A method for acquiring at least one two-dimensional image of a part of arches of a patient includes steps carried out by the patient or other person who is not a dental health professional, for example, including placing a dental separator in the mouth of the patient in order to separate the lips of the patient and improve the visibility of the teeth during the acquisition of said at least one two-dimensional image, and acquiring, in a mouth closed position and with a personal image acquisition apparatus, said at least one two-dimensional image.

Computer implemented method of generating a dental design, comprising: (a) capturing a facial image comprising a head of a patient and a smile; (b) displaying it as a first image; (c) capturing a 3D intraoral scan; (d) aligning the 3D scan to the head; (e) determining bounding boxes in the 3D scan, each comprising a single tooth; (f) showing a view of the 3D scan and the bounding boxes as a second image; (g) showing the bounding boxes as overlay on the first image; (i) allowing the bounding boxes to be resized/repositioned; (ii) defining a limited set of parameters to characterize the tooth inside the bounding box, and searching a number of candidate matching teeth from a 3D digital library of teeth, and proposing a candidate matching tooth; (iii) overlaying the first image with a digital representation of the proposed candidate matching tooth from the digital library.

The dental bridge fitting system is a medical device. The dental bridge fitting system is configured for use in measuring the oral surface contours of a patient. The measurements taken by the dental bridge fitting system allow for the fabrication of a dental prosthetic device, such as a bridge, that fits flush on the oral surface that was measured by the dental bridge fitting system. The dental bridge fitting system comprises a mouthpiece, a plurality of capture devices, an image processor, and a master processor. The mouthpiece contains the plurality of capture devices. The plurality of capture devices, the image processor, and the master processor are electrically interconnected.

An intraoral scanner includes an image capturing device and a processor. A method of operating the intraoral scanner includes the image capturing device sequentially capturing M images of a buccal bite, the processor generating M sets of buccal bite point clouds according to the M images, the processor matching the M sets of buccal bite point clouds to generate a bite model, when the number of data points of the bite model exceeds a first threshold, the processor computing P sets of bite feature descriptors of the bite model, when a predetermined quantity of bite feature descriptors in a set of bite feature descriptors of the P sets of bite feature descriptors exceeds a second threshold, the processor performing a registration on an upper arch model and a lower arch model to the buccal bite mode to generate a full mouth model.

A method for forming a virtual 3D mathematical model of a dental system, including receiving DICOM files representing the dental system; identifying number and location of voxels of tissues of the dental system; combining the voxels of the tissues into voxels of organs of the dental system; combining the organs into the virtual 3D mathematical model of the dental system, wherein the virtual 3D mathematical models supports linear, non-linear and volumetric measurements of the dental system; and presenting the virtual 3D mathematical model to a user. The DICOM files can be cone beam or multispiral computed tomography, MRT, PET and/or ultrasonography. The tissues include enamel, dentin, pulp, cartilage, periodontium, and/or jaw bone. The organs include teeth, gums, temporomandibular joint and/or jaw. A size of the voxels is typically between 40 μm and 200 μm.

Methods for designing and fabrication of a series of apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate (“palatal expanders”). In particular, described herein are methods and apparatuses for forming palatal expanders, including rapid palatal expanders, as well as series of palatal expanders formed as described herein and apparatuses for designing and fabricating them.

A pulp cavity distance measurement system according to the present invention comprises: a first scan unit which acquires surface data; and a second scan unit which acquires volume data that is scan information different from the surface data, wherein the surface data and volume data are delivered via a database unit included in a control unit, and are merged into a single piece of data by a data merging unit. The shortest distance (pulp cavity distance) from the surface of the enamel of a tooth to the surface of the pulp cavity is calculated from the merged data, and the pulp cavity distance may be visually displayed by a distance stage display unit by using the calculated distance information (data). Here, the visual display may be expressed using colors or patterns having specific markings, and have a plurality of patterns so that the distance is displayed so as to be divided in stages. Accordingly, the system is advantageous in that a therapist can minimize tooth preparation in a part in which the distance to the pulp cavity is short, and reduce the discomfort of a patient due to vibrations caused by tooth preparation.

In an alignment state indicating apparatus and method according to the present invention, scanning is performed by means of a scanner, raw data is formed through light incident into the scanner, 3D data is formed through the raw data, and alignment is performed. When it is determined that such an alignment process of 3D data is not performed normally, the alignment state indicating apparatus and method according to the present invention provide visual feedback to a user on an alignment error in the form of a specific pattern, thereby allowing the user to quickly recognize whether to perform the alignment. Accordingly, the alignment state indicating apparatus and method have the advantage of improving the reliability of scanning by allowing the user to scan an object closely.

A method for supplementing scan data by using library data according to the present invention comprises: a scan step of acquiring scan data of a subject including a structure; a step of selecting library model data corresponding to the structure; and a step of post-processing the scan data, wherein the library model data is added at the step of post-processing of the scan data and is post-processed together with the scan data. Accordingly, the scan data in which distortion or a data gap has occurred is supplemented by the library model data, and thus a user acquires a highly reliable three-dimensional model.

The present teachings relate to a method for processing a digital dental impression comprising: displaying an image of the digital dental impression; wherein the image comprises: a shaded region representative of a part of the oral anatomy which is relevant for a dental procedure, and the shaded region being enclosed within a boundary; and an unshaded region representative of a part of the oral anatomy which is not relevant for a dental procedure, wherein the unshaded region and the shaded region are separated from each another by the boundary, receiving user input for altering the shaded region and/or unshaded region; detecting completion of a stroke generated by the user input; altering, the shaded region and/or the unshaded region, in response to the stroke completion. The present teachings also relate to a method for processing digital three-dimensional shapes, a dental procedure assisting system, uses and computer software products.