Medit Enters the Aligner Game: Disruptions Are Coming

Oct 7, 2025

Medit Enters the Aligner Game: Disruptions Are Coming

They say if you can’t beat them, join them. Medit just entered the clear aligner market. Its newly announced Medit Aligners, built to work seamlessly within the Medit Orthodontic Suite, promise faster turnaround, more control, and the possibility of same-day starts.

That’s a big move and for good reason. However, it also highlights what’s broken in our industry and where the real winners and losers will emerge.

Here’s my take with the real risks, the real opportunities, and what labs/DSOs/clinics ought to be watching.

What Medit Claims to Do (and What It Means)

What they’re promising:

Scan → simulate → plan → design aligners in one flow, ideally from chairside.
Fewer outsourcing delays, potentially sub-week delivery times.
AI-assisted simulation/plan generation to speed decision-making.
Tight integration into their existing orthodontic digital ecosystem.

In short, they want to collapse friction in the aligner workflow. From scan to delivery, fewer handoffs, fewer surprises, more control in the hands of the clinician.

That is, if it works as advertised.

Why This Could Shake Things Up (Or Crash Spectacularly)

Every bold move like this has upside and risk. Here’s where the pressure points are:

✅ Upside / Opportunity

Disintermediation of labs (or at least part of their role)
If a clinic or DSO can design and produce aligners in-house (or under tight control), it has less dependency on external labs, or can pick and choose which work to outsource. That’s disruptive to “traditional lab as black box” models.
Speed = patient retention & satisfaction
Waiting is one of the major friction points in orthodontics. Reducing lag time makes the whole experience feel premium. That helps case acceptance, patient trust, and referrals.
Data & control shift to clinicians/DSOs
With integrated workflows, feedback loops tighten. Clinicians gain more visibility into which plans are effective and which are not, and adjust their approach accordingly. Over time, that could shift power toward more tech-savvy groups.
Higher bar for labs to differentiate
Labs that want to stay relevant will need to transition from commodity aligner production to services that add value, such as optimisation, prognostics, diagnostics, materials science, integration, predictive analytics, etc.

⚠️ Risk & Threats

Hype vs reality gap
Promises of same-day starts, sub-week delivery, and seamless integration are a tall order. If latency, calibration, quality control, or software bugs underdeliver, backlash will be swift.
Capital & infrastructure load
For clinics or DSOs to fully adopt this, they must invest in hardware, printers, materials, quality controls, and staff training. Not every group is ready or willing to make a commitment.
Quality & regulatory risk
Aligners must meet tight tolerances. If deviating aligners generate rework or patient dissatisfaction, that’s a serious risk. Also, regulatory clearance and oversight will matter more as “DIY aligner ecosystems” expand.
Lab pushback/backlash
Labs won’t sit quietly. They’ll innovate, offer bundled services or partnerships, push for deeper integration, or insulate their service tiers. Some will also double down on scale, cost efficiency, and specialisation.

Who Wins, Who Loses? A Quick Game Map

When you examine who stands to gain or lose from Medit’s move, the landscape splits quickly.

Clinics and DSOs gain the upper hand, with tighter control, faster turnaround, and the opportunity to capture aligner margins internally. However, it comes with significant trade-offs: higher investment, increased operational complexity, and a real risk of quality degradation if the system isn’t closely managed. Labs, on the other hand, face the most direct threat. If they stay nimble, they can reposition as specialisation partners or quality-assurance hubs for complex cases. If not, they risk losing volume on commoditised aligner work or getting squeezed on price.

Meanwhile, technology and ecosystem players — the software integrators, AI simulation tools, and material suppliers — stand to benefit as long as Medit’s ecosystem remains open. But if Medit pushes toward full vertical integration, that window could close quickly, locking out third-party innovation.

What I Think You Should Be Watching / Doing (If You’re In This Space)

Evaluate your role, not just your service. Labs: which aligner tasks are you going to own (design? finishing? QA? logistics?) and which you’ll cede or partner on.
Push for interoperability, not lock-in. If Medit (or others) tries to build walls, the smart labs/groups will insist on open APIs and modularity.
Lead with quality and resilience. If the “fast” model fails in quality or incurs returns, it will be penalised. Sustainable workflows win.
Experiment on a small scope. Don’t bet the farm. Let early adopters pilot the model in controlled environments before scaling it out.
Data is your competitive moat. Whoever can collect, clean, and analyse outcomes, design, and deviations over time will have the edge, whether in a lab, DSO, or clinic.

Bottom Line (Hot Take Version)

Medit jumping into aligners is bold. It’s a signal that the next frontier in dental tech isn’t more flashy scanners, it’s collapsing backend friction.

If it works, the traditional aligner supply chain is being rewritten.
If it fails, it still forces labs and DSOs to get smarter, faster, and more flexible.

Either way: complacency is dead. The ones who adapt their roles, find adjacent value, and lean into data will be the ones left standing.