3D dental scanner

1. A method for optically imaging a dental structure within an oral cavity, comprising:

providing a reference plate having position fiducials marked thereon;

providing a position sensor coupled to the reference plate to read the fiducials and determine position;

moving a support arm inside the oral cavity, the support arm coupled to the reference plate providing a fixed coordinate reference frame external to the oral cavity, the support arm further having a scanner probe positioned on an intra-oral end;

moving one or more image apertures on the arm;

determining the position of the one or more image apertures using the fixed coordinate reference frame;

capturing one or more images of the dental structure through one or more of the image apertures;

generating a 3D model of the dental structure based on the captured images; and

following a path and orientation previously generated by a user during a pre-scan trace with the one or more image apertures along the dental structure surface to be imaged.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising tracing a path with the one or more image apertures along the dental structure prior to capturing the images of the dental structure.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the path is generated by a human operator.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising moving the one or more image apertures incrementally or continuously within the oral cavity.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising mounting one or more illuminator apertures to illuminate the dental structure.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising determining an intra-oral position and an orientation of the image aperture within the intra-oral cavity.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising measuring a holding arm position and orientation relative to a fixed coordinate reference frame.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the fixed coordinate reference frame is defined by a coordinate reference frame reference plate.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising mounting a bite fixture to the reference plate.

10. The method of claim 9 , comprising stabilizing patient jaws with the bite fixture during an image capture scan.

11. The method of claim 1 , extending the one or more image apertures through a holding arm into the oral cavity.

12. The method of claim 1 , comprising rotating the one or more image apertures about a holding arm axis to track the angular orientation of the teeth.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising rotating the one or more image apertures to image one or more of: maxillary teeth and mandibular teeth.

14. The method of claim 1 , comprising adjusting a user-specified path to optimize the position and orientation of the image aperture with respect to the surface of the dental structure to be scanned.

15. The method of claim 14 , comprising adjusting the image aperture to achieve one of the following: align the imaged dental structure in an aperture field of view; align the imaged dental structure in the image to an aperture depth of field; reduce image or illumination occlusion; and to alter the incident angle of the illumination on the surface.

16. The method of claim 1 , comprising performing a stereometric analysis on the captured images.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3D model generation includes performing structured light illumination and triangulation analysis on the captured images.

18. The method of claim 1 , comprising displaying a representation of the 3D model and transmitting the 3D model over a network.

19. The method of claim 18 , comprising using the 3D model for diagnosis and treatment of a patient.