A computer-implemented method and system of automatically detecting and removing extraneous material from a digital dental impression includes detecting one or more dental features in a digital dental impression, filtering the one or more dental features, digitally joining the one or more dental features, and determining one or more regions of interest from the joined one or more digital dental features.

Orthodontic positioning devices, and related methods and systems, are disclosed for use with one or more orthodontic elastic members. The disclosed devices are configured to couple with an orthodontic elastic member so as to react a force from the elastic member into the appliance to, for example, generate traction forces on the patient's teeth to produce a desired occlusion. A positioning device includes a patient removable tooth positioning appliance having teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to a patient's teeth. The appliance includes a hook configured to interface with an orthodontic elastic member. The hook can be configured to be offset from a surface of a tooth when the appliance is coupled with the patient's teeth and no elastic member is coupled with the tooth. The hook can be curved so that the hook is more retentive on the aligner. The hook can be reinforced so that the reinforcement resists deformation when the elastic is in place.

The invention concerns a device for obtaining an occlusal registration of a patient; a method for obtaining an occlusal registration of a patient; and a method for dental procedure planning, such as dental implant planning. Radiopaque markers are advantageously applied to improve the devices, methods, and outcomes related to dental procedures.

A method for automatic registration of dental image data comprises receiving three-dimensional intraoral surface scan data of a dentition of a patient, receiving three-dimensional volumetric scan data of the dentition, generating a first set of descriptors characterizing tooth crown surfaces of the dentition from the intraoral surface scan data, generating a second set of descriptors characterizing tooth crown surfaces of the dentition from the volumetric scan data, determining a best-fit registration transform based on the first and second sets of descriptors, and aligning the intraoral surface scan data and the volumetric scan data based on the best-fit registration transform.

A method of orthodontic treatment planning for a patient includes receiving three-dimensional intraoral surface scan data of a dentition of the patient, receiving three-dimensional volumetric scan data of a dentition of the patient, and determining, for use in planning an orthodontic treatment, a mandibular rotation axis and a glenoid fossae of the temporal bone based on a mandibular condyle of the patient using the scan data.

In a method for matching structure data according to the present disclosure, scanned data is used for a prepared part and library model data loaded in advance in a library is used for an unprepared part, such that the method has an advantage of improving reliability of oral model data required for an implant crown procedure.

Disclosed is surface guided cropping in volume rendering of 3D volumetric data from intervening anatomical structures in the patient's body. A digital 3D representation expressing the topography of a first anatomical structure is used to define a clipping surface or a bounding volume which then is used in the volume rendering to exclude data from an intervening structure when generating a 2D projection of the first anatomical structure.

A method for determining biting occlusion of a patient's teeth including generating a first 3D digital model of the patient's lower arch in non-occlusion. A second 3D digital model of the patient's upper arch in non-occlusion may be generated. A third 3D digital model of the patient's upper and lower arches in biting occlusion may be generated. The first and second 3D digital models May be aligned with corresponding teeth of the third 3D digital model to generate a fourth 3D model of the patient's teeth in biting occlusion.

The present invention may comprise a method for a treatment plan for orthodontic movement of natural teeth, the method comprising: Acquiring data of oral anatomy of a patient; Creating a treatment plan for the patient for orthodontic movement of natural teeth, the end result of the treatment plan for the patient being a 3D model; Printing out a physical model of 3D model; Mounting the physical model of the maxillary arch and mandibular arch of the patient's oral anatomy onto a dental articulator to evaluate if at least one of the following exists: 2) if the functional occlusion data of the patient is in centric relation or 2) if malocclusion exists between the maxillary arch and the mandibular arch; Applying any corrections to the 3D model from the step of determining if malocclusion exists, to create functional occlusion data; Combining the functional occlusion data with data of the oral anatomy of the patient to create a virtual treatment solution; and Creating orthodontic appliances from the virtual treatment solution.

According to the invention, there are provided a system, a method and a computer program for producing an implant placing guide. According to the invention, the system for producing an implant placing guide, includes: a dental-clinic terminal that transmits, to a managing server, a three-dimensional intraoral image acquired by a CT scan in a state where a guide tray filled with an impression material is inserted into an oral cavity of a patient and that receives an implant-placing-guide processing file from the managing server; a managing server that transmits a plan request signal to one or more preregistered planner terminals when receiving the three-dimensional image from the dental-clinic terminal and that generates an implant-placing-guide processing file by using implant planning information when receiving the implant planning information from a planner terminal that accepts the plan request signal; and a planner terminal that transmits, to the managing server, a signal of whether or not the plan request signal is accepted when the plan request signal is received from the managing server and that receives and transmits implant planning information corresponding to the three-dimensional image to the managing server when receiving the three-dimensional image from the managing server. The guide tray has one or more markers which are used for matching an image of the guide tray and the three-dimensional image and has an impression of a teeth shape of the patient. The implant planning information includes positional information of a guide hole which is formed at the guide tray. According to the invention, a time for producing an implant placing guide is significantly shortened, and thus convenience of a patient remarkably improves.