Palatal expanders for use with secondary dental appliances

A computer-implemented method for designing a palatal expander, the computer-implemented method comprising, by one or more processors:

• accessing a dental treatment plan for the patient, wherein the dental treatment plan comprises expanding the patient’s palate with a palatal expander and treating the patient’s teeth with a secondary dental appliance;
• determining a geometry for the palatal expander, wherein the palatal expander comprises:
• a first tooth engagement portion configured to receive one or more first teeth at a left side of an upper dental arch of the patient, wherein the first tooth engagement portion includes a first wire interface configured to removably couple to a first wire portion of the secondary dental appliance,
• a second tooth engagement portion configured to receive one or more second teeth at a right side of the upper dental arch of the patient, wherein the second tooth engagement portion includes a second wire interface configured to removably couple to a second wire portion of the secondary dental appliance, and
• a palatal portion between the first and second tooth engagement portions;
• and
• fabricating the palatal expander with the determined geometry.

A method for treating a patient’s teeth, the method comprising:

• placing a first palatal expander on the patient’s teeth, wherein the first palatal expander comprises:
• a first tooth engagement portion configured to receive one or more first teeth at a left side of an upper dental arch of the patient,
• a second tooth engagement portion configured to receive one or more second teeth at a right side of the upper dental arch of the patient, and
• a palatal portion between the first and second tooth engagement portions;
• coupling a first wire portion of a secondary dental appliance to the first tooth engagement portion;
• and
• coupling a second wire portion of the secondary dental appliance to the second tooth engagement portion.