Method for animating models of the mandibular and maxillary arches of a patient in a corrected intermaxillary relationship

A method for animating models of a patient's mandibular and maxillary arches in a corrected intermaxillary relationship, said method being computer-implemented and comprising:

• receiving three-dimensional digital models of the patient's mandibular and maxillary arches,
• receiving a record of the patient's mandibular kinematics, said record comprising a plurality of relative positions of the patient's mandible relative to to the maxilla,
• automatically preselecting a set of relative positions of the mandible relative to the maxilla, said set of positions being chosen such that each position of said set defines a vertical dimension of occlusion within a determined range,
• selecting, from said positions, a reference position (X) of the mandible relative to the patient's maxilla,
• determining a target position (Y) of the mandible relative to the maxilla, said target position defining the patient's corrected intermaxillary relationship,
• determining a rigid transformation between the reference position (X) and the target position (Y), and
• applying said rigid transformation to (i) the record of the patient's mandibular kinematics to animate the three-dimensional digital models of the mandibular and maxillary arches, or (ii) the three-dimensional digital model of the mandible, the record of the mandibular kinematics provided being applied to the three-dimensional digital models of the mandible and maxilla to animate said models.

A method for animating models of a patient's mandibular and maxillary arches in a corrected intermaxillary relationship, said method being computer-implemented and comprising:

• receiving three-dimensional digital models of the patient's mandibular and maxillary arches,
• receiving a record of the patient's mandibular kinematics, said record comprising a plurality of relative positions of the patient's mandible relative to to the maxilla,
• selecting, from said positions, a reference position (X) of the mandible relative to the patient's maxilla,
• determining a target position (Y) of the mandible relative to the maxilla, said target position defining the patient's corrected intermaxillary relationship, wherein the target position is chosen so as to increase a vertical dimension of occlusion by a value less than a threshold chosen so as not to cause movement of the axis of rotation of the mandibular condyles relative to the patient's temporal fossa,
• determining a rigid transformation between the reference position (X) and the target position (Y), and
• applying said rigid transformation to (i) the record of the patient's mandibular kinematics to animate the three-dimensional digital models of the mandibular and maxillary arches, or (ii) the three-dimensional digital model of the mandible, the record of the mandibular kinematics provided being applied to the three-dimensional digital models of the mandible and maxilla to animate said models.

A method for animating models of a patient's mandibular and maxillary arches in a corrected intermaxillary relationship, said method being computer-implemented and comprising:

• receiving three-dimensional digital models of the patient's mandibular and maxillary arches,
• receiving a record of the patient's mandibular kinematics, said record comprising a plurality of relative positions of the patient's mandible relative to to the maxilla,
• selecting, from said positions, a reference position (X) of the mandible relative to the patient's maxilla,
• determining a target position (Y) of the mandible relative to the maxilla, said target position defining the patient's corrected intermaxillary relationship, wherein the target position is chosen so as to increase a vertical dimension of occlusion defined at an incisor crown end by less than 20 mm relative to a vertical dimension of occlusion defined by the patient's reference occlusal position,
• determining a rigid transformation between the reference position (X) and the target position (Y), and
• applying said rigid transformation to (i) the record of the patient's mandibular kinematics to animate the three-dimensional digital models of the mandibular and maxillary arches, or (ii) the three-dimensional digital model of the mandible, the record of the mandibular kinematics provided being applied to the three-dimensional digital models of the mandible and maxilla to animate said models.