Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080233529 | Active attachments for interacting with a polymeric shell dental appliance - An active dental attachment. Specifically, an attachment device for interacting with a polymeric shell dental appliance is described. The attachment device includes an anchoring attachment body. A bonding surface is coupled to the anchoring attachment body, wherein the bonding surface is configured for anchoring the anchoring attachment body to a dental feature of a patient's dentition. A force-applying active mechanism is coupled to the anchoring attachment body. A polymeric shell dental appliance contact region is coupled to the force-applying active mechanism. The polymeric shell dental appliance contact region is configured to contact the force-applying active mechanism and apply a force generated by the force-applying active mechanism between the dental feature and the polymeric shell dental appliance when the polymeric shell dental appliance engages the force-applying active mechanism. | 09-25-2008 |
20080299507 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ALTERNATING USE ORTHODONTIC ALIGNERS - Method and system for providing a first appliance configured for positioning substantially around one or more teeth during a first portion of a recurring time period to apply one of a first predetermined force or a predetermined tooth movement on the one or more teeth, the first appliance formed of a first material, a second appliance configured for positioning substantially around the one or more teeth during a second portion of the recurring time period to apply one of a second predetermined force or a predetermined tooth movement on the one or more teeth, the second appliance formed of a second material, where at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the recurring time period is repeated at least once such that at least one of the first appliance or the second appliance is positioned again substantially around the one or more teeth during the respective first or second portion of the recurring time period are provided | 12-04-2008 |
20080300824 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING A LOCATION FOR MARKING PLACEMENT - A system and associated method for selecting or creating an area which meets meet a set of marking criteria, for example, corresponding to a minimum surface area; a maximum slope angle; and a minimum deviation from a specified height. A marking station is directed to mark the selected area that meets the marking criteria. | 12-04-2008 |
20080305453 | TREATMENT PROGRESS TRACKING AND RECALIBRATION - 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 arrangement to a pre-determined planned arrangement to determine if the actual arrangement substantially deviates from the planned arrangement, the comparing comprising matching teeth from a previously segmented model to a surface of an unsegmented representation of the actual arrangement; and calculating one or more positional differences between the actual and planned arrangements of at least some of the corresponding teeth. | 12-11-2008 |
20080305454 | TREATMENT PLANNING AND PROGRESS TRACKING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - The present invention provides systems and methods of managing planning and delivery of an orthodontic treatment using planning tools, treatment guidelines, instructions and appointment planning tools customized to the individual patient being treated, as well as tools and methods for tracking delivery and patient progression through an orthodontic treatment plan. | 12-11-2008 |
20080306724 | TREATMENT PLANNING AND PROGRESS TRACKING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - The present invention provides systems and methods of managing planning and delivery of an orthodontic treatment using planning tools, treatment guidelines, instructions and appointment planning tools customized to the individual patient being treated, as well as tools and methods for tracking delivery and patient progression through an orthodontic treatment plan. | 12-11-2008 |
20090014907 | REINFORCED THIN-SHELL MOLDS - A method and a system for forming a polymeric resin mold for molding plastic items, wherein the method includes: (a) using a rapid-prototyping process to create a polymeric resin shell having a configuration in the form of the mold; (b) introducing a reinforcing material into the shell; and (c) curing the shell. The system includes a rapid-prototyping apparatus that creates a plurality of the polymeric resin shells on a platform; a reinforcing material introduction apparatus that introduces a reinforcing material into each of the shells while the shells are on the platform to form a plurality of uncured molds on the platform; and a curing apparatus that cures the shells while they are on the platform. | 01-15-2009 |
20090132455 | AUTOMATED METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CASE MATCHING ASSESSMENT BASED ON GEOMETRICAL EVALUATION OF STAGES IN TREATMENT PLAN - Methods and systems for characterizing a dentition of a patient including receiving an initial dentition of a patient, generating an initial profile representing the initial dentition of the patient, identifying an initial malocclusion from the initial profile, comparing at least a portion of the initial profile with one or more reference profiles of reference dentitions, wherein said one or more reference profiles includes a reference malocclusion substantially similar to the initial malocclusion, and calculating a value for the closeness of the initial profile and the reference profile are provided. | 05-21-2009 |
