Methods and apparatuses for customizing a rapid palatal expander
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsFuming WU, Ryan KIMURA, Jeremy RILEY, Yaser SHANJANI, Norman SU, Jun SATO, Bastien PESENTI, John Y. MORTON, Jihua CHENG
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods for designing and fabrication of a series of apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate (“palatal expanders”). In particular, described herein are methods and apparatuses for forming palatal expanders, including rapid palatal expanders, as well as series of palatal expanders formed as described herein and apparatuses for designing and fabricating them.
Claims30
A series of palatal expanders comprising a plurality of palatal expanders configured to be sequentially worn by a patient to expand the patient's palate, the series of palatal expanders comprising, for one or more palatal expanders in the series:
- a left tooth engagement region configured to be removably worn over the patient's teeth in a left upper jaw region, the left tooth engagement region having a left occlusal region having a first inner occlusal surface and a first outer occlusal surface and a thickness therebetween;
- a right tooth engagement region configured to be removably worn over the patient's teeth in a right upper jaw region, the right tooth engagement region having a right occlusal region having a second inner occlusal surface and a second outer occlusal surface and a thickness therebetween;
- and
- a palatal region between the left tooth engagement region and the right tooth engagement region;
- wherein the first and second outer occlusal surfaces are shaped to correspond to a geometry of corresponding teeth surfaces of the patient's lower jaw as the palatal expander of the series of palatal expanders is worn, so as to provide an increased occlusion between the first and second outer occlusal surfaces and the corresponding teeth surfaces;
- and
- wherein successive palatal expanders in the series of palatal expanders increase separation between the left tooth engagement region and the right tooth engagement region.
A palatal expander of a series of palatal expanders having a sequence and configured to be sequentially worn by a patient to expand the patient's palate in the sequence, the series of palatal expanders comprising, for one or more palatal expanders in the series:
- a left tooth engagement region configured to be removably worn over the patient's teeth in a left upper jaw region, the left tooth engagement region having a left occlusal region having a first inner occlusal surface and a first outer occlusal surface and a non-uniform thickness therebetween;
- a right tooth engagement region configured to be removably worn over the patient's teeth in a right upper jaw region, the right tooth engagement region having a right occlusal region having a second inner occlusal surface and a second outer occlusal surface and a non-uniform thickness therebetween;
- and
- a palatal region between the left tooth engagement region and the right tooth engagement region,
- wherein the first and second outer occlusal surfaces are shaped to correspond to a geometry of corresponding teeth surfaces of the patient's lower jaw, so as to provide an increased occlusion between the first and second outer occlusal surfaces and corresponding teeth surfaces of the patient's lower jaw as the palatal expander is worn;
- and
- wherein successive palatal expanders in the series of palatal expanders increase separation between the left tooth engagement region and the right tooth engagement region.
A method of designing a series of palatal expanders, the method comprising:
- receiving a digital model of a patient's oral cavity in an initial position;
- adjusting the digital model from the initial position to a final position in which a palate is expanded by morphing the digital model to reflect an orthopedic expansion of the patient's midline suture;
- generating a palatal expander model corresponding to each intermediate position of a plurality of intermediate positions of the digital model between the initial position and the final position;
- adjusting a thickness of an occlusal region of a left tooth engagement region and a right tooth engagement region of one or more of the palatal expander models so that the thickness of the occlusal regions of the left and right tooth engagement regions are non-uniform and are adjusted to increase an occlusion between the left tooth engagement region and corresponding teeth of the patient's lower jaw, and the right tooth engagement region and corresponding teeth of the patient's lower jaw, as the palatal expander corresponding to the one or more palatal expander models is worn;
- and
- outputting the palatal expander model corresponding to each intermediate position of a plurality of intermediate positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.