System and method for producing dental appliance capable of direct manufacture

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for computer-aided design, digital treatment planning, and direct additive manufacturing of dental appliances. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a treatment plan for teeth of a patient, the treatment plan specifying a target arrangement of teeth and a plurality of treatment stages to reposition the teeth from an initial arrangement toward the target arrangement. The method may include identifying appliance design parameters of one or more dental appliances for performing at least one of a plurality of treatment phases. The appliance design parameters may include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the one or more dental appliances. The method may also include determining an appliance geometry of the one or more dental appliances using the set of appliance design parameters.

Description

Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 380,345, filed Oct. 20, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 482,381, filed Jan. 31, 2023, the disclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Technical Field

[0002] The present technology generally relates to manufacturing, and more particularly to systems and methods for generating dental appliances that can be directly manufactured. Background Art

[0003] Dental appliances are used to treat various dental conditions such as malocclusions, jaw dysfunction / misalignment, functional and / or aesthetic conditions, endodontic conditions, etc. Example appliances used in the treatment of orthodontic conditions include bracket and wire braces, aligners, retainers, attachment placement devices, conventional and / or incremental palatal expanders, restorations (e.g., bridges, crowns, implants), surgical and / or gingival plastic appliances, etc. Conventionally, the process for manufacturing many types of dental appliances (e.g., aligners and retainers) involves additive manufacturing of one or more molds representing a person's dentition at different treatment stages, and then thermoforming a plastic sheet over the mold to manufacture the dental appliance. Although attachment placement devices, incremental palatal expanders, limited - stage aligners, and some other types of dental appliances have been directly additively manufactured, these manufacturing processes have not been scaled to industrial viability.

[0004] Problems with conventional processes for manufacturing many dental appliances include waste of the additively - manufactured mold material (which is typically discarded or burned as fuel), difficulty in achieving predictable treatment, and difficulty in achieving features for treating complex dental conditions. In addition, conventional processes for manufacturing many dental appliances do not allow appliance designers to visualize the completed appliance in the way they can use to plan treatment. For example, conventional dental appliance design software may allow designers to visualize the tooth stages for forming the mold, but does not allow designers to effectively visualize a series of completed aligners, incremental palatal expanders, or other appliances that will achieve the treatment plan. Conventional dental appliance design software also does not allow designers to effectively use aspects of the appliance design to iterate and / or plan treatment. For these and other reasons, the systems, methods, and computer - readable media presented herein are discussed. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005] Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Instead, the emphasis is on clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.

[0006] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram showing a treatment planning and appliance design ecosystem according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0007] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram showing a treatment planning and appliance generation workflow that can be implemented by components of the Figure 1A ecosystem.

[0008] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram showing an appliance design and manufacturing workflow that can be implemented by an Figure 1A appliance design system and a direct manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0009] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram showing an Figure 1A example architecture of an appliance design system according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0010] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overall overview of a treatment planning and appliance generation workflow according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0011] Figure 3A is a flowchart showing a method for generating an appliance according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0012] Figure 3B is a flowchart showing a method for generating an appliance according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0013] Figure 4A is a flowchart showing a method for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0014] Figure 4B is a flowchart showing a method for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0015] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a method for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0016] Figure 6A is a flowchart showing a method for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0017] Figure 6B is a flowchart showing Figure 6A the specific process of the method.

[0018] Figure 7A shows a representative example of a tooth repositioning appliance configured according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0019] Figure 7BShows a tooth repositioning system including a plurality of appliances according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0020] Figure 7C Shows a method of orthodontic treatment using a plurality of appliances according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0021] Figure 8 Shows a method for designing an orthodontic appliance according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0022] Figure 9 Shows a method for digitally planning orthodontic treatment and / or the design or manufacture of appliances according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0023] Figure 10 Shows a method for generating and implementing a treatment according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0024] Figure 11 Is a partial schematic diagram providing an overview of an additive manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present technology. Detailed Description

[0025] The present technology relates to the design and manufacture of dental appliances (e.g., aligners, palatal expanders, retainers, attachment placement devices, attachments, oral sleep apnea appliances, and mouthguards). In some embodiments, it is advantageous to use a direct manufacturing process (e.g., additive manufacturing) to manufacture dental appliances. For example, direct manufacturing allows for the manufacture of appliances with complex geometries (e.g., cavity geometries different from the shape of the accommodated teeth, control of contact points, integrated features) and / or heterogeneous properties (e.g., variable thickness, stiffness, material composition) that are difficult or impossible to produce using indirect manufacturing techniques (e.g., thermoforming). Direct manufacturing can also reduce manufacturing time and material consumption by eliminating the need for molds or other physical templates used to form the appliance.

[0026] Direct manufacturing processes may exhibit certain limitations, such as limitations on the geometry of the object (e.g., feature size, thickness, unsupported structures) and / or the properties of the object (e.g., stiffness, flexibility, stress relaxation). Due to printer resolution, printer deviation, over-curing, material variations during printing and / or post-processing, and / or other process-specific issues, direct manufacturing processes may also introduce certain inaccuracies into the object geometry. Thus, certain appliance designs may be difficult or impossible to manufacture via direct manufacturing.

[0027] To address these and / or other challenges, the present technology provides systems and methods for designing dental appliances. For example, in some embodiments, the method includes receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth. The method may include identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a dental appliance configured to implement the treatment plan. The set of appliance design parameters may include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the dental appliance. For example, the appliance design parameters may include constraints on the appliance geometry based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the additive manufacturing process. The appliance design parameters may also include adjustments to the appliance geometry to compensate for characteristics of the additive manufacturing process. The method may also include determining the appliance geometry of the dental appliance using the set of appliance design parameters.

[0028] The present technology may provide various advantages over conventional techniques for designing and manufacturing dental appliances. For example, the methods described herein may automatically design dental appliances that are feasible for manufacturing via direct manufacturing, while taking into account the capabilities, constraints, and / or conditions of the particular direct manufacturing process to be used, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of appliance manufacturing. The methods herein may also predict whether direct manufacturing is feasible for a particular appliance design, thereby avoiding wasted time and / or materials in attempting to manufacture appliance designs that are difficult or impossible to produce via direct manufacturing. The methods herein may also determine an appropriate combination of adjustments to the appliance geometry, design parameters, and / or treatment plan to ensure manufacturability while maintaining the ability of the dental appliance to achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes. Additionally, the methods herein may identify situations where it is difficult or impossible to produce a dental appliance via direct manufacturing, but may automatically reroute these situations for production via an alternative manufacturing workflow (such as thermoforming).

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, and in which example embodiments are shown. However, the embodiments of the claims may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The examples set forth herein are non-limiting examples and are merely examples among other possible examples.

[0030] As used herein, terms such as "vertical", "lateral", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. may refer to the relative directions or positions of features of the embodiments disclosed herein in view of the orientation shown in the figures. For example, "upper" or "uppermost" may refer to a feature that is positioned closer to the top of the page than another feature. However, these terms should be interpreted broadly to include embodiments having other orientations, such as inverted or tilted orientations, where top / bottom, above / below, over / under, up / down, and left / right may be interchanged depending on the orientation.

[0031] The titles provided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of the claimed technology. Embodiments under any one title may be used in combination with embodiments under any other title. I. Systems and methods for designing and fabricating dental appliances

[0032] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram showing a treatment planning and appliance design ecosystem (“ecosystem 100a”) according to an embodiment of the present technology. Ecosystem 100a includes a plurality of interconnected hardware and software components that perform some or all of the following operations: planning and managing the treatment of patient 102, providing tools to allow clinician 104 to submit patient cases for treatment and review treatment plans and / or appliance designs, generating digital designs of dental appliances for implementing treatment plans, and / or manufacturing dental appliances via direct manufacturing (e.g., direct additive manufacturing) or indirect manufacturing (e.g., thermoforming). As Figure 1A shown, ecosystem 100a may include a dental imaging system 106, at least one treatment management system 108 (e.g., including a clinician system 110, a treatment planning system 112, and / or an appliance design system 114), at least one appliance manufacturing system 116 (e.g., a direct manufacturing system 118 and / or an indirect manufacturing system 120), a patient system 122, and / or a communication system 124.

[0033] The dental imaging system 106 is configured to acquire image data of a patient's dentition, oral cavity, and / or other relevant anatomical structures (e.g., craniofacial anatomy). The image data may be generated via any suitable imaging modality and may include photographs, videos, scan data (e.g., intraoral and / or extraoral scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, radiographic data (e.g., standard radiographic data such as bitewing x-ray data, panoramic x-ray data, cephalometric x-ray data, computed tomography (CT) data, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data, fluoroscopy data, etc.), and / or motion data. The image data may include 2D data (e.g., 2D photographs or videos), 3D data (e.g., 3D photographs, intraoral and / or extraoral scans, digital models), 4D data (e.g., fluoroscopy data, dynamic joint data, hard tissue and / or soft tissue motion capture data), or a suitable combination thereof.

[0034] For example, in some embodiments, the dental imaging system 106 includes or is operatively coupled to a scanner configured to obtain a 3D digital representation (e.g., an image, surface topography data) of a patient's teeth, for example, via direct intraoral scanning or indirectly via a cast, impression, model, etc. The scanner may include a probe (e.g., a hand-held probe) for optically capturing 3D structures (e.g., via confocal focusing of a beam array). Examples of scanners include, but are not limited to, the intraoral digital scanner, the 3M True Definition scanner, and the Cerec Omnicam manufactured by

[0035] In some embodiments, the dental imaging system 106 is configured to process the image data to generate a digital representation of the patient 102's teeth. Alternatively, the dental imaging system 106 may transmit the image data to another component that generates the digital representation, e.g., the treatment planning system 112. The digital representation may be a 3D model, such as a mesh model or a surface model. Depending on the time at which the image data is collected, the digital representation may depict the patient's teeth in any suitable alignment (e.g., an initial alignment before the start of treatment, an intermediate alignment after treatment has begun, or a final alignment after treatment has been completed).

[0036] The image data and / or digital representation of the teeth generated by the dental imaging system 106 can be used in various stages of the treatment planning and appliance design workflows described herein. For example, imaging may be performed prior to the start of treatment to provide the clinician 104 with an accurate description of the current state of the patient's teeth. The initial digital representation of the teeth may also be used as a basis for treatment planning and / or appliance design. Imaging may also be performed during the course of treatment such that the clinician 104 can evaluate the progress of treatment and determine whether any modifications to the treatment plan are appropriate (e.g., whether a new or modified appliance is needed). Additionally, imaging may be performed after the treatment plan has been completed such that the clinician 104 can evaluate the patient's outcome and determine whether further treatment would be beneficial (e.g., whether an additional appliance is needed).

[0037] The treatment management system 108 may include one or more systems configured to perform treatment planning and appliance design. In some embodiments, the treatment management system 108 generally implements an end-to-end workflow to receive and review a patient's 102 case (e.g., orthodontic and / or general dentistry case), determine a treatment prescription for the case, develop one or more treatment plans based on the treatment prescription, and / or generate designs for one or more dental appliances to implement the (one or more) treatment plans. Additionally, the treatment management system 108 may interact with other components of the ecosystem 100a to facilitate treatment planning and appliance design. For example, the treatment management system 108 may receive image data from the dental imaging system 106 and may transmit files and / or instructions for manufacturing the appliance to the appliance manufacturing system 116.

[0038] As Figure 1AAs shown, the treatment management system 108 may include a clinician system 110 associated with a clinician 104 (e.g., an orthodontist, dentist, physician, or other healthcare provider). The clinician system 110 may provide a software portal that allows the clinician 104 to receive and access information about a patient 102, such as image data and / or digital representations of the patient's teeth generated by a dental imaging system 106, and any other relevant patient data. The software portal may allow the clinician 104 to create and submit a new patient case for treatment planning using the image data, digital representations, and / or other patient data. In some embodiments, the clinician 104 may provide inputs specifying various treatment parameters for the patient case, such as treatment prescriptions (e.g., treatment goals), tooth information (e.g., which teeth should or should not be treated, the geometry of the teeth), movement information (e.g., movement direction, movement speed, type of movement (such as distalization, root control complex movement, etc.), treatment protocols for specific types of malocclusions, staging for treatment procedures (e.g., interproximal reduction (IPR)), etc. The treatment parameters may specify one or more desired appliance features, such as attachments, attachment seats, appliance regions that contact the teeth (e.g., contact points, pressure points, activation ridges), appliance regions that avoid contact with the teeth (e.g., virtual fillers, bubbles for providing space in the interdental region), activations, bite ramps, mandibular advancement wings, and / or cut lines. For example, the treatment parameters may indicate any of the following: the location and / or shape of an attachment to be installed on the patient's teeth; the location and / or shape of an attachment seat formed in the appliance to engage the attachment; the location and / or shape of a tooth contact region; the location and / or shape of a non-tooth contact region (e.g., the curvature of a virtual filler that affects the engagement of the appliance with the teeth); the direction and / or magnitude of overcorrection tooth movement for an activation region; the location and / or shape of a bite ramp; the location and / or shape of a mandibular advancement wing; and / or the location and / or shape of a cut line.

[0039] Case information can be transmitted to the treatment planning system 112 and / or the appliance design system 114 to generate a treatment plan and / or an appliance design for the patient case, respectively. Subsequently, the clinician system 110 can receive the treatment plan and / or recommendations generated by the treatment planning system 112 and can allow the clinician 104 to review and provide feedback (e.g., approve, comment, modify, select a treatment plan). Optionally, the clinician system 110 can receive the appliance design generated by the appliance design system 114 and can allow the clinician 104 to review and provide feedback (e.g., approve, comment, modify, select an appliance design). In some embodiments, the clinician system 110 provides a user interface that allows the clinician 104 to visualize, review the patient dentition, digital representations of teeth, treatment plans, appliance designs, and / or other data related to the patient case and / or provide feedback regarding the patient dentition, digital representations of teeth, treatment plans, appliance designs, and / or other data related to the patient case).

[0040] The treatment planning system 112 can generate one or more treatment plans for a patient case received from the clinician system 110. The treatment plan can be manually generated by an operator of the treatment planning system 112, automatically generated using real-time and / or automated software algorithms implemented by the treatment planning system 112, or generated as a suitable combination thereof. Optionally, multiple treatment plans can be generated for a particular patient case, allowing the clinician 104 to compare different treatment options.

[0041] In some embodiments, the treatment planning system 112 is configured to receive image data and / or digital representations of the initial tooth alignment of the patient 102 from the dental imaging system 106 and / or the clinician system 110, and a treatment prescription from the clinician system 110. The treatment planning system 112 can use the image data and / or digital representations to determine a target tooth alignment to achieve the treatment goals specified by the treatment prescription. The treatment planning system 112 can then generate a treatment plan for achieving the target tooth alignment. For example, the treatment plan can include multiple treatment phases, such as a series of intermediate tooth alignments configured to incrementally reposition the teeth from the initial tooth alignment towards the target tooth alignment. The target tooth alignment and the intermediate tooth alignments can be generated based on the digital representation of the initial tooth alignment. In some embodiments, the digital representation of the initial tooth alignment is used to generate multiple digital representations corresponding to the target tooth alignment and the intermediate tooth alignments.

[0042] The treatment plan generated by the treatment planning system 112 can also incorporate other treatment parameters, such as dental information (e.g., which teeth should or should not be treated, the geometry of the teeth), movement information (e.g., movement direction, movement speed, movement type (such as distal movement, root control complex movement, etc.), desired appliance features (e.g., attachments, attachment seats, tooth contact areas, non - tooth contact areas, activation areas, occlusal ramps, mandibular advancement wings, and / or cut lines), treatment protocols for specific types of malocclusions, phasing for treatment procedures, constraints, modifications, etc. These parameters can be received from the clinician system 110, determined by the treatment planning system 112, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0043] In some embodiments, the treatment planning system 112 considers efficacy and / or manufacturability parameters when generating a treatment plan. Efficacy parameters can provide information that can be useful for determining how to achieve the clinical goals (e.g., desired tooth positions) of a particular treatment phase and / or the overall treatment plan. For example, efficacy parameters can represent the relationship between the applied force and tooth movement (e.g., the force and / or moment ratio required to produce the desired movement), the predicted efficacy of tooth movement, over - correction for achieving the desired tooth position, limitations on tooth movement (e.g., maximum movement amount and / or speed, prohibited tooth movements), and / or limitations on the applied force (e.g., maximum force threshold). Efficacy parameters can be determined based on clinical data, simulations (e.g., force simulations, finite element analysis), software algorithms (e.g., rule - based algorithms, machine learning algorithms), or a suitable combination thereof. The treatment planning system 112 can use efficacy parameters to determine how to optimize tooth movement and / or the force applied to the teeth to achieve the clinical goals of a particular treatment phase and / or the overall treatment plan. The treatment planning system 112 can also use efficacy parameters to identify and avoid tooth movements and / or forces that may be difficult to achieve for clinical reasons or are otherwise clinically contraindicated.

[0044] Manufacturability parameters can provide information about the direct manufacturing process that will be used to fabricate the dental appliance for implementing the treatment plan. For example, manufacturability parameters can include information about the constraints, capabilities, and / or process conditions of the direct manufacturing process, which can inform the treatment planning. Manufacturability parameters can be determined based on experimental data, simulations (e.g., force simulations, finite element analysis), software algorithms (e.g., rule - based algorithms, machine learning algorithms), or a suitable combination thereof. The treatment planning system 112 can use manufacturability parameters to select tooth movements that are feasible with directly - manufactured appliances while avoiding tooth movements that may be difficult to achieve with directly - manufactured appliances. For example, certain types of tooth movements may require forces that are too large to be generated by directly - manufactured appliances; certain types of tooth movements may require appliance features that are too large or too small to be directly manufactured; and so on.

[0045] Once a treatment plan is generated, the treatment planning system 112 can send the treatment plan to the clinician system 110 for review by the clinician 104. If the clinician 104 provides modifications to the treatment plan, the treatment planning system 112 can receive and review the modifications and update the treatment plan as appropriate. The updated treatment plan can then be sent back to the clinician system 110 for further review. This process can be repeated until the clinician 104 approves the treatment plan.

[0046] The appliance design system 114 can receive the approved treatment plan from the treatment planning system 112 and / or receive other relevant inputs (e.g., digital representations of teeth, treatment parameters, treatment goals, material capabilities, features, manufacturing process conditions). The appliance design system 114 can design one or more appliances (e.g., aligners, palatal expanders, retainers, attachment placement devices) for one or more treatment phases that implement the treatment plan. Each appliance design can include a digital representation of the geometry of the appliance, such as a 3D digital model (e.g., surface model, mesh model, non-parametric model, parametric model). The digital representation can depict the 3D shape of the appliance, such as the thickness distribution of the appliance (e.g., uniform or non-uniform thickness distribution). The digital representation can also show the location and dimensions of appliance features (e.g., attachment seats, tooth contact areas, non-tooth contact areas, force application areas, bite ramps, mandibular advancement wings, and / or cut lines). The appliance design can be manually generated by an operator of the appliance design system 114, automatically generated using real-time and / or automated software algorithms implemented by the appliance design system 114, or generated in a suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, multiple appliance designs are generated for one or more treatment phases, so that the clinician 104 can select a desired appliance design after reviewing different options.

