Digital orthodontic setup using a prescribed ideal arch form

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11045281-B2
Application number	US-201715493970-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2017
Priority date	Apr 22, 2016
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

The invention generally relates to methods, systems, and computer program products for digital orthodontic setup using a prescribed ideal arch form. The invention may include an imaging system, an orthodontic device production system, and an orthodontic treatment system interconnected by way of a network. The orthodontic treatment system may facilitate manipulating one or more reference teeth into a position by the dental practitioner. The orthodontic treatment system may further facilitate selection of an ideal unit-less arch form and scaling of the ideal unit-less arch form into a scaled ideal arch form to fit the reference teeth. After the selected ideal unit-less arch form is scaled to fit the reference teeth, the remaining teeth are positioned with respect to the scaled ideal arch form, either manually by a dental practitioner or automatically by an alignment algorithm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for making an orthodontic appliance based on a model of a patient's set of teeth, the method comprising:
receiving an ideal arch form from a raw arch form database of a plurality of unique ideal arch forms, each ideal arch form being of undefined size and including a mid line and unique aspect ratios of width to height at each point along the ideal arch form;
selecting a reference tooth in the model of the patient's set of teeth;
measuring a location of the reference tooth in the model;
calculating an aspect ratio of the reference tooth based on the location;
identifying coordinates of a reference point on the ideal arch form with the same aspect ratio as the reference tooth;
scaling the ideal arch form to fit the model of the patient's set of teeth;
aligning the reference tooth in the model and the reference point of the scaled ideal arch form;
repositioning at least one other tooth in the model to align the at least one other tooth and the scaled ideal arch form, wherein repositioning the at least one other tooth produces a modified model that defines a prescribed arch form for the patient, the prescribed arch form includes the same unique aspect ratios of width to height as the ideal arch form; and
transmitting information sufficient to manufacture the orthodontic appliance in accordance with the prescribed arch form.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein scaling the ideal arch form is based on the selected reference tooth.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein scaling includes resizing the ideal arch form based on the coordinates of the reference point.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein measuring includes measuring a width and a height of the reference tooth location in the model of the set of teeth.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
repositioning the reference tooth in the model prior to scaling the selected arch form.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein repositioning includes aligning a buccal ridge of the at least one other tooth with the scaled ideal arch form.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the buccal ridge is aligned to be tangent to the scaled ideal arch form.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ideal arch form is configured to be computationally evaluated at any given point along its length.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ideal arch form is represented by a closed-form mathematical formulation.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ideal arch form is defined by unique aspect ratios along the arch form.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting from the raw arch form database is based on one or more patient characteristics.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
after transmitting, manufacturing the orthodontic appliance in accordance with the prescribed arch form for use by the patient in accordance with an orthodontic treatment plan.

13. A system for digital orthodontic setup from a digital model of a patient's teeth, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory being coupled to the processor and including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to:
receive an ideal arch form for the digital model of the patient's teeth from a database of a plurality of unique ideal arch forms, each ideal arch form being of undefined size and including a mid line and unique aspect ratios of width to height at each point along the ideal arch form;
select a reference tooth in the model of the patient's set of teeth;
measure a location of the reference tooth in the model;
calculate an aspect ratio of the reference tooth based on the location;
identify coordinates of a reference point on the ideal arch form with the same aspect ratio as the reference tooth;
scale the arch form to fit the digital model;
align the reference tooth in the digital model and the reference point of the scaled ideal arch form;
reposition at least one other tooth in the digital model to align the at least one other tooth and the scaled ideal arch form, wherein when repositioned, the at least one other tooth produces a modified model that defines a prescribed arch form for the patient, the prescribed arch form includes the same unique aspect ratios of width to height along the prescribed arch form as the ideal arch form; and
prepare information in accordance with the prescribed arch form to have an orthodontic appliance manufactured for treatment of the patient.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the scale of the selected arch form is based at least in part on the reference tooth in the digital model.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to reposition at least one other tooth in the digital model so as to have at least one of a buccal ridge or a marginal ridge of the at least one other tooth to be tangent to the scaled ideal arch form.

16. The system of claim 13 , further comprising:
an orthodontic device production system capable of manufacturing the orthodontic appliance in accordance with the prescribed arch form for use by the patient in accordance with an orthodontic treatment plan.

17. A computer program product useable to treat teeth of a patient comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and
instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
receive an ideal arch form from a database of a plurality of unique ideal arch forms, each ideal arch form being of undefined size and including a mid line and unique aspect ratios of width to height at each point along the ideal arch form;
select a reference tooth in the model of the patient's set of teeth;
measure a location of the reference tooth in the model;
calculate an aspect ratio of the reference tooth based on the location;
identify coordinates of a reference point on the ideal arch form with the same aspect ratio as the reference tooth;
scale the arch form to fit a digital model of the patient's teeth;
align at least one the reference tooth in the digital model and the reference point of the scaled ideal arch form;
reposition at least one other tooth in the digital model to align the at least one other tooth and the scaled ideal arch form, wherein when repositioned, the at least one other tooth produces a modified model that defines a prescribed arch form for the patient, the prescribed arch form includes the same unique aspect ratios of width to height along the prescribed arch form as the ideal arch form; and
prepare information in accordance with the prescribed arch form to have an orthodontic appliance manufactured for treatment of the patient.

Assignees

• Ormco Corp

Inventors

• Tsai Evan Yifeng
• Kitching Ian

Classifications

• G16H40/67

  for remote operation · CPC title

• G16H70/20

  relating to practices or guidelines · CPC title

• G16H20/30

  relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising · CPC title

• A61C7/002 Primary

  Orthodontic computer assisted systems · CPC title

• G16H50/50

  for simulation or modelling of medical disorders · CPC title