The present invention provides methods and systems including orthodontic tooth positioning appliances. An exemplary appliance can include teeth receiving cavities shaped such that, when worn by a patient, repositioning the patient's teeth from a first arrangement toward a subsequent or target arrangement. Appliances can include a cavity having one or more shaped features or protrusions shaped and/or positioned so as to apply a desired force to a patient's tooth received in the cavity and move the tooth along a desired path or direction.

A method includes obtaining image(s) of a dental device, determining file(s) including at least one of a first model of the dental device or a second model of a mold, determining an intended property for the dental device based on at least one of the first model or the second model, and determining an actual property of the dental device from the image(s). The method further includes determining whether a cutline variation, an arch variation, and/or a bend of the dental device is detected between the dental device and the first model and/or the second model by comparing the intended property with the actual property. The method further includes determining whether there is a possible defect in the dental device based on whether the cutline variation exceeds a cutline variation threshold, the arch variation exceeds an arch variation threshold, and/or the bend exceeds a bend threshold.

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.

A method of operating an intraoral scanner. The intraoral scanner includes an image capturing device and a processor. The method includes the image capturing device sequentially capturing M images along a first dental arch, the processor establishing a first arch model of the first dental arch according to the M images, the image capturing device sequentially capturing N images along a straight-line path from a first anchor to a second anchor on the first dental arch, the processor generating first coordinates of the first anchor and second coordinates of the second anchor according to the N images, and the processor calibrating the first arch model according to the first coordinates and the second coordinates. The first anchor is located at one side of a dental midline of the first dental arch. The second anchor is located at the other side of the dental midline of the first dental arch.

A method for making a hard clear aligner set for stepwise orthodontic treatment is provided. The hard clear aligner set includes plural intermediate aligners made as follows. First, original tooth-row image files corresponding to a patient's teeth are obtained. Tooth arranging software is then used to produce final tooth-row image files by rearranging the teeth in the original tooth-row image files, define the displacements and rotation angles required for the patient's teeth in each step of the treatment, and after computation, produce plural stepwise tooth-row image files. Following that, dedicated software is used to define the surface thickness in each stepwise tooth-row image file, thereby producing shell-like aligner image files corresponding respectively to the intermediate aligners. The shell-like aligner image files are subsequently converted into digital control instructions in order to control a multiaxial carving machine to carve hard clear aligners from hard polymeric modular blocks.

The present disclosure provides method, computing device readable medium, and devices for dental appliances with repositioning jaw elements. An example of a method can include identifying a misaligned jaw of a patient from a virtual image of the patient's jaw, and providing a treatment plan for the patient including a virtual model of a dental appliance having a first shell and a second shell configured to reposition at least one tooth of the patient. The virtual model of the dental appliance including repositioning jaw elements on the first shell and the second shell configured to move a position of the misaligned jaw of the patient.

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.

Method and system for detecting and correcting deviation during an orthodontic treatment plan is provided. The method includes the steps of receiving an un-segmented current teeth image representing a patient's teeth after an orthodontic treatment plan has begun and before the plan ends for the patient; matching a previously segmented teeth model with the current teeth image; and generating at least one corrective stage to define an intermediate tooth arrangement, wherein the at least one corrective stage repositions a digital teeth image so that a prescribed tooth arrangement of the previously segmented teeth model can be used.

A current digital dental model is received that includes a representation of the set of physical teeth for the patient with the current dental appliance attached to the physical teeth or oral cavity. The current digital dental model is a direct digital scan of the set of physical teeth and the current dental appliance. The physical teeth are at a position in treatment when all or a part of the current dental appliance is desired to be removed from one or more of the set of physical teeth and it is desired to use a subsequent appliance. The current digital dental model is created based a new digital dental model that includes the representation of the set of physical teeth without including the current dental appliance.

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.