Biosensor performance indicator for intraoral appliances
Granted: May 5, 2020
Patent Number:
10639134
Methods and apparatuses for monitoring either or both the performance of an orthodontic appliance for repositioning a patient's teeth and/or the user compliance in wearing the appliance using a biosensor. The apparatuses described herein may include one or more sensors, including biosensors, electrical sensors, or both, configured to generate sensor data related to user compliance and/or repositioning of the patient's teeth by an orthodontic appliance.
Dental materials using thermoset polymers
Granted: April 28, 2020
Patent Number:
10631955
Provided herein are crosslinked polymers useful in orthodontic appliances and light polymerizable liquid compositions and formulations useful for making crosslinked polymers. Also provided are methods of making an orthodontic appliance comprising a cross-linked polymer formed by a direct fabrication technique.
Imaging apparatus with temperature compensation
Granted: April 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10624720
A method of generating a three-dimensional virtual model of an intraoral object includes capturing, by an imaging apparatus for performing intraoral scans, surface scan data of the intraoral object while changing a position of at least one lens of focusing optics of the imaging apparatus, wherein the surface scan data comprises depth data for a plurality of points of the intraoral object. The method further includes adjusting the depth data for one or more of the plurality of points…
Orthodontic appliances that accommodate incremental and continuous tooth movement, systems and methods
Granted: April 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10624718
An orthodontic appliance including a shell aligner having a portion accommodating movement of a patient's bracketed teeth between a first position and the second position as elicited by force from an orthodontic braces appliance worn by the patient, related systems and methods.
System and method for detecting deviations during the course of an orthodontic treatment to gradually reposition teeth
Granted: April 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10624716
Method and system for detecting and correcting deviation during an orthodontic treatment plan is provided. The method includes the steps of receiving an un-segmented current teeth image representing a patient's teeth after an orthodontic treatment plan has begun and before the plan ends for the patient; matching a previously segmented teeth model with the current teeth image; and generating at least one corrective stage to define an intermediate tooth arrangement, wherein the at least…
Historical scan reference for intraoral scans
Granted: April 14, 2020
Patent Number:
10621723
A processing device receives a first intraoral image of a first region of a dental site and a second intraoral image of a second region of the dental site during an intraoral scan session. The processing device determines that the first intraoral does not overlap with the second intraoral image. The processing device registers the first intraoral image to the second intraoral image in a three-dimensional space according to a historical template, wherein the historical template is a…
Creating a digital dental model of a patient's teeth using interproximal information
Granted: April 14, 2020
Patent Number:
10617489
Creating a digital tooth model of a patient's tooth using interproximal information is provided. Interproximal information is received that represents a space between adjacent physical teeth of the patient. A digital teeth model of a set of physical teeth of the patient that includes the adjacent physical teeth is received. One or more digital tooth models is created that more accurately depicts one or more of the physical teeth than the corresponding digital teeth included in the…
Methods and systems for creating and interacting with three dimensional virtual models
Granted: April 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10610107
Systems and methods are provided for preparation of orthodontics and prosthodontics. A method may include scanning a patient's teeth to form first 3D data of the patient's teeth including a removable element that obscures part of the dental surfaces of the patient's teeth and non-obscured tooth surfaces, removing the removable element form the patient's teeth so that the removable element no longer obscures the part of the dental surfaces of the patient's teeth, and scanning the…
Orthodontic appliances including at least partially un-erupted teeth and method of forming them
Granted: April 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10613515
The example systems, methods, and/or computer-readable media described herein help with design of highly accurate models of un-erupted or partially erupted teeth and help fabricate of aligners for un-erupted or partially erupted teeth. Automated agents that use machine learning models to parametrically represent three-dimensional (3d) virtual representations of teeth as 3D descriptors in a 3D descriptor space are provided herein. In some implementations, the automated agents described…
Adjustment of tooth position in a virtual dental model
Granted: April 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10610332
The present disclosure provides computing device implemented methods, computing device readable media, and systems for adjustment of tooth position in a virtual dental model. Virtual dental modeling can include detecting space and/or collision between posterior teeth of an upper jaw and posterior teeth of a lower jaw in a virtual dental model that has been set in a preliminary target position. An energy function can be defined including the space and/or collision, tooth root movement,…
Identification of areas of interest during intraoral scans
