DENTAL APPLIANCE WITH SIMULATED TEETH AND METHOD FOR MAKING
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A dental positioning device configured to provide an altered appearance to a patient'"'"'s teeth when worn by the patient, the device comprising:
- a removable orthodontic tooth positioning appliance having teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to the patient'"'"'s teeth, the appliance comprising an outer surface representing teeth in desired positions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to orthodontic positioning appliances that represent teeth in desired positions and related systems and methods. An appliance can include teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to a patient'"'"'s teeth. An appliance can include an outer component having a surface representing teeth in desired positions. An outer component can be integral with an appliance. An outer component can be separate and configured to couple with an appliance main body.
121 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A dental positioning device configured to provide an altered appearance to a patient'"'"'s teeth when worn by the patient, the device comprising:
a removable orthodontic tooth positioning appliance having teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to the patient'"'"'s teeth, the appliance comprising an outer surface representing teeth in desired positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for orthodontically treating a patient'"'"'s teeth, comprising:
a plurality of orthodontic tooth positioning appliances for a patient'"'"'s teeth, each appliance of the plurality having different teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition the patient'"'"'s teeth from a first arrangement to a successive arrangement, at least one appliance further comprising an outer surface representing teeth in desired positions. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of fabricating an orthodontic tooth positioning appliance with an improved appearance of a patients teeth, comprising:
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generating a first appliance portion having teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and apply a resilient positioning force to the patient'"'"'s teeth; and generating a second appliance portion having a surface representing teeth having a selected appearance, wherein the second portion is configured for coupling with an outer surface of the first portion so as to represent the patient'"'"'s teeth as having the selected appearance when the first portion and the second portion assembly is worn by the patient. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for digitally defining appliances for moving teeth, the appliances providing a desired appearance, comprising:
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receiving a digital representation of a patient'"'"'s teeth for each stage of treatment from an initial arrangement to a target arrangement; receiving a digital representation of teeth in a selected arrangement; creating a digital representation of an appliance main body for moving the patient'"'"'s teeth between each stage of treatment, each appliance main body having different teeth receiving cavity geometries shaped to receive and resiliently reposition the patient'"'"'s teeth between two stages of treatment; and modifying each appliance main body digital representation to create a digital representation of an appliance comprising an outer component having a surface representing teeth in the selected arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A kit for moving teeth that presents an appearance of teeth in desired positions comprising:
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two or more orthodontic tooth positioning appliances, each appliance having different teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition the patient'"'"'s teeth from a first arrangement to a successive arrangement; and an outer component having a surface representing teeth in desired positions, wherein the outer component couples with at least one of the appliances.
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Specification