Method and system for incrementally moving teeth
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsMuhammad Chishti, Apostolos Lerios, Brian Freyburger, Kelsey Wirth, Richard Ridgley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for repositioning teeth comprises a plurality of individual appliances. The appliances are configured to be placed successively on the patient's teeth and to incrementally reposition the teeth from an initial tooth arrangement, through a plurality of intermediate tooth arrangements, and to a final tooth arrangement. The system of appliances is usually configured at the outset of treatment so that the patient may progress through treatment without the need to have the treating professional perform each successive step in the procedure.
Claims29
A system for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement, said system comprising a plurality of dental incremental position adjustment appliances including:
- a first appliance having a geometry selected to reposition the teeth from the initial tooth arrangement to a first intermediate arrangement;
- one or more intermediate appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the first intermediate arrangement to successive intermediate arrangements;
- and
- a final appliance having a geometry selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the last intermediate arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the appliances comprise polymeric shells having cavities and wherein the cavities of successive shells have different geometries shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth from one arrangement to a successive arrangement.
A method for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement, said method comprising:
- placing a first incremental position adjustment appliance in a patient's mouth, wherein the first appliance has a geometry selected to reposition the teeth from the initial tooth arrangement to a first intermediate arrangement;
- successively replacing one or more additional appliances, wherein the additional appliances have geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the first intermediate arrangement to successive intermediate arrangements;
- and
- placing a final appliance into the patient's mouth, wherein the final appliance has a geometry selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the last intermediate arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the appliances comprise polymeric shells having cavities shaped and wherein the cavities of successive shells have difficult geometries to receive and resiliently reposition teeth from one arrangement to a successive arrangement.
An improved method for repositioning teeth using appliances comprising polymeric shells having cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth to produce a final tooth arrangement, wherein the improvement comprises determining at the outset of treatment geometries for at least three appliances which are to be worn successively by a patient to reposition teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the cavities of successive shells have different geometries.
A system for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement, said system comprising a plurality of dental incremental position adjustment appliances including:
- a first appliance having a geometry selected to reposition the teeth from the initial tooth arrangement to a first intermediate arrangement;
- one or more intermediate appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the first intermediate arrangement to successive intermediate arrangements;
- and
- a final appliance having a geometry selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the last intermediate arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the appliances comprise polymeric shells having cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth from one arrangement to a successive arrangement and wherein the tooth positions defined by the cavities in each successive appliance differ from those defined by the prior appliance by no more than 2 mm.
A method for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement, said method comprising:
- placing a first incremental position adjustment appliance in a patient's mouth, wherein the first appliance has a geometry selected to reposition the teeth from the initial tooth arrangement to a first intermediate arrangement;
- successively replacing one or more additional appliances, wherein the additional appliances have geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the first intermediate arrangement to successive intermediate arrangements;
- and
- placing a final appliance into the patient's mouth, wherein the final appliance has a geometry selected to progressively reposition the teeth from the last intermediate arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the appliances comprise polymeric shells having cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth from one arrangement to a successive arrangement, and wherein the tooth positions defined by the cavities in each successive appliance differ from those defined by the prior appliance by no more than 2 mm.
An improved method for repositioning teeth using appliances comprising polymeric shells having cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth to produce a final tooth arrangement, wherein the improvement comprises determining at the outset of treatment geometries for at least three appliances which are to be worn successively by a patient to reposition teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to the final tooth arrangement, wherein the tooth positions defined by the cavities in each successive appliance differ from those defined by the previous appliance by no more than 2 mm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.