[0047] In some embodiments, the appliance design system 114 generates the appliance design based on a set of appliance design parameters. For example, the appliance design parameters can include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to a direct manufacturing process (e.g., additive manufacturing process) that will be used to manufacture the appliance. Some or all of the manufacturability parameters can be the same as the manufacturability parameters used by the treatment planning system 112, or some or all of the manufacturability parameters can be different from the manufacturability parameters used by the treatment planning system 112.

[0048] Manufacturability parameters can be related to the constraints, capabilities, and / or process conditions of a direct manufacturing process. For example, manufacturability parameters can include constraints on the geometry of the device, such as minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum device thickness, maximum device thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, and / or maximum pontic size. The constraints can be based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the direct manufacturing process, such as the resolution of the direct manufacturing process, the properties of the materials used in the direct manufacturing process, the overhang size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the pontic size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, and / or post-processing conditions. For example, one constraint can be that the minimum feature size of the device is at least a multiple of the minimum resolution of the direct manufacturing process (e.g., the minimum feature size is at least 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, or 10X larger than the minimum resolution). As another example, the constraint can prevent the device geometry from exceeding the hard limits of manufacturability. In yet another example, the constraint can require that the device geometry be a single, smoothly connected shape without discontinuities (e.g., islands that are not connected to other parts of the device), holes, sharp protrusions, self-intersecting surfaces, and / or artifacts (e.g., image artifacts or other digital processing artifacts).

[0049] As another example, manufacturability parameters can include adjustments to the geometry of the device, such as increasing feature size, decreasing feature size, changing feature location, increasing device thickness, decreasing device thickness, changing device orientation, and / or adding support structures. The adjustments can be configured to compensate for the characteristics of the direct manufacturing process, such as orientation deviation, resolution, over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage / expansion, post-processing conditions, and / or the expected changes in characteristics and / or geometry after post-processing. The device design system 114 can use the manufacturability parameters to avoid device designs that may be difficult or impossible to manufacture via direct manufacturing. The device design system 114 can also use the manufacturability parameters to adjust the device design to compensate for inaccuracies and / or changes in geometry that may occur during manufacturing and / or post-processing.

[0050] Optionally, the device design parameters can include one or more efficacy parameters that provide information useful for determining how to achieve the clinical goals of a particular treatment phase and / or overall treatment plan via the device geometry. Some or all of the efficacy parameters can be the same as the efficacy parameters used by the treatment planning system 112, or some or all of the efficacy parameters can be different from the efficacy parameters used by the treatment planning system 112.

[0051] In some embodiments, the efficacy parameter represents the correspondence between the appliance feature and the clinical objective. For example, the efficacy parameter may indicate a particular appliance feature (e.g., appliance thickness (such as a discrete thickness value or a continuous thickness distribution), appliance stiffness (such as a discrete stiffness value or a continuous stiffness distribution), feature type (such as ridges, depressions, blocks, etc.), feature size, feature shape, surface geometry, attachment location, attachment geometry, contact points) applied to achieve a particular clinical objective (e.g., the tooth to be moved, the type of tooth movement, the direction of tooth movement, the amount of tooth movement, the speed of tooth movement, the magnitude of the force and / or torque to be applied to the tooth, the direction of the force and / or torque to be applied to the tooth). The appliance design system 114 may use the efficacy parameter to select an appliance design that will effectively achieve the clinical objective of the corresponding treatment phase.

[0052] In some embodiments, the appliance design parameters include one or more force system parameters that represent the constraints and / or adjustments of the force system that will be delivered by the appliance to the patient's teeth. For example, the force system parameters may include the maximum force and / or torque magnitude, the minimum force and / or torque magnitude, the allowed force and / or torque directions, and / or the disallowed force and / or torque directions. The force system parameters may be based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the appliance, safety considerations, efficacy considerations, etc. The appliance design system 114 may use the force system parameters to generate appliance designs that deliver the desired force system for a particular treatment phase.

[0053] The appliance design system 114 may implement the appliance design parameters in various ways. For example, the appliance design system 114 may use the appliance design parameters to retrieve and / or generate a set of appliance design rules corresponding to the set of appliance design parameters. Alternatively, the appliance design system 114 may receive a general set of appliance design rules and may then modify the rules based on the appliance design parameters. In some embodiments, the appliance design system 114 uses a rule-based algorithm that implements the set of appliance design rules, where the appliance design parameters are the inputs to the rule-based algorithm.

[0054] Then, the appliance design system 114 can use appliance design rules to generate an appliance design. For example, the appliance design system 114 can create an initial appliance geometry for a particular treatment stage, such as by creating a 3D shape that is close to the tooth surface and has an initial thickness. The appliance design rules can provide instructions to adjust the initial appliance geometry to account for manufacturability and / or efficacy, such as by modifying the surface, thickness, and / or shape of the initial appliance geometry. Alternatively, or in combination therewith, the appliance design rules can be implemented as branches in the appliance geometry design process. Optionally, during the appliance design process, certain rules can be prioritized over other rules, such as by assigning different weights to rules associated with different goals (e.g., rules related to manufacturability can be prioritized over rules related to clinical efficacy, and vice versa). Additional details and examples of the appliance design process are provided further below.

[0055] The appliance design generated by the appliance design system 114 can be transmitted to other components of the ecosystem 100a, such as the clinician system 110, the treatment planning system 112, the patient system 122, and / or the appliance manufacturing system 116. For example, the appliance design can be transmitted as an instruction set to the appliance manufacturing system 116 to control the appliance manufacturing system 116 when manufacturing an appliance with that design. In some embodiments, the instructions are or include a 3D digital representation of the appliance design, such as a CAD file, an STL file, an OBJ file, an AMF file, a 3MF file, etc. Alternatively, or in combination therewith, the instructions can include a tool path file, such as a G-code file, whose format is suitable for direct input into the controller of the appliance manufacturing system 116.

[0056] Optionally, the appliance design system 114 can perform an automatic quality control on the generated appliance design before sending it to the appliance manufacturing system 116. The quality control process can check for manufacturability and / or geometry issues, such as mesh quality, self-intersection, discontinuities (e.g., floating islands or other unsupported structures), holes, sharp protrusions, artifacts, etc. The quality control process can also check for clinical issues, such as whether the appliance geometry complies with engineering specifications (e.g., design tolerances, limitations).

[0057] The appliance manufacturing system 116 includes one or more systems for manufacturing an appliance via direct manufacturing (e.g., the direct manufacturing system 118) and / or indirect manufacturing (e.g., the indirect manufacturing system 120) based on instructions from the appliance design system 114. The appliance manufacturing system 116 can include physical hardware (e.g., 3D printers, thermoforming systems) and software for controlling such hardware.

[0058] For example, the direct manufacturing system 118 can be an additive manufacturing system. Additive manufacturing (also referred to herein as "3D printing") includes a variety of techniques for directly manufacturing 3D objects from digital models through additive processes. In some embodiments, additive manufacturing includes depositing precursor materials onto a build platform. The precursor materials can be cured, polymerized, melted, sintered, fused, and / or otherwise solidified to form a part of the object and / or to combine the part with previously formed object parts. In some embodiments, the additive manufacturing techniques provided herein build object geometries in a layer-by-layer manner, where successive layers are formed in discrete build steps. Alternatively, or in combination therewith, the additive manufacturing techniques described herein can allow for the continuous building of object geometries. Section III below provides additional details and examples of additive manufacturing techniques.

[0059] The indirect manufacturing system 120 can be a thermoforming system. Thermoforming can involve (e.g., via additive manufacturing, milling, etc.) producing a positive or negative mold of a patient's dentition in a target arrangement and then thermoforming one or more sheets of material over the mold to produce a dental appliance. In some embodiments, the indirect manufacturing system 120 is used in situations where an appliance design cannot be produced by direct manufacturing, as further discussed below.

[0060] In some embodiments, the appliance manufacturing system 116 receives a digital representation of an appliance design (e.g., a 3D model of the appliance geometry) from the appliance design system 114 and converts the digital representation into a toolpath file (e.g., a G-code file). The appliance manufacturing system 116 can also determine other manufacturing parameters, such as layout, orientation, slicing, and / or support structures. Alternatively, some or all of these processes can be performed by the appliance design system 114 instead.

[0061] The patient system 122 can include hardware and / or software components that interface with the patient 102. For example, the patient system 122 can provide a software portal that allows the patient to communicate with the clinician 104 (e.g., online scheduling, locating a clinician). The patient 102 can also use the software portal to view the treatment plan, e.g., via a user interface that provides visualization of the planned and / or actual treatment outcomes. The patient system 122 can also allow the patient 102 to submit progress tracking and / or case assessment data, such as images of the patient's teeth obtained via a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) or a camera. The patient system 122 can also provide tools for managing appliance ordering and / or shipping and viewing related financial information.

[0062] The communication system 124 may be or include any suitable hardware and software components for operably coupling the various components of the ecosystem 100a to each other, and may include one or more buses, networks, runtime linkers connecting code segments, etc. For example, the communication system 124 may be or include a communication network, such as one or more of the following: a wired network, a wireless network, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtual local area network (VLAN), the Internet, an extranet, an intranet, and / or any other suitable type of network or combination thereof.

[0063] Figure 1A Any components of the ecosystem 100a shown as different components in the figure can be combined and / or include interrelated code. Any component of the ecosystem 100a can be implemented as a single and / or interrelated software, or as different software. Any component of the ecosystem 100a can be embodied on a single machine or any combination of multiple machines. For example, the clinician system 110, the treatment planning system 112, and / or the appliance design system 114 can be combined with each other and / or with other components (e.g., the dental imaging system 106, the appliance manufacturing system 116, and / or the patient system 122). In addition, any treatment management system 108 can share modules and / or devices with the appliance manufacturing system 116. Any treatment management system 108 can provide software to visualize the appliance design generated by the appliance design system 114. Optionally, the appliance manufacturing system 116 may include the appliance design system 114. The appliance manufacturing system 116 can be part of the treatment management system 108 or a separate component.

[0064] Figure 1B is a diagram showing that the embodiment of the present technology can be Figure 1A 1. A schematic diagram of a treatment planning and appliance generation workflow 100b implemented by components of an ecosystem 100a of a treatment management system 108. The workflow 100b may begin by imaging the dentition of a patient 102 using a dental imaging system 106, for example, by capturing images using a camera of a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone), intraoral scanning, X-ray imaging, CBCT imaging, or a suitable combination thereof. The dental imaging system 106 may use the image data to generate one or more 3D dental models of the patient's teeth, which may then be transmitted to a treatment management system 108.

[0065] The treatment planning system 112 uses the 3D model(s) from the dental imaging system 106 and generates a treatment plan for the patient's teeth based on a treatment prescription received from the clinician system 110. The treatment plan can be transmitted to the clinician system 110 for review by the clinician 104. For example, the treatment planning system 112 can generate digital representations of multiple treatment phases for repositioning the teeth, which can be displayed to the clinician 104 via the user interface of the clinician system 110. The clinician system 110 can pass feedback from the clinician 104 to the treatment planning system 112 to generate a revised treatment plan. The process of reviewing and revising the treatment plan can be iteratively repeated until the clinician 104 approves the plan. Optionally, the treatment plan can also be generated and / or modified based on manufacturability parameters provided by the appliance design system 114.

[0066] Once approved, the treatment plan is transmitted by the treatment planning system 112 to the appliance design system 114. Optionally, the treatment planning system 112 can provide additional information to the appliance design system 114, such as clinically relevant goals, appliance design parameters, and / or manufacturing constraints. The appliance design system 114 can determine the design of at least one appliance configured to implement the treatment plan. In some embodiments, the appliance design system 114 provides the appliance design to the clinician system 110 for review by the clinician 104. The clinician 104 can provide feedback regarding the appliance design, which can be transmitted to the appliance design system 114 and used to revise the appliance design. In other embodiments, the appliance design can be created without any feedback or interaction with the clinician system 110.

[0067] The appliance design system 114 can transmit a digital representation of the appliance design to the direct manufacturing system 118. In some embodiments, the appliance design system 114 performs a quality check on the design before sending the appliance design to the direct manufacturing system 118. Alternatively or in combination, the quality check process can be performed by the direct manufacturing system 118. The quality check can evaluate whether the appliance design can be feasibly manufactured using the direct manufacturing techniques implemented by the direct manufacturing system 118. If the appliance design fails the quality check, the appliance design system 114 can revise the design.

[0068] Once the appliance design passes the quality check, the direct manufacturing system 118 can manufacture the appliance via a direct manufacturing process. The direct manufacturing system 118 can provide appliance information to the clinician system 110, such as appliance order information, shipping information, etc. The appliance information can also be transmitted to the patient system 122.

[0069] In some embodiments, if the appliance design fails a direct manufacturing quality inspection after a specified number of iterations or is otherwise deemed infeasible to manufacture via direct manufacturing, the appliance design system 114 may alternatively transmit instructions to the indirect manufacturing system 120 to manufacture the appliance via indirect manufacturing. The indirect manufacturing system 120 may implement its own quality inspection process and may provide the quality inspection results to the appliance design system 114 to modify the appliance design. Alternatively, the appliance design system 114 may implement the quality inspection process and may provide instructions to the indirect manufacturing system 120 after the quality inspection is complete.

[0070] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram showing an appliance design and manufacturing workflow 100c that can be implemented by Figure 1A the appliance design system 114 and the direct manufacturing system 118 according to an embodiment of the present technology. In the illustrated embodiment, the appliance design system 114 may obtain a set of appliance design parameters 126. The appliance design parameters 126 may include manufacturability parameters, efficacy parameters, and / or force system parameters, as described elsewhere herein. Optionally, the appliance design parameters 126 may be or may include product-specific design parameters customized based on the type of appliance being generated. For example, different types of appliances (e.g., orthodontic appliances, palatal expanders, retainers, attachment placement devices, etc.) may be produced using different types of materials and / or manufacturing processes, may include different appliance features, and may involve different tooth movements and / or forces, etc. Thus, some or all of the appliance design parameters 126 may be customized and / or adjusted to accommodate such product-specific design considerations.

[0071] The appliance design parameters 126 may be used in a shape calculation process 128 executed by the appliance design system 114. The shape calculation process 128 may be a cloud-based process, an on-premises process, or a suitable combination thereof. The shape calculation process 128 may be used to determine a digital representation of the geometry of the appliance based on the appliance design parameters 126 and / or appliance design rules based on the appliance design parameters 126. The shape calculation process 128 may also include quality control of the digital representation for mesh quality, compliance with engineering specifications, etc.

[0072] In some embodiments, the shape calculation process 128 interfaces with a deployment / logistics process 130. The deployment / logistics process 130 may provide updates to the algorithms used in the deployment / logistics process 130 to ensure compliance with regulations (e.g., in accordance with regulations regarding software used to set up medical devices). The deployment / logistics process 130 may also ensure the continued deployment of the appliance by quickly resolving any issues that may arise in the shape calculation process 128.

[0073] The digital representation of the device generated by the device design system 114 can be transmitted to the direct manufacturing system 118 for manufacturing via an additive manufacturing process 132 (e.g., 3D printing process). The direct manufacturing system 118 can include manufacturing software for a variety of product types, printer types, and / or manufacturing facilities. The software can determine the 3D layout of the components, perform printer-specific stitching, maintain load balancing between the same printer types, and / or perform manual or automatic quality control on the printed components.

[0074] After manufacturing is complete, the device can undergo post-processing operations 134. The post-processing operations 134 can include removing residual material from the device, post-curing the device, separating the device from sacrificial components (e.g., support structures), cleaning, polishing, and / or any other process for preparing the device for use. The device can then be packaged in a sorting / shipping operation 136. In some embodiments, the sorting / shipping operation 136 involves reading the component identifier of each device and then sorting, boxing, and shipping the devices accordingly.

[0075] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram showing an example architecture of Figure 1A the device design system 114 according to an embodiment of the present technology. The device design system 114 can include a plurality of functional modules, and each functional module can include any suitable combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the device design system 114 can include a device parameter module 138 that obtains, generates, and / or modifies device design parameters (e.g., manufacturability parameters, efficacy parameters, force system parameters, product-specific parameters). The device parameter module 138 can be operably coupled to a device parameter data store 140 for storing device design parameters. The device rule module 142 can obtain, generate, and / or modify device design rules based on the device design parameters. The device rule module 142 can be operably coupled to a device rule data store 144 for storing device design rules.

[0076] The device design module 146 can implement one or more software algorithms (e.g., rule-based algorithms, machine learning algorithms) that generate a digital representation of the device shape based on the device design parameters and / or device design rules. The digital representation can be a digital model, such as a surface model, a mesh model, a parametric model, etc. The device design module 146 can be operably coupled to a device design algorithm data store 148 for storing the algorithms used by the device design module 146.

[0077] The quality assessment module 150 can perform a quality check on the appliance shape generated by the appliance design module 146. The quality check can evaluate whether the appliance shape complies with certain quality rules, such as rules related to manufacturability, engineering specifications, clinical constraints, etc. The quality assessment module 150 can be operably coupled to a quality rule data store 152 for storing quality rules.

[0078] The appliance export module 154 can convert the digital representation of the appliance shape into a format suitable for controlling a direct manufacturing system (e.g., a tool path file format). For example, the appliance export module 154 can perform stitching, generate support structures, and / or determine the optimal part orientation for printing. The appliance export module 154 can also generate a layout of multiple parts to be manufactured in the same manufacturing process. The appliance export module 154 can be operably coupled to a manufacturing parameter data store 156 that stores information on the direct manufacturing process to be used, such as printer parameters, material information, process conditions, etc.

[0079] Figure 1D Any component of the appliance design system 114 shown as a different component can be combined and / or include interrelated code. Any component of the appliance design system 114 can be implemented as a single and / or interrelated software, or as different software. Any component of the appliance design system 114 can be embodied on a single machine or on any combination of multiple machines. For example, the appliance parameter module 138, the appliance rule module 142, and / or the appliance design module 146 can be combined with each other. Similarly, the appliance parameter data store 140, the appliance rule data store 144, and / or the appliance design algorithm data store 148 can also be combined.

[0080] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overall overview of a treatment planning and appliance generation workflow 200 according to an embodiment of the present technology. The workflow 200 can be implemented by any system and device described herein (e.g., Figures 1A through 1D one or more of the components of the ecosystem 100a).

