Comparison of virtual treatment planning outcomes designed by two commercially available software in treatment of anterior teeth crowding using in-house aligners

Virtual treatment planning (VTP) has revolutionized clear aligner therapy (CAT) by facilitating patient communication and enhancing treatment predictability. The accuracy and reproducibility of VTP are highly dependent on the 3D design software used, particularly in in-house aligner workflows.Aim This study aimed to evaluate and compare the surface-based geometric accuracy of VTPs generated by two 3D designing software packages commonly used in clear aligners treatment planning; Maestro 3D ortho studio^® and Dentone^® in mild to moderate anterior teeth crowding versus ClinCheck^®Pro.Methods This is a retrospective in-silico observational study where a total of 30 maxillary and mandibular digital dental models (STL files) .final output from these doftwares were compared to corresponding ClinCheck^®Pro.Three dimensional superimposition was done using MeshLab^® software for assessing Hausdorff distance unit (minimum, maximum, mean, and root mean square [RMS]). Bounding box analysis was conducted to assess global model dimensions and exclude scaling effects.Results No significant differences were found in global model dimensions between Maestro/ClinCheck^®Pro and Dentone^®/ClinCheck^®Pro outputs. Hausdorff minimum and maximum values were comparable between software platforms, indicating similar baseline alignment and worst-case surface deviations. In contrast, Dentone^®/ClinCheck^® Pro showed significantly higher Hausdorff mean and RMS values (0.02 ± 0.03 and 0.02 ± 0.02) compared with Maestro/ClinCheck^® Pro (0.01 ± 0.00 and 0.01 ± 0.01; p = 0.016) reflecting increased cumulative surface deviation. Bounding box analysis confirmed equivalent global spatial extents across models, excluding scaling effects as a source of variation.Conclusions Both Maestro^® and Dentone^® demonstrate comparable surface based geometric accuracy relative to ClinCheck^®Pro. Dentone^® showed higher cumulative surface deviation no differences were detected in global dimensions or extreme deviation parameters, supporting the suitability of both software platforms for in-house aligner virtual treatment planning.