TOOTH SHADE ANALYZER SYSTEM AND METHODS
The invention relates to a non-transitory computer readable medium that includes one or more programs for carrying out a method for addressing a dental need in a patient involving modification of tooth shape, alignment, or color. The method includes the steps of receiving an electronic image of a patient's tooth; storing the image electronically in memory storage; and communicating the image to a party for evaluation of the modification of tooth shape, alignment, or color in connection with the addressing of the patient's dental need.
1 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or more programs for carrying out a method for addressing a dental need in a patient involving modification of tooth shape, alignment, or color, wherein the method comprises the steps of receiving an electronic image of a patient's tooth; storing the image electronically in memory storage; and communicating the image to a party for evaluation of the modification of tooth shape, alignment, or color in connection with the addressing of the patient's dental need.
2 . The medium of claim 1 wherein the image is stored in memory on a hard drive of a computer or on a removable disk.
3 . The medium of claim 1 , wherein the program(s) also carry out a method step of displaying the image on a computer monitor.
4 . The medium of claim 3 , wherein the displayed image includes RGB chromaticities of the patient's tooth.
5 . The medium of claim 1 , wherein the electronic image includes information representative of the patient's tooth color.
6 . The medium of claim 5 , wherein the image includes a determined color of the patient's tooth and is communicated to the party.
7 . The medium of claim 6 , wherein the image is communicated to a dental laboratory for preparation of a replacement tooth.
8 . The medium of claim 5 , wherein the monitor simultaneously displays color information of the patient's tooth and tooth shade information so that visual comparisons can be made.
9 . The medium of claim 5 , wherein the program(s) may also carry out method steps storing a plurality of conventional tooth shades electronically in memory storage, and identifying tooth shade(s) for the replacement tooth by electronically comparing the color information of the electronic image to the a plurality of electronically stored tooth shades and selecting tooth shade(s) representative of the patient's tooth.
10 . The medium of claim 3 , wherein the party is a dental laboratory and the program(s) also carry out a method step of printing information displayed on the monitor for communication to the dental laboratory for preparation of a replacement tooth.
11 . The medium of claim 5 , wherein the information representative of the patient's tooth color is obtained from a camera.
12 . The medium of claim 11 , wherein the camera is an intraoral video camera or an intraoral CCD camera.