Smart orthodontic appliances with hierarchical structures and materials

Abstract

This application is directed to orthodontic devices, systems, and methods for repositioning teeth. An orthodontic device includes an integral piece of orthodontic appliance, and the orthodontic appliance defines a target tooth arrangement and having at least a reinforcement portion and a shell portion. The orthodontic appliance is configured to hug a plurality of teeth and resiliently reposition the plurality of teeth from a current tooth arrangement to the target tooth arrangement gradually within an extended duration of time. The reinforcement portion has a first stiffness level extended from the reinforcement portion and has a second stiffness level, the second stiffness level lower than the first stiffness level.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.