Methods of forming orthodontic appliances having a ridge

Abstract

A method may include generating a model of an orthodontic appliance having a shell having teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and reposition the patient's teeth. At least one of the cavities may be shaped to apply a resilient repositioning force to move at least one of the patient's teeth from a current arrangement toward a target arrangement. The method may include forming a ridge on the at least one of the cavities having a width and a length greater than the width. The ridge may be configured to apply at least a portion of the resilient repositioning force to the at least one of the patient's teeth. The method may also include modeling the orthodontic appliance with the ridge on the patient's teeth and modifying a portion of the shell to compensate for modeled contact of the portion of the shell with the at least one patient's tooth.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.