Granted Patent B2

US 12,207,980 · App. 17/664,604 · Granted Jan 28, 2025

Inventor: Avi Kopelman (Palo Alto, CA)

Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.

A61C13/0004A61C8/0001

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. A non-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions that when executed carry out a method, the method comprising:

generating a first virtual model of a dental structure of a patient from three-dimensional scan data, the first virtual model including a portion associated with soft dental surfaces, a portion associated with hard dental surfaces, and a location of a restorative object;

identifying a first virtual surface of the first virtual model corresponding to a first portion of the soft dental surfaces that surrounds the location of the restorative object;

separating the identified first virtual surface of the soft dental surfaces from at least the portion associated with hard dental surfaces of the first virtual model to create a second virtual model of a soft model part of the identified first virtual surface of the soft dental surfaces and a third virtual model of a hard model part separated from the identified first virtual surface;

defining a second virtual surface of the first virtual model by defining a plane in a selected orientation and displaced a first distance in an apical direction from the first virtual surface of the first virtual model; and

defining a third virtual surface of the second virtual model by defining a plane in the selected orientation and displaced a second distance, greater than the first distance, in the apical direction from the first virtual surface of the first virtual model; and

outputting a composite model including the second virtual model and the third virtual model, the composite model including a first model part of a soft material and a second model part of a hard material, the first model part corresponding to a shape of the second virtual model and the second model part corresponding to a shape of the third virtual model.

2. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the second virtual model part has at least one physical property different from a physical property of the third virtual model part.

3. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 2 , wherein the physical property is a mechanical property.

4. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 2 , wherein the physical property is chosen from texture, resilience, color, and softness.

5. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual model part includes a second surface displaced in an apical direction a first distance from the first surface of the first model part.

6. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 5 , wherein the second virtual model part includes a third surface displaced a second distance greater than the first distance, in the apical direction from the first surface of the first model.

7. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 5 , wherein the first model part includes lateral surfaces that extend between the first surface and the second surface of the first model part.

8. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the second virtual model part and the third virtual model part abut each other.

9. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the second virtual model part and the third virtual model part include affixing features configured for enabling a first physical model part fabricated based on the first virtual model part to be affixed with respect to a second physical model part based on the third virtual model part in a relative spatial disposition therewith corresponding to the relative spatial disposition of the respective patient's dental structure.

10. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the first model part and the second model part are configured to be coupled together.

11. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

generating an interlocking mechanical arrangement that secures the first model part to the second model part in a spatial relationship according to the dental structure of the patient.

12. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 11 , wherein the interlocking mechanical arrangement comprises:

an aperture formed in one of the first model part or the second model part.

13. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 11 , wherein the interlocking mechanical arrangement comprises:

a projection formed in one of the first model part and the second model part.

14. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 11 , wherein the interlocking mechanical arrangement comprises:

an aperture formed in one of the first model part and the second model part and a projection formed in the other of the first model part and the second model part, the aperture and projection having complementary cross-sectional shapes.

15. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises generating a virtual analog socket structure shaped to receive a virtual analog structure along an insertion path entering in a coronal direction into the analog socket structure.

16. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15 , wherein the analog socket structure comprises a coronal portion, an apical portion, and a shoulder at an interface between the coronal portion and the apical portion.

17. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the coronal portion extends from the coronal opening to the shoulder and the apical portion extends from the virtual analog insertion opening to the shoulder, the shoulder being orientated away from the coronal opening and complementary to a face of the virtual analog structure.

Continuity (4)

References Cited (49)