Dynamic dental arch map
Method for automatically assigning numeric labels to teeth in a dental arch map provides a segmented 3D surface image of patient dentition having identified individual teeth and determined tooth position in the dental arch. A tooth contour for the identified teeth is defined. The tooth type is identified as one of incisor, canine, premolar, or molar. A display of the tooth contour is labeled with an assigned tooth number according to the tooth position, tooth contour, and tooth type. The labeled mapping is displayed.
1. A method for automatically assigning numeric labels to teeth in a dental arch map comprising:
providing a segmented 3D surface image of patient dentition comprising 3D contours of identified individual teeth and determined tooth position in a dental arch for each of the identified individual teeth;
identifying a 2D plane based at least in part on: an occlusal plane axis of the segmented 3D surface image or an orientation axis of one or more of the identified individual teeth;
projecting the 3D contours of the identified individual teeth along the 2D plane to define a tooth contour for each of the identified individual teeth in the 2D plane;
identifying a tooth type as one of incisor, canine, premolar, or molar for each of the identified individual teeth;
labeling a display of the tooth contour in the 2D plane with an assigned tooth number according to the tooth position, tooth contour, and tooth type for each of the identified individual teeth; and
displaying the labeled mapping.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising editing the assigned tooth number for at least one of the identified individual teeth according to an operator instruction.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising acquiring a 3D surface image of patient dentition.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the 3D surface image is from a cone beam computed tomography apparatus.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the 3D surface image is from a structured light imaging apparatus.
6. The method of claim 3 wherein the 3D surface image is from an ultrasound apparatus.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein segmenting the 3D surface image comprises using one or more of snake-based segmentation, iterative segmentation techniques, and region growing segmentation.
8. The method of claim 3 further comprising segmenting the 3D surface image to identify individual teeth and to determine tooth position in the dental arch for each of the individual teeth.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising accepting and executing an operator instruction that corrects the segmented 3D surface image for one or more of the identified individual teeth.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising accepting and executing an operator instruction that corrects the identified tooth type for one or more of the identified individual teeth.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the assigned tooth number conforms to one or more of Universal numbering, ISO numbering, and Palmer numbering notation.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the assigned tooth number is determined using computer learning algorithms based on various patient data and tooth characteristics.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising accepting an operator instruction entered by selecting a displayed contour for a tooth.
14. A dental imaging apparatus comprising:
a surface imaging apparatus that acquires a 3D surface image of a patient dentition;
a host processor that is configured to respond to operator instructions to:
segment the 3D surface image to identify 3D contours of individual teeth in a dental arch,
identify a 2D plane based at least in part on: an occlusal plane axis of the 3D surface image or an orientation axis of one or more of the individual teeth;
project the 3D contours of the individual teeth along the 2D plane to form a 2D mapping of tooth outlines for the individual teeth in the dental arch in the 2D plane,
identify the tooth type as one of incisor, canine, premolar, or molar for each of the individual teeth, and
label the 2D mapping of tooth outlines in the 2D plane with a numbering scheme according to at least tooth position, individual tooth contour, and tooth type for each of the individual teeth in the dental arch; and
a display in signal communication with the host processor for displaying the tooth labeling.
15. The dental imaging apparatus of claim 14 wherein the surface imaging apparatus uses structured reflectance light.
16. The dental imaging apparatus of claim 14 wherein the surface imaging apparatus is a cone beam computed tomography imaging apparatus.
17. The dental imaging apparatus of claim 14 wherein the surface imaging apparatus is an optical coherence tomography apparatus.
18. A method for automatically assigning a numeric label to a tooth in a dental arch map, the method executed at least in part by a computer and comprising:
acquiring a 3D surface image of patient dentition;
segmenting the 3D surface image content to identify 3D contours of individual teeth and to determine a tooth position for each of the individual teeth in a dental arch;
identifying a 2D plane based at least in part on: an occlusal plane axis of the 3D surface image or an orientation axis of one or more of the identified individual teeth;
projecting the 3D contours of the individual teeth along the 2D plane to define a 2D tooth contour for each of the individual teeth in a 2D mapping on the 2D plane;
identifying a tooth type according to one or more of the tooth position and the 2D tooth contour for each of the individual teeth;
labeling a display showing the 2D tooth contour in the 2D plane with an assigned tooth number according to the tooth position, tooth contour, and identified tooth type within the 2D mapping for each of the individual teeth; and
displaying the labeled mapping.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying the tooth type comprises identifying a tooth as one of incisor, canine, premolar, or molar type.
20. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying the tooth type comprises identifying a tooth as a supernumerary tooth.