Method For Making A Virtual Computer Model of the Jaws

A method of creating a virtual computer model of a portion of a patient's head, comprising:

• placing a CT bite plate between upper and lower teeth in the patient's mouth, the CT bite plate having associated radiographic markers;
• imaging the teeth in the patient's mouth, without imaging casts of the teeth, using a non-radiographic imaging system to acquire non-radiographic data representing a digital model of the upper and lower teeth and the radiographic markers;
• formatting the non-radiographic data to generate a 3D digital model;
• acquiring CT data representing the patient's mandible and upper jaw and representing the radiographic markers;
• formatting the CT data to a 3D CT image;
• eliminating radiographic scatter from the CT image;
• aligning the radiographic markers of the CT image with the radiographic markers of the digital model to move the image of the digital model into a proper anatomic position in the CT image.

A dental apparatus, comprising:

• a bite registration section formed of a radiolucent material and being configured to fit within a patient's mouth and mate with the patient's teeth;
• a central forward projection extending from the bite registration section configured to extend between lips when the bite registration section is in the mouth;
• an exterior portion configured to reside outside the mouth, the exterior portion being attached to the central forward projection;
• and
• at least three non-linear radiographic markers disposed on the exterior portion and having a radiographic density that makes them visible in the CT data.

A method of creating a virtual computer model of a patient's head, comprising:

• placing a CT bite plate between upper and lower teeth in a patient's mouth, the CT bite plate having associated radiographic markers disposed to be above or below a plane of occlusion defined by the patient's upper and lower teeth;
• scanning the patient's teeth and the CT bite plate with a non-radiographic imaging system to acquire non-radiographic data representing a digital model of the upper and lower teeth and the radiographic markers;
• formatting the non-radiographic data to generate a 3D digital model;
• scanning the patient's upper and lower teeth, mandible, upper jaw, and the CT bite plate with a CT machine to acquire CT data representing the patient's teeth and surrounding tissue and representing the radiographic markers;
• formatting the CT data to a 3D CT image;
• eliminating radiographic scatter and the upper and lower teeth from the CT image;
• aligning specific points on the radiographic markers of the CT image with corresponding specific points on the radiographic markers of the digital model to move the image of the digital model into a proper anatomic position in the CT image;
• separating the mandible portion of the CT image from the upper jaw portion of the CT image to allow for movement of the mandible image independent of the upper jaw portion image;
• determining an axis of rotation of the mandible image corresponding to articulation points on the CT image;
• determining lateral and protrusive movements of the mandible image relative to the upper jaw portion image;
• and
• rotating the mandible of the CT image about the axis of rotation.

A system for creating a virtual computer model of a patient's upper jaw and mandible for kinematic analysis, comprising:

• means for acquiring non-radiographic data representing a digital model of the patient's upper and lower teeth and representing radiographic markers;
• means for acquiring CT data representing the patient's upper jaw and mandible and representing radiographic markers;
• means for reformatting the CT data to generate a 3D CT image;
• means for eliminating radiographic scatter from the CT image;
• means for aligning the radiographic markers of the CT image with the radiographic markers of the digital model to move the digital model of the upper and lower teeth into a proper anatomic position in the CT image;
• and
• means for assessing kinematics of the mandible relative to upper jaw on the CT image.

A system for creating a virtual computer model of a patient's head, comprising:

• a bite plate disposable between teeth in a patient's mouth, the bite plate having associated radiographic markers;
• means for imaging the teeth in the patient's mouth, without imaging casts of the teeth, using a non-radiographic imaging system to acquire non-radiographic data representing a digital model of the upper and lower teeth and the radiographic markers;
• means for formatting the non-radiographic data to generate a 3D digital model;
• means for acquiring CT data representing the patient's mandible and upper jaw and representing the radiographic markers;
• means for formatting the CT data to a 3D CT image;
• means for eliminating radiographic scatter from the CT image;
• and
• means for aligning the radiographic markers of the CT image with the radiographic markers of the digital model to move the image of the digital model into a proper anatomic position in the CT image.

A method of creating a treatment plan for a dental patient, comprising:

• orienting the patient's head in a CT imaging system such that the position of the head is in a natural position relative to a horizontal reference;
• scanning the patient's head with the CT imaging system to acquire CT data;
• reformatting the CT data to create a 3D soft tissue model of the soft tissues and to create a 3D hard tissue model of the hard tissues of the head;
• and
• performing aesthetic diagnostic evaluation using the soft tissue and hard tissue models of the patient's head in the natural position.

A method of reproducing in a computer model actual movement of a mandible relative to an upper jaw of a patient, comprising:

• attaching a first sensor to the patient's mandible;
• detecting the position of the first sensor relative to the upper jaw with a second sensor associated with the head of the patient;
• displacing the patient's mandible relative to the upper jaw in an open and close direction;
• recording first digital data representing the location of the upper jaw and mandible during the displacement of the patient's mandible in the open and close direction;
• displacing the patient's mandible relative to the upper jaw in a lateral direction and in a protrusive direction;
• recording second digital data representing the lateral and protrusive locations of the upper jaw and mandible during the displacement of the mandible in the lateral and protrusive directions;
• determining a rotational center of the mandible;
• recording the rotational center as third digital data;
• introducing the first, second, and third digital data to the computer model;
• and
• reproducing the movement of the mandible in the computer model using the first, second, and third digital data.

A method of creating a treatment plan for a dental patient, comprising:

• placing a CT bite plate in the patient's mouth prior to scanning the patient's head, the CT bite plate having radiographic markers disposed thereon;
• orienting the patient's head in a CT imaging system such that the position of the head is in a natural position relative to a horizontal reference;
• scanning the patient's head with the CT imaging system to acquire CT data;
• reformatting the CT data to create a 3D soft tissue model of the soft tissues and to create a 3D hard tissue model of the hard tissues of the head;
• and
• determining a rotational center of the mandible of the hard tissue model by separating a mandible image from the hard tissue model to allow for movement of the mandible image independent of the remaining hard tissue model;
• performing aesthetic diagnostic evaluation, including measuring spatial relationships between facial features on the hard tissue model and the soft tissue model in the natural position;
• and
• determining a treatment plan for the patient based upon the rotational center of the mandible and the measured spatial relationships.