System and method for incrementally moving teeth

A manually adjustable physical 3-D model that has a plurality of tooth dies, wherein at least one tooth die can be selectively adjusted to a new position to allow formation of an aligner that is intended to be worn on teeth of the patient comprising:

• a first model part that is formed of a plurality of tooth dies;
• a second model part complementary to the first model part and being in the form of a base that supports the tooth dies;
• and
• a set of dowel pins, each dowel pin for use with the tooth die that is intended to be adjusted, each dowel pin including:
• an upstanding tooth anchor section that is configured to be fixedly attached to the tooth die;
• and
• a main body section having a top surface from which the tooth anchor section extends, the main body section for reception within a base of the dental model kit;
• wherein a location of the tooth anchor section relative to the top surface changes from an initial position associated with an initial pin that is part of the set to a final position associated with a final pin that is part, wherein successive movement of the tooth anchor section is translated into successive movement of the tooth die both in a desired direction and a desired distance.

A method for incrementally adjusting a position of at least one tooth comprising the steps of:

• providing a physical 3-D tooth die model that includes:
• a first model part that is formed of a plurality of tooth dies;
• a second model part complementary to the first model part and being in the form of a base that supports the tooth dies;
• and
• a set of dowel pins, each dowel pin for use with the tooth die that is intended to be incrementally moved;
• coupling an initial dowel pin with the tooth die that is intended to be incrementally moved and with the base, the initial dowel pin having an upstanding tooth anchor section extending from a main pin body, the tooth anchor section being in a first location;
• casting a first aligner, using the tooth die model, for wearing over teeth of the patient;
• using successively a set of dowel pins in which a location of the tooth anchor section relative to the main pin body changes so as to cause a change in position of the corresponding tooth die relative to the base, wherein in a final down pin, the tooth anchor section is in a final position that positions the tooth die in a desired final location that also corresponds to a target location of the tooth of the patient;
• and
• successively casting a plurality of aligners using successive tooth die models that include the set of dowel pins in which the locations of the tooth anchor sections vary so as to effectuate an incremental change in the location of the tooth of the patient.