Back to results
US 6,190,170 B1Granted
Automated tooth shade analysis and matching system
AssigneeDentech, Inc.
InventorsAlan C. Morris, Craig A. Mabrito, Matthew R. Roberts
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeDentech, Inc.
InventorsAlan C. Morris, Craig A. Mabrito, Matthew R. Roberts
Estimating the term…
A patient's dental prosthesis (e.g., a prosthesis tooth, crown, veneer, or bridge) is made by acquiring an image of the patient's teeth that contains black and white normalization references. These references are black and white porcelain, for example, that allow software of the invention to determine absolute black and absolute white within the image. The image is then normalized in accordance with the normalization references, which corrects the image for variations in lighting conditions and image source. The normalized image is then standardized by matching the pixels of the normalized image to selected shade standards. The dental prosthesis can then be manufactured by a lab technician by referring to the standardized image. The tooth shade analysis and matching system is also applicable to direct restorations of natural teeth, such as repair of chipped or broken teeth.
A method of effecting a dental repair or replacement, the method comprising:
A method of performing image analysis on a patient's teeth, the method comprising:
An apparatus for performing image analysis on a patient's teeth, the apparatus comprising:
An electronic system comprising an input device, an output device, a memory device, and a processor device coupled to the input, output, and memory devices, one or more of the input, output, processor, and memory devices comprising an apparatus for performing image analysis on a patient's teeth, the apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.