Mandibular advancement and retraction via bone anchoring devices
Granted: December 31, 2019
Patent Number:
10517701
Systems, methods, devices and apparatus for mandibular advancement or retraction via bone anchoring devices are described herein. In various aspects, an apparatus for treating a patient via mandibular advancement or retraction comprises a plurality of anchoring devices positioned in the patient's intraoral cavity. Each of the plurality of anchoring devices can be positioned in bone of the patient's upper jaw or bone of the patient's lower jaw. One or more connecting structures can be…
Treatment progress tracking and recalibration
Granted: December 31, 2019
Patent Number:
10517696
The present invention relates to systems and methods of developing and tracking delivery and patient progression through an orthodontic treatment plan. One method includes identifying deviations from an orthodontic treatment plan, including receiving a digital representation of an actual arrangement of a patient's teeth after an orthodontic treatment plan has begun for the patient and prior to completion of the orthodontic treatment plan. The method further includes comparing the actual…
Speckle reduction method and apparatus
Granted: December 24, 2019
Patent Number:
10514293
An apparatus adapted for confocal imaging of a non-flat specimen comprising a coherent light source for producing a light beam, imaging optics adapted to focus the light beam into at least one spot on a surface of a specimen, and a detector adapted to receive and detect light reflected from the specimen surface. The imaging optics comprise at least one optical component located so that the light reflected from the specimen surface passes therethrough on its way to the detector. The…
Method and system for dental visualization
Granted: December 24, 2019
Patent Number:
10512524
In particular embodiments, method, apparatus and system for receiving digital representations of the initial parameters of a dentition; simulating a first orthodontic treatment process on the digital representations of the initial parameters, displaying a set of output results from the simulation of the first orthodontic treatment process, simulating a second orthodontic treatment process on the output results from the simulation of the first orthodontic treatment process, and displaying…
Methods and apparatuses for forming a three-dimensional volumetric model of a subject's teeth
Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10509838
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…
Imaging apparatus with simplified optical design
Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10507089
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…
Imaging apparatus with simplified optical design
Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10507088
Embodiments are directed to an imaging apparatus, which in an embodiment includes a light source to provide light, optics, a translation mechanism and a detector. The optics include focusing optics to perform focusing of the light onto a non-flat focal surface and to direct the light toward a three dimensional object. The translation mechanism adjusts a location of at least one lens of the focusing optics to displace the non-flat focal surface. The detector measures intensities of…
Methods and apparatuses for forming a three-dimensional volumetric model of a subject's teeth
Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10507087
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…
Methods and systems for treating teeth
Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10507079
A system for repositioning teeth comprises a plurality of individual appliances used with braces. The appliances are configured to be placed successively on the patient's teeth and to incrementally reposition the teeth from an initial tooth arrangement, through a plurality of intermediate tooth arrangements, and to a final tooth arrangement. The appliances may be substituted with braces as appropriate to optimize the treatment of the teeth.
Training method and system for oral-cavity-imaging-and-modeling equipment
Granted: December 10, 2019
Patent Number:
10504386
The current document is directed to methods and systems that provide semi-automated and automated training to technicians who use oral-cavity-imaging-and-modeling systems to accurately and efficiently generate three-dimensional models of patients' teeth and underlying tissues. The training methods and systems are implemented either as subsystems within oral-cavity-imaging-and-modeling systems or as separate system in electronic communication oral-cavity-imaging-and-modeling systems. The…
Methods of packaging mass-fabricated custom items
Granted: December 10, 2019
Patent Number:
10501214
A system for packaging mass-customized items includes a computer system including a database containing item identification information unique to each item; (2) outer container identification apparatus that applies the item identification information received from the database to each outer container in a plurality of outer containers; (3) inner pack identification apparatus that applies the item identification information received from the database to each inner pack in a plurality of…
Longitudinal analysis and visualization under limited accuracy system
Granted: December 10, 2019
Patent Number:
10499793
Processing logic makes a comparison between first image data and second image data of a dental arch and determines a plurality of spatial differences between a first representation of the dental arch in the first image data and a second representation of the dental arch in the second image data. The processing logic determines that a first spatial difference is attributable to scanner inaccuracy and that a second spatial difference is attributable to a clinical change to the dental arch.…
3D printed composites from a single resin by patterned light exposures
Granted: December 3, 2019
Patent Number:
10495973
Provided herein are processes for the generation of composite polymer materials utilizing a single resin. The processes utilize diffusion between a region undergoing a polymerization reaction preferentially polymerizing one monomer component and an unreactive region. Diffusion and subsequent/concurrent polymerization results in a higher concentration of the more reactive monomer component in the reacting region and a higher concentration of the less reactive monomer components in the…
Dental materials using thermoset polymers
Granted: December 3, 2019
Patent Number:
10492888
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.
Viewfinder with real-time tracking for intraoral scanning
Granted: November 26, 2019
Patent Number:
10485639
Methods and systems for scanning an intraoral cavity of a patient provide capturing one or more viewfinder images of the intraoral cavity and scanning the intraoral cavity with an intraoral scanner to generate one or more topography scans of the intraoral cavity. The one or more topography scans may correspond to the one or more viewfinder images. The methods and systems further provide capturing a viewfinder image of a portion of the intraoral cavity, the viewfinder image overlapping…
Confocal imaging using astigmatism
Granted: November 26, 2019
Patent Number:
10485415
An intraoral scanning device comprises a hand-held housing and a confocal imaging device disposed in the hand-held housing. The confocal imaging device has a predetermined astigmatic aberration disposed in a light path thereof to asymmetrically focus light in a predetermined manner, wherein the light is associated with an image of a portion of an object captured by the confocal imaging device.
Selection and locking of intraoral images
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10470846
A processing device receives an intraoral image of a first intraoral site. The processing device selects a portion of the intraoral image that depicts a portion of the first intraoral site. The processing device locks at least the portion of the intraoral image. The processing device may then generate a model comprising the first intraoral site based at least in part on the locked intraoral image, wherein the portion of the intraoral image is used for a first region of the model, and…
Method of inkjet printing onto aligners
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10471741
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…
Reduced registration bonding template
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10470848
A dental template for positioning an object on teeth of a patient and method for fabricating the same. The method includes creating a digital model of the patient's teeth, creating a simplified template model based on the digital model, and fabricating the dental template based on the simplified template model. The template model is simplified by removing certain features of the patient's tooth anatomy. The dental template can be located on a patient's teeth using four or fewer…
Intraoral appliances with sensing
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10470847
Detection of placement of dental aligners in patient mouth on teeth for indication of wearing compliance. Described herein are apparatuses and methods for detecting wearing, including compliance, and for reliably transferring data, by wired or wireless direct or indirect communication of electronic compliance information to a smartphone. Also described herein are dental appliances that can detect physiological parameters related to respiration and sleep. Also described herein are aligner…
