Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) executives used a William Blair investor presentation to emphasize the company’s broader digital dentistry platform, positioning Invisalign as part of a workflow that spans consumer engagement, scanning, treatment planning, monitoring and retention.
President and CEO Joe Hogan said Align’s competitive position is not based solely on clear aligners, pointing instead to the company’s ability to connect consumers with doctors and support a digital process from diagnosis through treatment. He said 95% of Align cases are now scanned, compared with 5% about 10 years ago.
Hogan said the company can produce treatment plans quickly for a growing portion of patients, with about 20% to 25% of cases completed live in the chair and moved toward manufacturing with limited back-and-forth. He said many ClinCheck cases that previously took up to two weeks are now completed in a day, and it is “odd” to see them take more than two or three days.
Executives Highlight Teen and Early-Intervention Opportunity
Hogan said roughly 75% of global malocclusions involve crooked teeth, but the market is weighted toward teens while Align’s business is weighted toward adults. He said Align’s case mix is approximately 73% adults and 23% teens, a gap he attributed to orthodontists’ continued use of wires and brackets rather than clinical limitations of Invisalign.
Align is targeting younger patients through early-intervention products, including Invisalign Teen and Invisalign Palatal Expander. Hogan described the younger “tween” population as the company’s most compliant patient group because children at that age are still responsive to parental direction and bone is more malleable.
Hogan said Invisalign Palatal Expander is a removable device and the first 3D-printed medical orthodontic device of its kind. He said the product can provide up to nearly seven millimeters of expansion, while the teen product can provide five millimeters. Align also expects a new 3D-printed Vivera retainer to begin entering the market in the third and fourth quarters of this year, according to Hogan.
AI and ClinCheck Are Central to Treatment Planning
Chief Financial Officer John Morici said Align’s ClinCheck platform is supported by the company’s experience with more than 23 million cases, allowing it to learn doctors’ treatment tendencies and apply those preferences to new cases. He said the goal is to provide a treatment plan while the patient is still in the chair, helping doctors have a more immediate conversation with potential patients.
Hogan said Align has invested heavily in ClinCheck since moving the system from individual computers to servers and the cloud in 2021. He said features such as ClinCheck Live Plan, Plan Editor and global clinical preferences allow doctors to adjust plans, incorporate their own protocols and send cases to manufacturing faster.
Morici said the company is also using AI tools in Invisalign Virtual Care to monitor patient progress. Hogan said virtual monitoring can reduce patient office visits by about 30% to 35% by allowing patients to submit weekly images and receive guidance on whether they are tracking to plan.
Digital Dentistry and General Practitioner Adoption
Hogan said the general practitioner opportunity is significant because many dentists historically were not taught how to move teeth in dental school. Align is trying to bring those capabilities to general dentists through sales, training and key opinion leaders.
Executives framed malocclusion treatment as part of broader oral health rather than only aesthetics. Hogan said teeth that do not align properly can wear over time, and Morici said digital scans can help dentists show patients issues such as tooth wear, cavities or restorative needs.
Hogan also emphasized visualization as a key part of modern dentistry, saying patients should be able to see scans and understand what is happening with their teeth. Morici said visualization tools, including before-and-after treatment videos, can help doctors improve conversion. Hogan said showing video can produce a roughly 50% higher close rate.
Restorative Dentistry and exocad Integration
Align also discussed its advanced restorative treatment initiative, Invisalign Art, which uses tooth movement to make some restorative procedures less invasive. Hogan said the approach can help move teeth “out of harm’s way” before procedures such as veneers or implants, potentially reducing the need to grind down enamel.
Hogan tied the initiative to Align’s 2020 acquisition of exocad, a software business used by dental labs. He said Align uses exocad to embed ClinCheck tooth movement into restorative planning so labs and doctors can present patients with options, including taking additional months to move teeth rather than grinding them down.
Business Models Focus on Conversion and Flexibility
Morici said Align is also developing business models intended to help doctors drive patient conversion, especially in the current economic environment. He highlighted a doctor subscription program that allows practices to commit to a certain number of cases or aligners, including aligners used for retention or minor “touch-up” cases.
Morici also pointed to patient financing as a way to reduce “financial friction.” He said Align does not take the end risk on financing but partners with external companies, citing HFD as an example. He said such arrangements can offer high approval rates, pre-qualification and upfront cash for practices while reducing collection burdens.
The company also discussed a comprehensive product without refinements included upfront, giving doctors flexibility to purchase additional service later if needed. Morici said the model started with Dental Service Organizations and has helped drive utilization by lowering initial pricing for customers that do not want service included at the outset.
Morici said Align is focused on using technology, product options and financing tools to drive conversion, particularly in the U.S. market. “You want to hit those potential patients in the moment and drive that conversion,” he said.
About Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN)
Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN) pioneered the use of digital technology in orthodontics through the development of the Invisalign system, a series of clear, removable aligners that provide an alternative to traditional metal braces. Since its founding in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, the Tempe, Arizona–based company has expanded its focus to include intraoral scanners, CAD/CAM software for dental laboratories and comprehensive digital dentistry solutions.
The company's signature Invisalign system leverages 3D imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) to create customized aligners that gradually reposition teeth, improving patient comfort and treatment predictability.
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