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Alignodontic DPS

Digital indirect bonding tray design to your bracket prescription

Indirect bonding moves the precision of bracket placement from the chair to the screen. Each bracket is positioned virtually on the segmented scan, to the prescription you use and the height and angulation you specify, and you review the placement tooth by tooth before any tray is made. Once you approve, a transfer tray is designed to carry the brackets to the mouth in exactly those positions: a printable tray in one or two layers, split or full-arch, trimmed to the gingival margins you want. A debonding model set at the end of treatment is prepared on request. What the service delivers is the placement, the tray geometry and the documentation; the brackets, the printing and the bonding remain with you and your laboratory.

Submit your caseHow it works

What is included

  • Virtual bracket placement to your prescription: MBT, Roth or a custom prescription, with slot height, angulation and in-out set per tooth
  • FA-point or custom placement heights, with the bracket library your laboratory stocks or a generic geometry where the exact bracket is not available digitally
  • A tooth-by-tooth placement review in the browser, with comments attached to the tooth and each revision issued as a new version
  • Printable transfer trays as STL: full-arch or segmented, single-layer or dual-layer, with the tray extent and trimming you specify
  • A placement chart listing each bracket's tooth, height and offsets, for chairside verification
  • Debonding-stage models on request: the arches at the planned finish, prepared for retainer fabrication

What we need from you

  • Upper and lower intraoral scans as open meshes (STL, PLY or OBJ), covering the full clinical crowns and the gingival margin
  • A bite scan or registration
  • Your bracket prescription (MBT, Roth or custom values), the bracket system and slot size, and the placement heights you use
  • Which teeth are to be bonded, any teeth to skip, and any custom positions (for example, intentional offsets for intrusion or extrusion)
  • Your tray preference: full-arch or segmented, single or dual layer, and how far the tray should extend gingivally
  • Your laboratory's printer and resin, so the tray is dimensioned for the material it will be printed in
  • A case reference of your own choosing, not a patient name

Use a case reference of your own rather than a patient name. The planning team does not need to know who the patient is. Which files are required

How this service runs

  1. Scan check

    The scans are checked for full crown coverage and a clean gingival margin, which the tray edge depends on.

  2. Bracket placement

    Each bracket is positioned to your prescription and heights, with the long axis of each tooth as the reference.

  3. Doctor review

    You review the placement tooth by tooth in the browser and comment where you want a bracket moved.

  4. Revision

    Your comments become a new version. The earlier placement is kept for comparison.

  5. Approval

    You approve the placement. No tray is designed before that.

  6. Tray design and export

    The transfer tray is generated to your specification and exported with the placement chart in the format your laboratory uses.

How the planning is done

Placing a bracket on a segmented scan

A bracket placed at the chair is judged against the tooth as it appears with cheeks retracted, saliva on the enamel and a bracket held in tweezers. Placed on a segmented scan, the same bracket is judged against the whole crown from any angle, with the long axis of the tooth drawn and the height measured rather than estimated. That is the whole argument for indirect bonding: the decision is made where it can be made well, and the tray only carries it to the mouth.

Placement follows your prescription. The slot is set to the height you use, measured from the incisal edge or cusp tip, and the bracket is angulated and rotated to the values of MBT, Roth or your own system. Where you place a bracket deliberately off prescription, for instance a higher slot on a tooth to be intruded, that is entered as your instruction and shown as such in the review.

The bracket geometry used matters for the tray. Where your laboratory's bracket system is available as a digital model, that geometry is used, so the tray's bracket seats match the real bracket base. Where it is not, a generic bracket of the same slot size is used and stated, and the tray seats are designed with the tolerance that requires.

The transfer tray and its edge

Once the placement is approved, the tray is designed as the negative of the arch with the brackets in position: it seats on the teeth, holds each bracket by its wings and base, and releases once the adhesive has set. A full-arch tray transfers everything at once; a segmented tray lets you bond a quadrant at a time and is easier to seat where the arch is crowded. Single-layer trays are stiffer; dual-layer trays with a softer inner layer release from undercuts more easily. Your preference is followed and recorded against the account.

The tray edge is where most bonding problems start. A tray that extends too far over the gingiva is hard to seat fully and traps adhesive; one that stops short of the contact loses retention. The extent is set to your specification, typically a small distance past the height of contour, and the tray is relieved over the interproximal areas so it can be removed without lifting a bracket.

The tray is dimensioned for the printer and resin your laboratory uses, since a tray printed in a rigid resin and one printed in a flexible resin need different wall thicknesses to behave the same way.

Debonding models and what is not included

At the end of treatment, a model set at the planned finish can be prepared from the same case: the arches as they will be after debonding, ready for retainer fabrication or for a comparison with the initial scan. It is produced on request and only from an approved position.

The service does not supply brackets, adhesive, printed trays or the bonding itself. It delivers the placement, the tray geometry, the placement chart and the models, for your laboratory to print and for you to bond. The clinical decision of where each bracket sits, and the responsibility for it, remains with the treating clinician.

Who this is for

  • Orthodontists who want bracket placement decided on the screen and transferred in one appointment
  • General dentists placing fixed appliances under a specialist protocol
  • Dental laboratories printing indirect bonding trays from an approved digital placement

Terms used on this page

The vocabulary a plan is written in, defined once.

Indirect bonding
Placing brackets on a model or scan first, then transferring them to the teeth in a tray, rather than positioning each bracket directly in the mouth.
Transfer tray
A printed or formed tray that holds the brackets in their planned positions and carries them to the teeth for bonding.
FA point
The facial axis point: the midpoint of the clinical crown's facial surface along its long axis, a common reference for bracket height.
Prescription
The set of tip, torque and in-out values built into a bracket system, such as MBT or Roth, or specified by the clinician.
Slot height
The distance from the incisal edge or cusp tip to the bracket slot, which sets the vertical position of the tooth when the wire is fully engaged.
Dual-layer tray
A transfer tray with a soft inner layer that grips the brackets and a stiffer outer layer that holds its shape while seating.
Debonding
Removing the brackets at the end of fixed appliance treatment.

Questions doctors ask

Which bracket prescriptions can you place to?
MBT, Roth, or a custom prescription you supply as slot values per tooth. Placement heights are set to the values you use, and any intentional deviation you ask for is recorded as your instruction.
Can you use my laboratory's bracket system?
Where the system is available as a digital model, yes, and the tray seats are designed to that bracket base. Where it is not, a generic bracket of the same slot size is used and the tray tolerance is set accordingly. The placement chart states which was used.
What tray formats do you deliver?
Printable STL trays, full-arch or segmented, single-layer or dual-layer, with the gingival extent you specify. The tray is dimensioned for the printer and resin your laboratory names.
Do you print the trays or supply the brackets?
No. Alignodontic DPS delivers the placement, the tray geometry and the documentation. Printing, brackets, adhesive and the bonding appointment are yours and your laboratory's.
Can I move a bracket after seeing the placement?
Yes. Comment on the tooth in the browser and the placement comes back as a new version. The tray is designed only from the placement you approve.
What is the debonding model set?
The arches at the planned finish, prepared as printable models for retainer fabrication or for comparison with the initial scan. It is produced on request and only from an approved position.

Related services

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Scans in, plan back, your approval before anything is made.

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