Dental Design System Using Facial Scan Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer-aided dental design methods struggle to efficiently generate dental restorations that accurately fit and aesthetically appear in a fast manner, particularly when considering the tilt or inclination between the upper jaw and the head of the patient.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that captures facial and intraoral scans, aligns them, and uses 3D bounding boxes to characterize teeth, allowing efficient search and retrieval of matching teeth from a 3D digital library, considering the patient's head position, and generates a digital design for dental restorations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional 3D scanning and CAD programs are used to design dental restorations, then the design can be created with detailed control, but the process is time-consuming and efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically detecting tooth positions, orientations, and dimensions from the 3D intraoral scan, and by pre-aligning the scan to the patient's head using facial image landmarks. This automation of preliminary measurement and characterization steps significantly reduces the time required compared to manual CAD design processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of the patient's dentition through 3D scanning and generates a virtual model that can be manipulated and designed upon. This digital copying enables rapid iteration and modification without the time constraints of physical model manipulation, thereby improving design efficiency while reducing time loss.
2Manufacturing precision
If the 3D intraoral scan is aligned to the patient's head considering tilt and inclination, then the dental design accuracy is improved, but the alignment process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses facial images and detected facial landmarks (eyes, nose, mouth positions) as an intermediary to establish the alignment between the 3D intraoral scan and the patient's head. This intermediary approach simplifies the alignment process by providing reference points that automatically define the head's tilt and inclination, thereby improving design accuracy without significantly increasing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically determines alignment parameters (rotation angles, translation vectors) based on the detected facial landmarks and the desired head position. By dynamically adjusting these parameters to account for patient-specific tilt and inclination, the system achieves high manufacturing precision while keeping the alignment process manageable through automated parameter calculation.
3Productivity
If a limited set of parameters is used to characterize teeth, then the database search speed is improved, but the characterization precision may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the tooth characterization into a limited set of key parameters (position, orientation, dimensions) that are most critical for matching and design purposes. This segmentation enables fast database searching by comparing only essential features, while still maintaining sufficient precision for clinical dental restoration applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a partial characterization approach, focusing on the most important tooth parameters (position, orientation, main dimensions) rather than complete geometric description. This partial action achieves adequate characterization precision for dental design while dramatically improving database search speed by reducing the parameter set to essential features.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(b)
Figure 2(a)~3(b)
Figure 4(a)~4(h)
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 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, 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.