Methods and systems for thermal forming an object
Granted: April 25, 2023
Patent Number:
11633877
A method and system for thermal forming an object. A mold is provided, a shape of which corresponds to a desired shape of the object. A material is inserted into a heating area, and the material is heated using a plurality of independently controllable heat sources that heat different areas of the material. The heated material is then disposed over or into at least a portion of the mold so as to deform the material. The deformed material may then be trimmed so as to form the object.
Tooth shading, transparency and glazing
Granted: April 25, 2023
Patent Number:
11633268
Systems, methods, and/or computer-readable media described herein provide technical solutions to the highly technical problems of machine generation of dental restorations. In particular, these systems, methods and/or computer readable media may provide technical solutions to aid in the creation of dental restorations that more closely resemble a natural tooth (including its internal optical structure). These systems, methods and/or computer readable media may help in virtually rendering…
Dental appliance with repositioning jaw elements
Granted: April 25, 2023
Patent Number:
11633261
The present disclosure provides method, computing device readable medium, and devices for dental appliances with repositioning jaw elements. An example of a method can include identifying a misaligned jaw of a patient from a virtual image of the patient's jaw, providing a treatment plan for the patient including a virtual model of a dental appliance having a first shell and a second shell configured to reposition at least one tooth of the patient, and adjusting the position of the…
Methods of manufacturing and inspecting customized dental appliances
Granted: April 18, 2023
Patent Number:
11631176
A method includes obtaining image(s) of a dental device, determining file(s) including at least one of a first model of the dental device or a second model of a mold, determining an intended property for the dental device based on at least one of the first model or the second model, and determining an actual property of the dental device from the image(s). The method further includes determining whether a cutline variation, an arch variation, and/or a bend of the dental device is…
Intraoral scanner with fixed focal position and/or motion tracking
Granted: April 18, 2023
Patent Number:
11629954
An apparatus for measuring a surface topography of a patient's teeth may include an optical probe, a light source configured to generate incident light, and focusing optics configured to focus one or more wavelengths of the incident light to a fixed focal position external to the optical probe, wherein the fixed focal position is fixed relative to the optical probe. The apparatus may further include a light sensor configured to measure a characteristic of returned light generated by…
Methods and apparatuses for forming a model of a subject's teeth
Granted: April 18, 2023
Patent Number:
11628046
Methods and apparatuses for generating and displaying a model of a subject's teeth. Described herein are intraoral scanning methods and apparatuses for generating a three-dimensional model of a subject's intraoral region (e.g., teeth). These methods and apparatuses may be used for identifying and evaluating lesions, caries and cracks in the teeth.
Orthodontic repositioning appliances having improved geometry, methods and systems
Granted: April 18, 2023
Patent Number:
11628044
The present invention provides methods and systems including orthodontic tooth positioning appliances. An exemplary appliance can include teeth receiving cavities shaped such that, when worn by a patient, repositioning the patient's teeth from a first arrangement toward a subsequent or target arrangement. Appliances can include a cavity having one or more shaped features or protrusions shaped and/or positioned so as to apply a desired force to a patient's tooth received in the cavity and…
Methods for thermal forming an object
Granted: April 11, 2023
Patent Number:
11623368
Methods for thermal forming an object are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes reading a mold identifier located on or in a mold, and determining mold process information from the mold identifier, the mold process information including heating information. The method can include heating a thermoformable material according to the heating information by adjusting power of one or more independently controllable heat sources. The method can also include monitoring one or more…
Aligner stage analysis to obtain mechanical interactions of aligners and teeth for treatment planning
Granted: April 11, 2023
Patent Number:
11622836
Systems and methods of simulating, modeling, and validating orthodontic treatment are disclosed. The method may include designing an orthodontic treatment system or force system, generative a displacement field between a first position of a patient's teeth and a second position, modeling the three-dimensional force-displacement model generated by the treatment system or force system, and validating the treatment system or force system. The methods disclosed herein may be iterated to…
Orthodontic appliance performance monitor
Granted: March 28, 2023
Patent Number:
11612455
Apparatuses and methods for monitoring the performance of an orthodontic appliance for repositioning a patient's teeth. An orthodontic appliance may include a plurality of teeth receiving cavities shaped to reposition the patient's teeth from an initial arrangement towards a target arrangement, and one or more sensors configured to determine tooth movement (based on position and/or orientation) and/or forces applied to the teeth. The sensor may be distributed between attachments and…
Individualized orthodontic treatment index
Granted: March 28, 2023
Patent Number:
11612454
Embodiments are provided for using an individualized orthodontic treatment index. One method embodiment includes receiving an initial virtual dental model from a first scan of a patient's dentition, modifying the initial virtual dental model to create a target virtual dental model according to a treatment goal, assigning a number of dental references to the target virtual dental model, receiving a treatment outcome virtual dental model from a second scan of the patient's dentition,…
Estimating a surface texture of a tooth
Granted: March 28, 2023
Patent Number:
11612326
Embodiments for estimating a surface texture of a tooth are described herein. One method embodiment includes collecting a sequence of images utilizing multiple light conditions using an intra-oral imaging device and estimating the surface texture of the tooth based on the sequence of images.
