Dental Design Alignment Using Facial and Intraoral Scan Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing CAD programs for dental restoration struggle to efficiently design and manufacture dental restorations that are aesthetically pleasing, accurately fitting, and fast to produce, especially when considering the tilt or inclination of the upper jaw relative to the head.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that involves capturing facial and intraoral images, aligning the 3D intraoral scan with the facial image, and using a digital library of 3D teeth to find matching teeth based on limited parameters, allowing for efficient design and production of dental restorations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional 3D scanning and CAD programs are used for dental restoration design, then the restoration can be manufactured, but the process is time-consuming and efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing facial and intraoral images, aligning 3D scans with facial images, and pre-defining bounding boxes for teeth before the designer needs to make decisions. This preparation work is done automatically in advance, reducing the time required for actual design work.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies of teeth through 3D scanning and stores them in a digital library. These digital copies can be manipulated, measured, and used for design without needing physical models, significantly speeding up the design process while maintaining accuracy.
2Manufacturing precision
If detailed 3D scanning and manual CAD design are performed, then accurate fitting can be achieved, but the process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the dental arch into individual tooth regions by automatically defining bounding boxes for each tooth. This segmentation simplifies the complex task of designing multiple teeth by allowing independent measurement and design of each tooth while maintaining overall accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical measurement and design processes with automated digital image processing, 3D scanning, and computer-based algorithms. This substitution maintains precision while dramatically reducing process complexity and time requirements.
3Manufacturing precision
If the system considers jaw tilt and inclination angles, then more accurate restorations can be produced, but the alignment process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates additional dimensional information by aligning 3D intraoral scans with 2D facial images and considering jaw tilt angles. This multi-dimensional approach ensures accurate positioning of restorations relative to the patient's head and jaw orientation while the computer handles the computational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Computer implemented method of generating a dental design, comprising: (a) capturing a facial image comprising a head of a patient and a smile; (b) displaying it as a first image; (c) capturing a 3D intraoral 5 scan; (d) aligning the 3D scan to the head; (e) determining bounding boxes in the 3D scan, each comprising a single tooth; (f) showing a view of the 3D scan and the bounding boxes as a second image; (g) showing the bounding boxes as overlay on the first image; (i) allowing the bounding boxes to be resized/repositioned; (ii) defining a limited set of parameters to characterize the tooth inside the bounding box, and searching a number of candidate matching teeth from a 3D digital library of teeth, 10 and proposing a candidate matching tooth; (iii) overlaying the first image with a digital representation of the proposed candidate matching tooth from the digital library.