From scan to treatment setup
Every aligner treatment starts as a digital setup. The intraoral scans are cleaned, the teeth are segmented into individual units, and the software builds a virtual model where each tooth can be moved independently. The designer then plans the route from the malocclusion to the target position — not as one movement, but as a series of small, staged steps.
This staging is the heart of aligner design. Move each tooth too far per stage and the aligner will not seat; move too little and treatment drags on with unnecessary stages.
Staging rules that keep treatment realistic
Professional setups follow movement limits per stage so the trays can actually express the planned movement:
- Rotations and extrusions kept small per stage, as they are the least predictable movements
- Difficult movements spread over more stages with anchorage support
- Interproximal reduction (IPR) planned where crowding needs space, with amounts and surfaces specified
- Attachments placed where grip is needed for rotations, extrusions or root control
Attachments and IPR planning
Attachments are small composite shapes bonded to the teeth that give the aligner something to push against. Their position, size and orientation are designed per tooth and per movement. IPR is documented with exact amounts per contact, so the clinician knows precisely how much enamel to remove and where.
Both are part of the design file the clinician approves before production — nothing is left to improvisation at the chair.
What the lab or clinic receives
Once the setup is approved, the output is a series of print-ready models — one STL per stage — plus the treatment plan showing movements, IPR and attachment placement. The models are printed, the aligners are thermoformed over them, and each tray corresponds to one step of the approved plan.
If you want to offer aligners without designing setups in-house, send us the scans and the treatment goals: we return the staged setup for your approval and the print-ready models. See our clear aligner design service for the details.