[0081] The workflow 200 can start at block 202 by receiving information about the patient's initial dentition (e.g., raw tooth geometry and / or initial tooth positions) and a prescription for treatment (e.g., treatment goals and / or requested treatment parameters). For example, the information can be received from Figure 1A the dental imaging system 106 and / or the clinician system 110 of

[0082] At block 204, the workflow 200 includes generating a treatment plan. The treatment plan can be generated by Figure 1AGenerated by the treatment planning system 112. The generated treatment plan may include the final geometry and / or position of one or more teeth in the patient's dentition, as well as the tooth movement path for achieving the final position. The tooth movement path may be further divided into a series of treatment phases for incrementally repositioning the tooth from its initial position towards the final position. Optionally, the treatment plan output may also include selected appliance features for facilitating the planned tooth movement and / or other desired clinical outcomes. The appliance features may be rule-based features, heuristically optimized features, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0083] At block 206, the workflow 200 includes designing one or more appliances for implementing the treatment plan. The appliance design may be determined by Figure 1A the appliance design system 114. The appliance design may be generated by an appliance design algorithm that outputs a digital representation of the appliance (e.g., a 3D model). For example, the appliance design algorithm may output a thickness map that indicates the distribution of thickness values at some or all positions of the appliance. Lookup tables, simulations, optimization functions, or other suitable techniques may be used to create the thickness map. In some embodiments, the appliance design algorithm imposes limitations and / or constraints on the appliance geometry using appliance design parameters (e.g., manufacturability, efficacy, and / or force system parameters). The appliance design algorithm may also incorporate appliance features, such as attachments, force application zones, contact points, or pressure points, using appliance design parameters and / or treatment parameters specified in the treatment plan. Additional details of the appliance design algorithm are provided below.

[0084] At block 208, the workflow 200 includes manufacturing the appliance. The appliance may be manufactured by Figure 1A the appliance manufacturing system 116 (e.g., the direct manufacturing system 118). In some embodiments, the appliance design generated at block 206 is used to generate direct manufacturing instructions that include a digital representation of the appliance geometry. For example, the digital representation may be a surface map or model depicting the 3D shape of the appliance housing. Optionally, the direct manufacturing instructions may also include a digital representation of the geometry of one or more additional components configured to be used with the appliance. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, support structures, attachments to be mounted on the patient's teeth to engage the appliance, templates for forming attachments on the teeth, attachment placement devices for positioning prefabricated attachments on the teeth, identifiers of the appliance (e.g., embossed identification information, QR code), etc. Alternatively or in combination, the geometry of the additional components may be determined as part of the appliance design process at block 206.

[0085] In some embodiments, the process of block 208 includes performing a quality check on the appliance geometry before generating manufacturing instructions and / or starting manufacturing. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the quality check may include verifying that the appliance geometry is a single connected shape without discontinuities, self-intersecting regions, holes, sharp protrusions, and / or artifacts. Optionally, the quality check may be performed in part or in whole as part of the appliance design process of block 206.

[0086] As Figure 2 indicated by the arrows in, workflow 200 may include the interdependencies and / or feedback between the treatment planning, appliance design, and appliance manufacturing processes described herein. For example, the treatment planning process of block 204 may be at least partially based on manufacturability parameters corresponding to the appliance manufacturing process of block 206, such as process-specific capabilities, constraints, and / or conditions. In some embodiments, the process of block 204 not only considers the clinical goals of a particular treatment stage or plan (e.g., desired tooth positions and / or movements), but also whether it is possible to manufacture a directly manufacturable appliance for implementing the treatment stage or plan. Thus, treatment planning can be optimized within the constraints imposed by the direct manufacturing process. Additionally, the clinical goals and / or treatment plan may inform the selection of the appliance manufacturing process of block 208. For example, manufacturing parameters, material types, post-processing techniques, etc. may be customized for a particular treatment plan. For example, a treatment plan involving larger forces applied to teeth may require the use of a higher modulus material and / or a longer curing time; a treatment plan involving precise application of force to a particular location on a tooth may require a higher printer resolution; and so on.

[0087] As another example, the appliance design process of block 206 may be based not only on the treatment plan and / or treatment parameters output by the process of block 204, but also on manufacturability parameters corresponding to the appliance manufacturing process of block 208, such as process-specific capabilities, constraints, and / or conditions. In some embodiments, the process of block 208 not only considers the appliance geometry and / or features that will effectively implement a particular treatment stage, but also whether it is possible to manufacture a directly manufacturable appliance having that appliance geometry and / or features. Thus, the appliance design process can be optimized within the constraints imposed by the direct manufacturing process. The appliance geometry and / or features may also inform the selection of the appliance manufacturing process of block 208. For example, manufacturing parameters, material types, post-processing techniques, etc. for manufacturing the appliance may be customized based on the appliance design. For example, an appliance design including small feature sizes and / or more complex geometries may require a higher printer resolution; an appliance design incorporating relatively fragile features may require milder post-processing conditions; and so on.

[0088] In addition, any errors or other issues that occur in relation to a particular process can be used to modify the parameters of another process. For example, if the appliance design fails the quality inspection of the appliance manufacturing process at block 208, information about the failure can be used as feedback to the appliance design process at block 206 to modify the appliance design and / or relax the appliance design parameters such that the resulting appliance design is more likely to pass the quality inspection. Alternatively or in combination, information about the quality inspection failure can be used as feedback to the treatment planning process at block 204 to modify the treatment plan such that the appliance design implementing the modified treatment plan is more likely to pass the quality inspection. The method can be used to iteratively revise the appliance design until both the clinical goals and the manufacturability criteria are met. Additional details regarding the quality inspection process are provided further below.

[0089] Figures 3A through 6B A representative example of a method for treatment planning and appliance generation in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology is shown. Figures 3A through 6B The method can be performed using any of the systems and devices described herein (e.g., Figures 1A through 1D one or more of the components of the ecosystem 100a). In some embodiments, Figures 3A through 6B the method is implemented by a computing system or device that includes one or more processors and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system or device to perform some or all of the operations described herein. For example, Figures 3A through 6B the method can be performed by Figure 1A the treatment management system 108, Figure 1A the appliance manufacturing system 116, or a suitable combination thereof. Figures 3A through 6B Any of the methods herein can be combined with each other and / or with any other methods described herein.

[0090] Figure 3A FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300a for generating an appliance in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. Method 300a begins at block 302 with receiving a treatment plan for a patient dentition. The treatment plan can specify a target alignment of the teeth (e.g., the final tooth positions for each tooth) and a plurality of treatment phases for moving the teeth from an initial alignment toward the target alignment. In some embodiments, the treatment plan also specifies relevant treatment parameters such as tooth information (e.g., which teeth should or should not be treated, the geometry of the teeth), movement information (e.g., movement direction, movement speed, movement type), appliance features (e.g., attachments, attachment seats, tooth contact areas, non-tooth contact areas, force application areas, bite ramps, mandibular advancement wings, and / or cut lines), treatment regimens for specific types of malocclusions, staging of treatment procedures, constraints, modifications, etc.

[0091] At block 304, method 300a may include identifying one or more appliance design parameters for a treatment plan. The appliance design parameters may be identified based on considerations such as the direct manufacturing process to be used to fabricate the appliance for implementing the treatment plan, the type of appliance for implementing the treatment plan, the type of material to be used for the appliance, and / or the clinical goals of the treatment plan. In some embodiments, the appliance design parameters include one or more manufacturability parameters related to the constraints, capabilities, and / or process conditions of the direct manufacturing process. For example, the manufacturability parameters may include constraints on the appliance geometry (e.g., minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum pontic size), which may be determined based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the direct manufacturing process (e.g., printer resolution, over-curing, material properties, overhang size limitations, pontic size limitations, and / or post-processing conditions). As another example, the manufacturability parameters may include adjustments to the appliance geometry (e.g., increasing or decreasing feature size, changing feature location, increasing or decreasing appliance thickness, changing appliance orientation, adding support structures), which may be used to compensate for the characteristics of the direct manufacturing process (e.g., orientation deviation, resolution, material shrinkage / expansion, post-processing conditions).

[0092] Optionally, the appliance design parameters may further include one or more efficacy parameters, which provide information useful for determining how to achieve the clinical goals of a particular treatment phase and / or the overall treatment plan via the appliance geometry. In some embodiments, the efficacy parameters represent the correspondence between appliance features and clinical goals, such as specific appliance features (e.g., appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry, attachment location, attachment geometry, contact points) expected to be effective in achieving a particular clinical goal (e.g., tooth to be moved, type of tooth movement, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, speed of tooth movement, force to be applied to the tooth).

[0093] Optionally, the appliance design parameters may include one or more force system parameters, which represent the constraints and / or adjustments to the force system that will be transmitted by the appliance to the patient's teeth. For example, the force system parameters may include maximum force and / or torque magnitude, minimum force and / or torque magnitude, allowed force and / or torque directions, and / or disallowed force and / or torque directions.

[0094] At block 306, method 300a may include determining appliance geometry using appliance design parameters. The appliance geometry may be determined for one or more dental appliances configured to implement one or more corresponding treatment phases of a treatment plan. For example, the (one or more) appliances may include an orthodontic appliance configured to reposition a patient's teeth toward an intermediate alignment specified by a corresponding treatment phase; a palatal expander configured to incrementally increase a patient's palatal width over one or more treatment phases; or any other appliance type described herein. The process of block 306 may include determining the geometry of each dental appliance such that the dental appliance implements the corresponding treatment phase of the treatment plan while also conforming to at least some or all of the appliance design parameters. For example, the process of block 306 may involve determining the 3D shape of a housing of a dental appliance that has a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to apply a force to one or more teeth to reposition the teeth toward an intermediate alignment of a corresponding treatment phase. The appliance geometry may also include the 3D shape of one or more appliance features (e.g., attachments, attachment seats, tooth contact areas, non-tooth contact areas, force application areas, occlusal ramps, mandibular advancement wings, and / or cut lines) coupled to, integrally formed with, or otherwise designed to interact with the housing.

[0095] The appliance geometry may be determined and / or optimized based on the appliance design parameters of block 304. For example, the appliance geometry may be designed to conform to constraints imposed by one or more manufacturability parameters, such as the thickness of the appliance being within an allowable thickness range, the size of appliance features being greater than or equal to a minimum feature size, etc. The appliance geometry may also be modified according to adjustments specified by one or more manufacturability parameters, such as appliance features may be resized and / or repositioned to compensate for printer deviation, over-curing, material expansion / contraction, etc. Optionally, for clinical efficacy during implementation of a treatment phase, the shape of the housing, tooth-receiving cavities, and / or appliance features may be selected based on one or more efficacy parameters. The appliance geometry may also be designed to conform to constraints and / or adjustments specified by one or more force system parameters.

[0096] For example, over-curing during additive manufacturing can cause the actual dimensions (e.g., thickness, length, and / or width) of an implement feature to be greater than the expected dimensions of the feature. To compensate for this effect, the implement feature can be designed to have reduced dimensions (e.g., reduced thickness, length, and / or width) such that when printed with over-curing, the actual dimensions of the implement feature match or are similar to the expected dimensions. In some embodiments, the amount of dimensional reduction for compensating over-curing is determined by predicting the amount of over-curing that will occur for a particular implement feature (e.g., using simulation, machine learning models, rule-based algorithms, experimentation, and / or historical data), calculating the difference between the expected actual dimensions and the predicted actual dimensions of the implement feature, and then reducing the dimensions of the implement feature based on the calculated difference.

[0097] As another example, certain parts of an implement may be prone to deformation (e.g., flaring, warping, bending) during additive manufacturing and / or post-processing due to, for example, the weight and / or geometry of the implement, material expansion and / or contraction, forces applied to the implement (e.g., centrifugal force, peeling force), etc. To reduce the likelihood of deformation, support structures (e.g., crossbars, blocks, struts, etc.) can be added to strengthen the structural integrity of the implement. Other mitigation techniques can include changing the orientation of the implement and / or changing the position of the implement on the build platform (e.g., different parts of the build platform may be subject to different forces). In some embodiments, the implement design process involves predicting whether there is a likelihood of deformation of an implement part during additive manufacturing and / or post-processing (e.g., using simulation, machine learning models, rule-based algorithms, experimentation, and / or historical data), and then determining the appropriate mitigation measures to apply (e.g., adding support structures, changing the orientation and / or position of the implement).

[0098] In another example, implement features that are smaller than the minimum resolution of the additive manufacturing system can be modified or completely removed. The printer resolution can depend on the specific hardware configuration of the additive manufacturing system. For example, the minimum resolution can correspond to the laser spot size of a stereolithography system, the pixel size of a digital light processing system, etc. In some embodiments, the implement geometry is inspected to identify any parts that are smaller than the minimum resolution, and the identified parts can be omitted from the final implement design or can be modified (e.g., increased in size).

[0099] In yet another example, implement features with a large amount of overhang may require support during additive manufacturing or may need to be modified to reduce the amount of overhang. In some embodiments, the implement geometry is inspected to identify any parts that have an overhang amount exceeding the manufacturability limit. The identified parts can then be modified, for example, by adding support structures to support the overhang and / or changing the implement geometry to reduce the amount of overhang.

[0100] In some embodiments, the process of block 306 involves using a rule-based algorithm to generate appliance geometry. The rules of the rule-based algorithm can be predefined appliance design rules obtained from a data store (e.g., Figure 1D the appliance rule data store 144 in). For example, for a particular appliance type (e.g., an orthodontic appliance vs. a palatal expander), a particular material type (e.g., different polymer resins), a particular direct manufacturing process (e.g., stereolithography vs. selective laser sintering), etc., there may be predefined appliance design rules. In such embodiments, the predefined appliance design rules can incorporate constraints, capabilities, process conditions, and / or adjustments associated with a particular appliance type, material type, direct manufacturing process, etc. As an example, the predefined appliance design rules can impose different constraints on the appliance geometry depending on the appliance type, the material type to be used to manufacture the appliance, and / or the direct manufacturing process to be used to manufacture the appliance.

[0101] Alternatively or in combination, some or all of the appliance design rules can be determined and / or generated based on appliance design parameters. For example, the appliance design rules can specify that the appliance geometry should or must conform to the constraints imposed by one or more manufacturability parameters. As another example, the appliance design rules can specify that the adjustments indicated by one or more manufacturability parameters should be applied to the appliance geometry. In yet another example, the appliance design rules can specify that tooth movement should or must be accomplished using appliance features indicated by one or more efficacy parameters. As another example, the appliance design rules can specify that the forces and / or torques generated by the appliance geometry should or must conform to the constraints and / or adjustments indicated by one or more force system parameters.

[0102] The rule-based algorithm can apply the appliance design rules sequentially, simultaneously, or in their appropriate combination. Some rules may have a higher weight or priority than other rules. For example, a rule that would cause a print failure if violated may take precedence over a rule that would still result in a printable design. In some embodiments, if it is difficult to generate an appliance design that complies with certain rules, those rules can be relaxed (e.g., modified or omitted), while other rules may be strict rules that cannot be compromised under any circumstances. Optionally, the rule-based algorithm can use an iterative process in which an initial design is generated and checked for compliance with the appliance design rules. If the design does not satisfy certain rules, the design and / or the rules can be modified. This process can be repeated until a design is generated that satisfies as many rules as possible and / or satisfies the most important rules.

[0103] In some embodiments, the appliance geometry is determined at least in part based on a force system for achieving the clinical goals of a particular treatment phase. For example, the force system can specify one or more forces and / or torques for achieving tooth movement during the treatment phase. The force system can be determined based on literature, experimental data, modeling and / or simulation, clinical experience, etc., as described in more detail elsewhere herein. Subsequently, the process of block 306 can include using appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms to generate an appliance geometry that will transmit the force system to the patient's teeth. For example, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify the thickness of one or more portions of the appliance that will produce the desired force system on the teeth. As another example, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify one or more appliance features that can be used to transmit the desired force system to the teeth. Optionally, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify constraints and / or adjustments to the force system, such as maximum force and / or torque magnitudes, minimum force and / or torque magnitudes, allowed force and / or torque directions, disallowed force and / or torque directions, etc.

[0104] At block 308, method 300a can include generating instructions for directly manufacturing the (one or more) appliances. As described elsewhere herein, the instructions can include a 3D digital representation of the appliance design, a toolpath file generated from the 3D digital representation, or both. The instructions can then be transmitted to a direct manufacturing system (e.g., Figure 1A direct manufacturing system 118) to manufacture the appliance.

[0105] Figure 3B is a flowchart showing a method 300b for generating an orthodontic appliance according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 300b can include receiving a treatment plan for a patient's dentition (block 302), identifying appliance design parameters (block 304), and determining an appliance geometry (block 306), as previously described in connection with Figure 3A described.

[0106] At block 310, method 300b includes performing a quality check on the appliance geometry. The quality check can evaluate whether it is feasible to manufacture the appliance design via direct manufacturing. In some embodiments, the quality check involves analyzing a digital representation of the appliance geometry for manufacturability and / or geometry issues, such as mesh quality, self - intersections, discontinuities (e.g., floating islands or other unsupported structures), holes, sharp protrusions, artifacts, etc. The quality control process can also check for clinical issues, such as whether the appliance geometry complies with engineering specifications (e.g., design tolerances, limitations). Optionally, the quality check can evaluate whether the appliance geometry complies with one or more appliance design rules, which can include predefined appliance design rules and / or rules generated based on appliance design parameters, as previously described in conjunction with Figure 3A block 306.

[0107] At block 312, if the appliance geometry passes the quality check, method 300b proceeds to block 308 to generate instructions for directly manufacturing the appliance, as previously described in conjunction with Figure 3A . If there are no manufacturability, geometry, and / or clinical issues, and / or if the appliance geometry complies with most or all of the appliance design rules, then the appliance geometry can pass the quality check.

[0108] If the appliance geometry fails the quality check, method 300b can alternatively proceed to block 314 to evaluate whether it is possible to modify the appliance geometry, the appliance design parameters, and / or the treatment plan such that the resulting appliance can be manufactured via direct manufacturing without significantly compromising the clinical objectives of the treatment plan. For example, if the current appliance geometry is too thick at a particular location, the process at block 314 can evaluate whether it is possible to reduce the thickness at that location without significantly affecting tooth movement, whether it is possible to use a different appliance thickness and / or other appliance features (e.g., change contact points, attachments, force - application areas) to produce the same or similar tooth movement, or whether the tooth movement can be modified (e.g., change the direction and / or speed of movement) or even omitted altogether. Certain types of modifications may be preferred over others. For example, in some embodiments, it may be preferred to modify the appliance geometry and / or relax the appliance design parameters before modifying the treatment plan. Conversely, if a minor change to the treatment plan will result in a compliant appliance design, then such a change may be preferred over making more substantial modifications to the appliance geometry and / or design parameters.

[0109] If modifications can be made, method 300b can proceed to block 316 to modify the appliance geometry, appliance design parameters, and / or treatment plan. Quality checks of blocks 310 and 312 can be repeated until the appliance geometry is satisfactory, at which point method 300b can proceed to block 308 to generate instructions for direct manufacturing, as previously described in connection with Figure 3A as described.

[0110] If modifications cannot be made (e.g., the changes to the appliance geometry, appliance design parameters, and / or treatment plan are too great and / or difficult to implement), method 300b can alternatively proceed to block 318 to generate instructions for indirect manufacturing of the appliance. For example, the instructions for indirect manufacturing can include a 3D digital representation of a mold for manufacturing a dental appliance via thermoforming. Optionally, if the appliance geometry fails the quality check of block 310 too many times, method 300b can also branch to block 318. Thus, indirect manufacturing can serve as a fallback manufacturing technique for cases where direct manufacturing of a particular appliance design is not feasible even after multiple iterations.

