Custom orthodontic appliance system and method
AssigneeOrmco Corporation
InventorCraig A. Andreiko
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Various features are provided for a custom orthodontic appliance manufacturing or designing system. These include features for inputting of data of patient anatomy and practitioner decisions, features for interactively or automatically manipulating data to arrive at applicant characteristics, and features for affecting design or manufacture of the appliance.
Claims18
A method of representing a three dimensional tooth object for use in determining an orthodontic setup of the teeth using a computer system, comprising:
- displaying data of a three-dimensional object for at least one molar;
- selecting groove and cusp reference points from the displayed object;
- and
- defining from the selected groove and cusp reference points lines representative of the orientation of the tooth object, wherein:
- the groove and cusp reference points include a distal-lingual groove point (DLG.Pt), a distal-lingual cusp point (DLC.Pt), a mesial-lingual cusp point (MLC.Pt), a facial cusp point (FC.Pt), and a mesial-facial cusp point (MFC.Pt) from the displayed object;
- and
- the lines defined from groove and cusp reference points include, from points DLC.Pt and MLC.Pt a labial cusp line segment (LC.Li), from points FC.Pt and MFC.Pt a facial cusp line segment (FC.Li), and from points DLG.Pt and MFC.Pt a line segment Stolar.Li.
A method of representing a three dimensional tooth object for use in determining an orthodontic setup of the teeth using a computer system, comprising:
- displaying data of a three-dimensional object for at least one molar;
- selecting groove and cusp reference points from the displayed object;
- and
- defining from the selected groove and cusp reference points lines representative of the orientation of the tooth object, wherein:
- the selecting includes:
- selecting a mesial-lingual cusp point (MLC.Pt), a distal-lingual cusp point (DLC.Pt), a mesial facial cusp point (MFC.Pt), and a distal-facial cusp point (DFC.Pt), and
- selecting mesial and distal marginal ridges as points MMR.Pt and DMR.Pt, respectively;
- and
- the defining includes:
- defining from points MLC.Pt and DLC.Pt a labial cusp line segment (LC.Li), from points MFC.Pt and DFC.Pt a facial cusp line segment (FC.Li),
- defining a marginal ridge line segment (MR.Li) as that through points MMR.Pt and DMR.Pt, and
- defining from points MMR.Pt and DLC.Pt a line segment Stolar.Li.
A method of representing a three dimensional tooth object for use in determining an orthodontic setup of the teeth using a computer system, comprising:
- displaying data of a three-dimensional object for at least one molar;
- selecting groove and cusp reference points from the displayed object;
- defining from the selected groove and cusp reference points lines representative of the orientation of the tooth object;
- determining an arch shaped arrangement for an orthodontic setup of the teeth, by the steps of:
- generating on a computer a mandibular model of the patient's teeth that includes gingival or jaw shape data;
- generating a section through the model through the gingiva or jaw;
- selecting points defining facial and lingual boundaries and defining thereby a mandibular trough of the patient,
- displaying the mandibular trough on a computer display;
- and
- calculating a smooth symmetrical bezier curve through the trough between corresponding labial and lingual points;
- the curve having handles at the midline and at the distal ends thereof to allow an operator to modify the shape of the bezier curve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.