The tool accepts two industry-standard 3D mesh formats:
The model loads instantly with a real-time 3D preview. Use your mouse to orbit (left-click drag), zoom (scroll wheel), and pan (right-click drag).
The core purpose of this tool is to shrink the dental model so that when a clear aligner is thermoformed over it, the aligner fits snugly on the patient's actual teeth and applies controlled force for tooth movement.
Scales the entire model uniformly toward its center point. All vertices are multiplied by the scale factor (e.g., 99.9% means multiply by 0.999).
Moves every vertex inward along its surface normal by the exact same distance. This means every point on the tooth surface moves inward by exactly the offset value.
Expected initial force per anterior tooth based on uniform inward offset:
| Offset | Force (per tooth) | Category | Clinical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.05 mm | 40 – 100 g | Very Light | Retainers, minor corrections, sensitive patients |
| 0.10 mm | 70 – 160 g | Optimum Snug | Perfect default — ideal retention + light continuous force |
| 0.15 mm | 110 – 220 g | Moderate | Standard active treatment |
| 0.20 mm | 150 – 300 g | Heavy | Short-term or stronger movements (test seating carefully) |
| 0.25 mm | 190 – 380 g | Very Heavy | High risk of discomfort or incomplete seating |
| 0.30 mm | 230 – 480+ g | Excessive | Generally avoid — may prevent full seating |
After conversion, use the View Mode dropdown in the Professional Fit Preview panel:
Adjust the transparency of the uploaded model and aligner shell independently. Useful for inspecting how the shell sits on specific tooth surfaces.
After conversion, click the "Surface Deviation Heatmap" button in the Fit Preview panel. The tooth mesh is color-coded by how much each vertex moved during shrinkage:
A legend bar shows the exact min and max displacement values in mm. For uniform offset, the map should appear mostly uniform. For percentage scaling, outer regions will show higher displacement.
Click the "Measure" button on the 3D preview toolbar. Your cursor changes to a crosshair. Click two points on the model surface to measure the distance between them in mm.
After conversion, a full-width comparison table appears showing original vs converted values for vertices, faces, bounding box dimensions, surface area, and volume — each with a color-coded delta showing the exact change and percentage difference.
Click the "Screenshot" button in the preview panel header to capture the current 3D view. A modal opens with the capture and metadata overlay (file name, date, offset, mesh stats). Click "Download PNG" to save a composite image suitable for patient records.
Every conversion in your current session is logged in the History panel at the bottom of the page. It shows the file name, offset used, bounding box before/after, timestamp, and a re-download link for each export.
Each account starts with a limited number of free conversions. When you run out:
No. All 3D processing happens entirely in your browser. Your scan files never leave your computer. The only server communication is for authentication and conversion count tracking.
There is no hard limit. The tool handles files up to several hundred MB depending on your device's available memory. Typical dental scans (5–50 MB) load in under a second.
For retainers, use 0.05 mm (very light) — just enough for a snug hold without active force. For active treatment aligners, 0.10–0.15 mm is the clinical standard. Avoid 0.20 mm+ unless you have specific clinical justification.
Percentage scaling shrinks toward the center, so vertices farther from the center (e.g., posterior molars) move more in absolute mm than vertices closer to the center (anterior teeth). This is expected. For truly uniform shrinkage, use the mm offset mode instead.
Yes — during your current session, all conversions appear in the History panel with a "Re-download" link. Note that history is cleared when you close or refresh the page.
A non-watertight mesh has open edges or holes. While it can still be converted and printed, some 3D printers or slicer software may have issues. Most intraoral scanners produce watertight meshes. If yours doesn't, consider running a mesh repair tool before uploading.
Email us at support@alignersconsultancy.com or visit www.alignersconsultancy.com.