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.

In order to improve the reliability of a dental restoration, a method of implanting the dental restoration is provided. The method includes virtually disposing a virtual implant selected from a digital library on the basis of a CT image to correspond to an implantation information, and a virtual implanting guide sleeve, which is virtually and concentrically disposed to be spaced upward from an upper end portion of the virtual implant by an offset distance, and a scanning image overlap and are integrally stored; and generating design information of a surgical guide, wherein a virtual coupling hole corresponding to an outer circumference of the virtual implanting guide sleeve is formed in the design information.

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.

Methods and systems for establishing dental occlusion are described herein. These systems and methods can be used for 1-, 2-, or 3-piece maxillary orthognathic surgeries. An example computer-implemented method includes receiving a maxillary dental model and a mandibular dental model, identifying a plurality of dental landmarks in each of the maxillary and mandibular dental models, and extracting a plurality of points-of-interest from each of the maxillary and mandibular dental models. The dental landmarks include a plurality of maxillary dental landmarks and a plurality of mandibular dental landmarks. The method further includes aligning the maxillary and mandibular points-of-interest, and fine tuning the alignment of the maxillary and mandibular dental models to achieve maximum contact with a collision constraint.

Disclosed herein are methods of manufacturing an oral appliance, the method comprising the steps of: a) importing into a computer aided design (CAD) computer program a digitized data set obtained from a three-dimensional scan of a patient's dentition; b) preparing a three-dimensional electronic model of the patient's dentition; c) subtracting the three-dimensional electronic model of the patient's dentition from an image of a solid block to obtain an appliance data set; and d) manufacturing a dental appliance in accordance with the appliance data set. Also disclosed are devices made by the above method, and methods of treating a condition, for example a sleep breathing disorder, by using a device made by the above method.

A method for generating a three-dimensional model through data matching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a maxillary scanning step of acquiring maxillary oral data including maxillary teeth by scanning the maxilla of a patient by using an oral scanner, a mandibular scanning step of acquiring mandibular oral data including mandibular teeth by scanning the mandible of the patient by using the oral scanner, an occlusion step of acquiring occlusal oral data in a state in which the maxillary teeth and the mandibular teeth are occluded, by using the oral scanner; a face scanning step of acquiring first facial data by scanning a face of the patient by using the oral scanner; and a matching step of matching the first facial data with at least one of the maxillary oral data, the mandibular oral data, and the occlusal oral data.

A method of providing tooth-brushing guide information according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an operation in which a user terminal analyzes a captured image of a user, recognizes the face of the user, and identifies landmarks of the face; an operation in which the user terminal generates a personalized dental model of the user using the landmarks, an operation in which the user terminal provides a virtual dental image by augmented reality using the dental model; and an operation in which the user terminal provides tooth-brushing guide information using the dental model.

Methods for manufacturing anatomical healing caps, including forming an anatomical healing cuff body for a given tooth position, the anatomical healing cuff body having a cross-section and an exterior surface so that the anatomical healing cuff body provides substantially custom filling of at least an emergence portion of a void where a natural tooth once emerged from the void or where a tooth would have emerged from a void of the given tooth position, and forming both lateral buccal and lingual handle extensions extending from the anatomical healing cuff body so that the manufactured anatomical healing cap includes a laterally extending buccal handle extension and an oppositely disposed laterally extending lingual handle extension, the buccal and lingual handle extensions being integrally formed with the healing cuff body. The healing caps can be formed using a casting jig, by machining, by 3D printing, or other suitable methods.

Methods and systems are provided repositioning teeth of a patient, which employ at least one appliance specific to the patient for placement in the patient's mouth during use. The at least one appliance includes a polymeric shell having a cavity shaped to receive teeth of the upper jaw of the patient. The polymeric shell is integral to a polymeric segment shaped to cover the hard palate of the upper jaw of the patient. The geometry and material properties of the shell is configured such that the appliance adjusts position of the teeth of the upper jaw of the patient during use. The geometry and material properties of the segment is configured such that the appliance adjusts position of the hard palate of the upper jaw of the patient during use. Additionally or alternatively, one or more appliances can be configured to contact the teeth of the lower jaw and a mandibular bone portion disposed below the gingiva of the teeth of lower jaw and adjust position of the teeth and the mandibular bone portion of the lower jaw of the patient during use.

A computer-implemented method and system of determining a material surface from a volumetric density file includes generating a density frequency distribution of a volumetric density file of a dental impression and determining an iso-value of density between air and a particular material in the density frequency distribution. A computer-implemented method and system of creating a digital model from a CT scan of a physical dental impression includes selecting an iso-value of density for a digital volumetric density file having one or more voxels, generating one or more digital surface points in virtual 3D space for each of one or more voxels, and selecting a subset of digital surface points from the one or more digital surface points. A computer-implemented method and system of optimizing a digital surface includes moving one or more digital surface points to satisfy a criteria of optimum digital surface selection.