System for body alignment through correction of malocclusions

Abstract

The system for body alignment through tooth position addresses the lack of non-surgical treatment for head, neck, shoulder, and back pain by combining software that generates custom alignment protocols for each patient with a clear aligner embedded with powerful permanent magnets to pull teeth into the desired positions.

Claims

1. A method of correcting body posture of a patient by correcting tooth position comprising the steps of: obtaining a scan of a human body using a 3D scanner, the human body having an actual posture and actual teeth positions; comparing the actual teeth positions from the scan of the human body against ideal teeth positions; referencing a database to determine whether differences between the actual teeth positions and the ideal teeth positions indicate malocclusions; comparing the actual posture against an ideal posture; referencing a database to determine whether differences between the actual posture and the ideal posture indicate posture problems; calculating tooth movement required to move actual teeth positions toward the ideal teeth positions; calculating shapes of one or more dental appliances that when worn by the patient will cause movement of the actual teeth positions toward the ideal teeth positions; and outputting files for creation of the one or more dental appliances to be worn by the patient.

2. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 1, further comprising the step of: printing the one or more dental appliances using a 3D printer.

3. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: preparing a graphical representation of suggested tooth position changes to allow a user to prioritize and adjust an order in which malocclusions will be corrected.

4. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: comparing the malocclusions against a treatment database, the treatment database including an order in which malocclusions should be addressed; and prioritizing malocclusion treatment based on the treatment database.

5. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 2, wherein: the one or more dental appliances include integrated permanent magnets; the integrated permanent magnets helping to move actual teeth positions toward ideal teeth positions.

6. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: preparing 3D models of body orthotics to position a user to move the actual posture and toward the ideal posture.

7. The method of correcting body posture by correcting tooth position of claim 6, further comprising the steps of: printing one or more body orthotics, represented by the 3D models of body orthotics, using a 3D printer.

8. A method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a mouth scan of the patient that includes positions of teeth of the patient; receiving a head scan that includes a position of a head of the patient with respect to a spine of the patient; calculating a center of gravity of the head; determining whether the center of gravity of the head is over the spine; receiving a body scan of that includes posture data, the posture data including positions of the patient's: upper body, lower body, arms, and legs; processing the mouth scan and creating a malocclusion list; determining which malocclusions of the malocclusion list, when corrected, would help to move the center of gravity of the head to a position directly over the spine, whereby correction of the malocclusions that would move the center of gravity of the head to a position over the spine is prioritized; processing the body scan and creating a posture abnormality list; determining whether there are any correlations between the malocclusion list and the posture abnormality list, such that correction of malocclusion would result in a posture correction; outputting a correlation list for review by a user, the user able to rank order the malocclusions to create a rank-ordered correlation list for correction; determining which tooth positions need to be altered in order to correct the malocclusions, and correspondingly correct posture abnormalities from the posture abnormality list; calculating one or more shapes for one or more dental appliances required to correct malocclusions based on the rank-ordered correlation list generated by the user; outputting 3D model files to allow the user to manufacture the one or more dental appliances required.

9. The method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position of claim 8, further comprising the step of: printing one or more dental appliances represented by the 3D model files using a 3D printer.

10. The method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: preparing a graphical representation of suggested tooth position changes to allow a user to prioritize and adjust the changes.

11. The method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: comparing one or more malocclusions from the malocclusion list against a treatment database, the treatment database including an order in which malocclusions should be addressed; prioritizing malocclusion treatment based on the treatment database;

12. The method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: preparing 3D models of body orthotics to help correct the posture of the user by moving the patient's: upper body, lower body, arms, and legs into their correct locations.

13. The method for correcting a posture of a patient caused by improper tooth position of claim 12, further comprising the steps of: printing one or more body orthotics, represented 3D models of body orthotics, using a 3D printer.

14. A method of correcting posture of a user by correction of teeth and skull bone positions within a head of a user, the method comprising: performing a scan to measure positions of the teeth and skull bones of a user, creating a scan file; calculating a center-of-gravity of the user's head based upon the scan file and known tooth and bone weights; outputting a set of desired tooth and bone positions to correct the center-of-gravity of the head to an ideal, balanced position; outputting files for 3D printing of appliances for placement over the teeth, progressively causing tooth movement; whereby completion of movement of the teeth, corrects location of the center-of-gravity and thus the posture.

15. The method of correcting posture of a user by correction of teeth and skull bone positions within a head of a user of claim 14, further comprising: outputting files for 3D printing of body appliances for correction of a user's body posture by application of pressure to specific points on a user's body.

16. The method of correcting posture of a user by correction of teeth and skull bone positions within a head of a user of claim 14, further comprising the step of: printing the appliances for placement over the teeth using a 3D printer.

17. The method of correcting posture of a user by correction of teeth and skull bone positions within a head of a user of claim 15, further comprising the step of: printing the body appliances, represented by the files for 3D printing of body appliances, using a 3D printer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0059] FIG. 1 illustrates a first view of a skull, showing a Class II alignment.

