manage their practice at their fingertips.
- Invisalign Personalized Plan (IPP) [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-continues-revolutionize-orthodontic-and] – automatically applies a doctor’s specific treatment preferences for comprehensive cases, enhancing efficiency and step-changing treatment planning consistency.
- Invisalign Smile Architect software [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-continues-revolutionize-orthodontic-and] – is designed for GP dentists to create and visualize orthodontic-restorative treatment plans for their patients using iTero digital scans, and wide-smile photo on the Invisalign Go platform.
- Invisalign® Palatal Expander System [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-introduces-invisalignr-palatal-expander-system] – Align’s first direct 3D printed orthodontic device and provides a safe, comfortable, and clinically effective* alternative to metal palatal expanders that require manually turning a screw in the device in the mouth daily to achieve expansion. Not commercially available. Pending 510(k) clearance in the US.
- Plan Editor in ClinCheck® treatment planning software [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-introduces-invisalignr-system-innovation] – a new tool in the Plan stage of the Align digital workflow enables enhanced flexibility and customization in Invisalign treatment planning for Invisalign trained orthodontists and general practitioner (GP) dentists.
- SmartForce attachment-free aligner activation feature [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-introduces-new-smartforcetm-attachment-free] – reduces the need for attachments and offers a more aesthetic solution for an enhanced Invisalign patient experience. Feature under development. Not commercially available.
- New software innovations [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-introduces-new-software-innovations-designed] – to accelerate digital practice transformation.
- Customer Education and Training [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-launches-customer-education-and-training-center] – new customer education and training center in Toronto, Canada to promote professional engagement and training about Invisalign clear aligners, iTero scanners and the Align Digital Platform for Align customers.
- Vivera Retainer Subscription Direct Ship to Patient feature [link: https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-introduces-new-vivera-retainer-doctor-enabled] – creates a more patient friendly workflow for doctors to offer retainers to their patients and reduces the need for patients to make time consuming unnecessary trips to their doctor’s office to pick up their repeat Vivera retainer orders.
About Align Technology, Inc.
Align Technology designs and manufactures the Invisalign System, the most advanced clear aligner system in the world, iTero intraoral scanners and services, and exocad CAD/CAM software. These technology building blocks enable enhanced digital orthodontic and restorative workflows to improve patient outcomes and practice efficiencies for approximately 247 thousand doctor customers and are key to accessing Align’s 500 million consumer market opportunity worldwide. Over the past 26 years, Align has helped doctors treat over 15.7 million patients with the Invisalign System and is driving the evolution in digital dentistry through the Align Digital Platform, our integrated suite of unique, proprietary technologies and services delivered as a seamless, end-to-end solution for patients and consumers, orthodontists and GP dentists, and lab/partners. Visit www.aligntech.com for more information.
For additional information about the Invisalign System or to find an Invisalign doctor in your area, please visit www.invisalign.com. For additional information about the iTero digital scanning system, please visit www.itero.com. For additional information about exocad dental CAD/CAM offerings and a list of exocad reseller partners, please visit www.exocad.com.
Invisalign, iTero, exocad, Align, and Align Digital Platform are trademarks of Align Technology, Inc.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash.