Methods for volume manufacturing of items
Granted: March 21, 2023
Patent Number:
11610274
Methods for volume manufacturing of a plurality of unique items are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes: (a) initiating a predefined fabrication processing time period, (b) retrieving a fabrication data package containing manufacturing data, (c) verifying the fabrication data package for accuracy and completeness of the manufacturing data contained therein, and (d) performing at least one fabrication process in accordance with the manufacturing data contained in the…
Method and system for providing dynamic orthodontic assessment and treatment profiles
Granted: March 21, 2023
Patent Number:
11607291
Method and system for displaying an orthodontic related image including one or more image segments, selecting one or more movement indicators associated with a corresponding one or more of the image segments, and dynamically displaying a modified orthodontic related image based on the selected one or more movement indicators are provided.
Aligner material, cleanliness, and quality detection via aligner case
Granted: March 14, 2023
Patent Number:
11602414
Embedded sensors and onboard or off-board processing in an aligner case can detect aligner material and/or quality. Material detection can be used for counterfeit detection, or to trigger material specific events. Quality detection can include detection of common aligner failures or defects. A case for a dental appliance may include a tray for supporting the dental appliance, a cover coupled to the tray, and at least one sensor to detect a deformation of the dental appliance. A case for…
Laser marking of dental appliances
Granted: March 14, 2023
Patent Number:
11602413
Dental appliances, materials, and methods of forming such appliances and materials for improved laser marking are provided herein including the use of textured and/or roughened surfaces to enhance laser marking.
Preventing interference between tooth models
Granted: March 14, 2023
Patent Number:
11602411
Systems and methods are disclosed to prevent interference between two physical tooth models in a physical dental arch model by acquiring the coordinates of a plurality of points on the surfaces of each of the two physical tooth models and digitally representing the surfaces of each of the two physical tooth models by a mesh of points in three dimensions using the acquired coordinates. The meshes representing the surfaces of the two physical tooth models intersect at least at one point to…
Dental attachment placement structure
Granted: March 7, 2023
Patent Number:
11596502
The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental attachment placement structure. One dental attachment placement apparatus includes a body having an attachment placement surface that is to be placed on an attachment affixing surface of a tooth and wherein the attachment placement surface includes a portion that is shaped to allow placement of an attachment at a particular position on the affixing surface of the tooth and a…
Dental appliance with cavity for an unerupted or erupting tooth
Granted: March 7, 2023
Patent Number:
11596499
A method includes to receive, via a computing device, data representing a plurality of teeth, identify data indicating which of the plurality of teeth are unerupted or erupting, predict at least one characteristic of a tooth of the unerupted or erupting teeth after they have fully erupted using one or more tooth eruption prediction factors, generate new data representing the unerupted or erupting teeth in multiple states of eruption based upon the predicted at least one characteristic of…
Cheek retractor and mobile device holder
Granted: February 28, 2023
Patent Number:
11589743
The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems that utilize a cheek retractor and/or a mobile device holder for case assessment and/or dental treatments. One cheek retractor includes a first and a second lip holder, both including imaging markers of a predetermined size to determine a scale of teeth of a user, where each imaging marker is located a predefined distance from the remaining imaging markers, and where the lip holder is to hold…
