Orthodontic devices and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, an orthodontic device comprises a marking region configured to facilitate the design, manufacturing, production, distribution, installation, and/or use of the device. The marking region can comprise indicia configured to communicate information regarding the device, an associated patient, an instruction for installation of the device, etc. The indicia can comprise a recess or opening in the device, a raised or protruding portion of the device, and/or material that has been added to the device. In various embodiments, the indicia include, for example, letters, numbers, symbols, colors, shapes, and/or patterns that directly provide and/or encode the information of interest. The indicia can be human-readable and/or machine-readable.

Non-sliding orthodontic appliances may include an archwire having male fasteners for locking in place with brackets in a non-sliding manner and interproximal loops for exerting forces on the brackets. Appropriate forces may be calculated according to vectors between initial and ideal tooth positions. The brackets may be transferred to a patient's teeth using indirect bonding trays which contain slots for holding and aligning each bracket. The trays may include integrated handles for facilitating handling, may be sectioned into smaller pieces for easier application, and/or may be labeled for facilitating proper registration. Superposition of a digital placement plan and clinical model after bonding may illustrate the accuracy of bracket placement. The archwire may comprise atraumatic ends to avoid patient discomfort. A color registration system can be used to facilitate the attachment of the archwire to the brackets. The archwire may be locked into place with the brackets using crimpable stops.

A snap-on snap-off drill stop device for boring into a tooth and or in bone. The stop device that impedes insertion of the bore device into the tooth or bone tissue beyond predetermined depths at pre-selected stages of a drilling process by simplifying the tedious process of exchanging drill bits and drill stops for the ultimate size and depth bore.

A full denture processing and shaping method and a material block thereof are disclosed. The full denture processing and shaping method comprises the follow steps of: providing a hard colored material block to be positioned to a processing device, a portion of the hard colored material block being shaped into a tooth-shaped structure; mounting the hard colored material block in an injection mold; injecting a soft plastic material with a different color into the injection mold, the soft plastic material being polymerized to form a gingival colored material block to constitute a multicolor structure; demoulding the injection mold to take out the material blocks for processing, the gingival colored material block being shaped into a denture base.

The invention relates to a method for the preparation of a glass ceramic or a glass, which comprise cerium ions and are suitable in particular for the preparation of dental restorations, the fluorescence properties of which largely correspond to those of natural teeth.

The invention also relates to a glass ceramic and a glass which can be obtained using the method according to the invention, the use thereof as dental material and in particular for the preparation of dental restorations, as well as a glass-forming composition which is suitable for use in the method according to the invention.

Disclosed herein is an electric toothbrush with a toothpaste cartridge. The electric toothbrush may include a main body with a top end adapted to engage with a removable brush attachment. The main body may be configured to accommodate the toothpaste cartridge, one or more conduits, a servo mechanism, a controller, and an energy storage device. The removable brush attachment having an elongated structure configured to be removably attached to the main body. The elongated structure may include a first end including a brush head with a front surface. The front surface may include one or more openings configured to dispense a fluid flowing through a passage within the removable brush attachment. The toothpaste cartridge having a flexible cylindrical tank configured for storing the fluid, and to release the fluid into the one or more conduits when a pressure may be applied to the toothpaste cartridge by the servo mechanism.

Dental bulk blocks for cutting machining are provided. The dental bulk block is a glass ceramic block having a structure in which crystalline phases including lithium disilicate as a main crystalline phase and lithium phosphate and at least one of cristobalite and tridymite as additional crystalline phases in an amorphous glass matrix. The dental bulk block is a functionally graded material (FGM) having gradations of size in the main crystalline phase along a depth direction thereof and having no interface at a gradation value change point at which a gradation value of size in the main crystalline phase changes. The dental bulk block is useful for the manufacture of artificial dental prostheses similar to natural teeth. Therefore, the present disclosure provides the effect of reducing the time and process of manufacturing artificial teeth protheses and increasing structural stability in teams of force distribution by functionally grading physical properties.

The present invention relates to a tool system comprising a handheld implement having a passive vectorized tracking marker permanently integrated with the implement at a predetermined location on the implement in a predetermined orientation with respect to the implement; and a database comprising geometric information describing the at least one of a rotationally asymmetric shape of the tracking marker and a rotationally asymmetric pattern disposed on the tracking marker. The system may further comprise: a tracker configured for obtaining image information about the tracking marker when the tracking marker is in a field of view of the tracker; and a controller having a processor and memory, the controller in communication with the database and the tracker, the processor programmable for receiving and processing image information from the tracker; accessing the database to retrieve the geometric information; and comparing the image information with the geometric information. The handheld implement may be three-dimensionally tracked by the tracker.

The invention relates to a three-dimensional orthodontic retainer (2) and to a method for producing such a retainer (2) in which the three-dimensional orthodontic retainer (2) is matched to the exact shape of the adjacent teeth (3) and is produced from a blank (1) in such a manner that the physical properties of the material of the remaining part of the blank (1) are unchanged in the retainer (2). The method for producing the three-dimensional orthodontic retainer (2) comprises the following method steps: creating a three-dimensional model of the structure of the patient's teeth (3); designing a customised, precisely fitting model of the retainer (2); producing the retainer (2) on the basis of the designed 3D model by computer-controlled deposition or application of material.

A fixation pin for fixing a dental drill template. The fixation pin has a head having a bearing surface that is intended to bear at least partially on the drill template, or a sleeve provided in the drill template. The fixation pin has a rod having a shape of an essentially circular cylinder and extending from the bearing surface at an essentially right angle. The rod is intended to be inserted into the drill template or the sleeve provided in the drill template.