3m Innovative Properties Company

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Other

Cadent, Inc.

Russell A Jordan

James D Cleary

James D Hansen

Evangelos G Georgakis

Ming-Lai Lai

John S Kelly

Joseph M Caruso

Robert C Manemann

Oliver L Puttler

Baruch Nissenbaum

Oscar M Binder

Patrick B Dufour

David K Cinader, Jr

Joan V Brennan

Randall E Adam

Yang Zhu

Kenneth E Hoevel

Richard E Raby

Dwight W Jacobs

Jirina V Pospisil

James D Christoff

Bruce E Chester

Steven R Bartingale

Armineh Khachatoorian

James F Forbes

Allen B Amundson

A computer implemented method includes providing a first set of digital data corresponding to an upper arch image of at least a portion of an upper dental arch of a patient, providing a second set of digital data corresponding to a lower arch image of at least a portion of a lower dental arch of the patient, providing bite alignment data representative of the spatial relationship between the upper dental arch and the lower dental arch of the patient, and aligning the upper and lower arch images relative to one another based on the bite alignment data until an aligned upper and lower arch image is attained. The aligned upper and lower arch images are moved towards each other until a first contact point is detected and at least one of the upper and lower arch images is moved relative to the other in one or more directions to a plurality of positions for determining optimal occlusion position of the lower and upper dental arches.

Methods for use in dental articulation

A packaged assembly includes a container with a chamber and an orthodontic appliance received in the chamber. The assembly also includes a quantity of orthodontic adhesive material that is received on a release surface in the chamber. The appliance is detachably mounted on a support and is relatively movable when desired in order to bring a base of the appliance into contact with the adhesive material for transfer of the adhesive material to the appliance.

Packaged orthodontic appliance with user-applied adhesive

A prescription for an orthodontic brace is selected by providing data representing a number of teeth of the dental arch and by displaying images of the teeth in two or more different positions. Images of at least one tooth when in the first position and when in the second position are simultaneously displayed in superimposed fashion, and any difference in orientations of the displayed tooth images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast. As a consequence, the relative difference in positions can be readily observed. The invention is particularly useful for selecting a prescription of a brace from two or more prescriptions, and is also useful for observing the relative effect of a single prescription when used on certain teeth in comparison to the position of the same teeth during an earlier stage of treatment.

Method and apparatus for selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace

Techniques are described for using radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to track patient-specific materials throughout the manufacturing of indirect bonding trays. A series of RFID tags may be used to track the patient-specific material starting with the taking of a patient's impression at a clinic within a dental impression tray, through the process of casting and forming the indirect bonding tray at a manufacturing facility, back into the clinic where the appliances are bonded to the patient's teeth, and eventually into storage where the left-over materials may be archived. A database may be used to capture unique identifiers for the RFID tags and other information throughout the process.

RFID tracking of patient-specific orthodontic materials

Transfer apparatus is constructed for applying an orthodontic composition such as a bonding composition to selected areas of multiple teeth simultaneously. The selected areas of the teeth that receive the composition substantially correspond to areas of the teeth that subsequently receive orthodontic appliances. As a result, contact of the composition with other regions of the oral cavity such as the gingival tissue is avoided.

Orthodontic methods and apparatus for applying a composition to a patient's teeth

Selection of orthodontic brackets from predefined and existing orthodontic brackets is provided by a user viewing a patient's teeth and using, for example, a user interface, to define a three-dimensional tooth/arch model from three-dimensional model data. Likewise, a prescription is selected. With such information, the teeth of the defined tooth/arch model can be positioned in prescribed positions. Once modifications to the prescription or for that matter the patient's tooth/arch model, if any, are made, predefined and existing orthodontic brackets can be selected, e.g., such selection can be based on selection criteria used to search a database including parameters defining such predefined and existing orthodontic brackets.

Selection of orthodontic brackets

Orthodontic appliance

An orthodontic appliance includes a base with an outer surface, as well as at least one passageway extending through the base. An element is received in each passageway and is made of a material that transmits actinic radiation. The element serves as a window to facilitate the curing of light-curable orthodontic adhesive beneath the appliance base, while simultaneously preventing movement of the adhesive through the passageway. Optionally, one or more optical fibers are provided to facilitate curing of the adhesive.

Orthodontic appliance providing enhanced adhesive cure

An orthodontic appliance such as a bracket or buccal tube has a latch for retaining an archwire in an archwire slot. The latch releases the archwire from the archwire slot whenever the archwire exerts a force on the appliance that exceeds a certain minimum value. The minimum value is less than about one-half of the force required in the same direction to debond the appliance from the tooth, and thus reduces the likelihood that the appliance will unintentionally debond from the tooth during the course of orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontic appliance with self-releasing latch

A computer implemented method of orthodontic appliance selection includes providing data representative of one or more teeth of a patient and providing data representative of a set of orthodontic appliances. Each orthodontic appliance of the set of orthodontic appliances has an appliance parameter that varies from the other orthodontic appliances of the set. At least one geometrical parameter of the one or more teeth of the patient is determined using the data representative thereof. The geometrical parameter is compared to the data representative of the set of orthodontic appliances and one orthodontic appliance of the set is selected based on the comparison. The set of orthodontic appliances may be a set of orthodontic bands with each band of the set having a different size. Further, such bands may be precoated with an adhesive material. A computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program executable for use in selection of orthodontic appliances, a system for use in orthodontia using such selection, and a method of fitting an orthodontic band to a patient are also provided. Further, an article including a container and a set of precoated bands received therein is provided.

Selection of orthodontic appliances

A computer implemented method of creating a dental model for use in dental articulation includes providing a first set of digital data corresponding to an upper arch image of at least a portion of an upper dental arch of a patient, providing a second set of digital data corresponding to a lower arch image of at least a portion of a lower dental arch of the patient, and providing hinge axis data representative of the spatial orientation of at least one of the upper and lower dental arches relative to a condylar axis of the patient. A reference hinge axis is created relative to the upper and lower arch images based on the hinge axis data. Further, the method may include bite alignment data for use in aligning the lower and upper arch images. Yet further, the method may include providing data associated with condyle geometry of the patient, so as to provide limitations on the movement of at least the lower arch image when the arch images are displayed. Further, a wobbling technique may be used to determine an occlusal position of the lower and upper dental arches. Various computer implemented methods of dental articulation are also described. For example, such dental articulation methods may include moving at least one of the upper and lower arch images to simulate relative movement of one of the upper and lower dental arches of the patient, may include displaying another image with the upper and lower dental arches of the dental articulation model, and/or may include playing back recorded motion of a patient's mandible using the dental articulation model.

Method for use in dental articulation

An orthodontic appliance such as a bracket or buccal tube has a latch for retaining an archwire in an archwire slot. The latch releases the archwire from the archwire slot whenever the archwire exerts a force in a generally buccolabial direction on the appliance that exceeds a certain minimum value. The minimum value is less than about one-half of the force required in the same direction to debond the appliance from the tooth, and thus reduces the likelihood that the appliance will unintentionally debond from the tooth during the course of orthodontic treatment.

Growing community of inventors

Rancho Cucamonga, CA, United States of America

Russell A Jordan