Align Technology, Inc. shared a preview of what orthodontists and their teams can expect from the Company (booth #1643) during the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) 2026 Annual Session, taking place May 1?3, 2026, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Align's presence at AAO 2026 builds on meaningful innovation and disciplined execution across the Align Digital Platform, including advances in digitally enabled end-to-end workflows that elevate clinical quality, improve predictability, and enhance the everyday treatment experience for orthodontists and their patients. In addition to a full range of recent innovations, the Align booth at AAO will preview three innovations expected for mid-2026 designed to bring digital precision to procedures that have traditionally been planned and executed manually at chairside.
The Invisalign Specifix Attachment System is a 3D printed attachment solution that combines attachments 3D printed to the shape and size indicated in the doctor?s treatment plan with an accessory for bonding the attachments and/or engagement features to apply force for tooth movement during orthodontic treatment of malocclusion, and/or for retention of Align orthodontic appliances. The Invisalign Specifix attachment system is designed to reduce the variability of attachment size and placement, increase consistency of placement, and streamline the attachment workflow. Invisalign integrated buttons represent a new approach to incorporate the small, bonded accessories used to anchor elastics and apply targeted forces during treatment.
Digitally integrated buttons will incorporate button planning into the ClinCheck treatment planning workflow vs. the standard manual process of planning and placement. With a new digital approach, button type and position are determined digitally during treatment planning to help reduce chairside guesswork, improve placement accuracy, and support the delivery of a more flexible, precise and efficient bite correction.
Invisalign Palatal Expander with integrated hook features is designed to help doctors to treat a broader range of cases with added flexibility. Building on the clinically effective 3D printed Invisalign Palatal Expander system, the new forward and backward facing integrated hooks are compatible with elastics, offering intuitive enhancements to palatal expansion treatment. Together, doctors now can expand this innovation to broader range of complex cases.
In the Align booth, AAO 2026 attendees can experience the full breadth of the Align Digital Platform: Expanding What's Possible for Kids and Teens with the Invisalign portfolio: Invisalign First digital workflows for early interceptive care through complex teen cases, including the Invisalign Palatal Expander with hooks and the Invisalign System with Mandibular Advancement featuring Occlusal Blocks (MAOB). Precision Treatment Planning within the ClinCheck Platform: The ClinCheck Signature experience, offering a faster, more tailored planning process with enhanced visualization and 3D controls designed to reduce revisions and support predictable outcomes. Next-Generation Scanning with iTero Lumina Scanner: Hands-on access to iTero Lumina scanner featuring a 3x larger field of capture, and delivering faster scanning speed, higher accuracy, superior visualization, and a more comfortable scanning experience.
Invisalign Smile Video which helps patients see their simulated smile post treatment to aid with patient case acceptance. Driving Practice Growth with a Flexible Portfolio: Treatment options from comprehensive to mild and retention, including Pay-As-You-Go, Pay Per Aligner, and Doctor Subscription programs. Leading orthodontist-led education: More than 24 hours of booth clinical education led by leading orthodontists, including interactive Ask the Expert sessions running Friday through Sunday. Align's presence at AAO 2026 builds on meaningful innovation and disciplined execution across the Align Digital Platform, including advances in digitally enabled end-to-end workflows that elevate clinical quality, improve predictability, and enhance the everyday treatment experience for orthodontists and their patients.
Core areas of progress include: Advancing digital orthodontic workflows that connect scanning, visualization, treatment planning, appliance manufacturing, monitoring, and retention into a unified experience powered by the Align Digital Platform. Continued leadership in digital manufacturing and 3D printing, enabling consistent, high-quality Invisalign aligner production at global scale while supporting speed and reliability for orthodontic practices. Ongoing investment in automation, designed to help doctors work more efficiently while maintaining clinical oversight and control as case complexity and practice scale increases.
Expansion of diagnostic and visualization capabilities, supporting earlier intervention, improved patient understanding, and more confident treatment planning across a broader range of malocclusions and growth patterns. Scaling of integrated solutions, reflecting growing adoption of digitally connected orthodontic workflows in diverse practice models. Independent validation of the Invisalign Palatal Expander (IPE) A clinical study by researchers at the University of Insubria, Italy found that the Invisalign Palatal Expander (IPE) was shown to effectively widen the upper jaw by opening the natural growth seam in the palate, achieving bone and bite changes similar to a traditional metal Hyrax expander.
IPE also delivered more controlled and predictable results than Hyrax. These findings support use of IPE as a reliable option for growing patients and highlight its role as an important step toward fully digital orthodontic care. Together, these and planned innovations reinforce Align?s long-term strategy to move beyond individual products toward connected experiences and outcomes, supporting prevention, early intervention, and digitally driven care delivery across orthodontic practices worldwide.
While not featured at AAO, Align has also embarked on limited-market-release (LMR) of a custom trimline option that gives doctors greater control over aligner gingival margins to support improved aesthetics, comfort, and clinical flexibility. In cases where doctors 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 in extending to include the undercut of the clinical crowns. Integrated directly into the ClinCheck digital treatment planning workflow, custom trim lines allow doctors to personalize aligner design based on individual patient anatomy and treatment needs.
