Dental Aligner Data Generation Using Virtual Periodontal Complex Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing clear aligners using 3D data struggle with precision in dental movement due to interference from the gum or other teeth, leading to incomplete alignment and errors in predicting and setting dental movement.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus employing a fan beam CT scanner generates 3D data that separates teeth and recognizes their individual movement, setting central points for dental movement considering the alveolar bone and gingiva, allowing for precise alignment by moving the dental periodontal complex, including the tooth, alveolar bone, and gingiva, and predicting the final alignment state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If teeth are separated at real-world separation distance using conventional scanning methods, then the scanning process is simple, but the data generation fails to accurately separate teeth leading to alignment errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the dental data processing into distinct modules: a separation module that divides the dental arch into individual tooth units, and a movement prediction module that processes each tooth independently. This segmentation enables accurate teeth separation without requiring complex real-world physical separation, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual 3D copy of the dental structure from scanned data, allowing teeth to be separated and manipulated in the digital domain rather than physically. This virtual copying approach achieves precise teeth separation accuracy while avoiding the complexity of real-world separation procedures.
2Manufacturing precision
If only the portion of tooth above gum is targeted for movement, then the treatment is simpler, but the tooth cannot be moved sufficiently far due to gum or gum bone interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the movement prediction from the 2D visible portion of teeth to the 3D dental periodontal complex including roots embedded in bone. By adding the vertical dimension of root movement within the jawbone, the system achieves sufficient movement distance without increasing treatment complexity, as the entire periodontal complex is moved together as a unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the tooth crown, root, alveolar bone, and gingiva into a single integrated dental periodontal complex that moves together. This combining approach allows the tooth to be moved sufficiently far by moving the entire complex, avoiding interference from gum or bone while maintaining treatment simplicity.
3Measurement precision
If conventional 3D scanning is used to generate dental data, then the scanning process is straightforward, but errors occur in data generation due to inability to separate teeth accurately
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a separation module that divides the scanned dental data into individual tooth units based on virtual separation planes. This segmentation step improves data generation accuracy by ensuring each tooth is independently represented, while the modular approach keeps apparatus complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical separation methods with a computational approach using 3D modeling and virtual separation. This substitution achieves high measurement precision in data generation while avoiding the mechanical complexity of physical separation apparatuses.
4Manufacturing precision
If the dental periodontal complex is moved together, then alignment precision is improved, but the apparatus and method become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the tooth, alveolar bone, and gingiva into a single movable unit called the dental periodontal complex. This merging improves alignment precision by ensuring all components move together as a unit, while the integrated approach actually simplifies the apparatus compared to managing separate components independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal dental periodontal complex model that can be applied to all teeth regardless of specific anatomy. This multi-functional approach improves alignment precision while reducing apparatus complexity through standardization and generalization of the movement mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise dental alignment with reduced errors by accurately separating teeth and setting central points for movement, ensuring the clear aligner is manufactured with high precision and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a scanner that scans a current state of teeth of a patient; data that is received from the fan beam apparatus
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6(b)
AI summary
Apparatus (100) for generating dental data for manufacturing an aligner, the apparatus including: a dental-data generation unit (30), in which the dental-data generation unit (30) includes a first module (31) that receives data on a current state of the teeth of the patient from a scanner, a second module (32) that generates a state of the teeth of the patient and the vicinity of the teeth as 3D data, based on the data received from the scanner, a third module (33) that sets a central point (322a, 352a) for dental movement in the 3D data, a fourth module (34) that sets each central reference for a crown (301), a buccal surface, and a lingual surface of the tooth in the 3D data, and a fifth module (35) that sets a reference for a dental root point in the 3D data.