Method and system for optimizing dental aligner geometry
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsVadim Matov, John Y. Morton, Eric Kuo, Heng Cao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method and system for establishing an initial position of a tooth, determining a target position of the tooth in a treatment plan, calculating a movement vector associated with the tooth movement from the initial position to the target position, determining a plurality of components corresponding to the movement vector, and determining a corresponding one or more positions of a respective one or more attachment devices relative to a surface plane of the tooth such that the one or more attachment devices engages with a dental appliance are provided.
Claims30
A method for designing an orthodontic aligner shape for moving at least one tooth of a patient according to a treatment plan, the method comprising:
- scanning, with a dental scanning apparatus, a portion of the patient's dentition to collect a digital scan, wherein the digital scan provides a digital representation of the at least one tooth;
- determining, based at least on the digital scan, a first position of the at least one tooth at a first treatment stage of the patient;
- determining a movement vector for moving the at least one tooth;
- identifying surfaces with desirable orientations of the at least one tooth of the patient based on the determined movement vector;
- determining that the identified surfaces with desirable orientations are insufficient for the movement vector to impart a determined force system;
- and
- contouring a model of the tooth surface to improve an amount of surface with desirable orientations for the determined force system;
- and
- designing the orthodontic aligner shape based on the contoured model of the tooth surface.
A method for designing a removable orthodontic appliance shaped for moving at least one tooth of a subject according to a treatment plan, the method comprising:
- scanning, with a dental scanning apparatus, a portion of the patient's dentition to collect a digital scan, wherein the digital scan provides a digital representation of the at least one tooth;
- determining, based at least on the digital scan, a position of the at least one tooth at a first treatment stage of the subject;
- determining a movement vector associated with moving the at least one tooth;
- based on the determined movement vector, locating at least two surfaces on the at least one tooth of the subject with orientations that are desirable for moving the at least one tooth;
- determining that the located surfaces with desirable orientations of the at least one tooth of the subject are not adequate for the movement vector to impart a determined force system to move the at least one tooth;
- and
- adding or subtracting material to contour a model of the tooth surface so as to improve the located surfaces of the at least one tooth of the subject that are desirable orientations for the determined force system;
- and
- designing a shape of the removable orthodontic appliance based on the contoured model of the tooth surface with the additional material so as to improve the amount of surface with desirable orientations for the force system.
A method for designing an orthodontic aligner for moving at least one tooth of a patient from a first treatment stage to a second treatment stage, the method comprising:
- scanning, with a dental scanning apparatus, a portion of the patient's dentition to collect a digital scan, wherein the digital scan provides a digital representation of the at least one tooth;
- determining, based at least on the digital scan, a first position of the at least one tooth of the patient at the first treatment stage;
- determining a second position of the at least one tooth of the patient at the second treatment stage, the second treatment stage following the first treatment stage;
- determining a movement vector for a tooth movement moving the at least one tooth from the first position at the first treatment stage to the second position at the second treatment stage;
- determining, from the movement vector, force components configured to move the tooth from the first position toward the second position;
- identifying surfaces with desirable orientations of the at least one tooth of the patient based on the determined movement vector;
- determining that the identified surfaces with desirable orientations are insufficient for the movement vector to impart a determined force system;
- contouring a model of the tooth surface to improve an amount of surface with desirable orientations for the determined force system;
- and
- designing a shape of the orthodontic aligner based on the determined force components so that a physical orthodontic aligner associated with the designed orthodontic aligner shape, when in position on the teeth of the patient at the first treatment stage, applies the determined force components to the at least one tooth to move the at least one tooth from the first position to the second position according to the determined movement vector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.