Methods of making orthodontic appliances
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsJoseph DeSimone, Robert Tricca
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods of making a removable dental positioning appliance include forming a sheet of transparent crystalline polymeric material into a shell having cavities shaped to receive and reposition teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation. The polymeric material may then be annealed at a temperature above its glass transition temperature or cured if a curable material to enhance characteristics of the polymeric material. The polymeric material may be coated with a second transparent material.
Claims54
A method of making a removable dental positioning appliance, comprising:
- forming a sheet of transparent polymeric material into a shell having cavities shaped to receive and reposition teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation;
- and
- annealing the shell at a temperature above a glass transition temperature of the transparent polymeric material.
A method of making a removable dental positioning appliance, comprising:
- forming a sheet of transparent curable polymeric material into a shell having cavities shaped to receive and reposition teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation;
- and
- curing the transparent polymeric material, wherein the cured polymeric material has a tensile strength at yield of greater than 6,000 psi, an elongation at yield of greater than 4%, an elongation at break of greater than 80%, a tensile modulus greater than 200,000 psi, a flexural modulus greater than 200,000 psi, stress relaxation over time of not more than 50%, and a transmissivity of light between 400 nm and 800 nm greater than 75%.
A method of making a removable dental positioning appliance, comprising:
- forming a sheet of transparent curable polymeric material into a shell having cavities shaped to receive and reposition teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation;
- and
- curing the transparent polymeric material, wherein the cured polymeric material has a tensile strength at yield of greater than 8,800 psi, an elongation at yield of greater than 5%, an elongation at break of greater than 100%, a tensile modulus greater than 300,000 psi, a flexural modulus greater than 330,000 psi, stress relaxation over time of not more than 30%, and a transmissivity of light between 400 nm and 800 nm greater than 80%.
A method of making a removable dental positioning appliance, comprising:
- forming a sheet of a first transparent material into a shell having cavities shaped to receive and reposition teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation;
- and
- applying a coating of a second transparent material onto the shell such that the shell has a tensile strength at yield of greater than 6,000 psi, an elongation at yield of greater than 4%, an elongation at break of greater than 80%, a tensile modulus greater than 200,000 psi, a flexural modulus greater than 200,000 psi, stress relaxation over time of not more than 50%, and a transmissivity of light between 400 nm and 800 nm greater than 75%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.