DENTAL APPLIANCE WITH A SURFACE HAVING PATTERNED GLASS IONOMER COATING

1 . A method for making a dental appliance configured to position at least one tooth of a patient, the method comprising:

printing a hardenable liquid resin composition on a major surface of a polymeric material to form a pattern thereon, wherein the hardenable liquid resin composition comprises a glass ionomer, a resin modified glass ionomer, and mixtures and combinations thereof; and

forming a dental appliance from the polymeric material, wherein the dental appliance comprises an arrangement of cavities configured to receive one or more teeth.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavities are formed by thermoforming, laser processing, chemical or physical etching, additive manufacturing, and combinations thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern is a substantially continuous coating on the major surface.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of discrete unhardened liquid regions, and wherein the unhardened liquid regions are hardened to form a corresponding array of structures on the major surface, wherein the structures have a characteristic cross-sectional dimension of about 25 microns to about 1 mm, and a feature spacing of about 100 microns to about 2000 microns

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the dental appliance has at least one of a visible light transmission of about 75% to about 99%, a haze of less than about 20%, and a clarity of about 75% to about 100%.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the array of structures is printed with flexographic printing or screen printing.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising hardening the structures on the polymeric material during or prior to the forming step.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hardenable liquid resin composition comprises at least one therapeutic agent and a dental filler in an aqueous hardenable resin matrix, wherein the therapeutic agent is chosen from calcium compounds, phosphorous compounds, fluoride compounds, and mixtures and combinations thereof.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the dental filler is chosen from borate glass, phosphate glass, fluoroaluminosilicate glass, silane treated glass, silane treated silica, and mixtures and combinations thereof.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hardenable resin matrix comprises a polyacid.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the hardenable resin matrix further comprises a polymerizable component comprising an ethylenically unsaturated compound with acid functionality.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the hardenable liquid composition comprises a nanofiller comprising particles selected from the group consisting of silica; zirconia; oxides of titanium, aluminum, cerium, tin, yttrium, strontium, barium, lanthanum, zinc, ytterbium, bismuth, iron, and antimony; and combinations thereof.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymeric material comprises a thermoplastic polymer chosen from polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyester/polycarbonate copolymer, polyolefin, cyclic olefin polymer, styrenic copolymer, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone, polytrimethylene terephthalate, and mixtures and combinations thereof.

14 . A method for making a dental appliance configured to position at least one tooth of a patient, the method comprising:

printing a hardenable liquid resin composition on a major surface of a first polymeric film to form a pattern of discrete unhardened liquid regions thereon, wherein the hardenable liquid resin composition comprises a glass ionomer, a resin modified glass ionomer, and mixtures and combinations thereof;

forming a corresponding array of structures on the major surface of the first polymeric film, wherein the structures have a characteristic cross-sectional dimension of about 25 microns to about 1 mm, and a feature spacing of about 100 microns to about 2000 microns;

contacting the major surface of the first polymeric film with a major surface of a second polymeric film, wherein the major surface of the second polymeric film comprises a pattern of microstructures, and wherein the microstructures contact an exposed surface of at least a portion of the structures on the major surface of the first polymeric film;

hardening the structures to form an inverse pattern of microstructures in the exposed surfaces of the structures; and

forming a dental appliance with the polymeric material, wherein the dental appliance comprises an arrangement of cavities configured to receive one or more teeth.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the microstructures comprise V-grooves, matte structures and holographic films.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the microstructures comprise grooves separated by trapezoidal regions.

17 . A dental appliance, comprising:

a polymeric substrate comprising a plurality of cavities for receiving one or more teeth; and

an array of printed structures on the substrate, wherein the printed structures comprise a glass ionomer, a resin modified glass ionomer, and mixtures and combinations thereof, and wherein the structures have an average feature size of about 25 μm to about 1000 μm and an average feature spacing of about 100 μm to about 2000 μm, and wherein the dental appliance has a visible light transmission of about 75% to about 99%.

18 . The dental appliance of claim 17 , wherein the array comprises a regular pattern.

19 . The dental appliance of claim 17 , wherein the array forms an aesthetic pattern, an image, a logo, a bar code or a QR code.

20 . The dental appliance of claim 17 , wherein structures comprise at least one therapeutic agent and a dental filler in a resin matrix.

21 - 22 . (canceled)