[0111] Figure 4A is a flowchart showing a method 400a for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 400a can include obtaining image data of a patient's dentition (block 402), generating a 3D dental model from the image data (block 404), and generating a treatment plan from the 3D model that specifies target tooth positions and a plurality of treatment phases to reposition the teeth from an initial position toward the target positions (block 406). The processes of blocks 402, 404, and 406 can be the same as or substantially similar to the corresponding processes described above in connection with Figures 1A through 2 described.

[0112] At block 408, method 400a can include identifying one or more appliance design parameters of the treatment plan. The process of block 408 can be the same as Figure 3AThe process for the frame 304 is the same or substantially similar. For example, at least some of the appliance design parameters may be related to the manufacturability of the appliance. For example, whether the designed appliance is suitable for manufacturing via a direct manufacturing process (e.g., direct additive manufacturing of the appliance). For example, the appliance design parameters may include one or more manufacturability parameters that are related to the constraints, capabilities, and / or process conditions of the direct manufacturing process to be used to manufacture the appliance. The manufacturability parameters may include constraints on the appliance geometry, such as minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size. Alternatively or in combination, the manufacturability parameters may include adjustments to the appliance geometry, such as increasing feature size, decreasing feature size, changing feature location, increasing appliance thickness, decreasing appliance thickness, changing appliance orientation, or adding a support structure. The adjustments may be configured to compensate for the characteristics of the direct manufacturing process, such as orientation deviation, resolution, over-curing, expected material shrinkage / expansion amount, post-processing conditions, and / or expected changes in characteristics and / or geometry after post-processing.

[0113] Optionally, at least some of the appliance design parameters may be related to the efficacy of the appliance in achieving the planned treatment goals. For example, the appliance design parameters may include one or more efficacy parameters that provide useful information for determining how to achieve the clinical goals of a specific treatment phase and / or the overall treatment plan via the appliance geometry. In some embodiments, the efficacy parameter represents the correspondence between the appliance features and the clinical goals. For example, the efficacy parameter may indicate specific appliance features (e.g., appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry, attachment location, attachment geometry, contact point) that should be used to achieve a specific clinical goal (e.g., tooth to be moved, type of tooth movement, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, speed of tooth movement, force to be applied to the tooth).

[0114] Optionally, the appliance design parameters may include one or more force system parameters that represent the constraints and / or adjustments to the force system that will be transmitted by the appliance to the patient's teeth. For example, the force system parameters may include maximum force and / or torque magnitude, minimum force and / or torque magnitude, allowed force and / or torque direction, and / or disallowed force and / or torque direction.

[0115] At block 410, method 400a may include identifying one or more appliance design rules based on appliance design parameters. The rules may specify constraints on the appliance design such that the resulting design is suitable for direct manufacturing. For example, the rules may indicate avoiding certain types of tooth movement and / or avoiding excessive forces in certain parts of the appliance. In some embodiments, the rules are determined and / or generated based on the appliance design parameters of block 408. For example, the appliance design rules may specify that the appliance geometry should or must conform to the constraints imposed by one or more manufacturability parameters, should or must incorporate the adjustments specified by one or more manufacturability parameters, should or must incorporate the clinical considerations indicated by one or more efficacy parameters, should or must incorporate the constraints and / or adjustments indicated by one or more force system parameters, etc. Alternatively or in combination, the rules may include predetermined rules obtained from a database, lookup table, or other data structure (e.g., Figure 1D the appliance rule data store 144). For example, there may be predetermined appliance design rules based on constraints, capabilities, process conditions, adjustments, etc. for a particular appliance type, material type, direct manufacturing process, etc., as previously described with respect to Figure 3A block 306.

[0116] At block 412, method 400a may include using the appliance design rules to generate one or more appliance shapes for one or more treatment phases of a treatment plan. For example, the process of block 412 may involve using a rule-based algorithm to generate the (one or more) appliance shapes. The rule-based algorithm may apply the appliance design rules sequentially, simultaneously, or in their appropriate combination. Certain rules may have a higher weight or priority than others. Certain rules may be strict rules, while other rules may be relaxed in certain cases. Optionally, the rule-based algorithm may use an iterative process in which an initial appliance shape is generated and the conformance of the shape to the appliance design rules is checked. If the shape does not satisfy one or more rules, the shape may be modified and / or the one or more rules may be relaxed. This process may be repeated until a satisfactory appliance shape is generated for each of the one or more treatment phases.

[0117] In some embodiments, the (one or more) appliance shapes are at least partially generated based on a force system to achieve the clinical objectives of one or more treatment phases. The process of block 412 can include using appliance design rules and / or rule-based algorithms to generate an appliance geometry that delivers the force system to the patient's teeth. For example, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify the thickness of one or more portions of the appliance that will produce the desired force system on the teeth. As another example, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify one or more appliance features that can be used to deliver the desired force system to the teeth. Optionally, the appliance design parameters, appliance design rules, and / or rule-based algorithms can specify constraints and / or adjustments to the force system, such as maximum force and / or torque magnitudes, minimum force and / or torque magnitudes, allowed force and / or torque directions, disallowed force and / or torque directions, and the like.

[0118] At block 414, method 400a can include creating at least one digital appliance representation using the (one or more) appliance shapes for the treatment phase. For example, the digital representation can be a 3D model of the appliance (e.g., a mesh model or a surface model). The digital representation can be part of a CAD file, an STL file, an OBJ file, an AMF file, a 3MF file, and the like.

[0119] At block 416, method 400a can include instructing an additive manufacturing system to manufacture one or more appliances using the (one or more) digital appliance representations. As described elsewhere herein, the instructions can include the digital appliance representation, a tool path file generated from the digital appliance representation, or both. The instructions can then be transmitted to the additive manufacturing system to directly manufacture the (one or more) appliances.

[0120] Figure 4B is a flowchart showing a method 400b for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 400a can include obtaining image data of a patient's dentition (block 402), generating a 3D dental model from the image data (block 404), generating a treatment plan (block 406), identifying appliance design parameters (block 408), identifying appliance design rules (block 410), generating an appliance shape (block 412), and creating the (one or more) digital appliance representations (block 414), as previously described in connection with Figure 4A as described.

[0121] At block 418, method 400b may include determining whether one or more digital appliance representations meet one or more criteria for direct additive manufacturing. For example, the process of block 418 may include performing quality control checks, such as evaluating whether each digital appliance representation is a single smoothly connected shape, whether it includes any islands and / or self-intersections, whether the minimum feature size is greater than or equal to a multiple of the minimum printer resolution, whether it complies with design tolerances and / or limits, whether it violates any safety constraints (e.g., maximum stiffness), and / or other quality control checks.

[0122] Optionally, some or all of the criteria may be based on manufacturability parameters, such as manufacturability parameters related to the constraints, capabilities, and / or process conditions of the direct additive manufacturing process to be used to manufacture the appliance. Such manufacturability parameters may include constraints on the appliance geometry, such as minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum bridge size. In some embodiments, some or all of the criteria are represented by appliance design rules that implement the manufacturability parameters, such that the process of block 418 involves checking whether one or more digital appliance representations comply with the rules. Some or all of the manufacturability parameters and / or appliance design rules may be the same as the manufacturability parameters and / or appliance design rules used in the processes of blocks 408 and 410, respectively, or some or all of the manufacturability parameters and / or appliance design rules may be different from the manufacturability parameters and / or appliance design rules used in the processes of blocks 408 and 410, respectively.

[0123] If one or more digital representations meet the criteria, method 400b may proceed to block 416, instructing the additive manufacturing system to use the one or more digital appliance representations to manufacture one or more appliances, as described above in connection with Figure 4A described.

[0124] If one or more digital representations do not meet some or all of the criteria, method 400b may proceed to block 420 to evaluate whether any appliance design parameters can be modified (e.g., relaxed or omitted) to meet the criteria of the direct additive manufacturing system without significantly compromising the clinical objectives of the treatment plan. Certain types of modifications may be preferred over others; for example, modifying appliance design parameters that are less likely to result in a print failure may be preferred.

[0125] If the appliance design parameters can be modified, method 400b can proceed to block 422, modify the appliance parameters, and then proceed to block 424, using the modified appliance design parameters as the appliance design parameters in block 408. The process of blocks 408-418 can then be repeated to evaluate whether the modified parameters can be used to generate a (one or more) digital appliance representation suitable for direct additive manufacturing.

[0126] If the appliance design parameters cannot be modified, method 400b can alternatively proceed to block 426 to obtain one or more 3D models of the patient's dentition. The 3D models can depict the dentition in a position corresponding to the treatment stage of the treatment plan. At block 428, method 400b can include instructing an additive manufacturing system to manufacture a mold using the 3D models. At block 430, method 400b can proceed to instruct a thermoforming machine to use the molds to fabricate one or more appliances. Thus, dental appliances that are not suitable for direct additive manufacturing can still be fabricated using thermoforming.

[0127] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a method 500 for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 500 begins at block 502 with the input of image data of a patient's dentition. The image data can be acquired using one or more imaging modalities, such as photographs, videos, scan data, MRI data, radiographic data, and / or motion data, and the image data can include 2D data, 3D data, 4D data, or a suitable combination thereof, as previously described with respect to Figure 1A At block 504, the image data can be stored (e.g., stored in the data storage of the dental imaging system 106 of Figure 1A and / or the data storage of any treatment management system 108).

[0128] At block 506, method 500 can include generating a 3D dental model based on the image data. The 3D dental model can be a digital representation of the patient's teeth in an initial alignment before the start of treatment planning, an intermediate alignment after treatment has begun, or a final alignment after treatment has been completed, as previously described with respect to Figure 1A At block 508, the 3D dental model can be stored (e.g., stored in the data storage of the dental imaging system 106 of Figure 1A and / or the data storage of any treatment management system 108).

[0129] At block 510, method 500 can proceed to input treatment parameters. The treatment parameters can include various types of information related to the patient's case, such as treatment prescriptions, tooth information, movement information, treatment regimens for specific types of malocclusions, phasing of treatment procedures, desired appliance characteristics, constraints, modifications, etc., as described above in connection with Figure 1Aas described. In some embodiments, the treatment parameters are input by a clinician into Figure 1A the clinician system 110.

[0130] At block 512, method 500 may include generating a treatment plan based on the 3D dental model and / or treatment parameters. The treatment plan may specify the target alignment of the teeth (e.g., the final tooth positions for each tooth) and a plurality of treatment phases to move the teeth from the initial alignment towards the target alignment. In some embodiments, the 3D dental model is used to determine the target tooth alignment and a plurality of intermediate alignments to achieve the treatment goals specified by the treatment parameters. The treatment planning process may be performed by Figure 1A the treatment planning system 112. At block 514, the treatment plan may be stored, e.g., stored in the Figure 1A data store of the treatment planning system 112.

[0131] At block 516, method 500 may include inputting appliance design parameters. The appliance design parameters may include manufacturability parameters, efficacy parameters, and / or force system parameters, as described elsewhere herein. The appliance design parameters may be provided by a user, obtained from a data store (e.g., Figure 1D the appliance parameter data store 140 in Figure 3A ), or a suitable combination thereof. The appliance design parameters may be identified based on the direct manufacturing process to be used to manufacture the appliance for implementing the treatment plan, the type of appliance for implementing the treatment plan, the type of material to be used for the appliance, and / or the clinical goals of the treatment plan, as previously described with respect to

[0132] block 304 in Figure 4A . Figure 4A block 410 in

[0133] At block 520, method 500 may include evaluating whether the appliance design rules are feasible for producing a directly manufactured appliance. For example, if certain rules conflict with each other or are otherwise inconsistent, the rules may not be feasible. If the rules are not feasible, method 500 may proceed to block 522 to modify the appliance design parameters and / or treatment plan. For example, if it is difficult to produce an appliance design that meets certain appliance design parameters, those parameters may be relaxed or omitted, while other appliance design parameters may be strict parameters that cannot be compromised under any circumstances. Certain types of modifications may be preferred over others. For example, in some embodiments, it may be preferred to relax or omit one or more appliance design parameters before modifying the treatment plan. In other embodiments, it may be preferred to change one or more treatment parameters of the treatment plan before modifying the appliance design parameters. The modified appliance design parameters and / or treatment plan may then be used to generate revised appliance design rules (block 518), the feasibility of which may be re-evaluated at block 520.

[0134] If the rules are feasible, method 500 may proceed to block 524 to generate one or more appliance shape files. The shape files may provide a digital representation of the 3D appliance geometry (e.g., surface model, mesh model), and may be CAD files, STL files, OBJ files, AMF files, 3MF files, etc. In some embodiments, the process of block 524 involves using a rule-based algorithm to determine the appliance shape of the appliance shape file, as described above in connection with Figure 3A block 306 and Figure 4A block 412. The rule-based algorithm may implement some or all of the appliance design rules from block 518. The rules may be applied sequentially, simultaneously, or in their appropriate combination. Certain rules may have a higher weight or priority than others. For example, rules that would cause a print failure if violated may be preferred over rules that would still result in a printable design.

[0135] At block 526, method 500 may include evaluating whether the appliance shape(s) specified in the appliance shape file(s) is / are feasible for direct additive manufacturing. The process of block 526 may be the same as or substantially similar to the process of Figure 3B block 310 and / or Figure 4B block 418. For example, the process of block 526 may involve analyzing manufacturability and / or geometric issues of the appliance shape, such as mesh quality, self-intersection, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, artifacts, etc. The process of block 526 may also check clinical issues, such as whether the appliance shape complies with engineering specifications. Alternatively or in combination, the process of block 526 may evaluate whether the appliance shape complies with one or more of the appliance design rules from block 518.

[0136] If the appliance shape is not feasible for direct additive manufacturing, method 500 can return to block 522, modify the appliance design parameters and / or treatment plan, and then repeat the process of blocks 518-526 until a manufacturable appliance shape is generated. Subsequently, method 500 can proceed to block 528 and store the appliance shape file(s) (e.g., stored in the data storage of the appliance design system 114 at Figure 1A ).

[0137] At block 530, method 500 can include generating one or more additive manufacturing files based on the appliance shape file(s). The additive manufacturing file(s) can provide instructions that are configured to control an additive manufacturing system in manufacturing an appliance having the specified appliance shape. The additive manufacturing file(s) can also include other manufacturing parameters such as part layout, part orientation, slicing, and / or support structures. In some embodiments, the additive manufacturing file(s) is a tool path file (e.g., a G-code file) generated from the appliance shape file(s). At block 532, the additive manufacturing file(s) can be stored (e.g., stored in the data storage of the appliance design system 114 at Figure 1A and / or in the data storage of the direct manufacturing system 118). At block 534, method 500 can include directly manufacturing one or more dental appliances via additive manufacturing using the additive manufacturing file(s). The additive manufacturing can be performed by the direct manufacturing system 118 at Figure 1A .

[0138] Figure 6A and Figure 6B are flowcharts showing a method 600 for treatment planning and appliance design according to an embodiment of the present technology. Referring first to Figure 6A , method 600 can begin at block 602 by receiving a digital representation of the initial position of a patient's dentition and a treatment prescription for the patient's dentition. The digital representation can be or can include image data of the patient's dentition, such as photographs, videos, scan data, MRI data, radiographic data, and / or motion data, and can include 2D data, 3D data, 4D data, or a suitable combination thereof, as previously described with respect to Figure 1A . Alternatively or in combination, the digital representation can be or can include a 3D dental model of the patient's dentition in the initial position, which can be generated based on the image data, as described above in Figure 1A . The treatment prescription can specify one or more clinical goals for the patient's dentition, such as desired tooth positions and / or treatment procedures for treating a particular type of malocclusion (e.g., IPR).

[0139] At block 604, method 600 may include determining a target position of a patient's dentition. At block 606, method 600 may include generating a plurality of treatment phases of a treatment plan to reposition the patient's teeth from an initial tooth position toward the target tooth position, and optionally, generating an appliance feature set that may be incorporated into or used with one or more dental appliances to implement the treatment plan. The processes of blocks 604 and 606 may be performed using any treatment planning techniques described elsewhere herein. For example, the target tooth position, treatment phases, and / or appliance features may be determined based on a set of treatment parameters specified by a clinician.

[0140] At block 606, method 600 may continue by using the target tooth position, treatment phases, and appliance features to determine inputs to an appliance designer algorithm. As Figure 6B shown, the designer inputs may include any of the following: tooth data 626 that specifies which teeth are to be treated and / or the geometry of the teeth to be treated; movement data 628 that specifies the direction of movement, speed of movement, and / or type of movement (e.g., distal movement, root control complex movement) of each tooth to be treated; and / or feature data 630 that specifies the geometry, location, and / or other characteristics of appliance features (e.g., attachments, attachment seats, tooth contact areas, non-tooth contact areas, activation zones, occlusal ramps, mandibular advancement wings, cut lines) to be used.

[0141] Referring again to Figure 6A , at block 610, the designer inputs may optionally be analyzed by a manufacturability prediction algorithm that predicts whether it is possible to fabricate a dental appliance that meets the parameters specified by the inputs using direct manufacturing techniques. The manufacturability prediction algorithm may use simulation (e.g., finite element analysis), comparison to predefined criteria, modeling, historical data, clinical data, rule-based methods, machine learning methods, and / or any other suitable techniques to evaluate manufacturability. If the manufacturability prediction algorithm indicates that it is not possible (or highly impractical) to directly fabricate the appliance ("DFAB impossible"), then method 600 may proceed to block 620 to design and fabricate the appliance using a thermoforming process instead.

[0142] If the manufacturability prediction algorithm indicates that it is possible and / or reasonably feasible to directly fabricate the appliance ("DFAB possible"), then method 600 may proceed to block 612 to provide the inputs to an appliance designer algorithm that determines the geometry of the dental appliance. As Figure 6BAs shown, the appliance designer algorithm can implement one or more techniques to generate appliance geometry. For example, the appliance designer algorithm can use the geometry of a reference appliance 632 as the initial geometry of the dental appliance, and then can adjust the initial geometry based on designer inputs to produce a customized geometry for the dental appliance. The reference appliance 632 can be a previously manufactured dental appliance that has been successfully manufactured directly. In some embodiments, the reference appliance 632 is configured to treat similar teeth, produce similar tooth movements, and / or include appliance features similar to those of the dental appliance.

[0143] As another example, the appliance designer algorithm can use information from a design library 634 to determine appliance geometry. The design library 634 can include look-up tables, lists, databases, and / or other data structures that store information on how to design an appliance to achieve a specific tooth movement while maintaining manufacturability. In some embodiments, the design library 634 stores thickness profiles for discrete appliance regions or for the entire appliance, where each thickness profile is associated with a specific set of achieved tooth movements. Optionally, the design library 634 can store different configurations of appliance features, where each configuration is associated with a specific set of tooth movements. The information in the design library 634 can be determined from experimental data and / or clinical data of existing appliances, simulations, or a combination thereof, and can be used to generate appliance geometry via heuristic methods.

