Digital denture design and replacement

1. A method performed by a computer system comprising memory and one or more processors, the method comprising:

acquiring a three dimensional (3D) digital model of a patient's dentition, wherein the 3D digital model is represented in a 3D digital coordinate system;

acquiring motion data for the patient, wherein the motion data is represented in the 3D digital coordinate system;

determining a vertical dimension of occlusion in the 3D digital coordinate system for the patient, wherein the vertical dimension of occlusion comprises a distance between corresponding dental features on opposing dental arches when the patient is at rest;

positioning the 3D digital model in the 3D digital coordinate system based on the motion data to achieve the desired vertical dimension; and

generating a 3D digital denture design based on the positioned 3D digital model.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding dental features comprise edentulous ridges on the opposing dental arches, and the vertical dimension comprises a total distance between the edentulous ridges to accommodate dentures with a desired amount of occlusal open space when the patient is at rest.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a vertical dimension of occlusion for the patient includes receiving an input from a gothic arch tracer.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a vertical dimension of occlusion for the patient includes:

acquiring a digital anterior facial image of the patient;

aligning the digital anterior facial image to the 3D digital model in the 3D digital coordinate system;

displaying the aligned anterior facial image in the 3D digital coordinate system; and

receiving a user input to indicate the vertical dimension of occlusion in the 3D digital coordinate system based on the displayed anterior facial image.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the aligning the digital anterior facial image to the 3D digital model of the patient includes scaling the digital anterior facial image in the 3D digital coordinate system.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the displaying the aligned anterior facial image includes:

generating a polygonal surface in the 3D digital coordinate system with the 3D digital model; and

displaying the digital anterior facial image on the polygon in the 3D digital coordinate system.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a vertical dimension of occlusion for the patient includes:

receiving audio data that is mapped to the motion data;

identifying a target portion of the audio; and

identifying a position of a mandibular dental arch in the motion data based on the identified target portion of the audio.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the identifying a target portion of the audio includes receiving a user input to identify the target portion.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the identifying a target portion of the audio includes using sound processing to automatically identify the target portion of the audio.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the motion data comprises simulated motion data for the patient.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the motion data comprises inferred motion data for the patient.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the motion data comprises actual motion data captured from the patient.

13. A system comprising:

a motion capture system that is configured to capture patient jaw motion and generates patient jaw motion data; and

a denture design system including at least one processor and at least one memory that is operably coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the denture design system to generate a three-dimensional (3D) digital denture design based on the patient jaw motion data by:

generating an occlusal guidance surface in a 3D digital coordinate system based on the patient jaw motion data represented in the 3D digital coordinate system, wherein the generating an occlusal guidance surface based on the patient jaw motion data includes sweeping an opposing geometric structure in the 3D digital coordinate system based on the motion data; and

positioning 3D digital denture library teeth in the 3D digital coordinate system based on the occlusal guidance surface.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the sweeping the opposing geometric structure includes positioning the opposing geometric structure in a plurality of positions in the 3D digital coordinate system with respect to a dental arch based on the motion data.

15. The system of claim 14 , further comprising joining the opposing geometric structure in the plurality of positions to form the occlusal guidance surface.

16. The system of claim 14 , further comprising:

generating an initial occlusal guidance structure in the 3D digital coordinate system; and

deforming the initial occlusal guidance structure in the 3D digital coordinate system based on the opposing geometric structure in the plurality of positions to form the occlusal guidance surface in the 3D digital coordinate system.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the opposing geometric structure is a surface in the 3D digital coordinate system representing the opposing dentition.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the opposing geometric structure is a polyline in the 3D digital coordinate system generated from a cross-section of the opposing dentition.

19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the opposing geometric structure is a midline polyline segment in the 3D digital coordinate system that extends in an anterior-posterior direction at a midline location.

20. The system of claim 13 , wherein the opposing geometric structure includes at least one denture library tooth.