Back to results
US 6,450,807 B1Granted
System and method for positioning teeth
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsMuhammad Chishti, Andrew Beers
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatus fit a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system by generating a computer representation of the masticatory system and computing an occlusion based on interactions in the computer representation of the masticatory system.
Claims48
A method for fitting a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system of a patient, comprising:
- scanning a patient's teeth on a physical model thereof, to obtain data;
- receiving the data obtained by the scanning;
- generating a computer representation of the masticatory system of the patient;
- determining an occlusion from the computer representation of the masticatory system;
- and
- generating a plurality of appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth based on the determined occlusion, 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.
3 more elements
A method for fitting a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system of a patient, comprising:
- generating a computer representation of the masticatory system of the patient;
- determining an occlusion from the computer representation of the masticatory system, including:
- modeling an ideal set of teeth;
- automatically applying the ideal set of teeth to the computer representation of the masticatory system of the patient;
- and
- optimizing the position of the patient's teeth to fit the ideal set of teeth;
- wherein the masticatory system includes jaws and wherein the applying step includes:
- registering a model of the upper and lower teeth with a model of the masticatory system;
- simulating the motion of the jaws to generate contact data between the upper and lower teeth;
- and
- placing a tooth in a final position based on the contact data and updating the computer representation of the masticatory system with new patient data,
- wherein the patient has a first teeth model, further comprising:
- scanning the teeth of the patient to generate a second teeth model;
- matching the second teeth model with the first teeth model;
- applying a final position transform to the second teeth model;
- and
- adjusting the position of teeth in the second model based on new information.
14 more elements
A computer-implemented apparatus for defining a fit between a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system of a patient, the apparatus comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
- scan a patient's teeth on a physical model thereof, to obtain data;
- receiving the data obtained by the scanning;
- generate a computer representation of the masticatory system of the patient;
- determine an occlusion from the computer representation of the masticatory system;
- and
- generate a plurality of appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth based on the determined occlusion, 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.
3 more elements
A system for defining a fit between a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system of a patient, comprising:
- a processor;
- a display device coupled to the processor;
- and
- a data storage device coupled to the processor, the data storage device storing instructions operable to cause the processor to:
- scan a patient's teeth on a physical model thereof, to obtain data;
- receiving the data obtained by the scanning;
- generate a computer representation of the masticatory system of the patient;
- determine an occlusion from the computer representation of the masticatory system;
- and
- generate a plurality of appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth based on the determined occlusion, 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.
7 more elements
A system for generating one or more appliances for a patient, comprising:
- a processor;
- a display device coupled to the processor;
- a data storage device coupled to the processor;
- a scanner coupled to the processor for providing data to model the masticatory system;
- means for scanning a patient's teeth on a physical model thereof, to obtain data;
- receiving the data obtained by the scanning;
- means for defining a fit between a set of upper and lower teeth in a masticatory system of the patient;
- means for fabricating a dental appliance coupled to the processor for generating the appliances in accordance with the fit of the teeth;
- and
- means for generating a plurality of appliances having geometries selected to progressively reposition the teeth based on the determined occlusion, 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.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.