[0144] In another example, the appliance designer algorithm can use a simulation engine 636 to determine appliance geometry. The simulation engine 636 can use any suitable method for simulating the behavior of a dental appliance, such as finite element modeling, reduced order modeling, or a combination thereof. The simulation engine 636 can analyze the forces and / or torques applied to the teeth and the resulting tooth movements. In some embodiments, the appliance designer algorithm implements an iterative process in which an initial appliance geometry is generated and then analyzed by the simulation engine 636 to evaluate appliance behavior. Based on the simulation results, the initial appliance geometry can be modified and / or optimized until the desired behavior (e.g., the appliance produces the desired tooth movement) is achieved.

[0145] In yet another example, the appliance designer algorithm can use an optimization algorithm 638 to determine appliance geometry. The optimization algorithm 638 can be a rule-based algorithm that implements one or more appliance design rules to produce appliance geometry, as described elsewhere herein. Alternatively or in combination, one or more appliance design rules can be used to define the loss function of the optimization algorithm 638. In some embodiments, the optimization algorithm 638 uses non-parametric optimization (e.g., topology optimization) to iteratively modify the initial appliance geometry until the desired result (e.g., the appliance produces the desired tooth movement) is achieved.

[0146] In some embodiments, the appliance designer algorithm incorporates one or more design constraints when determining the appliance geometry using any of the techniques described herein. Design constraints can include constraints on the appliance geometry, such as minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, and / or maximum pontic size. Design constraints can be based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the direct manufacturing process, such as the resolution of the direct manufacturing process, the amount of overcuring expected to occur in the direct manufacturing process, the properties of the materials used in the direct manufacturing process, the overhang size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the pontic size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, and / or post-processing conditions.

[0147] Referring again to Figure 6A , at block 614, the appliance designer algorithm can output the appliance geometry of the dental appliance. As Figure 6B shown, the designer output can include a thickness map 640 that shows the thickness distribution across the entire appliance (e.g., the thickness distribution of the appliance housing having tooth receiving cavities). The designer output can also include a digital representation of one or more appliance surfaces 642 (e.g., the inner surface and / or the outer surface of the housing that defines the tooth receiving cavities). The designer output can include a digital representation of one or more appliance features 644 (e.g., attachments, attachment seats, appliance regions that contact teeth (e.g., contact points, pressure points, force application ridges), appliance regions that avoid contact with teeth (e.g., bubbles, virtual fillings for providing clearance in interdental regions), force application zones, occlusal ramps, and / or cut lines). Optionally, the designer output can include a digital representation of one or more manufacturing features 646. Manufacturing features 646 can be components incorporated into or coupled to the appliance to facilitate manufacturing and can include support structures (e.g., for supporting the appliance during additive manufacturing), identifiers of the appliance (e.g., embossed marks, QR codes, barcodes), etc.

[0148] Referring again to Figure 6A , at block 616, method 600 can include performing a quality check of the appliance geometry. The process can include checking for manufacturability and / or geometry issues, such as mesh quality, self-intersection, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, and / or artifacts; comparing the appliance geometry to safety limits (e.g., stiffness limits, force and / or torque limits); checking the compliance of the appliance geometry with the design constraints; and / or checking for manufacturing features (e.g., whether sufficient support structures are present, whether the identifiers are present and correct). Alternatively or additionally, the quality check can be based on other considerations, such as clinician preferences, patient preferences, optimization parameters, etc.

[0149] If the appliance geometry fails a quality check, method 600 can proceed to block 618 to relax one or more design constraints, e.g., by modifying or omitting one or more design constraints. Design constraints can include constraints on the appliance geometry such as minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, and / or maximum pontic size. Design constraints can be based on the capabilities and / or limitations of the direct manufacturing process, such as the resolution of the direct manufacturing process, the amount of overcuring expected to occur in the direct manufacturing process, the properties of the materials used in the direct manufacturing process, the overhang size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitations of the direct manufacturing process, the pontic size limitations of the direct manufacturing process, and / or post-processing conditions. Some design constraints can be relaxed before other design constraints. For example, design constraints that are more likely to result in a printable design even if modified or omitted can be relaxed before design constraints that are more likely to result in a print failure if modified or omitted. Some design constraints may be strict constraints that cannot be relaxed under any circumstances. After modifying the design constraints, method 600 can return to blocks 612 and 614 to generate a revised appliance geometry using the appliance designer algorithm and then re-evaluate the revised appliance geometry in block 616.

[0150] In some embodiments, if the appliance geometry fails a quality check and no design constraints can be relaxed, method 600 can alternatively proceed to block 620 to fabricate the dental appliance via a thermoforming process. If the appliance geometry still fails the quality check after multiple iterations of relaxing the design constraints and revising, method 600 can also revert to the thermoforming process.

[0151] If the appliance geometry passes the quality check, method 600 can optionally proceed to block 622 to send the appliance geometry to a clinician for review and approval. If the clinician approves the appliance geometry, method 600 can proceed to block 624 to send instructions to the manufacturing system to fabricate the dental appliance with the appliance geometry via direct manufacturing. If the clinician determines that modifications to the appliance geometry are appropriate, the clinician can provide feedback to directly modify the appliance geometry. Alternatively or in combination, the clinician can provide feedback to modify the target tooth positions, treatment phases, and / or appliance features used as inputs to the appliance designer. In either case, the modifications can be used to generate a revised appliance geometry, which can be inspected and then presented to the clinician for approval. However, in other embodiments, the clinician approval process of block 622 can be omitted such that once the appliance geometry passes the quality check of block 616, method 600 proceeds to block 624 to directly fabricate the corresponding dental appliance. II.Dental appliances and associated methods

[0152] Figure 7A FIG. 4 shows a representative example of a tooth repositioning appliance 700 configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. Any of the systems, methods, and devices described herein can be used to fabricate and post-process the appliance 700. The appliance 700 (also referred to herein as an “aligner”) is capable of being worn by a patient to effect incremental repositioning of the respective teeth 702 in the jaw. The appliance 700 can include a housing (e.g., a continuous polymeric housing or a segmented housing) having tooth receiving cavities that receive and resiliently reposition the teeth. The appliance 700 or portions thereof can be fabricated indirectly using a physical model of the teeth. For example, a physical model of the teeth and a suitable polymeric material laminate can be used to form the appliance (e.g., a polymeric appliance). In some embodiments, e.g., an additive manufacturing technique is used to directly fabricate the physical appliance from a digital model of the appliance.

[0153] The appliance 700 can be adapted to all the teeth present in the upper or lower jaw or to fewer than all the teeth. The appliance 700 can be specifically designed to accommodate the teeth of the patient (e.g., the topography of the tooth receiving cavities matches the topography of the patient's teeth) and can be fabricated based on a positive or negative mold of the patient's teeth generated by an impression, scan, etc. Alternatively, the appliance 700 can be a general purpose appliance configured to accommodate teeth but not necessarily shaped to match the topography of the patient's teeth. In some cases, only certain teeth received by the appliance 700 are repositioned by the appliance 700 while other teeth can provide a base or anchoring region for holding the appliance in place when the appliance 700 exerts a force on one or more teeth that are the repositioning targets of the appliance 700. In some cases, some, most, or even all of the teeth can be repositioned at some point during treatment. The teeth being moved can also serve as a base or anchor for holding the appliance in place when the patient wears the appliance. In a preferred embodiment, no wires or other devices are provided for holding the appliance 700 in place on the teeth. However, in some cases, it may be desirable or necessary to provide separate attachments 704 or other anchoring elements on the teeth 702 having corresponding receptacles 706 or holes in the appliance 700 such that the appliance 700 can exert a selected force on the teeth. Representative examples of appliances are described in a number of patents and patent applications assigned to Align Technology, Inc. (including, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,450,807 and 5,975,893) and on the company's website accessible on the world wide web (e.g., see the url “invisalign.com”), including in Those appliances used in the system. Examples of tooth-mounted attachments suitable for use with orthodontic appliances are also described in patents and patent applications assigned to Align Technology, Inc., including, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,309,215 and 6,830,450.

[0154] Figure 7B A tooth repositioning system 710 is shown that includes a plurality of appliances 712, 714, 716 in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. Any of the appliances described herein can be designed and / or provided as part of a set of multiple appliances for use in a tooth repositioning system. Each appliance can be configured such that the tooth receiving cavity has a geometry corresponding to an intermediate or final tooth alignment intended for that appliance. By placing a series of incremental position adjustment appliances on a patient's teeth, the patient's teeth can be progressively repositioned from an initial tooth alignment to a target tooth alignment. For example, the tooth repositioning system 710 can include: a first appliance 712 corresponding to an initial tooth alignment; one or more intermediate appliances 714 corresponding to one or more intermediate alignments; and a final appliance 716 corresponding to a target alignment. The target tooth alignment can be the planned final tooth alignment selected for the patient's teeth at the end of all planned orthodontic treatment. Alternatively, the target alignment can be one of some intermediate alignments used for the patient's teeth during orthodontic treatment, which can include a variety of different treatment scenarios, including but not limited to cases where surgery is recommended, cases where interproximal reduction (IPR) is appropriate, cases where progress checks are scheduled, cases where anchorage placement is optimal, cases where palatal expansion is desired, cases involving restorative dentistry (e.g., inlays, onlays, crowns, bridges, implants, veneers, etc.). Thus, it should be understood that the target tooth alignment can be any planned resultant alignment for the patient's teeth following one or more incremental repositioning phases. Similarly, the initial tooth alignment can be any initial alignment of the patient's teeth, followed by one or more incremental repositioning phases.

[0155] Figure 7CIllustrated is a method 720 of orthodontic treatment using multiple appliances according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 720 may be practiced using any appliance or group of appliances described herein. In block 722, a first orthodontic appliance is applied to a patient's teeth to reposition the teeth from a first tooth alignment to a second tooth alignment. In block 724, a second orthodontic appliance is applied to the patient's teeth to reposition the teeth from the second tooth alignment to a third tooth alignment. Method 720 may be repeated as needed using any suitable number of sequential appliances and combinations of sequential appliances to incrementally reposition the patient's teeth from an initial alignment to a target alignment. The appliances may all be generated at the same stage or in groups or batches (e.g., at the start of a treatment phase), or the appliances may be manufactured one at a time and the patient may wear each appliance until the pressure of each appliance on the teeth can no longer be felt or until the maximum amount of expressed tooth movement for that given stage has been achieved. Multiple different appliances (e.g., a set) may be designed and even manufactured before the patient wears any of the multiple appliances. After wearing an appliance for an appropriate period of time, the patient may replace the current appliance with the next appliance in the series until there are no more appliances. The appliances are generally not fixed to the teeth, and the patient may place and replace the appliances at any time during the procedure (e.g., patient-removable appliances). The final appliance or appliances in the series may have one or more geometries selected to over-correct the tooth alignment. For example, one or more appliances may have geometries that would (if fully realized) move individual teeth beyond the tooth alignment that has been selected as "final". Such over-correction may be desirable to counteract potential regression after the repositioning method has terminated (e.g., allowing individual teeth to move back towards their pre-correction positions). Over-correction may also be beneficial to accelerate the rate of correction (e.g., an appliance with a geometry positioned beyond the desired intermediate or final position may move individual teeth towards that position at a greater rate). In such cases, the use of the appliance may be terminated before the teeth reach the position defined by the appliance. Additionally, over-correction may be intentionally applied to compensate for any inaccuracies or limitations of the appliance.

[0156] Figure 8 Illustrated is a method 800 for designing an orthodontic appliance according to an embodiment of the present technology. Method 800 may be applied to any embodiment of the orthodontic appliance described herein. Some or all of the steps of method 800 may be performed by any suitable data processing system or device (e.g., one or more processors configured with suitable instructions).

[0157] In block 802, a movement path for moving one or more teeth from an initial alignment to a target alignment is determined. The initial alignment can be determined, for example, from a mold or scan of the patient's teeth or oral tissues using techniques such as wax bite registration, direct contact scanning, x-ray imaging, tomography, ultrasound imaging, and other techniques for obtaining information about the position and structure of teeth, jaws, gums, and other orthodontically relevant tissues. A digital data set representing the initial (e.g., pre-treatment) alignment of the patient's teeth and other tissues can be obtained from the acquired data. Optionally, the initial digital data set is processed to segment the tissue components from each other. For example, data structures that digitally represent individual crowns can be generated. Advantageously, a digital model of the entire tooth can be generated, including measured or inferred hidden surfaces and root structures, as well as surrounding bone and soft tissues.

[0158] The target alignment of the teeth (e.g., the desired and anticipated final outcome of orthodontic treatment) can be received from a clinician in the form of a prescription, can be calculated based on fundamental orthodontic principles, and / or can be calculated inferentially based on a clinical prescription. By specifying the desired final positions of the teeth and the digital representation of the teeth themselves, the final position and surface geometry of each tooth can be specified to form a complete model of the tooth alignment at the end of the desired treatment.

[0159] Having both the initial and target positions of each tooth, a movement path can be defined for the movement of each tooth. In some embodiments, the movement path is configured to move the teeth from their initial positions to their desired target positions in the fastest way with the smallest number of back-and-forth movements. Optionally, the tooth paths can be segmented, and the segments can be calculated such that the movement of each tooth within a segment remains within threshold limits of linear translation and rotational translation. In this way, the endpoints of each path segment can constitute a clinically feasible repositioning, and the set of segment endpoints can constitute a clinically feasible sequence of tooth positions such that moving from one point to the next in the sequence does not cause the teeth to collide.

[0160] In block 804, a force system for generating the movement of one or more teeth along the movement path is determined. The force system can include one or more forces and / or one or more torques. Different force systems can result in different types of tooth movement, such as tipping, translation, rotation, extrusion, intrusion, root movement, etc. Biomechanical principles, modeling techniques, force calculation / measurement techniques, etc. (including knowledge and methods commonly used in orthodontics) can be used to determine the appropriate force system to be applied to the teeth to achieve tooth movement. When determining the force system to be applied, sources can be considered, including the literature, force systems determined through experimentation or virtual modeling, computer-based modeling, clinical experience, minimization of unwanted forces, etc.

[0161] The determination of the force system can be carried out in a variety of ways. For example, in some embodiments, the force system is determined on a patient-by-patient basis, such as using patient-specific data for determination. Alternatively or in combination, the force system can be determined based on a generalized model of tooth movement (e.g., based on experiments, modeling, clinical data, etc.), such that patient-specific data is not necessarily used. In some embodiments, the determination of the force system involves calculating specific force values to be applied to one or more teeth to produce a specific movement. Or, the determination of the force system can be carried out at a high level without calculating the specific force values of the teeth. For example, block 804 can involve determining a specific type of force to be applied (e.g., extrusion force, intrusion force, translation force, rotational force, tipping force, torsional force, etc.) without calculating the specific magnitude and / or direction of the force.

[0162] The determination of the force system can include constraints on the allowable forces, such as the allowable direction and magnitude and the desired movement brought about by the applied forces. For example, when manufacturing a palatal expander, different patients may require different movement strategies. For example, the amount of force required to separate the palate can depend on the patient's age, as very young patients may not have fully formed sutures. Thus, in adolescent patients with an incompletely closed palatal suture and others, palatal expansion can be accomplished with a lower force magnitude. Slower palatal movement can also help the growing bone to fill the expanded suture. For other patients, a more rapid expansion may be required, which can be achieved by applying a greater force. The structure and materials of the appliance can be selected in accordance with these requirements as needed; for example, by selecting a palatal expander capable of applying a large force to split the palatal suture and / or cause rapid expansion of the palate. Subsequent appliance stages can be designed to apply different amounts of force, such as first applying a large force to disrupt the suture and then applying a smaller force to keep the suture separated or gradually expand the palate and / or dental arch.

[0163] The determination of the force system can also include modeling the patient's facial structure, such as the skeletal structure of the jaws and palate. For example, scan data of the palate and dental arch (such as X-ray data or 3D optical scan data) can be used to determine the parameters of the skeletal and muscular systems of the patient's oral cavity in order to determine the forces sufficient to provide the desired expansion of the palate and / or dental arch. In some embodiments, the thickness and / or density of the palatal suture can be input by a measurement or treatment professional. In other embodiments, the treatment professional can select an appropriate treatment based on the patient's physiological characteristics. For example, the characteristics of the palate can also be estimated based on factors such as the patient's age. For example, younger adolescent patients will require less force to expand the suture than older patients because the suture has not fully formed.

[0164] In block 806, a design for an orthodontic appliance configured to generate a force system is determined. The design can include appliance geometry, material composition, and / or material properties and can be determined in various ways, such as using a treatment or force application simulation environment. The simulation environment can include, for example, a computer modeling system, a biomechanical system or device, etc. Optionally, a digital model of the appliance and / or teeth can be generated, such as a finite element model. Computer program application software available from various vendors can be used to create the finite element model. To create a solid geometry model, a computer-aided engineering (CAE) or computer-aided design (CAD) program can be used, such as the software product available from Autodesk, Inc. of San Rafael, California. To create and analyze the finite element model, program products from multiple vendors can be used, including the finite element analysis package from ANSYS, Inc. of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and the SIMULIA (Abaqus) software product from Dassault Systèmes of Waltham, Massachusetts.

[0165] Optionally, one or more designs can be selected for testing or force modeling. As described above, the desired tooth movement and the force system required or desired to effect the desired tooth movement can be identified. Using the simulation environment, candidate designs can be analyzed or modeled to determine the actual force system generated by using the candidate appliance. Optionally, one or more modifications can be made to the candidate appliance and the force modeling can be further analyzed as described, for example, to iteratively determine the appliance design that generates the desired force system.

[0166] In block 808, instructions for manufacturing an orthodontic appliance incorporating the design are generated. The instructions can be configured to control a manufacturing system or device to produce an orthodontic appliance having the specified design. In some embodiments, the instructions are configured for direct manufacturing (e.g., stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, 3D printing, continuous direct manufacturing, multi-material direct manufacturing, etc.) of the orthodontic appliance using the various methods presented herein. In alternative embodiments, the instructions can be configured for indirect manufacturing of the appliance, such as by thermoforming.

[0167] Although the above steps illustrate a method 800 for designing an orthodontic appliance according to some embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize some variations based on the teachings described herein. Some steps may include sub-steps. Some steps may be repeated as often as needed. One or more steps of method 800 may be performed using any suitable manufacturing system or apparatus, such as the embodiments described herein. Some steps may be optional; for example, the process of block 804 may be omitted such that the orthodontic appliance is designed based on desired tooth movement and / or a determined tooth movement path rather than based on a force system. Additionally, the order of the steps may be changed as needed.

[0168] Figure 9 A method 900 for digital planning of orthodontic treatment and / or design or manufacture of an appliance according to an embodiment is shown. Method 900 may be applied to any treatment procedure described herein and may be performed by any suitable data processing system.

