SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING AN OBJECTIVE DENTAL HEALTH ANALYSIS

• US 20160220196A1
• Filed: 02/04/2015
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Francis J. Stapleton
• Original Assignee: Francis J. Stapleton
• Inventors: Stapleton, Francis J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,833,198 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1111 Detecting tooth mobility
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4547 Evaluating teeth
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence

Abstract

Implementations for obtaining objective measurements related to a patient'"'"'s dental condition and reporting a patient'"'"'s dental health based on these objective measurements are described herein. One or more of implementations can be used to provide an objective standard by which a patient'"'"'s dental health can be evaluated. In some implementations, one or more numerical scores can be generated for a patient, where each score describes a different aspect of the patient'"'"'s dental health. In some cases, a single dental health score can be generated to represent the patient'"'"'s overall dental health. In some cases, dentists can use these implementations to improve the consistency and impartiality of their medical opinions, and to communicate more efficiently and effectively with others (e.g., other dentists, administrators, and patients).

Claims

1. A method of assessing a patient'"'"'s dental health, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, for each location of a plurality of tooth locations, a corresponding first set of data and a corresponding second set of data, wherein the first set of data indicates a physical condition of a tooth at the location, and wherein the second set of data indicates at least one physical parameter of the tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, for each location of the plurality of tooth locations, a first score based on the corresponding first set of data, wherein the first score indicates a hard tissue health of a tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, a first aggregate score based on at least one or more of the first scores, wherein the first aggregate score indicates a hard tissue health of the patient;

determining, by the processor, for each location of the plurality of tooth locations, a second score based on the corresponding second set of data, wherein the second score indicates a periodontal health associated with a tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, a second aggregate score based at least in part on one or more of the second scores, wherein the second aggregate score indicates a periodontal health of the patient;

determining, by the processor, a dental health score based on the first aggregate score and the second aggregate score, wherein the dental health score indicates an overall dental health of the patient; and

outputting the dental health score to a display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each first set of data comprises a parameter specifying a number of surfaces of the tooth at the corresponding location that are damaged or missing;

and

wherein determining each first score is based on the number of surfaces of the tooth at the corresponding location that are damaged or missing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first aggregate score comprises:

summing, by the processor, the first scores;

selecting, by the processor, a particular hard tissue health category from among a plurality of hard tissue health categories based on the sum of the first scores; and

determining, by the processor, the first aggregate score based on the selected hard tissue health category.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each second set of data comprises:

an average crown length of the tooth at the corresponding location, an average root length of the tooth at the corresponding location, a gingival attachment length of the tooth at the corresponding location, a root tip length of the tooth at the corresponding location, and a combined attachment loss of the tooth at the corresponding location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits bleeding upon probing; and

upon receiving the indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits bleeding upon probing, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits suppuration; and

upon receiving the indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits suppuration, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a degree of mobility of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the degree of mobility of the tooth at the corresponding location, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a degree of furcation involvement of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the degree of furcation involvement of the tooth at the corresponding location, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location, determining a modifier score based on the root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location and modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by the modifier score.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the second aggregate score comprises:

determining, by the processor, an average of the second scores for each region of a plurality of regions of a patient'"'"'s mouth, wherein each average of the second scores corresponds to teeth of a different respective region;

selecting, by the processor, a particular periodontal health category from among a plurality of periodontal health categories based on the averages of the second scores; and

determining, by the processor, the second aggregate score based on the selected periodontal health category.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the dental health score comprises adding, by the processor, the first aggregate score and the second aggregate score.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the processor, a course of treatment for the patient based at least in part on the dental health score.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising outputting to a display the determined course of treatment as a recommended course of treatment.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically generating, by the processor, a narrative describing the dental health of the patient based on the dental health score; and

outputting the narrative to a display device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein automatically generating the narrative comprises:

obtaining, by the processor, a plurality of narrative templates, each corresponding to a different dental health condition; and

automatically selecting, by the processor, at least one of the narrative templates based on the dental health score.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors causes:

receiving, at the processor, for each location of a plurality of tooth locations, a corresponding first set of data and a corresponding second set of data, wherein the first set of data indicates a physical condition of a tooth at the location, and wherein the second set of data indicates at least one physical parameter of the tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, for each location of the plurality of tooth locations, a first score based on the corresponding first set of data, wherein the first score indicates a hard tissue health of a tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, a first aggregate score based on at least one or more of the first scores, wherein the first aggregate score indicates a hard tissue health of the patient;

determining, by the processor, for each location of the plurality of tooth locations, a second score based on the corresponding second set of data, wherein the second score indicates a periodontal health associated with a tooth at the location;

determining, by the processor, a second aggregate score based at least in part on one or more of the second scores, wherein the second aggregate score indicates an periodontal health of the patient;

determining, by the processor, a dental health score based on the first aggregate score and the second aggregate score, wherein the dental health score indicates an overall dental health of the patient; and

outputting the dental health score to a display device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein each first set of data comprises a parameter specifying a number of surfaces of the tooth at the corresponding location that are damaged or missing;

and

wherein determining each first score is based on the number of surfaces of the tooth at the corresponding location that are damaged or missing.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining the first aggregate score comprises:

summing, by the processor, the first scores;

selecting, by the processor, a particular hard tissue health category from among a plurality of hard tissue health categories based on the sum of the first scores; and

determining, by the processor, the first aggregate score based on the selected hard tissue health category.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein each second set of data comprises:

an average crown length of the tooth at the corresponding location, an average root length of the tooth at the corresponding location, a gingival attachment length of the tooth at the corresponding location, a root tip length of the tooth at the corresponding location, and a combined attachment loss of the tooth at the corresponding location.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits bleeding upon probing; and

upon receiving the indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits bleeding upon probing, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a degree of mobility of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the degree of mobility of the tooth at the corresponding location, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a degree of furcation involvement of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the degree of furcation involvement of the tooth at the corresponding location, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication of a root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location; and

upon receiving the indication of the root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location, determining a modifier score based on the root to crown ratio of the tooth at the corresponding location and modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by the modifier score.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining the second aggregate score comprises:

determining, by the processor, an average of the second scores for each region of a plurality of regions of a patient'"'"'s mouth, wherein each average of the second scores corresponds to teeth of a different respective region;

selecting, by the processor, a particular periodontal health category from among a plurality of periodontal health categories based on the averages of the second scores; and

determining, by the processor, the second aggregate score based on the selected periodontal health category.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining the dental health score comprises adding, by the processor, the first aggregate score and the second aggregate score.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors further causes:

determining, by the processor, a course of treatment for the patient based at least in part on the dental health score.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors further causes:

automatically generating, by the processor, a narrative describing the dental health of the patient based on the dental health score; and

outputting the narrative to a display device.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein automatically generating the narrative comprises:

obtaining, by the processor, a plurality of narrative templates, each corresponding to a different dental health condition; and

automatically selecting, by the processor, at least one of the narrative templates based on the dental health score.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of 16, wherein determining each second score further comprises:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits suppuration; and

upon receiving the indication that the tooth at the corresponding location exhibits suppuration, modifying the second score by the processor, wherein modifying the second score comprises reducing the second score by a pre-determined value.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of 27, further comprising outputting to a display the determined course of treatment as a recommended course of treatment.