Align Technology, Inc.

Leland Stanford Junior University

Yaser Shanjani

Jun Sato

Ryan Kimura

Bruce Cam

Allen R Boronkay

John Y Morton

Avi Kopelman

Srinivas Kaza

Jihua Cheng

Bastien Pesenti

Jeremy Riley

Chunhua Li

Peter Webber

Fuming Wu

Norman C Su

Reza Shirazi Aghjari

Vadim Matov

Ken Wu

Victor Chen

Eric E Kuo

Andrew Jang

Vladimir Shelbakh

Mitra Derakhshan

Crystal Tjhia

Rohit Tanugula

Yuxiang Wang

Eric Yau

Bob Grove

Sergey Vinnichenko

Yunzhi Peter Yang

Stuart Barry Goodman

Edi Fridman

Chi-Chun Pan

Systems and methods for fabricating dental appliances are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes determining an appliance geometry for a dental appliance, where the appliance geometry includes a first region representing a first shell portion having a first set of cavities configured to receive one or more first teeth at a first side of a dental arch of a patient, a second region representing a second shell portion having a second set of cavities configured to receive one or more second teeth at a second side of the dental arch, and a third region representing an integrally formed arch expander configured to exert forces to increase a width of the dental arch. The method can also include generating instructions for fabricating the dental appliance having the appliance geometry via an additive manufacturing process, and using the instructions to instruct a fabrication system to fabricate the dental appliance.

Methods and systems for fabricating dental appliances with integrally formed arch expander

Dental appliances for treatment of a patient's dentition are provided. In some embodiments, a dental appliance includes a plurality of 3D printed polymer layers, where the plurality of 3D printed polymer layers includes a plurality of sequentially polymerized appliance cross-sections. The dental appliance can include an appliance shell formed from the plurality of sequentially polymerized appliance cross-sections. The appliance shell can include a plurality of tooth receiving cavities formed from the plurality of sequentially polymerized appliance cross-sections, the plurality of tooth receiving cavities arranged to receive a dentition and to exert one or more forces on the dentition, and a plurality of variable thickness regions formed from the plurality of sequentially polymerized appliance cross-sections. The plurality of variable thickness regions can include a corresponding plurality of different appliance thicknesses, and the plurality of variable thickness regions can be arranged to implement one or more treatment outcomes.

3D printed dental appliances with variable thickness regions

Orthodontic appliance cases configured to receive the orthodontic appliance and systems including them may include: a first antenna configured to receive the data from the sensor module via near field communication (NFC) when the orthodontic appliance including the sensor module is within the orthodontic appliance case, a data store configured to store the data; and a second antenna configured to transmit the stored data to an external computing device via Bluetooth communication when the external computing device is within communication range of the second antenna; and may also include an NFC to Bluetooth transmission circuitry.

Systems including orthodontic appliance cases and methods of use

Methods for fabrication of intraoral appliances are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a digital representation of a patient's dentition; receiving a treatment plan for the patient's dentition; generating a digital model of an intraoral appliance configured to implement at least one treatment stage of the treatment plan, where the intraoral appliance includes a cellular structure including a network of interconnected unit cells; and providing instructions to fabricate the intraoral appliance based on the digital model, where the instructions are configured to cause fabrication of the intraoral appliance from a plurality of additively manufactured layers.

Intraoral appliances with cellular structures

Apparatuses and methods for performing orthodontic treatment planning are provided. Virtual/Augmented Reality devices can be used to virtually manipulate patient's teeth, modify virtual models of the patient's teeth, analyze the fit of a dental appliance on the patient's teeth, analyze the position of attachment sites for dental appliances, and provide overlays showing forces applied to the patient's teeth. The VR/AR devices can be used by physicians and/or the patient to provide and display treatment planning. In some examples, a length and/or angle of an elastic band or wire and one or more effective forces on a patient's teeth when a dental appliance is applied to the patient's teeth may be determined. A visual overlay graphically illustrating the one or more effective forces may be generated and displayed.

Augmented reality enhancements for dental practitioners

Methods of fabricating orthodontic alignment devices. First forces may be applied to teeth of a digital model to simulate movement of the teeth from one stage of an ordered sequence of stages to a next stage. The first forces may include one or more unwanted forces that move one or more teeth of the digital model in an unwanted direction. One or more forces may be applied to the palate of the digital model that results in second forces applied to the teeth of the digital model to replace or offset the one or more unwanted forces. A shape for the orthodontic alignment device may be determined based on the first and second forces applied to the teeth and in combination with the one or more forces applied to the palate of the digital model. An orthodontic alignment device may be fabricated based on the determined shape.

Methods of forming orthodontic devices with palatal anchorage

A system for correcting malocclusions may include a maxillary appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of a maxilla and a first elastic coupling at gingival line of the maxillary appliance. The first elastic coupling may be configured for receiving an elastic. The system may also include mandibular appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of a mandible. The system may also include a corrective appliance having a first coupling configured to be coupled to the mandibular appliance at a first location on a first side of incisors of a patient and a second coupling configured to be coupled to the mandibular appliance on a second side of the incisors, and having an arm extending from the corrective appliance towards the gingival line of the maxillary appliance and being shaped to receive the elastic.