[0169] In block 902, a digital representation of a patient's teeth is received. The digital representation may include surface topography data of the patient's oral cavity (including teeth, gingival tissue, etc.). The surface topography data may be generated by directly scanning the oral cavity, a physical model (positive or negative mold) of the oral cavity, or an impression of the oral cavity using a suitable scanning device (e.g., a hand-held scanner, a desktop scanner, etc.).

[0170] In block 904, one or more treatment phases are generated based on the digital representation of the teeth. The treatment phases may be incremental repositioning phases of an orthodontic treatment process that are designed to move one or more of the patient's teeth from an initial tooth alignment to a target alignment. For example, treatment phases may be generated by determining the initial tooth alignment indicated by the digital representation, determining the target tooth alignment, and determining the movement paths of one or more of the teeth in the initial alignment required to achieve the target tooth alignment. The movement paths may be optimized based on minimizing the total distance of movement, preventing collisions between teeth, avoiding more difficult-to-achieve tooth movements, or any other suitable criteria.

[0171] In block 906, at least one orthodontic appliance is manufactured based on the generated treatment phases. For example, a set of appliances may be manufactured, each appliance being shaped according to the tooth alignment specified by one of the treatment phases such that the appliances may be sequentially worn by the patient to incrementally reposition the teeth from the initial alignment to the target alignment. The set of appliances may include one or more of the orthodontic appliances described herein. The manufacture of the appliances may involve creating a digital model of the appliances for use as an input to a computer-controlled manufacturing system. As needed, direct manufacturing methods, indirect manufacturing methods, or a combination thereof may be used to form the appliances.

[0172] In some cases, phasing of the various alignments or treatment stages may not be necessary for the design and / or manufacture of the appliance. As Figure 9 shown by the dashed lines in Figure 9 , the design and / or manufacture of an orthodontic appliance and a possible specific orthodontic treatment can include using a representation of the patient's teeth (e.g., including receiving a digital representation of the patient's teeth (block 902)), and then designing and / or manufacturing the orthodontic appliance based on the representation of the patient's teeth in the alignment represented by the received representation.

[0173] Figure 10 Method 1000 for generating and implementing a treatment according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown. Method 1000 begins at block 1002 by receiving information regarding the orthodontic condition of a patient and / or treatment information. The process of block 1002 can include obtaining data representing an initial alignment of the patient's teeth, which generally includes obtaining an impression or scan of the patient's teeth prior to beginning treatment, and can also include identifying one or more treatment goals selected by a practitioner and / or the patient.

[0174] At block 1004, a case assessment can be generated to evaluate the complexity or difficulty of moving specific patient teeth that generally or specifically correspond to the identified treatment goals, and the case assessment can further consider the experience of the practitioner and / or the comfort level in implementing the desired orthodontic treatment. However, in some embodiments, the assessment can include simply identifying specific treatment options of interest to the patient and / or practitioner (e.g., appointment scheduling, progress tracking, etc.).

[0175] At block 1006, a treatment plan for repositioning the patient's teeth is generated. The treatment plan can include a final or target alignment of the desired patient teeth, and a plurality of planned successive or intermediate tooth alignments for moving the teeth along a treatment path from the initial alignment toward the selected final or target alignment.

[0176] At block 1008, the method further includes generating customized treatment guidelines. In some embodiments, the treatment plan includes a plurality of treatment stages, with a set of customized treatment guidelines generated corresponding to the stages of the treatment plan. The guidelines can include details regarding the timing and / or content (e.g., specific tasks) to be completed during a given treatment stage, and can provide sufficient detail to guide a practitioner (including a less experienced practitioner or one relatively unfamiliar with a particular orthodontic treatment process) through the treatment stage. The guidelines can be customized such that they are designed to specifically correspond to the treatment plan and provide guidance regarding activities specifically identified in the treatment information and / or the generated treatment plan. The customized treatment guidelines can be provided to the practitioner to assist in guiding the practitioner on how to implement a given treatment stage.

[0177] At block 1010, an appliance can be generated based on a planned alignment and provided to a practitioner and ultimately administered to a patient. The appliances can generally be provided and / or administered in the form of groups or batches of appliances (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or more appliances), but are not limited to any particular administration protocol. The appliances can be provided to the practitioner in conjunction with a given set of guidelines, or the appliances and guidelines can be provided separately.

[0178] At block 1012, after treatment is started according to a plan and an appliance is subsequently administered to a patient, treatment progress tracking can be performed. Treatment progress tracking can be performed (e.g., by tooth matching) to evaluate the current actual alignment of the patient's teeth as compared to the planned alignment. If it is determined that the patient's teeth are "on-track" and progressing according to the treatment plan, then the treatment can be considered to be proceeding as planned and can continue to the next treatment phase.

[0179] At block 1014, if the patient's teeth have substantially reached the initially planned final alignment, the treatment can progress to the final phase. If it is determined that the patient's teeth are progressing normally according to the treatment plan but have not reached the final alignment, then the next group of appliances can be administered to the patient.

[0180] As described herein, the techniques described herein can be used to directly manufacture dental appliances, such as aligners and / or a series of aligners having tooth receiving cavities, configured to move a person's teeth from an initial alignment towards a target alignment according to a treatment plan. The aligners can include mandibular repositioning elements, such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 10,912,629, entitled "Dental Appliances with Repositioning Jaw Elements", filed November 30, 2015; U.S. Patent No. 10,537,406, entitled "Dental Appliances with Repositioning Jaw Elements", filed September 19, 2014; and U.S. Patent No. 9,844,424, entitled "Dental Appliances with Repositioning Jaw Elements", filed February 21, 2014; the entire disclosures of these U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0181] The techniques used herein can also be used to fabricate attachment placement templates, e.g., appliances for positioning prefabricated attachments on a person's teeth in accordance with one or more aspects of a treatment plan. The attachment placement template can include a plurality of registration elements, each having at least one surface shaped to conform to one or more contours of an outer surface of a tooth. The attachment placement template can also include at least one attachment support configured to position an attachment against a tooth. The attachment support can be coupled to a corresponding registration element and can include an attachment, a frame extending around the attachment, and one or more struts connecting the attachment to the frame. In some embodiments, the registration elements are shaped to receive respective teeth of an arch to hold the attachment placement template in a predetermined position relative to the arch and to align the attachment to its intended position and orientation on the tooth surface. The attachment can then be secured to the tooth using bonding, adhesives, etc. The struts can then be cut, broken, or otherwise released to allow removal of the attachment placement template while the attachment remains on the tooth.Examples of attachment placement templates (also referred to as "attachment placement devices" or "attachment manufacturing templates") can be found at least in the following: U.S. Application No. 17 / 549,460, filed December 13, 2021, entitled "Replacement Attachment System"; U.S. Application No. 17 / 249,218, filed February 24, 2021, entitled "Flexible 3D Printed Orthodontic Device"; U.S. Application No. 16 / 366,686, filed March 27, 2019, entitled "Dental Attachment Placement Structure"; U.S. Application No. 15 / 674,662, filed August 11, 2017, entitled "Devices and Systems for Creation of Attachments"; U.S. Patent No. 11,103,330, issued June 14, 2017, entitled "Dental Attachment Placement Structure"; U.S. Application No. 14 / 963,527, filed December 9, 2015, entitled "Dental Attachment Placement Structure"; U.S. Application No. 14 / 939,246, filed November 12, 2015, entitled "Dental Attachment Placement Structure"; U.S. Application No. 14 / 939,252, filed November 12, 2015, entitled "Dental Attachment Formation Structures"; and U.S. Patent No. 9,700,385, issued August 22, 2014, entitled "Attachment Structure"; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0182] The techniques described herein can be used to fabricate an incremental palatal expander and / or a series of incremental palatal expanders for expanding a person's palate from an initial position toward a target position in accordance with one or more aspects of a treatment plan. The incremental palatal expander can include a first tooth engagement region, a second tooth engagement region, and a palatal region that connects the first and second tooth engagement regions and is configured to apply a lateral force between the first and second tooth engagement regions. For example, the first and second tooth engagement regions can be molar regions (which can also be configured to include premolars), each molar region having one or more cavities sized to fit over a respective one of the patient's molars (and / or premolars). The palatal region can separate the tooth engagement regions and can fit against the patient's palate. The palatal region can provide a force to stretch or expand the mid-palatal region and can include springs, thermally active materials, struts, supports, beams, ribs, gaps, windows, attachments, and the like. Examples of incremental palatal expanders can be found at least in: U.S. Application No. 16 / 380,801, filed Apr. 10, 2019, entitled "Releasable Palatal Expanders"; U.S. Application No. 16 / 022,552, filed Jun. 28, 2018, entitled "Devices, Systems, and Methods for Dental Arch Expansion"; U.S. Patent No. 11,045,283, filed Jun. 8, 2018, entitled "Palatal Expander with Skeletal Anchorage Devices"; U.S. Application No. 15 / 831,159, filed Dec. 4, 2017, entitled "Palatal Expanders and Methods of Expanding a Palate"; U.S. Patent No. 10,993,783, filed Dec. 4, 2017, entitled "Methods and Apparatuses for Customizing a Rapid Palatal Expander"; and U.S. Patent No. 7,192,273, filed Aug. 7, 2003, entitled "System and Method for Palatal Expansion"; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. (U.S. Application No. 16 / 022,552, filed Jun. 28, 2018, entitled "Devices, Systems, and Methods for Dental Arch Expansion"; U.S. Patent No. 11,045,283, filed Jun. 8, 2018, entitled "Palatal Expander with Skeletal Anchorage Devices"; U.S. Application No. 15 / 831,159, filed Dec. 4, 2017, entitled "Palatal Expanders and Methods of Expanding a Palate"; U.S. Patent No. 10,993,783, filed Dec. 4, 2017, entitled "Methods and Apparatuses for Customizing a Rapid Palatal Expander"; and U.S. Patent No. 7,192,273, filed Aug. 7, 2003, entitled "System and Method for Palatal Expansion"; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.) III. Additive manufacturing techniques

[0183] The systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein are suitable for use with a variety of additive manufacturing techniques. Examples of additive manufacturing techniques include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) vat photopolymerization, in which an object is constructed from a liquid photopolymer resin in a vat or other large-volume source, including techniques such as stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), continuous liquid interface production (CLIP), two-photon induced photopolymerization (TPIP), and volumetric additive manufacturing; (2) material jetting, in which materials are jetted onto a build platform using a continuous or drop-on-demand (DOD) method; (3) binder jetting, in which alternating layers of build material (e.g., powder-based material) and binder material (e.g., liquid binder) are deposited via a printhead; (4) material extrusion, in which material is extruded through a nozzle, heated, and deposited layer by layer, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) and direct ink writing (DIW); (5) powder bed fusion, including techniques such as direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), electron beam melting (EBM), selective heat sintering (SHS), selective laser melting (SLM), and selective laser sintering (SLS); (6) sheet lamination, including techniques such as laminated object manufacturing (LOM) and ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM); and (7) directed energy deposition, including techniques such as laser engineered net shaping, direct light fabrication, direct metal deposition, and 3D laser cladding. Optionally, the additive manufacturing process may use a combination of two or more additive manufacturing techniques.

[0184] For example, a vat photopolymerization process may be used to fabricate an additive manufacturing object, in which light is used to selectively cure a curable material (e.g., polymer resin) in a vat or other large-volume source. Each layer of curable material may be selectively exposed to light in a single exposure (e.g., DLP) or by scanning a beam over the layer (e.g., SLA). Depending on the relative positions of the material source, light source, and build platform, vat curing may be performed in a "top-down" or "bottom-up" method.

[0185] As another example, high-temperature lithography (also referred to as "thermal lithography") can be used to fabricate additively manufactured objects. High-temperature lithography can include any photopolymerization process that involves heating a photopolymerizable material (e.g., a polymer resin). For example, high-temperature lithography can involve heating the material to a temperature of at least 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C, 80 °C, 90 °C, 100 °C, 110 °C, or 120 °C. In some embodiments, the material is heated to a temperature in the range of 50 °C to 120 °C, 90 °C to 120 °C, 100 °C to 120 °C, 105 °C to 115 °C, or 105 °C to 110 °C. Heating can reduce the viscosity of the photopolymerizable material and / or increase the reactivity of the photopolymer material before and / or during curing. Thus, high-temperature lithography can be used to fabricate objects from materials that are highly viscous and / or have poor flowability, which can exhibit improved mechanical properties (e.g., stiffness, strength, stability) upon curing compared to other types of materials. For example, high-temperature lithography can be used to fabricate objects from materials having a viscosity of at least 5 Pa·s, 10 Pa·s, 15 Pa·s, 20 Pa·s, 30 Pa·s, 40 Pa·s, or 50 Pa·s at 20 °C. Representative examples of high-temperature lithography processes that can be incorporated into the methods herein are described in: International Publication Nos. WO2015 / 075094, WO2016 / 078838, WO2018 / 032022, WO2020 / 070639, WO2021 / 130657, and WO2021 / 130661, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0186] In some embodiments, additively manufactured objects are fabricated using continuous liquid interphase production (also referred to as "continuous liquid interphase printing"), wherein the object is continuously built from a reservoir of photopolymerizable resin by forming a gradient of a partially cured resin between the build surface of the object and a polymerization-suppressing "dead zone". In some embodiments, a semi-permeable membrane is used to control the transport of a photopolymerization inhibitor (e.g., oxygen) into the dead zone in order to form a polymerization gradient. Representative examples of continuous liquid interphase production processes that can be incorporated into the methods herein are described in: U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2015 / 0097315, 2015 / 0097316, and 2015 / 0102532, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0187] As another example, by continuously moving the build platform during the irradiation phase (e.g., along the vertical or Z direction) such that the depth of hardening of the irradiated photopolymer is controlled by the speed of movement, a continuous additive manufacturing method can achieve the continuous build of an object geometry. Thus, continuous polymerization of the material on the build surface can be achieved. Such methods are described in U.S. Patent No. 7,892,474, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In another example, a continuous additive manufacturing method can involve extruding a composite material consisting of a curable liquid material surrounding a solid strand. The composite material can be extruded along a continuous three-dimensional path to form an object. Such methods are described in U.S. Patent No. 10,162,264 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0061974, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In yet another example, a continuous additive manufacturing method can utilize a "heliolithography" method, where a focused radiation is used to cure a liquid photopolymer while continuously rotating and raising the build platform. Thus, an object geometry can be continuously built along a helical construction path. Such methods are described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0265034, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0188] In another example, a volumetric additive manufacturing (VAM) process can be used to fabricate an additive manufactured object, in which the entire object is produced from a 3D volume of resin in a single printing step, without the need for layer-by-layer construction. During the VAM process, the entire build volume is irradiated with energy, but the projected pattern is configured such that only certain voxels will accumulate a sufficient energy dose to be cured. Representative examples of VAM processes that can be incorporated into the present technology include tomographic volume printing, holographic volume printing, multiphoton volume printing, and xolography. For example, a tomographic VAM process can be performed by projecting a 2D optical pattern into a rotating volume of photosensitive material at a vertical and / or angled angle of incidence to produce a cured 3D structure. A holographic VAM process can be performed by projecting a holographic light pattern into a stationary reservoir of photosensitive material. The xolography process can use a photo-switchable photoinitiator to induce local polymerization within a volume of photosensitive material when linearly excited by crossing beams of different wavelengths. Additional details of VAM processes suitable for use with the present technology are described in: U.S. Patent No. 11,370,173, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0146619, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022 / 0227051, International Publication No. WO2017 / 115076, International Publication No. WO2020 / 245456, International Publication No. WO2022 / 011456, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 181,645, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0189] In yet another example, a powder bed fusion process (e.g., selective laser sintering) can be used to fabricate an additive manufactured object, which involves selectively fusing layers of powder material using a laser beam according to a desired cross-sectional shape in order to build the object geometry. As another example, a material extrusion process (e.g., fused deposition modeling) can be used to fabricate an additive manufactured object, which involves selectively depositing filamentous material (e.g., thermoplastic polymer) in a layer-by-layer manner in order to form the object. In yet another example, a material jetting process can be used to fabricate an additive manufactured object, which involves jetting or extruding one or more materials onto a build surface to form successive layers of the object geometry.

[0190] The object of additive manufacturing can be made of any suitable material or combination of materials. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the object of additive manufacturing is made, in part or in whole, of a polymeric material (such as a curable polymer resin). The resin can consist of one or more monomeric components that are initially in a liquid state. The resin can be in a liquid state at room temperature (e.g., 20 °C) or at an elevated temperature (e.g., a temperature in the range of 50 °C to 120 °C). When exposed to energy (e.g., light), the monomeric components can undergo a polymerization reaction such that the resin cures into the desired object geometry. Representative examples of curable polymer resins and other materials suitable for use with the additive manufacturing techniques herein are described in the following: International Publication Nos. WO2019 / 006409, WO2020 / 070639, and WO2021 / 087061, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0191] Optionally, the object of additive manufacturing can be made of multiple different materials (e.g., at least two, three, four, five, or more different materials). The materials can differ from each other in terms of composition, curing conditions (e.g., curing energy wavelength), material properties before curing (e.g., viscosity), material properties after curing (e.g., stiffness, strength, transparency), etc. In some embodiments, the object of additive manufacturing is formed from multiple materials in a single manufacturing step. For example, a multi-tip extrusion device can be used to selectively dispense multiple types of materials from different material sources in order to manufacture an object from multiple different materials. Examples of such methods are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,749,414 and 11,318,667, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Alternatively or in combination, the object of additive manufacturing can be formed from multiple materials in multiple sequential manufacturing steps. For example, a first portion of the object can be formed from a first material according to any of the manufacturing methods herein, then a second portion of the object can be formed from a second material according to any of the manufacturing methods herein, and so on until the entire object has been formed.

[0192] Figure 11is a partial schematic diagram providing an overview of an additive manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present technology. In the illustrated embodiment, an object 1102 is manufactured on a build platform 1104 (e.g., a print bed, tray, plate, film, sheet, or other planar substrate) from a series of cured material layers, where each layer has a geometry corresponding to a respective cross-section of the object 1102. To fabricate an individual layer of the object, a layer of curable material 1106 (e.g., a polymerizable resin) is brought into contact with the build platform 1104 (when manufacturing the first layer of the object 1102) or with a previously formed portion of the object 1102 on the build platform 1104 (when manufacturing subsequent layers of the object 1102). In some embodiments, the curable material 1106 is formed on a substrate (e.g., a film, not shown) and supported by the substrate. Then energy 1108 (e.g., light) from an energy source 1110 (e.g., a projector or a light engine) is applied to the curable material 1106 to form a cured material layer 1112 on the build platform 1104 or the object 1102. The remaining curable material 1106 can then be moved away from the build platform 1104 (e.g., by lowering the build platform 1104, by raising the curable material 1106, and / or by laterally moving the curable material 1106), thereby leaving the cured material layer 1112 in place on the build platform 1104 and / or the object 1102. The manufacturing process can then be repeated with a new layer of curable material 1106 to build the next layer of the object 1102.

