Removable dental appliance including positioning member

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020375698-A1
Application number	US-201816753514-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 18, 2018
Priority date	Oct 6, 2017
Publication date	Dec 3, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A removable dental appliance may include an appliance body configured to at least partially surround a plurality of teeth. The appliance body may include a unitary material defining a shell shaped to receive at least one tooth of the patient; a spring member integrally formed with the shell; and a positioning member integrally formed with the shell. The spring member may be configured to receive an attachment affixed to the at least one tooth. The spring member may be configured to apply a spring force to the attachment to cause movement of the at least one tooth toward a desired position when the removable dental appliance is worn by the patient. The positioning member may be configured to facilitate engagement of the spring member with the attachment in response to a positioning force being applied to the positioning member.

First claim

1 . A removable dental appliance comprising:
an appliance body configured to at least partially surround a plurality of teeth of a dental arch of a patient, the appliance body comprising:
a unitary material defining a shell shaped to receive at least one tooth of the patient;
a spring member integrally formed with the shell; and
a positioning member integrally formed with the shell,
wherein the spring member is configured to receive an attachment affixed to the at least one tooth, wherein the spring member is configured to apply a spring force to the attachment to cause movement of the at least one tooth toward a desired position when the removable dental appliance is worn by the patient, and wherein the positioning member is configured to facilitate engagement of the spring member with the attachment in response to a positioning force being applied to the positioning member.

2 . (canceled)

3 . The removable dental appliance of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a surface defining a void internal to the shell and shaped to receive the at least one tooth in the desired position.

4 . The removable dental appliance claim 1 , wherein the spring member comprises a recess defined in the shell, the recess being shaped and positioned to engage the attachment.

5 . The removable dental appliance of claim 4 , wherein the recess comprises a first dimension extending substantially perpendicular to a direction of the spring force and a second dimension extending substantially parallel to the direction of the spring force, and wherein the first dimension is greater than the second dimension.

6 - 10 . (canceled)

11 . The removable dental appliance of claim 1 , wherein the positioning member comprises a deflection of the shell away from an occlusal surface of the dental arch and is configured to receive the positioning force to deform the appliance body to facilitate the engagement of the spring member with the attachment.

12 . The removable dental appliance of claim 11 , wherein the positioning member is configured to receive the positioning force from an occlusal surface of a second, opposing dental arch of the patient.

13 - 15 . (canceled)

16 . A system comprising:
an ordered set of removable dental appliances configured to reposition one or more teeth of a patient, each removable dental appliance in the set of removable dental appliances comprising:
an appliance body configured to at least partially surround a plurality of teeth of a dental arch of a patient, the appliance body comprising:
a unitary material defining a shell shaped to receive at least one tooth of the patient;
a spring member integrally formed with the shell; and
a positioning member integrally formed with the shell,

wherein the spring member is configured to receive an attachment affixed to the at least one tooth, wherein the spring member is configured to apply a spring force to the attachment to cause movement of the at least one tooth toward a desired position when the removable dental appliance is worn by the patient, and wherein the positioning member is configured to facilitate engagement of the spring member with the attachment in response to a positioning force being applied to the positioning member.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein each removable dental appliance in the set of removable dental appliances comprises an aligner tray.

18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the shell comprises a surface defining a void internal to the shell and shaped to receive the at least one tooth in the desired position.

19 - 21 . (canceled)

22 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the spring member is biased toward the attachment when the removable dental appliance is worn by the patient or in response to the positioning force being applied to the positioning member.

23 . The system of claim 16 , wherein a thickness of the shell increases near the spring member.

24 . (canceled)

25 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the positioning member comprises a deflection of the shell away from an occlusal surface of the dental arch and is configured to receive the positioning force to deform the appliance body to facilitate the engagement of the spring member with the attachment.

26 - 41 . (canceled)

42 . A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, a digital representation of a three-dimensional (3D) dental anatomy of a patient, the dental anatomy providing initial positions of one or more teeth of the patient; determining, by the computing device, dimensions and shapes of a removable dental appliance for the patient, wherein the removable dental appliance comprises:
an appliance body configured to at least partially surround a plurality of teeth of a dental arch of the patient, the appliance body comprising:
a unitary material defining a shell shaped to receive at least one tooth of the patient;
 a spring member integrally formed with the shell; and
 a positioning member integrally formed with the shell,
wherein the spring member is configured to receive an attachment affixed to the at least one tooth, wherein the spring member is configured to apply a spring force to the attachment to cause movement of the at least one tooth toward a desired position when the removable dental appliance is worn by the patient, and wherein the positioning member is configured to facilitate engagement of the spring member with the attachment in response to a positioning force being applied to the positioning member, and
wherein the dimensions and shapes of the removable dental appliance comprise:
a position, dimension, and shape of the shell;
a position, dimension, and shape of the attachment;
a position, dimension, and shape of the spring member; and
a position, dimension, and shape of the positioning member; and
transmitting, by the computing device, a representation of the removable dental appliance to a computer-aided manufacturing system.

43 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the removable dental appliance comprises an aligner tray.

44 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the three-dimensional (3D) dental anatomy of the patient further includes at least some portion of tooth roots, gingiva, periodontal ligaments (PDL), alveolar process, or cortical bone.

45 - 49 . (canceled)

50 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the method further comprises determining, by the computing device, dimensions and shapes of each of an ordered set of a removable dental appliances for the patient, the removable dental appliance being one of the ordered set of removable dental appliances for the patient, wherein each removable dental appliance in the ordered set of removable dental appliances is configured to incrementally reposition the teeth of the patient to a more advanced position than any one of the earlier removable dental appliances within the set of the removable dental appliances.

51 . The method of claim 42 , wherein determining, by the computing device, dimensions and shapes of the removable dental appliance includes selecting, by the computing device, the dimensions and shapes of the removable dental appliance according to a set of predefined design constraints, the set of predefined design constraints including one or more of a group consisting of:
a minimum and a maximum localized force applied to the one or more teeth of the patient or the attachment when the removable dental appliance worn by the patient; a minimum and a maximum rotational force app

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Co

Inventors

• Paehl Ralf M
• Cinader Jr David K
• Hansen James D
• Raby Richard E
• Domroese Michael K

Classifications

• A61C9/0053

  Optical means or methods, e.g. scanning the teeth by a laser or light beam · CPC title

• A61C7/002

  Orthodontic computer assisted systems · CPC title

• A61C7/08 Primary

  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

• A61C2204/00

  Features not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• A61C7/14

  Brackets (A61C7/28 takes precedence); Fixing brackets to teeth · CPC title