A method for acquiring at least one two-dimensional image of a part of arches of a patient includes steps carried out by the patient or other person who is not a dental health professional, for example, including placing a dental separator in the mouth of the patient in order to separate the lips of the patient and improve the visibility of the teeth during the acquisition of said at least one two-dimensional image, and acquiring, in a mouth closed position and with a personal image acquisition apparatus, said at least one two-dimensional image.

According to an embodiment, a method for generating a digital data set for fabricating a physical dental bleaching tray useable to deliver an bleaching agent is disclosed. The method includes obtaining a three-dimensional digital representation of a patient’s dentition including teeth and gingiva; segmenting two or more teeth into individual tooth; identifying a facial surface of at least one of the segmented tooth; defining a facial surface portion including a surface area that is at least partly bound by a virtual boundary that is non- interfacing with the gingiva; generating a modified three-dimensional digital representation using the defined facial surface portion; and generating, based on the modified three-dimensional digital representation, the digital data set configured to be used in fabricating the physical dental bleaching tray.

Computer implemented method of generating a dental design, comprising: a) capturing a facial image comprising a head of a patient and a smile; b) displaying it as a first image; c) capturing a 3D intraoral scan; d) aligning the 3D scan to the head; e) determining bounding boxes in the 3D scan, each comprising a single tooth; f) showing a view of the 3D scan and the bounding boxes as a second image; g) showing the bounding boxes as overlay on the first image; i) allowing the bounding boxes to be resized/repositioned; ii) defining a limited set of parameters to characterize the tooth inside the bounding box, and searching a number of candidate matching teeth from a 3D digital library of teeth, and proposing a candidate matching tooth; iii) overlaying the first image with a digital representation of the proposed candidate matching tooth from the digital library.

Computer implemented method of generating a dental design, comprising: (a) capturing a facial image comprising a head of a patient and a smile; (b) displaying it as a first image; (c) capturing a 3D intraoral scan; (d) aligning the 3D scan to the head; (e) determining bounding boxes in the 3D scan, each comprising a single tooth; (f) showing a view of the 3D scan and the bounding boxes as a second image; (g) showing the bounding boxes as overlay on the first image; (i) allowing the bounding boxes to be resized/repositioned; (ii) defining a limited set of parameters to characterize the tooth inside the bounding box, and searching a number of candidate matching teeth from a 3D digital library of teeth, and proposing a candidate matching tooth; (iii) overlaying the first image with a digital representation of the proposed candidate matching tooth from the digital library.

A method for forming a virtual 3D mathematical model of a dental system, including receiving DICOM files representing the dental system; identifying number and location of voxels of tissues of the dental system; combining the voxels of the tissues into voxels of organs of the dental system; combining the organs into the virtual 3D mathematical model of the dental system, wherein the virtual 3D mathematical models supports linear, non-linear and volumetric measurements of the dental system; and presenting the virtual 3D mathematical model to a user. The DICOM files can be cone beam or multispiral computed tomography, MRT, PET and/or ultrasonography. The tissues include enamel, dentin, pulp, cartilage, periodontium, and/or jaw bone. The organs include teeth, gums, temporomandibular joint and/or jaw. A size of the voxels is typically between 40 μm and 200 μm.

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.

Methods and apparatus for producing controlled tooth-moving forces are provided. An orthodontic appliance includes one or more occlusal surface features that modify bite forces between opposing teeth during intercuspation to aid in realignment of the teeth. The interception bite forces can be applied between appliance shells on opposing arches, or between an appliance shell and an opposing tooth. These modified bite forces can be used to supply or augment tooth-moving forces, and the tooth moving forces can produce moments to urge rotational movement of a tooth. Also described herein are orthodontic appliances having an occlusal outer surface contours that are distinct from the occlusal inner surface contour within the dental appliance and may be configured to selectively intercuspate.

Systems, methods, and devices for producing appliances for expansion of the arch of a patient are provided. An arch expanding appliance comprises a force generating portion to apply an arch expansion force and a retention portion to hold the force generating portion on the teeth. The retention portion comprises a flexible portion and a stiff portion. The force generating portion applies a force to move teeth associated with the flexible portion, while the stiff portion resists movement of its associated teeth. The orthodontic appliances can be designed according to the specifications provided herein and manufactured using direct fabrication methods.

The present invention concerns a surgical device made by computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and its use as a surgical guide.

Systems and methods are disclosed for treating teeth to correct for malocclusions. This may be accomplished by applying a series of labels to a digital dental model and applying a rolling ball process to identify tooth boundaries separating one tooth from a neighboring tooth and to also determine the crown/gum margin. The user may further assign regions to the dental model to indicate hard regions and soft regions. With the dental model labeled and defined, the user may then generate a treatment plan for moving the labeled and defined tooth or teeth relative to one another to correct for any malocclusions. Upon approval of the treatment plan, a series of 3D printed dental appliances or aligners to be worn in series by the patient may be fabricated to ultimately move the tooth or teeth to a desired position.