# US 2021/0342829 A1 · Method and apparatuses for interactive ordering of dental aligners > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0342829 A1 - Document ID: US20210342829A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/141,110 - Filed: 2021-01-04 - Published: 2021-11-04 - Earliest claimed: 2017-07-17 - Assignees: Align Technology, Inc. - Applicants: Align Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Matthew Todd MILLER; Douglas FEDICH; Leela PARVATHANENI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210342829A1 ## CPC - G06Q 20/40: Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists - A61C 7/002: {Orthodontic computer assisted systems} - A61C 7/08: Mouthpiece-type retainers {or positioners, e.g. for both the lower and upper arch (arch-shaped medicament applicators for teeth or gums A61C19/063; mouthguards for protecting the teeth of sportsmen A63B71/085)} - G06Q 20/102: {Bill distribution or payments} - G06Q 40/08: Insurance - G06Q 50/22: Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services - G16H 40/40: for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades - G16H 50/30: for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment - G16H 80/00: ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - A61C: DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE (non-driven toothbrushes A46B; {tongue scrapers A61B17/24;} preparations for dentistry A61K6/00; preparations for cleaning the teeth or mouth A61K8/00, A61Q11/00) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract Methods and apparatuses for manufacturing a series of dental aligners. These methods generally include coordination of a dental aligner laboratory coordinating early in the pre-approval process for financing the dental aligner series, a third party financing service, and/or a dental practitioner (e.g., dentist, orthodontist, etc.). ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 -20. (canceled) ### Claim 21 A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying a treatment plan that prescribes one or more dental appliances to treat a dentition of a person; receiving a treatment cost representing a cost of a dental practitioner to implement the treatment plan; receiving a laboratory cost representing a cost of a dental appliance laboratory to provide the one or more dental appliances; providing the person with one or more financing options to finance the treatment plan, the one or more financing options being based on at least a portion of the treatment cost and the laboratory cost; receiving, from the person, acceptance of a specific financing option from the one or more financing options; providing an indication of an acceptance of the specific financing option by the person; and initiating the treatment plan in response to the indication of the acceptance of the specific financing option. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more financing options are based on a credit check of the person, a credit score of the person, or some combination thereof. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more financing options are based on a cost of the one or more dental appliances. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more financing options are based on a treatment difficulty of the treatment plan. ### Claim 25 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising instructing a digital device of the person to: display an estimate of the treatment cost and the laboratory cost, schedule one or more appointments with the dental professional, display the one or more financing options, or some combination thereof. ### Claim 26 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving the acceptance of the specific financing option from a user interface of a digital at a digital device of the person. ### Claim 27 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising instructing a digital device of the person to display user-identifying information about the person and one or more loan amounts. ### Claim 28 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising instructing a digital device of the person to display information about one or more merchants to assign to a loan. ### Claim 29 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising alerting the dental appliance laboratory in response to the acceptance of the specific financing amount. ### Claim 30 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising alerting the dental practitioner in response to the acceptance of the specific financing amount. ### Claim 31 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein providing the indication of the acceptance of the specific financing option by the person comprises transmitting the indication of the acceptance to a third-party providing the loan. ### Claim 32 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: transmitting the indication of the acceptance to a third-party providing the loan; and receiving a confirmation from the third-party that the loan has been funded. ### Claim 33 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising providing a request to pre-approve the person for a maximum financed amount corresponding to a sum of the treatment cost and the laboratory cost. ### Claim 34 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost; and receiving a determination whether the person has been pre-approved for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost. ### Claim 35 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost; and receiving a determination whether the person has been pre-approved for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost; wherein the one or more financing options are provided to the person in response to the determination whether the person has been pre-approved for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost. ### Claim 36 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost, wherein the request to pre-approve the person comprises: a request for a credit score related to the person, a request for a credit score related to the person, or some combination thereof. ### Claim 37 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost before the person has seen the dental practitioner. ### Claim 38 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost, wherein the request to pre-approve the person is from the person, the dental practitioner, or some combination thereof. ### Claim 39 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: providing the person with an electronic message containing a request to start a credit application; receiving personal identifying information related to the patient in response to the electronic message; and using the personal identifying information to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost. ### Claim 40 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: obtaining patient identifying information related to the person; and providing a request to pre-approve the person for the treatment cost and the laboratory cost using the patient identifying information. ### Claim 41 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more financing options comprise one or more financing amounts less than a maximum financed amount that the person has been pre-approved for. ### Claim 42 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising instructing the dental appliance laboratory to manufacture the one or more dental appliances in response to the indication of acceptance of the specific financing option. ### Claim 43 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: instructing the dental appliance laboratory to manufacture the one or more dental appliances in response to the indication of acceptance of the specific financing option; and receiving a notification from the dental appliance laboratory representing when the one or more dental appliances have been manufactured. ### Claim 44 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein initiating the treatment plan comprises ordering the one or more dental appliances from the dental appliance laboratory. ### Claim 45 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein providing the indication of an acceptance of the specific financing option by the person comprises entering patient identifying information, a preapproval status, or a maximum financed amount for the treatment plan into a database. ### Claim 46 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein providing the indication of an acceptance of the specific financing option by the person comprises updating a database to indicate funding of an actual financed amount of the treatment plan. ### Claim 47 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more financing options are determined by a remote financing server managed by a third-party that provides a loan to the person. ### Claim 48 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more dental appliances comprise a series of aligners configured to move the dentition from an initial arrangement toward a target arrangement. ### Claim 49 A system comprising: one or more processors; memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing computer-program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform a computer-implemented method comprising: identifying a treatment plan that prescribes one or more dental appliances to treat a dentition of a person; receiving a treatment cost representing a cost of a dental practitioner to implement the treatment plan; receiving a laboratory cost representing a cost of a dental appliance laboratory to provide the one or more dental appliances; providing the person with one or more financing options to finance the treatment plan, the one or more financing options being based on at least a portion of the treatment cost and the laboratory cost; receiving, from the person, acceptance of a specific financing option from the one or more financing options; providing an indication of an acceptance of the specific financing option by the person; and initiating the treatment plan in response to the indication of the acceptance of the specific financing option.