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US 10,881,487 B2Granted
Insertable and prefabricated attachments for an oral appliance
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsBruce Cam, Crystal Tjhia, Rohit Tanugula, Dennis Te
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plastic shell such as an orthodontic aligner has an interior shape that substantially conforms to a current or future dental arch of a patient. The plastic shell includes a hollow feature comprising a cavity. The plastic shell additionally includes an object inserted into the cavity, wherein the object provides structural strength to the plastic shell at a location of the hollow feature and does not interfere with a fit of the plastic shell onto the dental arch of the patient.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- attaching an object to a mold of a plurality of teeth of a dental arch, wherein the mold comprises a first registration feature that comprises a protrusion extending from the mold, wherein the object comprises a second registration feature that forms a recess in a central location of a face of the object, and wherein the attaching of the object to the mold comprises interlocking the first registration feature with the second registration feature;
- forming a shell over the mold and the object, wherein the shell comprises:
- a first interior surface forming tooth-receiving cavities that engage with a portion of the mold corresponding to two or more of the plurality of teeth;
- a second interior surface that engages with the object;
- a first exterior surface that is opposite the first interior surface over the portion of the mold;
- and
- a second exterior surface forming a protruding feature that is opposite the second interior surface over the object and that protrudes from the first exterior surface;
- and
- removing the shell and the object from the mold, wherein the object is retained inside of the shell, wherein the first exterior surface is opposite the first interior surface without engaging with the mold responsive to the forming of the shell and prior to the removing of the shell and the object from the mold, and wherein the shell is configured to be worn in a mouth of a patient to alter, while the shell is worn in the mouth, contact points between an upper portion and a lower portion of the dental arch of the patient.
6 more elements
A plastic shell comprising:
- a first interior surface forming tooth-receiving cavities that substantially conform to a plurality of teeth of a dental arch of a patient;
- a first exterior surface that is opposite the first interior surface;
- a hollow protruding feature comprising a second interior surface that forms a cavity, and a second exterior surface that is opposite the second interior surface and that protrudes from the first exterior surface;
- and
- an object inserted into the cavity, wherein the object provides structural strength to the plastic shell at a location of the hollow protruding feature and does not interfere with a fit of the plastic shell onto the dental arch of the patient, wherein the object comprises an object registration feature that forms a recess in a central location of a face of the object, wherein the object registration feature is configured to interlock with a mold registration feature of a mold, wherein the mold registration feature comprises a protrusion extending from the mold, and wherein the plastic shell is configured to be worn in a mouth of the patient to alter, while the plastic shell is worn in the mouth, contact points between an upper portion and a lower portion of the dental arch of the patient.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.