Method and kits for forming pontics in polymeric shell aligners

a technology of polymeric shell and pontic, applied in the field of orthodontics, can solve the problems of unsightly and uncomfortable, system does not provide for filling in space or void, and time-consuming process,

Inactive Publication Date: 2004-10-14
ALIGN TECH
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Although conventional braces are effective, they are often a tedious and time-consuming process requiring many visits to the orthodontist's office.
Moreover, from a patient's perspective, they are unsightly and uncomfortable.
System does not provide for filling in the space or void which remains within the aligner after the tooth is extracted with a structural component such as an artificial tooth which is commonly referred to as a dental pontic.
Although dental composites have been used to fabricate dental pontics for the Invisalign system there remain two important disadvantages to using these materials.
First the ability of these materials to bond to the aligner thermoplastic is poor and second these materials are very stiff and non-flexing.
These

Method used

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  • Method and kits for forming pontics in polymeric shell aligners
  • Method and kits for forming pontics in polymeric shell aligners
  • Method and kits for forming pontics in polymeric shell aligners

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Embodiment Construction

[0033] The present invention provides improved methods and kits for the use of aligners 100 for positioning teeth in a tooth arrangement TA, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The aligner is a thin shell polymeric appliance of the type commercially available as part of the Invisalign.RTM. System available from Align Technology, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. The planning and fabrication of such aligners is described in detail in issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,893, the full disclosure of which has previously been incorporated herein by reference. The aligners 100 are worn by a patient over the tooth arrangement for a sufficient time to rearrange the teeth to a desired subsequent tooth arrangement. A plurality of successive aligners are worn until an entire course of the treatment is completed.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2A, the aligner 100 will include a number of individual tooth-shaped segments 102, 104, 106, 108, and 110. Each of these individual segments will be designed to fit over an individual toot...

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Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for forming a pontic in a polymeric shell dental appliance, including providing a polymeric shell dental appliance of the type which is removably placeable over a patient's dentition, said shell having a concave trough which conforms to the teeth when the appliance is placed over the dentition and a location in the trough corresponding to a missing tooth; and depositing a flexible, durably affixed material in the location to form the pontic.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001] The present application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 967,822 (Attorney Docket No. 018563-006100US / AT-00117), filed Sep. 28, 2001, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 313,289 (Attorney Docket No. 018563-005200US / AT-00110) filed May 13, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,994); U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 169,036 (Attorney Docket No. 18563-004900US / AT-00106), filed Oct. 8, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,807); and U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 169,034 (Attorney Docket No. 018563-005000US / AT-00107), filed Oct. 8, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,511).[0002] 1. Field of the Invention[0003] This invention relates in general to orthodontics and more particularly to methods and kits for for providing pontics in orthodontic appliances.[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art[0005] Orthodontic treatments involve repositioning misaligned...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A61C5/77A61C7/00
CPCA61C7/00
Inventor TRICCA, ROBET E.KUO, ERICKNOPP, PETER G.WONCHEOL, CHOIBRUNS, CRAIG R.
Owner ALIGN TECH
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