Method and system for braces removal from dentition mesh

An apparatus configured to generate a digital model of dentition, said apparatus comprising:

• imaging apparatus for obtaining a 3-D digital mesh of dentition including braces, teeth, and gingival tissue;
• processing logic for modifying the 3-D digital mesh by removing wire portions of the braces therefrom;
• processing logic for modifying the 3-D digital mesh by removing bracket portions of the braces therefrom, wherein the processing logic uses normals extended from a curve generated according to a dental arch;
• means for reconstructing teeth surfaces of the modified 3-D digital mesh previously covered by the wire portions and the bracket portions of the braces;
• and
• a control logic processor programmed with instructions for displaying, storing, or transmitting over a network to another computer, the reconstructed 3-D digital mesh as the digital mesh dentition model.

A method for generating a digital model of a patient's dentition, the method executed at least in part by a computer and comprising:

• acquiring a 3-D digital mesh that is representative of the patient's dentition and that includes braces, teeth, and gingival tissue;
• modifying the 3-D digital mesh to generate a digital mesh dentition model by:
• (i) detecting at least one bracket extending from the 3-D digital mesh;
• (ii) generating an initial mask according to the detected at least one bracket;
• (iii) processing the initial mask to correct mask shape according to the detected at least one bracket;
• (iv) executing a fast march algorithm to detect bracket regions bounded within the corrected mask;
• (v) refining the bracket region detection using morphological processing;
• (vi) removing the bracket from the bracket region and reconstructing a tooth surface;
• and
• displaying the reconstructed tooth surface.