Virtual fillers for virtual models of dental arches

A system for generating a virtual filler for design of an orthodontic aligner, comprising:

• a memory device;
• and
• a processing device operatively coupled to the memory device, the processing device to:
• determine two or more adjacent teeth in a virtual model, the two or more adjacent teeth comprising a first tooth adjacent to a second tooth in the virtual model;
• insert a first virtual filler in the virtual model between the first tooth and the second tooth;
• select a plurality of points in the virtual model, the plurality of points comprising first points on a surface of the first tooth, second points on a surface of the second tooth, third points on a surface of gingiva, and fourth points on the first virtual filler;
• transform the plurality of points into a voxel volume comprising a plurality of voxels;
• perform a smoothing operation on the voxel volume;
• and
• subsequent to performing the smoothing operation on the voxel volume, determine a geometry of an updated virtual filler by transforming a surface of the smoothed voxel volume into a polygonal mesh.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for generating a virtual filler for design of an orthodontic aligner that, responsive to execution by a processing device, cause a processing device to perform operations comprising:

• determining two or more adjacent teeth in a virtual model, the two or more adjacent teeth comprising a first tooth adjacent to a second tooth in the virtual model;
• inserting a first virtual filler in the virtual model between the first tooth and the second tooth;
• selecting a plurality of points in the virtual model, the plurality of points comprising first points on a surface of the first tooth, second points on a surface of the second tooth, third points on a surface of gingiva, and fourth points on the first virtual filler;
• transforming the plurality of points into a voxel volume comprising a plurality of voxels;
• performing a smoothing operation on the voxel volume;
• and
• subsequent to performing the smoothing operation on the voxel volume, determining, by the processing device, a geometry of an updated virtual filler by transforming a surface of the smoothed voxel volume into a polygonal mesh.