20090148803 | Activatable dental appliance - An activatable dental appliance. A concave trough conforms to a plurality of teeth when placed over the plurality of teeth. A first force applying region is configured to apply a first force to at least one tooth of the plurality of teeth for repositioning the tooth. A second force applying region is configured to be selectively activated, wherein when selectively activated the second force applying region applies a force to at least one tooth of the plurality of teeth. | 06-11-2009 |
20090148809 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED DENTAL GEOMETRY REPRESENTATION - A digital data set representing a pre-scanned tooth geometry, including generic crown data, is merged with data representing a scanned patient tooth crown image, which lacks sufficient data to completely represent a complete tooth crown. | 06-11-2009 |
20090148814 | Dentition modeling - A dentition model material is comprised of a gypsum composition and an additive, wherein, in response to being scanned, a dentition model produced from the dentition model material is configured to produce a signature associated with the additive. | 06-11-2009 |
20090191503 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZING DENTAL ALIGNER GEOMETRY - Method and system for establishing an initial position of a tooth, determining a target position of the tooth in a treatment plan, calculating a movement vector associated with the tooth movement from the initial position to the target position, determining a plurality of components corresponding to the movement vector, and determining a corresponding one or more positions of a respective one or more attachment devices relative to a surface plane of the tooth such that the one or more attachment devices engages with a dental appliance are provided. | 07-30-2009 |
20090280450 | PRE-FORMED HARD-SHELL ATTACHMENT DEVICES FOR DENTAL APPLIANCES - A dental appliance attachment device includes a rigid, substantially non-deformable shell having a hollow interior and an exterior surface defining an external configuration of the attachment device. A curable, adhesive filler is provided in the interior of the shell. The resin is adhesively bondable to the tooth surface upon being cured so as to semi-permanently bond both the shell and the filler to the surface of the tooth. The shell, with the uncured filler material, is placed on the tooth surface at a desired site with a placement device, which may be either a placement template or an elongate placement implement. The filled shell is detachably fixed to the placement device, so that when the filled shell is placed on the tooth surface, the placement device may be removed before the filler is cured to bond the attachment device to the tooth surface. | 11-12-2009 |
20090291406 | ORTHODONTIC TOOTH MOVEMENT DEVICE, SYSTEMS AND METHODS - The present invention provides orthodontic appliances and systems, and related methods, for applying a force to a target tooth as an appliances is worn by the patient. One positioning appliance includes a tooth positioning appliance having teeth receiving cavities shaped to apply a positioning force to the patient's teeth. The appliance includes a spring-loaded tooth movement device disposed in the appliance so as to engage an attachment mounted on a surface of a patient's tooth and apply a force to the tooth. | 11-26-2009 |
20100106518 | System And Method For Providing Optimized Patient Referrals - In particular embodiments, method, apparatus and system for generating a doctor profile based on one or more parameters associated with the doctor treatment information, generating a patient dental profile based at least in part on a weighting of a plurality of orthodontic-related treatment parameters, and providing one or more doctor referrals based on the generated doctor profile and the generated orthodontic patient profile are provided. | 04-29-2010 |
20100124580 | REINFORCED THIN-SHELL MOLDS - A method and a system for forming a polymeric resin mold for molding plastic items, wherein the method includes: (a) using a rapid-prototyping process to create a polymeric resin shell having a configuration in the form of the mold; (b) introducing a reinforcing material into the shell; and (c) curing the shell. The system includes a rapid-prototyping apparatus that creates a plurality of the polymeric resin shells on a platform; a reinforcing material introduction apparatus that introduces a reinforcing material into each of the shells while the shells are on the platform to form a plurality of uncured molds on the platform; and a curing apparatus that cures the shells while they are on the platform. | 05-20-2010 |
20100129762 | DENTAL APPLIANCE WITH SIMULATED TEETH AND METHOD FOR MAKING - The present invention relates to orthodontic positioning appliances that represent teeth in desired positions and related systems and methods. An appliance can include teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to a patient's teeth. An appliance can include an outer component having a surface representing teeth in desired positions. An outer component can be integral with an appliance. An outer component can be separate and configured to couple with an appliance main body. | 05-27-2010 |
20100159413 | UV AND CHEMICAL CURE BLOCKING DENTAL TEMPLATE - A dental template formed of an ultraviolet light-blocking or chemical cure inhibition material configured to restrict the curing of excess adhesive flash during the bonding of orthodontic devices to teeth. The dental template is configured to be positioned over a patient's teeth to guide placement of brackets on the teeth. The brackets are secured to the teeth using adhesive, which is cured by exposure to ultraviolet light or chemically cured. The dental template at least partially blocks ultraviolet light or restricts the chemical cure process from fully curing the adhesive underneath the template so that any exposed adhesive “flash” underneath the template can be easily cleaned after the template is removed from the teeth. The adhesive securing the brackets to the teeth can be fully cured after the “flash” is cleaned. | 06-24-2010 |
