A method of creating a 3-D anatomic digital model for determining a desired location for placing at least one dental implant in a patient's mouth. The method comprises the act of obtaining a first dataset associated with hard tissue of the patient's mouth. The method further comprises the act of obtaining a second dataset associated with soft tissue of the patient's mouth. The method further comprises the act of combining the first dataset and the second dataset to create a detailed structure of hard tissue and soft tissue having variable dimensions over the hard tissue.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a surgical guide, and a crown and an abutment in a mouth for a dental implant, including an operation of obtaining a primarily scanned image through scanning of inner and outer surfaces of a denture which has a first image matching groove matched with a patient's tooth implanting portion and in which a plurality of reference markers are attached to an outside, obtaining a secondarily scanned image through oral scanning of upper and lower jaws while the denture is installed, preliminarily matching the secondarily scanned image with the primarily scanned image, obtaining an integrated scanned image considering a vertical dimension by reversing the first image matching groove so that an image of the first image matching groove is dimensionalized from the primarily scanned image, and obtaining a CT image through CT scanning of the upper and lower jaws.

A guide for planning and drilling for the subsequent placement of dental implants, especially indicated in cases in which angled perforations must be performed in the bone tissue based on a previously performed first vertical hole, and which essentially comprises a support, a plate with an angle at at least one of the ends thereof fastened on the support such that it may move and be detached with respect it, a guide body located at the end of the plate and a rod that in turn comprises an upper end that is joined to the support through rotation that enable the relative movement between both, and a lower end that is inserted in the bone tissue of the patient's mouth.

Methods, devices, systems, and series of appliances are provided for dental implant positioning. One method for positioning an implant with dental treatment includes determining an implant location based on a virtual model of an optimized dental occlusion, moving one or more teeth using a first number of a series of dental appliances, from a first orientation to a second orientation, the second orientation exposing the implant location, placing an implant at the exposed implant location using a landmark included in at least one of the series of dental appliances, repositioning one or more teeth using a second number of the series of dental appliances, from the second orientation to a successive orientation.

Embodiments for estimating a surface texture of a tooth are described herein. One method embodiment includes collecting a sequence of images utilizing multiple light conditions using an intra-oral imaging device and estimating the surface texture of the tooth based on the sequence of images.

An image guidance system for tracking a surgical instrument within the oral cavity. The image guidance system includes a plurality of cameras adapted to be located within the oral cavity to provide intraoral images of optically visible patterns within oral cavity. A processing system receives and processes the intraoral images to recognize patterns and triangulate the locations and orientations of each camera. The processing system uses a reference dataset which defines a reference coordinate system based on alignment to a portion of the oral anatomy. The processing system determines the location and orientation of the tracked instrument based on the reference dataset. In an embodiment, the system includes an oral fixture that is removably attachable to teeth in a patient and is configured to hold one of the cameras.

A stackable surgical foundation guide. The stackable surgical foundation guide may include a body portion having a generally arcuate shape; one or more connector bodies spaced generally about the body portion; one or more fixation ports spaced about the body portion, each of the one or more fixation ports forming a passageway therethrough. The stackable surgical foundation guide may further include at least one stabilization arm affixed to the body portion, the at least one stabilization arm may be configured such that at least a portion of it extends to a top of, or past, a crestal aspect of a residual ridge of an edentulous patient's mouth or behind, or in back of, one or more tooth structures on the crestal aspect of the residual ridge of a dentate patient's mouth. The body portion of the stackable surgical foundation guide may further include a first portion and a second portion that may be coupled together at about a center point thereof in a hingeable manner.

An embodiment of the invention provides a method of producing a surgical template comprising the steps of: obtaining a set of 3D surface data, the 3D surface data representing a surface of a patient's oral situation, obtaining a support structure model describing a surgical template configured to fit to a portion of the surface of the patient's oral situation, obtaining planned bore position data, the planned implant position data describing the longitudinal axes of a set of one or more planned implant bore holes relative to the 3D surface data, automatically modifying the support structure model to provide support material for guide holes in the support structure model corresponding to the one or more planned implant bore holes, producing the dental splint in dependence on the modified support structure model.

A dental handpiece may comprise a detachable light source assembly comprising a light source, a power source, and at least one switch, and the detachable light source assembly may be configured to be selectively removable from the handpiece.

A method of implementing a splint device, and associated splint device, are provided for a guidance system of a surgical robot. A splint body includes first and second stabilizing portions extending from opposed lateral sides of a medial portion, and defines a U channel. The medial portion, or the medial portion and one of the stabilizing portions, defines a bridge portion extending along the U channel. A partition member, received by the bridge portion, extends into and longitudinally along the U channel. An adhesive material is engaged with the splint body, within the U channel. The U channel is engaged about a tooth or jaw of a patient, and urged toward the tooth or jaw, such that the partition member engages the tooth or jaw and separates the adhesive material into a first portion engaged with the first stabilizing portion and a second portion engaged with the second stabilizing portion.