Intraoral scanner with dental diagnostics capabilities
Granted: March 10, 2020
Patent Number:
10585958
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…
System and method for positioning three-dimensional brackets on teeth
Granted: March 10, 2020
Patent Number:
10582986
System and methods for positioning 3D virtual brackets on teeth for the precise positioning of conventional brackets and wire. Various reference features may be calculated for the teeth and used to calculate a position for the virtual bracket. Reference features that are calculated include curve of Spee, Andrew's plane, and a facial axis of the clinical crown for the teeth.
Method for manipulating a dental virtual model, method for creating physical entities based on a dental virtual model thus manipulated, and dental models thus created
Granted: February 25, 2020
Patent Number:
10568722
A 3D virtual model of an intra oral cavity in which at least a part of a finish line of a preparation is obscured is manipulated in virtual space by means of a computer or the like to create, recreate or reconstruct finish line data and other geometrical corresponding to the obscured part. Trimmed virtual models, and trimmed physical models, can then be created utilizing data thus created. The virtual models and/or the physical models may be used in the design and manufacture of copings…
Systems and methods for fabricating a dental template
Granted: February 25, 2020
Patent Number:
10568717
A dental template to position an object on a patient's tooth includes digitizing the patient's tooth; adding virtual objects to predetermined locations on the digitized tooth; and fabricating the dental template to locate the object on the patient's tooth. The template can be used for etching or for positioning brackets on teeth.
Generating a dynamic three-dimensional occlusogram
Granted: February 18, 2020
Patent Number:
10561476
Methods and systems for generating a three-dimensional occlusogram are disclosed. One method includes determining a virtual three dimensional (3D) mesh model object of at least one tooth of a patient and displaying the determined virtual 3D mesh model object of at least one tooth of a patient wherein the 3D mesh model object includes a plurality of data sets associated with a set of occlusal information for the at least one tooth of the patient.
Direct fabrication of orthodontic appliances with elastics
Granted: February 11, 2020
Patent Number:
10555792
Improved orthodontic appliances, along with related systems and methods, are provided. In one aspect, an appliance includes a shell having a plurality of cavities shaped to receive teeth, a discontinuity formed in the shell, and an elastic member positioned to interact with the discontinuity. In another aspect, an appliance includes a plurality of discrete shell segments joined by an elastic material to form a single appliance shell. In another aspect, an appliance includes a shell…
Treatment analysis systems and methods
Granted: February 4, 2020
Patent Number:
10553309
A dental treatment planning system includes an input form to receive one or more dental patient inputs; and an engine adapted to receive the dental patient data from the input form and validating the dental patient data in a predetermined sequence.
Dental appliance etch template
Granted: February 4, 2020
Patent Number:
10548700
The present disclosure provides methods, devices, and systems that utilize dental appliance etch templates prior to or during dental treatment. One dental appliance etch template includes a removable shell having one or more cavities formed therein, where the one or more cavities are shaped to receive teeth of a patient, and the shell includes a well, the well including a wafer, where the wafer includes etch material to etch a tooth of the patient.
Dental implant positioning
Granted: January 28, 2020
Patent Number:
10543064
Methods, devices, systems, and series of appliances are provided for dental implant positioning. One method for positioning an implant with dental treatment includes determining an implant location based on a virtual model of an optimized dental occlusion, moving one or more teeth using a first number of a series of dental appliances, from a first orientation to a second orientation, the second orientation exposing the implant location, placing an implant at the exposed implant location…
Method and system for fabricating a dental coping, and a coping fabricated thereby
Granted: January 28, 2020
Patent Number:
10543066
A wax model of a required coping is produced using CNC machining techniques based on a virtual model of the coping created from digital data obtained from the intraoral cavity. The dental coping is then fabricated from the wax model.
Systems and methods for positioning a patient's mandible in response to sleep apnea status
Granted: January 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10537463
Systems, methods, devices, and apparatus for positioning a patient's mandible in response to sleep apnea status are provided herein. In one aspect, a system for monitoring and treating sleep apnea in a patient comprises one or more sensors configured to monitor the patient for symptoms associated with sleep apnea; an intraoral appliance worn by the patient, one or more processors, and memory comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more…
Dental appliance with repositioning jaw elements
Granted: January 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10537406
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…
Dental appliance with cavity for an unerupted or erupting tooth
Granted: January 21, 2020
Patent Number:
10537405
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…
Systems and methods for improved engagement between aligners and teeth
Granted: January 14, 2020
Patent Number:
10531934
A system and method for repositioning teeth in a patient jaw includes an attachment bonded to a tooth. The attachment has at least one force receiving component for receiving a force. A polymeric shell repositioning appliance is positioned over at least some of the teeth in the patient jaw. The polymeric shell has at least one force transmitting component for engaging the force receiving component to form a locus of engagement. The locus of engagement transmits the force and moves but is…
Methods for dental diagnostics
Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10528636
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…
Method, apparatus and system for use in dental procedures
Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10524886
A method and system are provided for providing patient data useful for dental procedures, including scanning a dental structure of a patient when coupled to a geometric structure to provide a virtual model representative of the coupling and the dental structure, and relating the virtual model to a body reference of the patient.
Patterned dental positioning appliance
Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10524881
Embodiments are provided for a patterned dental positioning appliance. One method embodiment includes receiving a dental mold of a patient's dentition, applying a pattern to a portion of the dental mold, and applying a material to the dental mold to form the removable dental positioning appliance that includes either the pattern on the portion of the dental mold or an inverse thereof.
Preventing interference between tooth models
Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10524880
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…
Automated treatment staging for teeth
Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number:
10524879
Apparatus, system, and methods for utilizing one or more computing devices to stage the movement of teeth during an alignment treatment are disclosed. The computing device receives an electronic representation of the patient's teeth in their initial position and an electronic representation of the teeth a final position for each tooth. A route each tooth will travel to reach its final position is determined, and the teeth are scheduled to move according to a movement pattern. Moreover,…
Optical coherence tomography for orthodontic aligners
Granted: December 31, 2019
Patent Number:
10517482
Methods and apparatuses for 3D imaging (including 3D optical coherence tomography imaging) to measure the shape of orthodontic aligners, teeth, and other oral structures simultaneously, in-vivo or in-vitro. These methods and apparatuses may be used to determine contact locations of aligners with teeth and/or teeth with other teeth with very high precision, including determining the size of gaps where they are not in contact. These measurements may be used design, modify or replace an…
