US 11,413,117 B2Granted

Ceramic processing and design for the direct manufacture of customized labial and lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachments

AssigneeLightForce Orthodontics, Inc.

InventorsAlfred Charles Griffin, III, Kelsey A Fafara

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Abstract

A method of manufacturing pre-formed, customized, ceramic, labial/lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachments (CCAA) by additive manufacturing (AM) may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth using reverse engineering, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a 3D CAD structure model for one or more CCAA on various parts of each tooth, importing data related to the 3D CAD CCAA structure model into an AM machine, directly producing the CCAA in the ceramic slurry-based AM machine by layer manufacturing, enabling the provider to deliver patient-specific CCAA's by an indirect bonding method to the patient's teeth to improve the efficacy and retention of the clear aligners.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of manufacturing pre-formed, customized, ceramic, labial/lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachment (CCAA) by additive manufacturing (AM), said method comprising:

importing data related to a 3D CAD CCAA structure model for the CCAA into a ceramic slurry-based AM machine;
and
directly producing the CCAA in the ceramic slurry-based AM machine by layer manufacturing to form a patient-specific CCAA adapted for indirect bonding, the patient-specific CCAA adapted to a particular tooth of the patient's teeth, wherein
the 3D CAD CCAA structure model includes data representing at least a) a CCAA base that has recesses and/or undercuts in a bonding surface of the CCAA that are custom-shaped to fit a negative of a labial/lingual tooth surface, and contact a particular area of a surface of the particular tooth, b) a CCAA material, c) a profile of the particular tooth, and d) a CCAA guide or indirect bonding jig adapted for guiding three-dimensional placement of the CCAA onto the particular tooth.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/035,073Filed 28 Sep 2020 · continuation
Priority: 12 Jun 2018
Published: US 2021/0077224 A118 Mar 2021
Granted: 16 Aug 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification51 codes

A61C 7/002
Orthodontics, i.e. obtaining or maintaining the desired position of teeth, e.g. by straightening, evening, regulating, separating, or by…:…
A61C 7/08
Orthodontics, i.e. obtaining or maintaining the desired position of teeth, e.g. by straightening, evening, regulating, separating, or by…:…
A61C 7/12
Orthodontics, i.e. obtaining or maintaining the desired position of teeth, e.g. by straightening, evening, regulating, separating, or by…:…
A61C 13/0004
Making bridge-work, inlays, implants or the like: computer-assisted sizing or machining of dental prostheses

Family

Application62/683,816Us provisional application · filed 12 Jun 2018
Application16/437,696Parent of this continuation · filed 11 Jun 2019
US 2021/0077224 A1Pre-grant publication · published 18 Mar 2021
US 10,786,334 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2019/0377327 A1Published application
US 11,413,117 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.