Providing a simulated outcome of dental treatment on a patient

1. A computer-implemented method of simulating orthodontic treatment, the method comprising:

capturing a first 2D image of a patient's face, including their teeth;

building a parametric 3D model of the patient's teeth based on the 2D image, the parametric 3D model including case-specific parameters for the shape of at least one of the patient's teeth;

simulating a final orthodontic position of the patient's teeth by rendering the 3D model with the patient's teeth in a predetermined position;

rendering a second 2D image of the patient's face with teeth in the final orthodontic position.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein building the parametric 3D model includes:

finding edges of teeth and lips in the first 2D image; and

aligning a parametric tooth model to the edges of the teeth and lips in the first 2D image to determine the case specific parameters; and

storing the case-specific parameters of the parametric tooth model that align the parametric tooth model with the edges of the teeth, gingiva, and lips in the first 2D image.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein rendering the second 2D image includes:

rendering the parametric model of the patient's according to the position of the teeth in the first 2D image;

projecting the 2D image onto the rendered parametric model of the patient's according to the position of the teeth in the first 2D image;

mapping the color data from the 2D image to corresponding locations on the 3D model to generate textures for the 3D model; and

rendering the second 2D image of the patient's face with teeth in the final orthodontic position with the generated textures.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein rendering the second 2D image further includes applying simulated treatments or viewing customizations to the second 2D image.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the simulated treatments or viewing customizations comprise one or more of changing an edge of the gingiva, replacing a tooth, adjusting a jaw position, or adjusting the color data.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined position is based on an average position of a plurality of previous patients' teeth after orthodontic treatment.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined position is based on an average of position of a plurality of previous patients' teeth before orthodontic treatment.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

finding edges of teeth and lips in the first 2D image, and

aligning the parametric 3D tooth model to the edges of the teeth, gingiva, and lips in the first 2D image.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first 2D image comprises a profile image representing a profile of the patient's face.

10. A computer-implemented method of simulating orthodontic treatment, the method comprising:

building a 3D parametric model of an arch, the 3D parametric model comprising generic parameters for tooth shape, tooth position, and tooth orientation;

capturing a 2D image of a patient;

constructing a case-specific 3D parametric model of the patient's teeth from the 2D image;

determining the case-specific parameters of the constructed parametric model;

rendering the 3D parametric model of the patient's teeth in a simulated final position; and

inserting the rendered 3D model into a 2D image of the patient.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein constructing a 3D parametric model of the patient's teeth form the 2D image includes:

finding edges of teeth, gingiva, and lips in the first 2D image; and

aligning the 3D model parametric to the edges of the teeth, gingiva, and lips in the first 2D image.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising:

applying textures to the rendered 3D parametric model of the patient's teeth in a simulated final position, wherein the textures are derived from the 2D image of the patient.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , wherein the textures are derived from the 2D image of the patient by:

projecting the 2D image onto the rendered parametric model of the patient's according to the position of the teeth in the first 2D image; and

mapping the color data from the 2D image to corresponding locations on the 3D model to derive the textures for the 3D model.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein rendering the 3D parametric model of the patient's teeth in the simulated final position comprises:

generating a mean shape of teeth based on the 3D parametric model;

adjusting the shape of the teeth in the 3D parametric model based on case-specific tooth shape parameters;

position the teeth in a mean tooth location and orientation based on a mean location and orientation parameter such that the teeth have a case specific shape and a mean location and orientation; and

scaling the arch based on a case specific arch scaling parameter.

15. A system comprising:

a photo parameterization engine configured to generate a 3D parametric arch model from a 2D image of a patient's face and teeth, the parametric 3D model including case-specific parameters for the shape of at least one of the patient's teeth; and

a parametric treatment prediction engine configured to simulate orthodontic treatment of a patient based on the 3D parametric arch model and historic models of a plurality of patients.

16. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a treatment projection rendering engine configured to render the 3D parametric arch model.