[0060] FIG. 2 illustrates a second view of a skull, showing an alignment correction.

[0061] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a ball balancing, as an analogy for skull balancing.

[0062] FIG. 4 illustrates a third view of a skull, including a representation of a spine.

[0063] FIG. 5 illustrates a body brace system constructed according to the invention.

[0064] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate the position associations between malocclusions and body posture.

[0065] FIG. 7 illustrates a sample set of teeth and a dental appliance to correct tooth position.

[0066] FIG. 8 illustrates the steps performed by the software of the body brace system to determine the appliance shapes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.

[0068] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, first and second views of a skull, are shown.

[0069] The skull 10 is shown with a CG of skull/articulation point 12 located along the demarcation of break between front and rear of skull 14.

[0070] The bones of the rear of the skull 10 include the frontal bone 20, parietal bone 22, and occipital bone 24.

[0071] The bones in the front of the skull 10 include the maxilla bone 26 and mandible bone 28. Also shown are teeth 30.

[0072] FIG. 1 shows a downward weighting of head 40 caused by the too-forward position of the mandible bone 28. The result is rotation about the CG of skull/articulation point 12, creating an imbalance that the body seeks to correct, thus causing posture issues.

[0073] It is apparent that the Class II rotation of the head, forward and downward, can cause significant fatigue pain to muscle group that opposes the forward/downward motion. This imbalance is corrected by adjusting the weight and spatial orientation of the maxilla/mandibular complex via orthodontic movement. As one can balance a perfect sphere on a stick more easily than balancing an irregularly-shaped object, one can appreciate the goal of balancing the head by correcting the position of the center of gravity.

[0074] FIG. 2 shows a rearward movement of teeth and jaw 42, moving the mandible bone 28 into the correct position to correct the imbalance.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a ball balancing as an analogy for skull balancing is shown.

[0076] A head balances on the spine just as the ball 50 balances on the stick 52. When the ball 50 is too far to one side—the left in the figure—it will result in rotation, and an imbalance.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 4, a third view of a skull, including a representation of a spine.

[0078] The skull 10 is again shown, but now the mandible bone 28 is correctly positioned, creating a rotation to reflect corrected CG 44 directly over spine 32. The result is a balanced skull 10, and thus a balanced user.

[0079] Referring to FIG. 5, a body brace system constructed according to the invention is shown.

[0080] The user 100 is shown with a body appliance 60.

[0081] Referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the position associations between malocclusions and body posture are shown.

[0082] Representation of a jaw is shown at the top of each figure formed from teeth 30, maxilla bone 26, and mandible bone 28.

[0083] Three types of jaw position are shown, from left to right being Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3. As discussed above, Class I is optimum tooth placement, Class II exists when the upper jaw larger than lower jaw, creating an overbite, and Class III exists when the upper jaw smaller than lower jaw, creating an underbite.

[0084] The user 100 is shown balanced about the center of gravity of user 100, with head 104 and body 106.

[0085] Class I jaw position is most likely to result in an ideal posture.

[0086] Class II jaw position shifts the head forward causing the body to move backward creating a slouched or leaning over posture

[0087] Class III jaw position shift the head rearward pushing the body forward creating a tilted back position.

[0088] By correcting the body position, moving toward a Class I jaw position, the posture of the user 100 is correspondingly corrected.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 7, a sample set of teeth and a dental appliance to correct tooth position, are shown.

[0090] Dental appliance 102 is shown adapted to correct the position of teeth 30 within jaw 1o8.

[0091] Referring to FIG. 8, the steps performed by the software of the body brace system to determine the appliance shapes are shown.

[0092] Two paths are shown: the left path compares the scans against an ideal set of tooth and posture positions; the right path does not require a database of ideal positions, but instead focuses on centering the weight of the head over the spine.

[0093] The steps include: [0094] Input of CTCB image of head; [0095] Optional input of full-body scan; [0096] Right path: [0097] Comparing teeth positions from scan against ideal teeth positions; [0098] Comparing posture from scan against ideal posture; [0099] Correlating malocclusions and posture corrections; [0100] Calculating tooth movement to result in ideal teeth positions and posture corrections; [0101] Creation of 3D model showing ideal positions of teeth, neck, and head; [0102] Adjustment by user of calculated positions of teeth; and [0103] Output of 3D models for 3D printing of appliances. [0104] Right path: [0105] Virtual correction of malocclusion to correct RCGZ; [0106] Creation of 3D model showing ideal positions of teeth, neck, and head; [0107] Adjustment by user of calculated positions of teeth; and [0108] Output of 3D models for 3D printing of appliances.

[0109] The body appliance 60 is preferably 3D printed. The body appliance 60 acts to encourage the user 100 to maintain an appropriate body position by its positioning against pressure points, guiding and supporting a desired posture. Specifically, a posture that causes the major joints to stack perpendicular to the floor.

[0110] Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result.

[0111] It is believed that the system and method as described and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.