Method of creating an accurate bone and soft-tissue digital dental model

1. A method of developing a 3-D anatomic model of a patient's mouth for use in developing a dental restoration, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving a first dataset including data associated with bone tissue and teeth, the first dataset being derived from at least one scan of the inside of the patient's mouth;

receiving a second dataset including data associated with a gingival surface, the second dataset being derived from one or more of the at least one scan of the inside of the patient's mouth;

merging the first dataset with the second dataset to form a combined dataset;

removing overlapping data from the combined dataset to form a modified dataset;

after the merging of the datasets, determining a thickness of the soft tissue from the region between the gingival surface and the jawbone; and

displaying, on a display, the 3-D anatomic model of the patient's mouth, the 3-D anatomic model including a simulation of the bone tissue, the teeth, the gingival surface, and the gingival tissue between the bone tissue and the gingival surface with the determined thickness.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one scan is a first scan including the data associated with bone tissue and teeth and a second scan including the data associated with the gingival surface.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first scan is a computed tomography scan and the second scan is an intra-oral scan.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first scan is a computed tomography scan and the second scan is one of a scan of a dental impression of the patient's mouth or a scan of a cast model of the patient's mouth.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the displaying the 3-D anatomic model includes filling-in a region between the gingival surface and the bone tissue to display the determined thickness of the gingival tissue.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying, on the display, an opening through the displayed gingival tissue of the 3-D anatomic model, the opening being at a location corresponding to the dental restoration.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising displaying, on the display, a virtual custom abutment in the opening, the opening having a size and shape dictated by a size and shape of the virtual custom abutment.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising using the 3-D anatomic model to create a surgical guide that guides the installation of a dental implant in the patient's mouth, the dental implant being a part of the dental restoration.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising deriving a custom abutment from the virtual custom abutment, the custom abutment being a part of the dental restoration.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising developing a custom abutment by use of the 3-D anatomic model, the custom abutment being depicted as a virtual custom abutment in the 3-D anatomic model.

11. A method of developing a 3-D anatomic model of a patient's mouth for use in developing a dental restoration, comprising the acts of:

receiving a first dataset derived from a computed tomography scan, the first dataset being associated with bone tissue and teeth within the patient's mouth;

receiving a second dataset derived from an intra-oral scan of the patient's mouth, the second dataset being associated with a gingival surface and the teeth within the patient's mouth;

by use of a shape-matching algorithm that focuses on features common to the first dataset and second dataset, merging the first dataset and the second dataset, the common features including at least one existing tooth;

by use of the first dataset and the second dataset, determining a thickness of the soft tissue in regions of the patient's mouth adjacent to a location for the dental restoration;

after the merging, removing data that is common to the first dataset and the second dataset; and

displaying, on a display, the 3-D anatomic model of the patient's mouth, the 3-D anatomic model including a simulation of the bone tissue, the teeth, the gingival surface, and the gingival tissue between the bone tissue and the gingival surface with the determined thickness.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising displaying, on the display, an opening through the gingival tissue, the opening having a size and shape dictated by size and shape of the virtual custom abutment.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising displaying, on the display, a virtual dental implant structure that corresponds to a dental implant to be placed in the patient's mouth.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the virtual custom abutment is displayed on the display as being coupled to the virtual dental implant structure and extending through the opening in the gingival tissue.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising using the 3-D anatomic model to create a surgical guide configured to guide the installation of the dental implant in the patient's mouth.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the displaying the 3-D anatomic model includes filling-in a region between the gingival surface and the bone tissue to display the determined thickness of the gingival tissue.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising displaying, on the display, an opening through the displayed gingival tissue of the 3-D anatomic model, the opening being at a location corresponding to the dental restoration.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising displaying, on the display, a virtual custom abutment in the opening, the opening having a size and shape dictated by a size and shape of the virtual custom abutment.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising

using the 3-D anatomic model to create a surgical guide that guides the installation of a dental implant in the patient's mouth, the dental implant being a part of the dental restoration.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising deriving a custom abutment from the virtual custom abutment, the custom abutment being a part of the dental restoration.