Orthodontic Aligner Attachment Layout for Accurate Tooth Movement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing orthodontic treatments face challenges in accurately predicting and achieving desired tooth movement due to suboptimal interactions between dental appliances and tooth geometry, particularly for larger movements, leading to issues like appliance distortion, stress, and inadequate force orientation, which can hinder teeth from reaching the intended position.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that utilize attachment devices positioned relative to the tooth surface to engage with dental appliances, determining movement vectors and attachment positions to optimize force direction and counterbalance torque, using computational tools for precise treatment planning.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If dental appliances are fabricated from the planned next position and placed over current tooth positions, then forces and torques are generated to move teeth towards the target position, but the forces and torques may not be oriented in the intended direction of tooth movement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetooth movement accuracyVSAvoidforce orientation control

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates and pre-positions attachment devices on teeth before appliance fabrication. The attachment devices are strategically placed at specific locations and orientations to guide the appliance and ensure forces are applied in the correct direction from the outset, rather than relying on post-fabrication adjustments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Attachment devices serve as intermediary elements between the dental appliance and the tooth. These attachments mediate the force transmission, ensuring that the appliance's deformation forces are correctly oriented and transmitted to move the tooth in the intended direction rather than causing unwanted torque or rotation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Shape

If the current tooth movement is programmed only for the tooth crown, then the crown position can be adjusted, but the root of the tooth or other anatomical structures may hinder the crown movement and render the center of resistance down in the tooth bone socket

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecrown positionVSAvoidmovement predictability

Core Design Contradiction:

ShapeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary computational analysis that incorporates root position and center of resistance location before designing the treatment plan. Attachment devices are pre-positioned to account for root constraints, ensuring that crown movement programming considers the underlying anatomical structures and predicts actual tooth movement more accurately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If larger distances of tooth movement are required, then the treatment goal is achieved more quickly, but the amount of appliance distortion may lead to stretch and stress in the appliance whereby some areas of the aligner are not in close contact with the teeth

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetreatment speedVSAvoidappliance contact precision

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates the required appliance deformation and stress distribution for larger tooth movements. Attachment devices are pre-positioned to distribute forces more evenly across the tooth-appliance interface, preventing excessive localized stress and maintaining close contact between the aligner and teeth even during large movements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Strength

If dental attachments are used to provide bumps or undercuts on the tooth surface, then the grip of the dental appliance is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveappliance gripVSAvoidattachment geometry

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of adding complex attachments to all teeth, the patent applies attachments only at specific local positions where they are most needed to improve grip and force transmission. The attachment geometry is simplified and standardized, with variations only where anatomically necessary, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining effective tooth control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS12582505B2Orthodontic aligners and methods of designing and fabricating orthodontic aligners based on tooth shape

Publication Date: 2026.03.24 ALIGN TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

A series of orthodontic aligners may be produced by a process including receiving a first position of at least one tooth of a patient for a first treatment stage of plurality of orthodontic treatment stages, determining a movement vector magnitude and direction for moving the at least one tooth from the first position towards a second position, analyzing a surface of the at least one tooth of the patient based on the determined movement vector, designing a first orthodontic aligner of the series of orthodontic aligners based on the analysis of the surface of the at least one tooth of the patient so that a physical orthodontic aligner, when in position on teeth of the patient at the first treatment stage, moves the at least one tooth from the first position towards the second position along the determined movement vector, and fabricating the physical orthodontic aligner.