Orthodontic alignment devices with palatal contour anchorage features

An orthodontic alignment device comprising:

• a tooth portion having a dentition-receiving cavity configured to be placed over one or more of a patient's teeth, the tooth portion configured to contact one or more predetermined surfaces of one or more of the patient's teeth to apply a distalizing force to move one or more teeth in a distal direction;
• and
• an anchorage portion extending from the tooth portion and configured to abut at least one portion of the patient's palate, wherein the portion of the patient's palate is selected from the group consisting of:
• a hard palate and a soft palate;
• wherein the anchorage portion includes a palatal contour anchorage (PCA) feature that is offset from a contour of the patient's palate to exert pressure on an anterior portion of the patient's palate when worn and that has a surface area sufficiently large to disperse a reaction force on the at least one portion of the patient's palate that balances at least in part the distalizing force applied by the tooth portion when the tooth portion is placed over one or more of the patient's teeth, wherein the PCA feature does not apply a sufficient amount of force to the patient's palate to result in palatal expansion.

A method of fabricating an orthodontic alignment device, the method comprising:

• receiving data comprising a three-dimensional representation of a patient's teeth, the patient's gingiva, and the patient's palate;
• generating a model of the patient's teeth, the patient's gingiva, and the patient's palate using the received data;
• determining a force that is applied to one or more teeth for moving one or more teeth in a distal direction based on the generated model of the patient's teeth;
• determining a reaction force that is applied to one or more locations on the patient's palate for balancing the force that is applied to the one or more teeth based on the determined force that is applied to the one or more teeth and the generated model of the patient's teeth and the patient's palate;
• determining a shape for the orthodontic alignment device based on the generated model of the patient's teeth and the patient's palate, the determined force that is applied to the one or more teeth, and the reaction force that is applied to one or more locations on the patient's palate so that the reaction forced is distributed by a palatal contour anchorage (PCA) feature that is offset from a contour of the patient's palate to exert pressure on the patient's palate when worn and that has a surface area sufficiently large to disperse the reaction force, wherein the PCA feature does not apply a sufficient amount of force to the patient's palate to result in palatal expansion;
• and
• fabricating the orthodontic alignment device based on the determined shape.