[0193] The illustrated embodiment shows a "top-down" configuration where the energy source 1110 is positioned above and directs the energy 1108 downward toward the build platform 1104 such that the object 1102 is formed on the upper surface of the build platform 1104. Thus, as successive layers of the object 1102 are formed, the build platform 1104 can be incrementally lowered relative to the energy source 1110. However, in other embodiments, Figure 11 the additive manufacturing process can be performed using a "bottom-up" configuration where the energy source 1110 is positioned below and directs the energy 1108 upward toward the build platform 1104 such that the object 1102 is formed on the lower surface of the build platform 1104. Thus, as successive layers of the object 1102 are formed, the build platform 1104 can be incrementally raised relative to the energy source 1110.

[0194] Although Figure 11 illustrates a representative example of an additive manufacturing process, this is not intended to be limiting, and the embodiments described herein can be adapted for use with other types of additive manufacturing systems (e.g., vat-based systems) and / or other types of additive manufacturing processes (e.g., material jetting, binder jetting, FDM, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, directed energy deposition). Examples

[0195] The following examples are included to further describe some aspects of the present technology, and these examples should not be used to limit the scope of the present technology.

[0196] Example 1. A method, comprising: Receiving a treatment plan for a patient's tooth, the treatment plan specifying a target alignment of the tooth and a plurality of treatment phases to reposition the tooth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; Identifying appliance design parameters for one or more dental appliances for implementing the treatment plan, wherein the appliance design parameters include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the one or more dental appliances; Determining an appliance geometry of the one or more dental appliances based on the appliance design parameters; and Generating instructions for manufacturing the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry using the additive manufacturing process.

[0197] Example 2. The method according to Example 1, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry, the at least one constraint being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

[0198] Example 3. The method according to Example 2, wherein the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

[0199] Example 4. The method according to Example 2 or 3, wherein the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

[0200] Example 5. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

[0201] Example 6. The method according to Example 5, wherein the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing an appliance thickness, decreasing an appliance thickness, changing an appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

[0202] Example 7. The method according to Example 5 or 6, wherein the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: a directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, a resolution of the additive manufacturing process, an expected amount of over-curing, an expected amount of material shrinkage, an expected amount of material expansion, a post-processing technique to be used with the one or more dental appliances, or an expected change in a characteristic of the one or more dental appliances after using the post-processing technique.

[0203] Example 8. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 7, further comprising: performing a quality check of the appliance geometry, wherein the quality check includes assessing whether the appliance geometry exhibits one or more manufacturability issues.

[0204] Example 9. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 8, further comprising: performing a quality check of the appliance geometry, wherein the quality check includes assessing whether the appliance geometry complies with one or more safety constraints.

[0205] Example 10. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the one or more dental appliances include an orthodontic appliance, a palatal expander, an attachment placement template, or a retainer.

[0206] Example 11. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 10, further comprising: using the additive manufacturing process to manufacture the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry.

[0207] Example 12. The method according to Example 11, wherein receiving, identifying, determining, and generating are performed by one or more processors.

[0208] Example 13. The method according to Example 12, wherein manufacturing is performed by a device different from the one or more processors.

[0209] Example 14. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations including the following: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan specifying a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment toward the target alignment, Identify appliance design parameters for implementing the treatment plan, where the appliance design parameters include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the one or more dental appliances. Determine the appliance geometry of the one or more dental appliances based on the appliance design parameters, and Generate instructions for manufacturing the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry using the additive manufacturing process.

[0210] Example 15. The system according to Example 14, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry, the at least one constraint being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

[0211] Example 16. The system according to Example 15, wherein the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

[0212] Example 17. The system according to Example 15 or 16, wherein the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limit of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limit of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limit of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

[0213] Example 18. The system according to any one of Examples 14 to 17, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

[0214] Example 19. The system according to Example 18, wherein the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing an appliance thickness, decreasing an appliance thickness, changing an appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

[0215] Example 20. The system according to Example 18 or 19, wherein the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the one or more dental appliances, or the expected change in the properties of the one or more dental appliances after using the post-processing technique.

[0216] Example 21. The system according to any one of Examples 14 to 20, wherein the operation further comprises performing a quality check on the appliance geometry, and wherein the quality check comprises evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits one or more manufacturability issues.

[0217] Example 22. The system according to any one of Examples 14 to 21, wherein the operation further comprises performing a quality check on the appliance geometry, and wherein the quality check comprises evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with one or more safety constraints.

[0218] Example 23. The system according to any one of Examples 14 to 22, wherein the one or more dental appliances comprise an aligner, a palatal expander, an attachment placement template, or a retainer.

[0219] Example 24. A method comprising: Receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; Identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a dental appliance configured to implement at least one of the plurality of treatment phases, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the dental appliance; and Using the set of appliance design parameters to determine the appliance geometry of the dental appliance.

[0220] Example 25. The method according to Example 24, wherein the plurality of treatment phases include a plurality of intermediate alignments of the teeth, and the dental appliance is configured to reposition the teeth to at least one of the plurality of intermediate alignments.

[0221] Example 26. The method according to Example 24 or 25, wherein the dental appliance comprises an aligner.

[0222] Example 27. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 26, wherein the appliance geometry includes a thickness map of the dental appliance.

[0223] Example 28. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 27, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

[0224] Example 29. The method according to Example 28, wherein the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

[0225] Example 30. The method according to Example 28 or 29, wherein the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

[0226] Example 31. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 30, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

[0227] Example 32. The method according to Example 31, wherein the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing the appliance thickness, decreasing the appliance thickness, changing the appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

[0228] Example 33. The method according to Example 31 or 32, wherein the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the direction deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the dental appliance, or the expected change in the properties of the dental appliance after using the post-processing technique.

[0229] Example 34. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 33, wherein the appliance design parameter set includes one or more efficacy parameters representing the correspondence between appliance features and clinical goals.

[0230] Example 35. The method according to Example 34, wherein: the appliance features include one or more of the following: appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, surface geometry, feature type, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry attachment position, attachment geometry, or contact points, and the clinical goals include one or more of the following: the teeth to be moved, the type of tooth movement, the direction of tooth movement, the amount of tooth movement, the speed of tooth movement, the magnitude of the force to be applied to the teeth, the magnitude of the torque to be applied to the teeth, the direction of the force to be applied to the teeth, or the direction of the torque to be applied to the teeth.

[0231] Example 36. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 35, wherein the appliance geometry is determined using a rule-based algorithm, and wherein the rule-based algorithm implements a set of appliance design rules corresponding to the set of appliance design parameters.

[0232] Example 37. The method according to Example 36, further comprising: determining the set of appliance design rules based on the set of appliance design parameters.

[0233] Example 38. The method according to Example 36 or 37, wherein the set of appliance design rules includes rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed movement types, prohibited movement types, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

[0234] Example 39. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 38, further comprising: performing a quality check on the appliance geometry.

[0235] Example 40. The method according to Example 39, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits any manufacturability issues.

[0236] Example 41. The method according to Example 40, wherein the manufacturability issues include one or more of the following: self-intersecting regions, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, or artifacts.

[0237] Example 42. The method according to any one of Examples 39 to 41, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with safety constraints.

[0238] Example 43. The method according to Example 42, wherein the safety constraints include one or more of the following: thickness limits, stiffness limits, or force limits.

[0239] Example 44. The method according to any one of Examples 39 to 43, further comprising: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check, determining whether one or more of the appliance geometry, the set of appliance design parameters, or the treatment plan can be modified.

[0240] Example 45. The method according to Example 44, further comprising: if the appliance geometry can be modified, modifying the appliance geometry, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0241] Example 46. The method according to Example 44 or 45, further comprising: If at least one appliance design parameter in the set of appliance design parameters can be modified, modify the at least one appliance design parameter, determine a modified appliance geometry using the modified at least one design parameter, and perform a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0242] Example 47. The method according to Example 46, wherein modifying the at least one design parameter includes relaxing or omitting a constraint on the appliance geometry.

[0243] Example 48. The method according to any one of Examples 44 to 47, further comprising: if the treatment plan can be modified, modify the treatment plan, determine a modified appliance geometry based on the modified treatment plan, and perform a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0244] Example 49. The method according to Example 48, wherein modifying the treatment plan includes modifying one or more of the following: tooth position, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, direction of force applied to the tooth, magnitude of force applied to the tooth, number of treatment phases, or attachments to be applied to the tooth.

[0245] Example 50. The method according to any one of Examples 39 to 49, further comprising: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check after a predetermined number of iterations, generate instructions for indirectly manufacturing the dental appliance via a thermoforming process.

[0246] Example 51. The method according to any one of Examples 39 to 50, further comprising: if the appliance geometry passes the quality check, generate instructions for directly manufacturing the dental appliance having the appliance geometry via the additive manufacturing process.

[0247] Example 52. The method according to any one of Examples 24 to 51, further comprising: identifying a force system configured to generate at least one tooth movement according to the at least one treatment phase, wherein the appliance geometry is determined at least in part based on the force system.

[0248] Example 53. The method according to Example 52, wherein the appliance geometry is configured to transmit the force system to the teeth.

[0249] Example 54. The method according to Example 52 or 53, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

[0250] Example 55. A method comprising: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a plurality of appliances configured to implement the plurality of treatment phases of the treatment plan; determining a set of appliance design rules for designing the plurality of appliances based on one or more appliance design parameters; and using one or more appliance design rules to generate at least one appliance geometry of at least one of the plurality of appliances.

[0251] Example 56. The method according to Example 55, wherein the one or more appliance design parameters include one or more of the following: tooth position, tooth shape, direction of movement, speed of movement, force vector, appliance features, attachments, or contact points.

[0252] Example 57. The method according to Example 55 or 56, wherein the one or more appliance design rules include at least one constraint associated with an additive manufacturing process.

[0253] Example 58. The method according to Example 57, wherein the one or more appliance design rules include rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

[0254] Example 59. The method according to any one of Examples 55 to 58, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is generated using a rule-based algorithm implementing the one or more appliance design rules.

[0255] Example 60. The method according to any one of Examples 55 to 59, further comprising: performing a quality check of the appliance geometry.

[0256] Example 61. The method according to Example 60, wherein performing the quality check includes determining whether the at least one appliance geometry can be manufactured via a direct manufacturing process.

[0257] Example 62. The method according to Example 61, wherein the direct manufacturing process includes an additive manufacturing process.

[0258] Example 63. The method according to Example 61 or 62, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the method further includes: modifying the treatment plan, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least in part based on the modified treatment plan.

[0259] Example 64. The method according to any one of Examples 61 to 63, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the method further includes: modifying the one or more appliance design parameters, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least in part based on the modified one or more appliance design parameters.

[0260] Example 65. The method according to any one of Examples 61 to 64, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the method further includes: modifying the one or more appliance design rules, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least in part based on the modified one or more appliance design rules.

[0261] Example 66. The method according to any one of Examples 61 to 65, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured after a predetermined number of iterations, the method further includes generating instructions for manufacturing at least one appliance via an indirect manufacturing process.

[0262] Example 67. The method according to any one of Examples 55 to 66, further includes: generating instructions configured to cause a manufacturing system to manufacture the at least one appliance using direct manufacturing techniques.

[0263] Example 68. The method according to any one of Examples 55 to 67, further includes: identifying a force system configured to generate at least one tooth movement according to at least one treatment stage, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is generated at least in part based on the force system.

[0264] Example 69. The method according to Example 68, wherein the appliance geometry is configured to transfer the force system to the teeth.

[0265] Example 70. The method according to Example 68 or 69, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

[0266] Example 71. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the processors, cause the system to perform operations including: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment toward the target alignment, identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a dental appliance configured to implement at least one of the plurality of treatment phases, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used to directly manufacture the dental appliance, and determining an appliance geometry of the dental appliance using the set of appliance design parameters.

[0267] Example 72. The system according to Example 71, wherein the plurality of treatment phases include a plurality of intermediate alignments of the teeth, and the dental appliance is configured to reposition the teeth to at least one of the plurality of intermediate alignments.

[0268] Example 73. The system according to Example 71 or 72, wherein the dental appliance includes an aligner.

[0269] Example 74. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 73, wherein the appliance geometry includes a thickness map of the dental appliance.

[0270] Example 75. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 74, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry configured to improve manufacturability of the dental appliance.

[0271] Example 76. The system according to Example 75, wherein the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

[0272] Example 77. The system according to Example 75 or 76, wherein the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limit of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limit of the additive manufacturing process, the bridge size limit of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

[0273] Example 78. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 77, wherein the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

[0274] Example 79. The system according to Example 78, wherein the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing an appliance thickness, decreasing an appliance thickness, changing an appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

[0275] Example 80. The system according to Example 78 or 79, wherein the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the dental appliance, or the expected change in the properties of the dental appliance after using the post-processing technique.

[0276] Example 81. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 80, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more efficacy parameters representing the correspondence between appliance features and clinical goals.

[0277] Example 82. The system according to Example 81, wherein: the appliance features include one or more of the following: appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, surface geometry, feature type, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry attachment position, attachment geometry, or contact points, and the clinical goals include one or more of the following: the teeth to be moved, the type of tooth movement, the direction of tooth movement, the amount of tooth movement, the speed of tooth movement, the magnitude of the force to be applied to the teeth, the magnitude of the torque to be applied to the teeth, the direction of the force to be applied to the teeth, or the direction of the torque to be applied to the teeth.

[0278] Example 83. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 82, wherein the appliance geometry is determined using a rule-based algorithm, and wherein the rule-based algorithm implements a set of appliance design rules corresponding to the set of appliance design parameters.

[0279] Example 84. The system according to Example 83, wherein the operation further comprises: determining the set of appliance design rules based on the set of appliance design parameters.

[0280] Example 85. The system according to Example 83 or 84, wherein the set of appliance design rules comprises rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

[0281] Example 86. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 85, wherein the operation further comprises: performing a quality check on the appliance geometry.

[0282] Example 87. The system according to Example 86, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry comprises evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits any manufacturability issues.

[0283] Example 88. The system according to Example 87, wherein the manufacturability issues comprise one or more of the following: self - intersecting regions, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, or artifacts.

[0284] Example 89. The system according to any one of Examples 86 to 88, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry comprises evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with safety constraints.

[0285] Example 90. The system according to Example 89, wherein the safety constraints comprise one or more of the following: thickness limits, stiffness limits, or force limits.

[0286] Example 91. The system according to any one of Examples 86 to 90, wherein the operation further comprises: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check, determining whether one or more of the appliance geometry, the set of appliance design parameters, or the treatment plan can be modified.

[0287] Example 92. The system according to Example 91, wherein the operation further comprises: if the appliance geometry can be modified, modifying the appliance geometry, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0288] Example 93. The system according to Example 91 or 92, wherein the operation further comprises: if at least one appliance design parameter in the set of appliance design parameters can be modified, modifying the at least one appliance design parameter, Determine a modified appliance geometry using the modified at least one design parameter, and Perform a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0289] Example 94. The system according to Example 93, wherein modifying the at least one design parameter includes relaxing or omitting a constraint on the appliance geometry.

[0290] Example 95. The system according to any one of Examples 91 to 94, wherein the operations further include: If the treatment plan can be modified, modify the treatment plan, Determine a modified appliance geometry based on the modified treatment plan, and Perform a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

[0291] Example 96. The system according to Example 95, wherein modifying the treatment plan includes modifying one or more of the following: tooth position, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, direction of force applied to the tooth, magnitude of force applied to the tooth, number of treatment phases, or attachments to be applied to the tooth.

[0292] Example 97. The system according to any one of Examples 86 to 96, wherein the operations further include: If the appliance geometry fails the quality check after a predetermined number of iterations, generate instructions for indirectly manufacturing the dental appliance via a thermoforming process.

[0293] Example 98. The system according to any one of Examples 86 to 97, wherein the operations further include: If the appliance geometry passes the quality check, generate instructions for directly manufacturing the dental appliance having the appliance geometry via the additive manufacturing process.

[0294] Example 99. The system according to any one of Examples 71 to 98, wherein the operations further include: Identify a force system configured to produce at least one tooth movement according to the at least one treatment phase, wherein the appliance geometry is determined at least in part based on the force system.

[0295] Example 100. The system according to Example 99, wherein the appliance geometry is configured to transfer the force system to the tooth.

[0296] Example 101. The system according to Example 99 or 100, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

[0297] Example 102. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the processors, cause the system to perform operations including: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's tooth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the tooth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the tooth from an initial alignment toward the target alignment, identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a plurality of appliances configured to implement the treatment phases of the treatment plan, determining a set of appliance design rules for designing the plurality of appliances based on one or more of the appliance design parameters, and using one or more of the appliance design rules to generate at least one appliance geometry for at least one of the plurality of appliances.

[0298] Example 103. The system of Example 102, wherein the one or more appliance design parameters include one or more of: tooth position, tooth shape, direction of movement, speed of movement, force vector, appliance feature, attachment, or point of contact.

[0299] Example 104. The system of Example 102 or 103, wherein the one or more appliance design rules include at least one constraint associated with an additive manufacturing process.

[0300] Example 105. The system of Example 104, wherein the one or more appliance design rules include rules related to one or more of: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

[0301] Example 106. The system of any one of Examples 102 to 105, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is generated using a rule-based algorithm that implements the one or more appliance design rules.

[0302] Example 107. The system of any one of Examples 102 to 106, wherein the operations further include: performing a quality check on the appliance geometry.

[0303] Example 108. The system of Example 107, wherein performing the quality check includes determining whether the at least one appliance geometry is manufacturable via a direct manufacturing process.

[0304] Example 109. The system according to Example 108, wherein the direct manufacturing process includes an additive manufacturing process.

[0305] Example 110. The system according to Example 108 or 109, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the operations further include: modifying the treatment plan, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry based at least in part on the modified treatment plan.

[0306] Example 111. The system according to any one of Examples 108 to 110, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the operations further include: modifying the one or more appliance design parameters, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry based at least in part on the modified one or more appliance design parameters.

[0307] Example 112. The system according to any one of Examples 108 to 111, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured by the direct manufacturing process, the operations further include: modifying the one or more appliance design rules, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry based at least in part on the modified one or more appliance design rules.

[0308] Example 113. The system according to any one of Examples 108 to 112, wherein if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured after a predetermined number of iterations, the operations further include: generating instructions for manufacturing at least one appliance via an indirect manufacturing process.

[0309] Example 114. The system according to any one of Examples 102 to 113, wherein the operations further include: generating instructions configured to cause a manufacturing system to manufacture the at least one appliance using direct manufacturing techniques.

[0310] Example 115. The system according to any one of Examples 102 to 114, wherein the operations further include: identifying a force system configured to produce at least one tooth movement according to at least one treatment stage, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is generated at least in part based on the force system.

[0311] Example 116. The system according to Example 115, wherein the appliance geometry is configured to transmit the force system to the teeth.

