FOR PROVIDERS
Case submission requirements
Everything you need to submit a clear aligner case for planning. Get the records right the first time and your case moves straight into treatment planning. Use this as your pre-submission checklist, then create the case on the design platform.
AT A GLANCE
What a complete submission includes
- An accurate full-arch record, a clean digital scan
- The standard set of eight quality-control photos
- A complete treatment prescription (Rx) stating your goals and instructions
- The records packaged as a .zip file named with the patient’s name, ready to create the case on the design platform
RECORDS
Accurate records
Submit a clean, full-arch digital scan, capturing clear margins and a true bite. The records are the foundation the whole case is planned on, so quality here prevents avoidable refinements later. Distortions, voids or missing margins lead to ill-fitting aligners and avoidable refinements, so getting records right the first time saves time for everyone.
Digital scan guidelines
- Capture 2 to 4 mm of gingival tissue, follow the manufacturer’s ortho and arch scanning guidelines, capture the patient’s natural bite accurately, including a natural edge-to-edge bite where present, and rescan if there’s debris or missing anatomy.
File formats
Intra-oral scans can be exported as .stl files for third-party software, or sent through the free Connect Case Centre. To create a case you submit a .zip file containing your quality-control images and, or, scans, named with the patient’s name (for example patient_name.zip).
For the detail on scanning technique, see the scan strategy guide and the digital scan quality guide.
PHOTOS
Quality-control photos
Provide the standard clinical photo set so the plan reflects the real smile, not just the scan. Eight photos are required.
External (3)
- Profile repose
- Frontal repose
- Frontal smiling
Intra-oral, with cheek retractors (5)
- Lower arch (open mouth)
- Upper arch (open mouth)
- Right buccal (teeth together)
- Anterior (teeth together)
- Left buccal (teeth together)
Photo quality
- Choose a solid, light background and stand in front of the patient
- Centre the face and teeth; keep the patient away from the background to avoid shadows
- Tie long hair back and make sure nothing obscures the teeth
- Check focus, exposure, that all teeth are present, and watch for reflections
PRESCRIPTION
A complete prescription
Include a complete treatment prescription stating your treatment goals and any specific instructions. The clearer the brief, the closer the proposed plan will be to what you want. The prescription form for clear aligner design covers your instructions for each case, including general and patient information, the anterior and posterior relation, levelling, overjet and overbite, periodontal status, midline and tooth size, the treatment specification (5-5 or 7-7, IPR, attachments), posterior crossbite and any additional comments for the planners.
The doctor is solely responsible for the completion and interpretation of x-rays and other diagnostic records.
CONSENT
Patient consent
Ensure signed patient informed consent is in place before treatment, and a photo release if any images will be used beyond the clinical record. Dentist-led means properly consented from the start. The informed consent covers the Active Aligners process, duration, benefits and the risks the patient needs to understand, so the patient can give informed consent before starting.
SUBMIT
Package and submit
Only the dental professional’s login can create a new case for that practice on the platform. The case is created on the design portal, where the lab adds your scans and treatment planning begins.
Details for submitting scans to the lab can be found in your information emails received once onboarded as a provider.
By South African law, nothing can be manufactured without a lab slip.
Related resources
Submitting your first case?
Follow the step-by-step getting-started guide, or explore the full Doctor’s Library.