Granted: April 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10610106
A processing device receives a first virtual 3D model and a second virtual 3D model, each comprising one or more teeth of a patient. The processing device compares the first virtual 3D model to the second virtual 3D model and determines, as a result of the comparing, a difference between the first virtual 3D model and the second virtual 3D model at a dental site comprising a tooth of the one or more teeth. The processing device determines whether the difference comprises a first type of…
Intraoral scanner with dental diagnostics capabilities
Granted: March 31, 2020
Patent Number:
10606911
Methods and apparatuses for generating 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) including both surface features and internal features. These methods and apparatuses may be used for identifying and evaluating lesions, caries and cracks in the teeth. Any of these methods and apparatuses may use minimum scattering coefficients and/or segmentation to…
Selection and locking of intraoral images
Granted: March 31, 2020
Patent Number:
10603136
A method includes receiving first intraoral scan data of an intraoral site, the first intraoral scan data having been generated at a first time, receiving second intraoral scan data of the intraoral site, the second intraoral scan data having been generated at a second time that is later than the first time, and analyzing the second intraoral scan data of the intraoral site relative to the first intraoral scan data of the intraoral site. The method further includes identifying an area of…
Motion compensation in a three dimensional scan
Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number:
10600160
The present disclosure provides computing device implemented methods, computing device readable media, and systems for motion compensation in a three dimensional scan. Motion compensation can include receiving three-dimensional (3D) scans of a dentition, estimating a motion trajectory from one scan to another, and calculating a corrected scan by compensating for the motion trajectory. Estimating the motion trajectory can include one or more of: registering a scan to another scan and…
Intraoral scanner with touch sensitive input
Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number:
10599227
A method includes: displaying to a display a first indication of a first segment of a patient's oral cavity to be scanned; receiving a first user input via a hand held intraoral scanning device; causing the hand held intraoral scanning device to enter a scan mode; receiving one or more intraoral scans of the first segment; generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of the first segment based on the one or more intraoral scans; displaying to the display the 3D model of the first segment;…
Methods and apparatuses for dental images
Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number:
10595966
Described herein are methods and apparatuses to obtain an image, or a set of images, of a patient's teeth from one or more predetermined viewing angles. These methods and apparatuses may include the use an overlay comprising an outline of teeth for each predetermined viewing angle. The overlay may be used for automatically capturing, focusing and/or illuminating the teeth. Also described herein are methods and apparatuses for using a series of images of the patient's teeth including a…
Interproximal reduction planning
Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number:
10595965
The present disclosure includes computing device related, systems, and methods for IPR planning as described herein. One method includes identifying a first tooth and a second tooth in a digital dental model with an overlap in a target final position in a treatment plan and identifying a reference line on each of the first tooth and the second tooth; revising the treatment plan wherein a position of each of the first tooth and the second tooth is determined in which the reference line of…
Apparatus for dental confocal imaging
Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number:
10588515
An apparatus for dental confocal imaging comprises an illumination module for generating an array of light beams, an optics system for confocal focusing of the array of light beams and a probe head with a light-guiding part having an entrance face and an exit face. The illumination module, the optics system and the probe head are arranged such that the array of light beams from the illumination module passes through the optics system, enters the light-guiding part via the entrance face…
Method of inkjet printing onto aligners
Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number:
10589545
Provided herein are methods of obtaining good photocured-ink adhesion to low surface energy materials. The methods have greatly improved adhesion of photocured ink on low surface energy materials, including those that are subjected to high humidity or wet environments. The methods take into account the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the materials and the onset for the glass transition temperature, including ink applied to an exposed surface of the material at an elevated…
Systems, methods, and devices for applying distributed forces for mandibular advancement
Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number:
10588776
Improved systems, methods, and devices for treating sleep apnea are provided herein. In one aspect, an intraoral appliance for treating sleep apnea in a patient comprises an appliance shell comprising a plurality of cavities shaped to receive teeth of a jaw of the patient. The appliance shell can comprise an advancement structure arranged to interact with an opposing jaw of the patient so as to displace the lower jaw anteriorly relative to the upper jaw. The plurality of cavities can…