20100167225 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DENTAL VISUALIZATION - 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 a set of output results from the simulation of the second orthodontic treatment process are provided. | 07-01-2010 |
20100234982 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING OF MASS-FABRICATED CUSTOM ITEMS - 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 inner packs; and (4) inner pack filling apparatus that fills each inner pack with a specific item matched to that inner pack by the item identification information received from the database. Each item is associated with its unique item identification information and is inserted into an inner pack with matching item identification information, and each outer container is presented for loading with one or more inner packs matched to that outer container by the item identification information received from the database. | 09-16-2010 |
20110077913 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED DENTAL GEOMETRY REPRESENTATION - A digital data set representing a pre-scanned tooth geometry, including generic crown data, is merged with data representing a scanned patient tooth crown image, which lacks sufficient data to completely represent a complete tooth crown. | 03-31-2011 |
20110165533 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ALTERNATING USE ORTHODONTIC ALIGNERS - Method and system for providing a first appliance configured for positioning substantially around one or more teeth during a first portion of a recurring time period to apply one of a first predetermined force or a predetermined tooth movement on the one or more teeth, the first appliance formed of a first material, a second appliance configured for positioning substantially around the one or more teeth during a second portion of the recurring time period to apply one of a second predetermined force or a predetermined tooth movement on the one or more teeth, the second appliance formed of a second material, where at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the recurring time period is repeated at least once such that at least one of the first appliance or the second appliance is positioned again substantially around the one or more teeth during the respective first or second portion of the recurring time period are provided | 07-07-2011 |
20120015314 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VARYING ELASTIC MODULUS APPLIANCES - The present invention provides improved devices, systems and methods for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement. Repositioning is accomplished with a system comprising a series of polymeric shell appliances configured to receive the teeth and incrementally reposition individual teeth in a series of successive steps. The individual appliances may be formed from layers having different stiffnesses (elastic moduluses), and the stiffnesses of successive appliances may be different, or both. | 01-19-2012 |
20120290115 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED DENTAL GEOMETRY REPRESENTATION - A digital data set representing a pre-scanned tooth geometry, including generic crown data, is merged with data representing a scanned patient tooth crown image, which lacks sufficient data to completely represent a complete tooth crown. | 11-15-2012 |
20130095448 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FABRICATING A DENTAL TEMPLATE - 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. | 04-18-2013 |
20140023980 | TREATMENT PROGRESS TRACKING AND RECALIBRATION - 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 arrangement to a pre-determined planned arrangement to determine if the actual arrangement substantially deviates from the planned arrangement, the comparing comprising matching teeth from a previously segmented model to a surface of an unsegmented representation of the actual arrangement; and calculating one or more positional differences between the actual and planned arrangements of at least some of the corresponding teeth. | 01-23-2014 |
20140335466 | TREATMENT PROGRESS TRACKING AND RECALIBRATION - 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 arrangement to a pre-determined planned arrangement to determine if the actual arrangement substantially deviates from the planned arrangement, the comparing comprising matching teeth from a previously segmented model to a surface of an unsegmented representation of the actual arrangement; and calculating one or more positional differences between the actual and planned arrangements of at least some of the corresponding teeth. | 11-13-2014 |
20140349242 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VARYING ELASTIC MODULUS APPLIANCES - The present invention provides improved devices, systems and methods for repositioning teeth from an initial tooth arrangement to a final tooth arrangement. Repositioning is accomplished with a system comprising a series of polymeric shell appliances configured to receive the teeth and incrementally reposition individual teeth in a series of successive steps. The individual appliances may be formed from layers having different stiffnesses (elastic moduluses), and the stiffnesses of successive appliances may be different, or both. | 11-27-2014 |