A dental restoration apparatus that eliminates time-consuming, labor-intensive steps conventionally needed to fabricate molds, and thereby facilitates dental restorations in a shorter time, while reducing the discomfort and embarrassment sometimes associated with provisional restorations, which includes an additive manufacturing apparatus (e.g., a 3-D printer) having a tool head (e.g., a print head) and a fixture for controlling the position of the tool head relative to the teeth of a patient, allowing fabrication of a planned dental structure directly on an existing dental structure.

Example dental scanning methods for analyzing jaws of a patient involve taking multiple scans of the jaws, and/or models thereof, and then shifting the image of one scan to match that of another. In some examples, fiducial markers are attached to the patient's jaws beforehand to accurately identify and track the relative position of the jaws. The methods provide a way for creating a precise image of an upper jaw and a lower jaw in their proper bite registration, even though the resulting image may show an insufficient number of teeth to readily do so. The final, properly shifted image serves as a virtual 3D jaw model that can be manipulated and analyzed to aid in various orthodontic and other dental treatments.

A method for analyzing a real dental situation of a patient. The method includes steps, as follows, in succession. At an updated instant, acquisition of an updated image representing a real dental scene as observed by an operator. Determination of a virtual dental scene as a function of the representation of the real dental scene on the updated image. Presentation of the virtual dental scene in transparent mode and overlaid on the real dental scene, or display of the updated image on a screen and presentation of the virtual dental scene overlaid with the representation of the real dental scene on the updated image displayed on the screen, in transparent mode or not on the representation.

Methods of manufacturing dental prosthesis/implants each to replace a non-functional natural tooth positioned in a jawbone of a specific pre-identified patient are provided. An example method includes the steps of receiving imaging data such as x-ray image data and surface scan data of a dental anatomy and/or a physical impression of the dental anatomy of a specific preidentified patient. The steps can also include forming a three-dimensional virtual model of at least portions of a non-functional natural tooth positioned in the jawbone of the specific pre-identified patient based on the imaging and surface scan data, virtually designing a dental implant based upon the virtual model, exporting the data describing the designed dental implant to a manufacturing machine, and custom manufacturing the dental implant for the specific patient.

A three-dimensional (3D) dental scanning system (1) for scanning a dental object (D) includes a scanning surface (124a) to support the dental object (D); a scanning section (130) to capture a 3D scan of the dental object (D); a motion section (120) to move the scanning surface (124a) and scanning section (130) relative to each other in five axes of motion, whilst retaining the scanning surface (124a) in a substantially horizontal plane, and a control unit (140) configured to control the motion section (120) and the scanning section (130) to obtain a 3D scan of the dental object (D).

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 a cheek away from a mouth of a user to expose teeth of the user. A mobile device holder can include elements to receive a mobile device to capture images of the patient's teeth.

Systems and methods for improved visual prosthetic and orthodontic treatment planning are provided herein. In some aspects, a method for preparing a tooth of a patient is disclosed. The method may comprise building a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of the initial shape of tooth. The method may also include determining a final prepared shape of the tooth. In some aspects, the method may also include generating a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth. The method may also include rendering visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan. The visualizations may depict the removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth.

A mobile orthodontic treatment system includes comprising a mobile trailer and a panoramic machine provided within the trailer. The panoramic machine is configured to obtain a 2-D image of a patient's mouth and includes a base secured to the floor of the housing and a stanchion secured to the trailer by a bracket. The mobile orthodontic treatment system further includes a digital scanner and a monitor provided within the housing. The digital scanner is configured to obtain a 3-D image of the patient's mouth and display the image on the monitor. The digital scanner and the monitor are mounted on a wall of the housing by a wall mount articulating bracket. The mobile orthodontic treatment system further includes a lift assembly provided on one of a side and an end of the housing to enable disabled people to enter and exit the housing.

Dental treatment can be provided by a system that overlays a treatment template on a patient's arch in mixed reality, enabling a practitioner to view a schematic of the dental treatment while administering the treatment itself. The system employs a physical guide which includes stabilizing pieces to hold the guide steady with respect to the area of the arch where treatment is being administered. When the physical guide is scanned, a virtual guide is produced, in relation to which the treatment template can be defined. When the physical guide is installed on the patient, the virtual guide is aligned with the physical guide, thus aligning the template with the physical arch. With the physical guide firmly in place, the guides provide abundant feature points for reliable alignment which can be maintained even while practitioners and patient's readjust their positioning throughout a treatment, or in situations where the oral anatomy may not be visible to a mixed reality device.

The method of detection of positioning of a dental implant for dental restoration involves taking a manual or digital impression of the buccal space, including a cicatrisation element secured to the implant and having an emergent surface outside the gum, and automatically detecting the positioning of the implant by identifying (i) the axis of the implant corresponding to an axis of the cicatrisation element identified by the geometry of the emergent surface or association with a cicatrisation element memorized in a database; (ii) the orientation of the implant by the orientation of the emergent surface or association with a cicatrisation element memorized in a database; and/or (iii) the height of the implant by the height of the cicatrisation element, for example based on a color or an indicator of the emergent surface or association with a cicatrisation element memorized in a database.