We’re delighted to share that Cardiff University School of Dentistry has chosen OrthoLab as its de facto digital teaching aid for orthodontic clear aligner planning. As one of the UK’s leading dental schools and research institutions, Cardiff is known for pioneering the use of technology in dental education—making this partnership an important milestone in OrthoLab’s mission to modernise, treatment planning workflows, starting with how it is taught and delivered.
OrthoLab is now being used across the School’s undergraduate and postgraduate clear aligner courses to support students to learn clear aligners, their orthodontic fundamentals, and modern approaches to treatment planning. With its intelligent automation and on-the-fly case exploration tools, the platform enables students to visualise and explore a wide range of clinical scenarios in real time.
At the heart of OrthoLab is an advanced AI-enabled treatment engine that automatically generates aligner treatment plans from intraoral scans based on both patient-specific considerations and robust clinical guidelines. This means students are not only exposed to ‘ideal’ textbook cases, but can also review real-life variability, understand limitations of tooth movement, and explore staging, anchorage and predictability — all in a matter of clicks.
In an educational setting, this brings clear advantages supporting students to learn clear aligners:
Rapid case visualisation: Load scans, simulate plans, and compare treatment options in real time.
Hands-on learning: Students can adjust clinical targets on-the-fly and immediately see how treatment plans adapt.
Peer-to-peer discussion: A single case can be explored from multiple angles, promoting teamwork and clinical debate.
Immediate feedback: Tutors and students can iteratively refine plans, helping bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Alongside clinical teaching, OrthoLab is also being used to generate simulated orthodontic teaching cases, allowing instructors to present specific types of malocclusion in isolation — a long-standing challenge in orthodontic education.
As described in a recent study by Galloway, Jones and Innes (of the Cardiff Orthodontic Department), the platform enables educators to craft custom cases mapped to the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). This has opened new opportunities for:
Teaching case classification
Developing critical diagnostic skills
Enhancing formative and summative assessment
Encouraging peer-led analysis and feedback
While certain anatomical variations may require pre-existing models, OrthoLab was found to be a powerful adjunct to the School’s constructivist and spiral curriculum. The study concludes:
“OrthoLab provides an excellent opportunity to efficiently generate simulated malocclusions for orthodontic teaching and assessment.”
The adoption of OrthoLab by Cardiff reflects a growing shift in dental education towards intelligent digital tools that prepare students for the realities of modern general practice. With increasing demand for aesthetic orthodontic treatments like clear aligners, early exposure to platforms like OrthoLab helps future clinicians build both competence and confidence.
The OrthoLab team are incredibly proud to support Cardiff University in their teaching and look forward to continuing to collaborate with dental schools, educators and clinicians to advance the standards of care and education in orthodontics.
Beyond formal education, dentists at all stages of the profession can leverage the power of OrthoLab’s automation to kick-start their aligner journey, whether they’re newly qualified or seasoned clinicians expanding into aesthetic orthodontics. The platform simplifies complex treatment planning and offers a structured, clinically validated approach to aligner delivery. With case reviews by a GDC-registered clinician provided, dentists can benefit from expert oversight and feedback—making OrthoLab a low-barrier, high-support entry point into clear aligners and a reliable way to adopt orthodontic best practices for non-specialists.
OrthoLab is available for dental schools, group practices, and individual dentists looking to deliver, learn or teach orthodontic treatment. If you’re interested in a demo or would like to explore how OrthoLab could support your work or help you to learn clear aligners, get in touch with us at info@vitaware-ortholab.com, visit vitaware-ortholab.com,or read more about how dentists can excel in ortho from day 1.