Orthodontic appliance systems for correcting malocclusions

Dental devices having folded material. A dental appliance may include a specialized region configured to impart one or more specialized forces to one or more particular areas of a patient's dentition. The specialized region may include a reinforcement structure including a rigid three- dimensional structure, where the rigid three-dimensional structure includes repeating geometric shapes defined by folds in a sheet of one or more polymeric materials. The folds may be folded along a pattern of lines according to the repeating geometric shapes. The rigid three-dimensional structure may have a greater thickness than the unfolded sheet so as to impart a greater rigidity to the specialized region compared to the unfolded sheet, thereby reinforcing the specialized region for imparting the one or more specialized forces to the one or more particular areas of the patient's dentition.

Dental appliances with folded material components

Systems for determining patient compliance with an orthodontic treatment or retention plan may include a polymeric shell appliance for receiving the patient's teeth, a sensor module on the polymeric shell appliance having a temperature sensor, a proximity sensor, a power source, and a communication antenna for communicating with an external case, and a processor configured to determine that the polymeric shell is being worn by the patient based on temperature data from the temperature sensor and proximity data from the proximity sensor, by determining that a measured temperature is within a body temperature range and that a measured proximity value is within a threshold proximity to an intraoral target. Methods of manufacturing these dental appliances are also described herein.

Systems for determining patient compliance with an orthodontic treatment or retention plan

Systems, methods, and devices for producing appliances for expansion of the arch of a patient. Methods may include forming a shell from a prepolymer material, the shell including teeth receiving structures configured to receive at least a portion of the patient's teeth. The prepolymer material may be crosslinked to provide a first crosslinked polymer having a first degree of crosslinking. Methods may also include forming a force generating portion connected with the shell. The force generating portion may be configured to span a space between opposing posterior teeth of the patient and to apply an expansion force between the opposing posterior teeth of the patient. The force generating portion may be formed from the same prepolymer material as the shell. Forming the force generating portion may include varying crosslinking to provide a second crosslinked polymer having a second degree of crosslinking that is different than the first degree of crosslinking.

Methods of forming appliances for arch expansion

Systems and methods for monitoring the status of oral appliances using sensors. One or more oral appliances may include one or more sensor receiver and emitter pairs configured to collect sensor data. Each sensor receiver and emitter pair may include a sensor receiver on or in a first portion of the oral appliance(s) and a sensor emitter on a second portion of the oral appliance(s), where each sensor receiver is configured to receive a signal emitted by a corresponding sensor emitter. At least one processor may be configured to determine the status of the oral appliance(s) and determine whether to modify a treatment plan implemented by the oral appliance(s) based on the status. The status may include one or more of: user compliance, condition of the oral appliance(s), and effectiveness of the oral appliance(s).

Sensors for monitoring oral appliances

Methods and systems for imaging removable dental appliances. Image data taken while a removable dental appliance was worn on a patient's teeth may be used to identify one or more locations of undesirable contact between the removable dental appliance and the patient's teeth and/or one or more attachments on the patient's teeth. The one or more locations of undesirable contact can correlate with undesirable tooth movement compared to expected tooth movement according to a treatment plan. A three-dimensional (3D) model of the removable dental appliance and the patient's teeth may be displayed on a user interface, with the identified one or more locations of undesirable contact highlighted in the 3D model. An alert of the identified one or more locations of undesirable contact may be emitted via the user interface.

Methods and systems for imaging removable dental appliances

Aligner systems and methods including a sequence of aligners having energy-delivering elements. For example, first and second aligners of the sequence of aligners may include first and second polymer shells that have shapes for applying respective first and second local forces to first and second regions of a dental arch to move one or more first teeth and one or more second teeth, respectively. The first and second aligners may also include corresponding first and second heating elements that are arranged to heat first and second target regions of the dental arch associated with moving the one or more first teeth and one or more second teeth, respectively. Heat energy from the first and second heating elements may improve an outcome of respective first and second stages of a treatment plan.

Energy-delivering orthodontic aligner systems

Series of apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate ('palatal expanders'), including rapid palatal expanders, wherein a left tooth engagement region and a right tooth engagement region are configured to add anti-tipping torque to at least one tooth. Left and right tooth engagement regions may include lingual surfaces with at least one lingual protrusion. Left and right tooth engagement regions may have buccally rotated cavities.

Palatal expanders for controlling crown tipping

A series of palatal expanders and methods of designing palatal expanders, including rapid palatal expanders, where outer occlusal surfaces of a palatal expander are shaped to conform to a geometry of corresponding teeth surfaces of the patient's lower jaw to provide occlusion between occlusal surfaces and the corresponding teeth surfaces.

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Yaser Shanjani