Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11801120-B2
Application number	US-202217693939-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2022
Priority date	Mar 5, 2019
Publication date	Oct 31, 2023
Grant date	Oct 31, 2023

Abstract

Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners include a cut line system for identifying a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for a tooth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, where the first point is disposed on a tooth-gingiva interface of the tooth. The cut line system defines a cut plane at a distance from the first point toward the second point, where the cut plane intersects a line between the first point and the second point, identifies a plurality of points on the LAT based on the cut plane, defines a cut line based on the plurality of points on the LAT and the first point, and controls a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of cutting a dental aligner, the method comprising:
identifying, for a plurality of teeth of a model, a plurality of interface points disposed on a respective tooth-gingiva interface of the plurality of teeth and a plurality of reference points for each of the plurality of teeth;
defining a plurality of cut planes, wherein a cut plane for a respective tooth extends between two interface points for the respective tooth at a distance from the reference point for the respective tooth;
identifying a subset of the plurality of interface points based on the plurality of cut planes;
defining a cut line based on the subset of the plurality of interface points; and
controlling a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of interface points include a first plurality of interface points for a first tooth, wherein the first plurality of interface points are identified based on a line around tooth (LAT) for the first tooth.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of reference points are a plurality of centroids for the plurality of teeth.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a number of interface points for a respective tooth included in the subset of the plurality of interface points decreases as the distance between the cut plane and the reference point for the respective tooth increases.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining the cut line is based on the subset of the plurality of interface points and an offset applied to the cut line.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining the cut line comprises connecting a first reference point for a first tooth and a second reference point for a second tooth along an interproximal space between the first tooth and the second tooth, the first reference point and the second reference point included in the subset.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first reference point and the second reference point are connected via a straight line along an interproximal surface of the interproximal space.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising generating an interproximal virtual filler between the first tooth and the second tooth, wherein the interproximal surface is located along the interproximal virtual filler between the first tooth and the second tooth.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining the plurality of cut planes comprises defining a first plurality of cut planes for a labial side of the plurality of teeth and defining a second plurality of cut planes for a lingual side of the plurality of teeth.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cut plane for a respective tooth is perpendicular to a line extending between the reference point for the respective tooth and an interface point for the respective tooth.

11. A system for cutting a dental aligner, the system comprising:
a cut line system configured to:
identify, for a plurality of teeth of a model, a plurality of interface points disposed on a respective tooth-gingiva interface of the plurality of teeth and a plurality of reference points for each of the plurality of teeth;
define a plurality of cut planes, wherein a cut plane for a respective tooth extends between two interface points for the respective tooth at a distance from the reference point for the respective tooth;
identify a subset of the plurality of interface points based on the plurality of cut planes; and
define a cut line based on the subset of the plurality of interface points; and

a cutting system including a cutting tool configured to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of interface points include a first plurality of interface points for a first tooth, wherein the first plurality of interface points are identified based on a line around tooth (LAT) for the first tooth.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of reference points are a plurality of centroids for the plurality of teeth.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein a number of interface points for a respective tooth included in the subset of the plurality of interface points decreases as the distance between the cut plane and the reference point for the respective tooth increases.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein defining the cut line is based on the subset of the plurality of interface points and an offset applied to the cut line.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the cut line system is configured to define the cut line by connecting a first reference point for a first tooth and a second reference point for a second tooth along an interproximal space between the first tooth and the second tooth, the first reference point and the second reference point included in the subset.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the first reference point and the second reference point are connected via a straight line along an interproximal surface of the interproximal space.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the cut line system is configured to define a first plurality of cut planes for a labial side of the plurality of teeth and define a second plurality of cut planes for a lingual side of the plurality of teeth.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
identify, for a plurality of teeth of a model, a plurality of interface points disposed on a respective tooth-gingiva interface of the plurality of teeth and a plurality of reference points for each of the plurality of teeth;
define a plurality of cut planes, wherein a cut plane for a respective tooth extends between two interface points for the respective tooth at a distance from the reference point for the respective tooth;
identify a subset of the plurality of interface points based on the plurality of cut planes;
define a cut line based on the subset of the plurality of interface points; and
generate one or more output signals to cause a cutting tool to cut a dental aligner along the cut line.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of interface points include a first plurality of interface points for a first tooth, wherein the first plurality of interface points are identified based on a line around tooth (LAT) for the first tooth, and wherein the plurality of reference points are a plurality of centroids for the plurality of teeth.

Assignees

• Sdc Us Smilepay Spv

Inventors

• Wilson Cherie
• Long Josh
• Dargis John
• Solarek Tony

Classifications

• A61C7/002 Primary

  Orthodontic computer assisted systems · CPC title

• A61C7/08

  Mouthpiece-type retainers {or positioners, e.g. for both the lower and upper arch (arch-shaped medicament applicators for teeth or gums A61C19/063; mouthguards for protecting the teeth of sportsmen A63B71/085)} · CPC title

• G06F30/30

  Circuit design · CPC title

• G06T7/0012

  Biomedical image inspection · CPC title

• G06T7/12

  Edge-based segmentation · CPC title