A device including one or more preformed or customized eruption guidance appliances placed in an individual's mouth. The preformed appliances are vibrated with a pulsation device to encourage tooth eruption by increasing the force and efficiency of the eruption toward a preferred location and a preferred alignment as well as providing increased blood flow and blood oxygen flow to the muscles and tissues in and around the oral cavity of the individual. The preformed guidance appliance driven by the pulsation device is selected from a range of guidance appliances, each of which is selected by size and shape to fit an individual based on the individuals anticipated tooth and jaw size as well as the growth profile. The pulsation can increase the blood and oxygen flow to the many muscles that surround the appliances outside surfaces that can alter mouth breathing, prevent impingement of the oropharynx from the abnormal distalization of the tongue and mandible during sleep, the proper resting posture of the tongue, increased nasal breathing, prevent snoring, improve abnormal swallowing, correct thumb sucking and various abnormalities of speech.

Methods of planning dental treatments are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes determining a plurality of stages for incremental repositioning of a patient's teeth. The method can include determining, for at least one stage, a shape of a corresponding dental appliance body, and generating instructions for direct fabrication of the dental appliance body. The dental appliance body can include a support formed in a tooth-receiving cavity, one or more coupling structures formed proximate to the support, and an attachment formed proximate to the one or more coupling structures. The dental appliance body can be configured to align the attachment to a predetermined location on a tooth. The one or more coupling structures can be configured to release the attachment with removal of the dental appliance body from the tooth.

Described herein is an oral appliance. The oral appliance includes upper and lower trays that each include at least one axial spring configured to contact a palatal/lingual surface of at least one tooth, where each axial spring is coupled to the respective upper or lower tray, and where each axial spring is configured to produce and transmit intermittent, cyclic forces to the palatal/lingual surface of the tooth to promote palatal and upper/lower jaw development. The upper and lower trays each include an expansion mechanism to enable adjustment of the size of the upper and lower trays to account for palatal expansion and upper and lower jaw development. The oral appliance includes first and second adjustable hinge arms that are removably connected to the upper and lower trays so that the oral appliance advances the mandible to provide temporary relief from sleep disordered breathing, sleep apnea and/or snoring.

A method for producing an orthodontic or dental appliance includes laminating a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a layer of polyethylene to form a multilayer film, forming the multilayer film into the shape of an orthodontic appliance, trimming the formed film to a desired shape, and removing the layer of polyethylene. In one embodiment, the appliance is a multi-layer structure formed from two adjacent layers of PET with a plurality of functional elements such as sensors or actuators between the two layers.

A device for accelerating tooth movement under orthodontic treatment is disclosed. The device includes a vibrational source and a patient-specific tray. The device applies vibrational forces with prescribed frequency and intensity to the teeth under orthodontic treatment with traditional appliances, such as bracket-wire system or aligner. The patient-specific tray ensures the vibrational stimulations on the teeth to be moved. The level of stimulation intensity can be controlled by varying the preload on each of the teeth based on the clinician's prescription. The tray can be further modified to ensure continuous delivery of the desired vibrational forces on the teeth when they move during the treatment.

A device and method for treating awake and sleep bruxism in a patient includes a vibrational dental device having a mouthpiece for contacting the dentition. Instructions are provided for waking use of the vibrational dental device by placing the mouthpiece over the dentition, applying a vibratory force during a predetermined number of sessions throughout a predetermined treatment period, wherein the incidence of awake and sleep bruxism is decreased compared to without vibratory treatment.

Adjustable mouthpiece apparatuses for intraoral therapy are provided. The mouthpiece apparatus may comprise at least one emitting element to emit at least one therapeutic emission. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece apparatus comprises an upper panel and a lower panel and at least one adjustable connector interconnecting the upper panel and the lower panel and adjustable to change the spacing between the upper panel and the lower panel. The mouthpiece apparatus may thereby be adjusted for a range of vestibular heights. Also provided are related systems including adjustable mouthpiece apparatuses and related methods for making an adjustable mouthpiece apparatus.

A device for electrical stimulation of one or more components of the periodontal complex and surrounding tissue of a tooth, for uses such as reducing orthodontic pain and encouraging tooth movement, has electrodes of a rigid, electrically conductive material in a fixed spatial relationship configured for application to oral mucosa and attached gingiva adjacent to, and along a periodontal ligament of, a root structure of a single tooth. An electrical circuit is configured for electrical connection to the at least two electrodes. The electrical circuit has an output providing a subsensory electrical stimulus comprising a waveform in accordance with predetermined stimulation parameters. After the electrodes are applied to the oral mucosa and attached gingiva adjacent to, and along the periodontal ligament of, a root structure of the tooth, a switch, when activated, activates the electrical circuit to output the electrical stimulus through the at least two electrodes.

A method for orthodontic treatment includes providing a first set of aligners to a user. The first set of aligners includes a first aligner, a second aligner, and a third aligner configured to move a tooth of a user. The first aligner, the second aligner, and the third aligner are created using a single physical dental model and are substantially the same shape. The first aligner has a first thickness, the second aligner has a second thickness, and the third aligner has a third thickness. The first thickness is different than the second thickness and the third thickness, and the second thickness is at least substantially equivalent to the third thickness.

A device and method for accelerating the conversion of oral bone graft to alveolar bone following extraction in a patient includes a vibrational dental device having a mouthpiece for contacting the dentition. Instructions are provided for using the vibrational dental device by placing the mouthpiece over the dentition, applying a vibratory force during a predetermined number of sessions throughout a predetermined treatment period, wherein the conversion of bone graft material to mature bone is enhanced and/or accelerated compared to without vibratory treatment.