Method and system for designing and producing dental prosthesis and appliances

1. A method for manufacturing an orthodontic dental appliance, comprising:

receiving, at a service center and from a dental clinic, three-dimensional data indicative of a patient's teeth in a first arrangement,

wherein the service center is at a first geographic location, and

wherein the dental clinic is at a second geographic location remote from the first geographic location;

designing, at the service center, the orthodontic dental appliance based at least in part on the three-dimensional data,

wherein the orthodontic dental appliance is configured to move at least one tooth of the patient's teeth from the first arrangement towards a target arrangement;

generating, from the service center, instructions for fabrication of the orthodontic dental appliance;

transmitting, by the service center and to a dental lab, the instructions for fabrication of the orthodontic appliance,

wherein the dental lab is at a third geographic location remote from both the first geographic location and the second geographic location.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at the service center from the dental clinic, an orthodontic prescription for the patient's teeth.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the orthodontic prescription specifies which of the patient's teeth are to be moved.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the orthodontic prescription comprises information for the target arrangement of the patient's teeth.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein designing the orthodontic dental appliance comprises generating a three-dimensional digital model based on the three-dimensional data received.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein designing the orthodontic dental appliance further comprises displaying the three-dimensional digital model on a monitor.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the three-dimensional digital model is configured for manipulation by a user on a monitor.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein generating the three-dimensional model comprises identifying an external surface shape geometry of a dentition.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein designing the orthodontic dental appliance comprises applying a virtual model of the orthodontic dental appliance to the three-dimensional digital model.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising simulating the movement of teeth that would occur in an orthodontic dental treatment using the virtual model of the orthodontic dental appliance.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein designing the orthodontic dental appliance comprises receiving a user input at the service center.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising modifying the orthodontic dental appliance based on the user input received.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions for fabrication of the orthodontic appliance comprises a material removal process.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising fabricating the orthodontic dental appliance based on the instructions for fabrication.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein fabricating the orthodontic dental appliance occurs at the dental lab.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising providing the fabricated orthodontic dental appliance to the dental clinic for treatment of teeth of the patient.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, at the service center, a proposed treatment plan to move the at least one tooth of the patient's teeth from the first arrangement towards the target arrangement.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the proposed treatment plan comprises one or more images indicative of the patient's teeth with the orthodontic dental appliance applied to the teeth.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising transmitting, by the service center to the dental clinic, the proposed treatment plan for approval.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising receiving, at the service center from the dental clinic, an approval of the proposed treatment plan.