Method and system for processing 3d models of a dental situation

A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

• receive, in a common 3D space, a first digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a first time, and a second digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a second time, the second time being later than the first time, wherein the first digital 3D model and the second digital 3D model are constructed by a processor, based on scan data collected in an intraoral scanning process;
• display a transition of a tooth of the first digital 3D model into a corresponding tooth of the second digital 3D model, wherein the displaying comprises:
• aligning the tooth and the corresponding tooth at an intermediate position between the tooth and the corresponding tooth;
• generating an adapter tooth based on the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth, wherein the shape of the adapter tooth is a weighted average of the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth;
• mapping the adapter tooth to the tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a source position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the tooth, and mapping the adapter tooth to the corresponding tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a destination position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth;
• applying a first transparency transition from the tooth to the adapter tooth at the source position wherein the transparency of the tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the tooth becomes invisible while the adapter tooth becomes visible;
• displacing the vertices of the adapter tooth at the source position to the adapter tooth at the destination position;
• applying a second transparency transition from the adapter tooth at the destination position to the corresponding tooth wherein the transparency of the corresponding tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the adapter tooth becomes invisible while the corresponding tooth becomes visible.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

• receive, in a common 3D space, a first digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a first time, and a second digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a second time, the second time being later than the first time, wherein the first digital 3D model and the second digital 3D model are constructed by a processor, based on scan data collected in an intraoral scanning process;
• display a transition of a tooth of the first digital 3D model into a corresponding tooth of the second digital 3D model, wherein the displaying comprises:
• aligning the tooth and the corresponding tooth at an intermediate position between the tooth and the corresponding tooth;
• generating an adapter tooth based on the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth, wherein the shape of the adapter tooth is a weighted average of the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth;
• mapping the adapter tooth to the tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a source position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the tooth, and mapping the adapter tooth to the corresponding tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a destination position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth;
• applying a first transparency transition from the tooth to the adapter tooth at the source position wherein the transparency of the tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the tooth becomes invisible while the adapter tooth becomes visible;
• displacing the vertices of the adapter tooth at the source position to the adapter tooth at the destination position;
• applying a second transparency transition from the adapter tooth at the destination position to the corresponding tooth wherein the transparency of the corresponding tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the adapter tooth becomes invisible while the corresponding tooth becomes visible.

A dental scanning system comprising a data processing device configured to:

• receive in a common 3D space, a first digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a first time, and a second digital 3D model representative of the dental situation at a second time, the second time being later than the first time, wherein the first digital 3D model and the second digital 3D model are constructed by a processor, based on scan data collected in an intraoral scanning process;
• display a transition of a tooth of the first digital 3D model into a corresponding tooth of the second digital 3D model, wherein the displaying comprises:
• aligning the tooth and the corresponding tooth at an intermediate position between the tooth and the corresponding tooth;
• generating an adapter tooth based on the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth, wherein the shape of the adapter tooth is a weighted average of the shape of the tooth and the shape of the corresponding tooth;
• mapping the adapter tooth to the tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a source position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the tooth, and mapping the adapter tooth to the corresponding tooth to obtain the adapter tooth at a destination position by identifying, from each vertex of the adapter tooth, a corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth, and displacing the each vertex of the adapter tooth to the identified corresponding closest point on the corresponding tooth;
• applying a first transparency transition from the tooth to the adapter tooth at the source position wherein the transparency of the tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the tooth becomes invisible while the adapter tooth becomes visible;
• displacing the vertices of the adapter tooth at the source position to the adapter tooth at the destination position;
• applying a second transparency transition from the adapter tooth at the destination position to the corresponding tooth wherein the transparency of the corresponding tooth and the transparency of the adapter tooth are gradually varied such that the adapter tooth becomes invisible while the corresponding tooth becomes visible.