3D Dental Model Reconstruction from Distorted Jaw Impressions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The orthodontics process is tedious, painful, and expensive due to the manual attachment of braces and uncertainties in determining the final tooth arrangement without precise force calculations, and multiple jaw impressions can lead to significant distortion.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for managing and aligning multiple jaw impressions by scanning, selecting a base impression, swapping distorted tooth data, and using bite scans to reconstruct occlusal surfaces, enabling precise tooth alignment through computer modeling and incremental appliance placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple jaw impressions are taken to improve accuracy of tooth arrangement, then measurement precision is improved, but distortion increases due to cumulative errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual digital model (copy) of the patient's jaw and teeth from the impressions, allowing precise manipulation and analysis without physical distortion. The virtual model enables accurate tooth arrangement planning by eliminating cumulative errors associated with multiple physical impressions and transformations.
2Productivity
If traditional manual brace attachment is used to achieve tooth alignment, then tooth repositioning is accomplished, but the process becomes tedious and requires multiple patient visits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating a complete treatment plan upfront using virtual models, determining all intermediate tooth positions and appliance requirements before treatment begins. This eliminates the need for multiple adjustment visits, as patients can receive their complete series of aligners or appliances in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of orthodontist-adjusted braces with an automated computerized system that calculates tooth movement paths and generates treatment plans. This substitution eliminates the need for repeated in-person adjustments while maintaining or improving treatment accuracy.
3Reliability
If traditional orthodontic methods are used to determine final tooth arrangement, then treatment is provided based on orthodontist expertise, but precise force calculations are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective expert judgment with an automated computerized system that performs precise force calculations and predicts tooth movement outcomes. The system uses virtual models to simulate and calculate the forces required to move teeth to desired positions, providing objective and repeatable treatment planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the computerized system calculates predicted tooth movements based on proposed forces, compares these predictions with desired outcomes, and iteratively adjusts the treatment plan. This feedback loop ensures accurate force calculations and reliable prediction of final tooth arrangement.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of treating a patient's dentition may include generating, from a first 3D model of a first physical impression of a first arch of a patient and a second 3D model of a second physical impression of a first arch of the patient, a reconstructed 3D model of the first arch of the patient by incorporating one or more portions of the first 3D model with one or more portions of the second 3D model and creating a treatment plan for the patient's dentition using the first 3D model. The method may also include fabricating a set of dental alignment devices configured to implement the treatment plan when the dental alignment devices in the set of dental alignment devices are sequentially worn on the patient's dentition.