[0312] Example 117. The system according to Example 115 or 116, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

[0313] Example 118. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations including the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 13 or 24 to 70. Conclusions

[0314] Although many embodiments have been described above with respect to systems, devices, and methods for manufacturing dental appliances, the technology is applicable to other applications and / or other methods, such as manufacturing other types of objects. Additionally, other embodiments beyond those described herein are also within the scope of the technology. Further, several other embodiments of the technology may have different configurations, components, or programs than those described herein. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technology may have other embodiments with additional elements, or that the technology may have other embodiments without several of the features referenced above with respect to FIGS. 1 through Figure 11 shown and described.

[0315] The various processes described herein can be implemented partially or fully using program code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors of a computing system for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the processes. The program code can be stored on any type of computer-readable medium, such as a storage device including a magnetic disk or hard drive. A computer-readable medium containing code or portions of code can include any suitable medium known in the art, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium can include volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing and / or transmitting information, including but not limited to random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology; compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disc (DVD) or other optical storage device; magnetic tape cartridges, tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices; solid state drives (SSD) or other solid state storage devices; or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by a system device.

[0316] The description of embodiments of the present technology is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present technology to the precise forms disclosed above. Where context permits, singular or plural terms may also respectively include plural or singular terms. Although specific embodiments and examples of the present technology have been described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the present technology, as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art. For example, although steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform the steps in a different order. Various embodiments described herein may also be combined to provide additional embodiments.

[0317] As used herein, the terms "substantially", "essentially", "about" and similar terms are used as approximate terms and not as terms of degree, and are intended to account for the inherent variations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0318] In addition, unless the word "or" is explicitly limited to meaning only a single item that excludes the other items of a list of two or more items, the use of "or" in such a list should be construed to include (a) any single item in the list, (b) all items in the list, or (c) any combination of items in the list. As used herein, the phrase "and / or" in "A and / or B" means A alone, B alone, and both A and B. Additionally, the term "comprising" is used throughout to mean including at least the stated (one or more) features, such that no greater number of the same features and / or additional types of other features are excluded.

[0319] If any material incorporated by reference herein conflicts with the present disclosure, the present disclosure shall control.

[0320] It should also be understood that specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but various modifications may be made without departing from the present technology. In addition, although the advantages associated with certain embodiments of the present technology have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments must exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the present technology. Accordingly, the present disclosure and the associated technology may cover other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's tooth, the treatment plan specifying a target alignment of the tooth and a plurality of treatment phases to reposition the tooth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; identifying appliance design parameters for one or more dental appliances for implementing the treatment plan, wherein the appliance design parameters include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the one or more dental appliances; determining an appliance geometry of the one or more dental appliances based on the appliance design parameters; and generating instructions for manufacturing the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry using the additive manufacturing process.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry, the at least one constraint being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing an appliance thickness, decreasing an appliance thickness, changing an appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the one or more dental appliances, or the expected change in the properties of the one or more dental appliances after using the post-processing technique.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: performing a quality check of the appliance geometry, wherein the quality check includes assessing whether the appliance geometry exhibits one or more manufacturability issues.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: Perform a quality check of the appliance geometry, wherein the quality check includes assessing whether the appliance geometry complies with one or more safety constraints.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, the one or more dental appliances include an orthodontic appliance, a palatal expander, an attachment placement template, or a retainer.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: using the additive manufacturing process to manufacture the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the receiving, identifying, determining, and generating are performed by one or more processors.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the manufacturing is performed by a device different from the one or more processors.

14. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations that include: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan specifying a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment toward the target alignment, identifying appliance design parameters for one or more dental appliances for implementing the treatment plan, wherein the appliance design parameters include one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the one or more dental appliances, determining the appliance geometry of the one or more dental appliances based on the appliance design parameters, and generating instructions for using the additive manufacturing process to manufacture the one or more dental appliances having the determined appliance geometry.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry, the at least one constraint being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein, the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

17. The system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein, the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

18. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the one or more dental appliances.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein, The at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing an appliance thickness, decreasing an appliance thickness, changing an appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

20. The system according to claim 18 or 19, wherein, the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: a directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, a resolution of the additive manufacturing process, an expected amount of over-curing, an expected amount of material shrinkage, an expected amount of material expansion, a post-processing technique to be used with the one or more dental appliances, or an expected change in characteristics of the one or more dental appliances after using the post-processing technique.

21. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein, the operation further includes performing a quality check of the appliance geometry, and wherein the quality check includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits one or more manufacturability issues.

22. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein, the operation further includes performing a quality check of the appliance geometry, and wherein the quality check includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with one or more safety constraints.

23. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 22, wherein, the one or more dental appliances include an aligner, a palatal expander, an attachment placement template, or a retainer.

24. A method, comprising: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a dental appliance configured to implement at least one of the plurality of treatment phases, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the dental appliance; and using the set of appliance design parameters to determine an appliance geometry of the dental appliance.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein, the plurality of treatment phases include a plurality of intermediate alignments of the teeth, and the dental appliance is configured to reposition the teeth to at least one of the plurality of intermediate alignments.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, wherein, the dental appliance includes an aligner.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein, the appliance geometry includes a thickness map of the dental appliance.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry configured to improve manufacturability of the dental appliance.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein, The at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, wherein, the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

31. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 30, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein, the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing the appliance thickness, decreasing the appliance thickness, changing the appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, wherein, the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the dental appliance, or the expected change in the properties of the dental appliance after using the post-processing technique.

34. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 33, wherein, the appliance design parameter set includes one or more efficacy parameters representing the correspondence between appliance features and clinical goals.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein: the appliance features include one or more of the following: appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, surface geometry, feature type, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry attachment position, attachment geometry, or contact points, and the clinical goals include one or more of the following: the teeth to be moved, the type of tooth movement, the direction of tooth movement, the amount of tooth movement, the speed of tooth movement, the magnitude of the force to be applied to the teeth, the magnitude of the torque to be applied to the teeth, the direction of the force to be applied to the teeth, or the direction of the torque to be applied to the teeth.

36. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 35, wherein, the appliance geometry is determined using a rule-based algorithm, and wherein the rule-based algorithm implements a set of appliance design rules corresponding to the appliance design parameter set.

37. The method according to claim 36, further including: determining the set of appliance design rules based on the appliance design parameter set.

38. The method according to claim 36 or 37, wherein, The appliance design rule set includes rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

39. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 38, further comprises: performing a quality check on the appliance geometry.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits any manufacturability issues.

41. The method according to claim 40, wherein the manufacturability issues include one or more of the following: self - intersecting regions, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, or artifacts.

42. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 41, wherein performing a quality check on the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with safety constraints.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the safety constraints include one or more of the following: thickness limits, stiffness limits, or force limits.

44. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 43, further comprises: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check, determining whether one or more of the appliance geometry, the appliance design parameter set, or the treatment plan can be modified.

45. The method according to claim 44, further comprises: if the appliance geometry can be modified, modifying the appliance geometry, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

46. The method according to claim 44 or 45, further comprises: if at least one appliance design parameter in the appliance design parameter set can be modified, modifying the at least one appliance design parameter, determining a modified appliance geometry using the modified at least one design parameter, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein modifying the at least one design parameter includes relaxing or omitting a constraint on the appliance geometry.

48. The method according to any one of claims 44 to 47, further comprises: if the treatment plan can be modified, modifying the treatment plan, determining a modified appliance geometry based on the modified treatment plan, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein modifying the treatment plan includes modifying one or more of the following: tooth position, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, direction of force applied to the tooth, magnitude of force applied to the tooth, number of treatment phases, or attachments to be applied to the tooth.

50. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 49, further comprises: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check after a predetermined number of iterations, generating instructions for indirectly manufacturing the dental appliance via a thermoforming process.

51. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 50, further comprises: If the appliance geometry passes the quality inspection, generating instructions for directly manufacturing the dental appliance having the appliance geometry via the additive manufacturing process.

52. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 51, further comprises: Identifying a force system configured to generate at least one tooth movement according to the at least one treatment stage, wherein the appliance geometry is at least partially determined based on the force system.

53. The method according to claim 52, wherein, the appliance geometry is configured to transmit the force system to the teeth.

54. The method according to claim 52 or 53, wherein, the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions or disallowed torque directions.

55. A method, comprises: Receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment stages configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment; Identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a plurality of appliances configured to implement the plurality of treatment stages of the treatment plan; Determining a set of appliance design rules for designing the plurality of appliances based on one or more appliance design parameters; and Using one or more appliance design rules to elongate at least one appliance geometry of at least one of the plurality of appliances.

56. The method according to claim 55, wherein, the one or more appliance design parameters include one or more of the following: tooth position, tooth shape, direction of movement, speed of movement, force vector, appliance features, attachments or contact points.

57. The method according to claim 55 or 56, wherein, the one or more appliance design rules include at least one constraint associated with an additive manufacturing process.

58. The method according to claim 57, wherein, the one or more appliance design rules include rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness or maximum thickness.

59. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 58, wherein, using a rule-based algorithm implementing the one or more appliance design rules to generate the at least one appliance geometry.

60. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 59, further comprises: Performing a quality inspection of the appliance geometry.

61. The method according to claim 60, wherein, performing the quality inspection includes determining whether the at least one appliance geometry can be manufactured via a direct manufacturing process.

62. The method according to claim 61, wherein, the direct manufacturing process includes an additive manufacturing process.

63. The method according to claim 61 or 62, Wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the method further comprises: modifying the treatment plan, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified treatment plan.

64. The method according to any one of claims 61 to 63, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the method further comprises: modifying the one or more appliance design parameters, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified one or more appliance design parameters.

65. The method according to any one of claims 61 to 64, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the method further comprises: modifying the one or more appliance design rules, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified one or more appliance design rules.

66. The method according to any one of claims 61 to 65, wherein, if it is determined after a predetermined number of iterations that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured, the method further comprises generating instructions for manufacturing the at least one appliance via an indirect manufacturing process.

67. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 66, further comprises: generating instructions configured to cause a manufacturing system to manufacture the at least one appliance using direct manufacturing techniques.

68. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 67, further comprises: identifying a force system configured to produce at least one tooth movement according to at least one treatment phase, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is generated at least partially based on the force system.

69. The method according to claim 68, wherein, the appliance geometry is configured to transmit the force system to the teeth.

70. The method according to claim 68 or 69, wherein, the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

71. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the processors, cause the system to perform operations that include: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment, identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a dental appliance configured to implement at least one of the plurality of treatment phases, wherein the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more manufacturability parameters corresponding to an additive manufacturing process to be used for directly manufacturing the dental appliance, and Determine the appliance geometry of the dental appliance using the set of appliance design parameters.

72. The system according to claim 71, wherein, the plurality of treatment phases include a plurality of intermediate alignments of the teeth, and the dental appliance is configured to reposition the teeth to at least one of the plurality of intermediate alignments.

73. The system according to claim 71 or 72, wherein, the dental appliance includes an aligner.

74. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 73, wherein, the appliance geometry includes a thickness map of the dental appliance.

75. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 74, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one constraint on the appliance geometry, the at least one constraint being configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

76. The system according to claim 75, wherein, the at least one constraint on the appliance geometry includes one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum feature size, minimum appliance thickness, maximum appliance thickness, maximum overhang size, maximum overhang angle, or maximum pontic size.

77. The system according to claim 75 or 76, wherein, the at least one constraint is based on one or more of the following: the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the properties of the material used in the additive manufacturing process, the overhang size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the overhang angle limitation of the additive manufacturing process, the pontic size limitation of the additive manufacturing process, or post-processing conditions.

78. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 77, wherein, the one or more manufacturability parameters include at least one adjustment to the appliance geometry, the at least one adjustment being configured to improve the manufacturability of the dental appliance.

79. The system according to claim 78, wherein, the at least one adjustment includes one or more of the following: increasing a feature size, decreasing a feature size, changing a feature position, increasing the appliance thickness, decreasing the appliance thickness, changing the appliance orientation, or adding a support structure.

80. The system according to claim 78 or 79, wherein, the at least one adjustment is based on one or more of the following: the directional deviation of the additive manufacturing process, the resolution of the additive manufacturing process, the expected amount of over-curing, the expected amount of material shrinkage, the expected amount of material expansion, the post-processing technique to be used with the dental appliance, or the expected change in the properties of the dental appliance after using the post-processing technique.

81. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 80, wherein, the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more efficacy parameters representing the correspondence between appliance features and clinical goals.

82. The system according to claim 81, wherein: the appliance features include one or more of the following: appliance thickness, appliance stiffness, surface geometry, feature type, feature size, feature shape, surface geometry attachment position, attachment geometry, or contact points, and The clinical objectives include one or more of the following: a tooth to be moved, a type of tooth movement, a direction of tooth movement, an amount of tooth movement, a speed of tooth movement, a magnitude of a force to be applied to the tooth, a magnitude of a torque to be applied to the tooth, a direction of the force to be applied to the tooth, or a direction of the torque to be applied to the tooth.

83. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 82, wherein, the appliance geometry is determined using a rule-based algorithm, and wherein the rule-based algorithm implements a set of appliance design rules corresponding to the set of appliance design parameters.

84. The system according to claim 83, wherein, the operation further includes: determining the set of appliance design rules based on the set of appliance design parameters.

85. The system according to claim 83 or 84, wherein, the set of appliance design rules includes rules related to one or more of the following: a minimum feature size, a maximum force threshold, allowed types of movement, prohibited types of movement, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, a minimum thickness, or a maximum thickness.

86. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 85, wherein, the operation further includes: performing a quality check of the appliance geometry.

87. The system according to claim 86, wherein, performing the quality check of the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry exhibits any manufacturability issues.

88. The system according to claim 87, wherein, the manufacturability issues include one or more of the following: self-intersecting regions, discontinuities, holes, sharp protrusions, or artifacts.

89. The system according to any one of claims 86 to 88, wherein, performing the quality check of the appliance geometry includes evaluating whether the appliance geometry complies with safety constraints.

90. The system according to claim 89, wherein, the safety constraints include one or more of the following: thickness limits, stiffness limits, or force limits.

91. The system according to any one of claims 86 to 90, wherein, the operation further includes: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check, determining whether one or more of the appliance geometry, the set of appliance design parameters, or the treatment plan can be modified.

92. The system according to claim 91, wherein, the operation further includes: if the appliance geometry can be modified, modifying the appliance geometry, and performing a quality check of the modified appliance geometry.

93. The system according to claim 91 or 92, wherein, the operation further includes: if at least one appliance design parameter in the set of appliance design parameters can be modified, modifying the at least one appliance design parameter, determining a modified appliance geometry using the modified at least one design parameter, and performing a quality check of the modified appliance geometry.

94. The system according to claim 93, wherein, modifying the at least one design parameter includes relaxing or omitting a constraint on the appliance geometry.

95. The system according to any one of claims 91 to 94, wherein, the operations further include: if the treatment plan can be modified, modifying the treatment plan, determining a modified appliance geometry based on the modified treatment plan, and performing a quality check on the modified appliance geometry.

96. The system according to claim 95, wherein, modifying the treatment plan includes modifying one or more of the following: tooth position, direction of tooth movement, amount of tooth movement, direction of the force applied to the tooth, magnitude of the force applied to the tooth, number of treatment phases, or attachments to be applied to the tooth.

97. The system according to any one of claims 86 to 96, wherein, the operations further include: if the appliance geometry fails the quality check after a predetermined number of iterations, generating instructions for indirectly manufacturing the dental appliance via a thermoforming process.

98. The system according to any one of claims 86 to 97, wherein, the operations further include: if the appliance geometry passes the quality check, generating instructions for directly manufacturing the dental appliance having the appliance geometry via the additive manufacturing process.

99. The system according to any one of claims 71 to 98, wherein, the operations further include: identifying a force system configured to generate at least one tooth movement according to the at least one treatment phase, wherein the appliance geometry is determined at least in part based on the force system.

100. The system according to claim 99, wherein, the appliance geometry is configured to transmit the force system to the tooth.

101. The system according to claim 99 or 100, wherein, the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

102. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory operably coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the processors, cause the system to perform operations including: receiving a treatment plan for a patient's teeth, the treatment plan including a target alignment of the teeth and a plurality of treatment phases configured to reposition the teeth from an initial alignment towards the target alignment, identifying a set of appliance design parameters for a plurality of appliances configured to implement the plurality of treatment phases of the treatment plan, determining a set of appliance design rules for designing the plurality of appliances based on one or more appliance design parameters, and generating at least one appliance geometry for at least one of the plurality of appliances using one or more appliance design rules.

103. The system according to claim 102, wherein, the one or more appliance design parameters include one or more of the following: tooth position, tooth shape, direction of movement, speed of movement, force vector, appliance features, attachments, or contact points.

104. The system according to claim 102 or 103, wherein, the one or more appliance design rules include at least one constraint associated with an additive manufacturing process.

105. The system according to claim 104, wherein, the one or more appliance design rules include rules related to one or more of the following: minimum feature size, maximum force threshold, allowed movement types, prohibited movement types, allowed geometries, prohibited geometries, minimum thickness, or maximum thickness.

106. The system according to any one of claims 102 to 105, wherein, the at least one appliance geometry is generated using a rule-based algorithm that implements the one or more appliance design rules.

107. The system according to any one of claims 102 to 106, wherein, the operation further includes: performing a quality check on the appliance geometry.

108. The system according to claim 107, wherein, performing the quality check includes determining whether the at least one appliance geometry can be manufactured via a direct manufacturing process.

109. The system according to claim 108, wherein, the direct manufacturing process includes an additive manufacturing process.

110. The system according to claim 108 or 109, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the operation further includes: modifying the treatment plan, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified treatment plan.

111. The system according to any one of claims 108 to 110, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the operation further includes: modifying the one or more appliance design parameters, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified one or more appliance design parameters.

112. The system according to any one of claims 108 to 111, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured via the direct manufacturing process, the operation further includes: modifying the one or more appliance design rules, and generating at least one revised appliance geometry at least partially based on the modified one or more appliance design rules.

113. The system according to any one of claims 108 to 112, wherein, if it is determined that the at least one appliance geometry cannot be manufactured after a predetermined number of iterations, the operation further includes: generating instructions for manufacturing the at least one appliance via an indirect manufacturing process.

114. The system according to any one of claims 102 to 113, wherein, the operation further includes: generating instructions configured to cause a manufacturing system to manufacture the at least one appliance using direct manufacturing techniques.

115. The system according to any one of claims 102 to 114, wherein, The operation further includes: identifying a force system configured to generate at least one tooth movement according to at least one treatment phase, wherein the at least one appliance geometry is at least partially generated based on the force system.

116. The system according to claim 115, wherein, the appliance geometry is configured to transfer the force system to the teeth.

117. The system according to claim 115 or 116, wherein, the set of appliance design parameters includes one or more of the following: minimum force magnitude, maximum force magnitude, minimum torque magnitude, maximum torque magnitude, allowed force directions, disallowed force directions, allowed torque directions, or disallowed torque directions.

118. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations including the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 24 to 70.

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