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US-12616554-B2 - Customized temporary veneers and methods of providing the same

US12616554B2US 12616554 B2US12616554 B2US 12616554B2US-12616554-B2

Abstract

Customized temporary veneers that are configured to be temporarily installed in a customer's mouth and provide a desired oral appearance thereto. The customized temporary veneers include a veneer body configured to extend across at least a portion of a target region of the customer's mouth and including oral-facing and outward-facing surfaces. The oral-facing surface is configured support the customized temporary veneer relative to the target region by engagement with one or more vestibular surfaces within the target region. A plurality of oral features define at least a portion of the outward-facing surface and are configured to present the desired oral appearance. The methods may include obtaining a representation of the target region, selecting the plurality of oral features, and creating the customized temporary veneer, which includes forming the veneer body, shaping the oral-facing surface based on the representation, and providing the plurality of oral features to the outward-facing surface.

Inventors

  • Mark Coreil
  • Christopher C. Cosse

Assignees

  • TRION CONCEPTS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20211214

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method of providing a plurality of customized temporary veneers, the method comprising: obtaining a representation of a target region of a customer's mouth; selecting a plurality of oral features to be presented by the customized temporary veneer; creating the customized temporary veneer, wherein the creating comprises: forming a veneer body of the customized temporary veneer, wherein the veneer body is configured to extend across at least a portion of the target region of the customer's mouth; providing the plurality of oral features to an outward-facing surface of the veneer body, wherein the plurality of oral features collectively are configured to present a desired outward appearance in a vestibular direction of the target region of the customer's mouth; and based upon the representation of the target region of the customer's mouth, shaping an oral-facing surface of the veneer body to selectively engage one or more vestibular surfaces within the target region of the customer's mouth and to selectively support the customized temporary veneer relative to the target region by engagement with the one or more vestibular surfaces; wherein the shaping includes shaping the oral-facing surface of the veneer body to include one or more retention structure-engaging surfaces configured to engage and be anchored by a corresponding additive retention structure that projects from a corresponding vestibular surface within the target region of the customer's mouth; repeating the selecting to select a respective plurality of oral features to be presented by each customized temporary veneer of the plurality of customized temporary veneers; and repeating the creating to create the plurality of customized temporary veneers; wherein the respective plurality of oral features provided to each customized temporary veneer of the plurality of customized temporary veneers is different from the respective plurality of oral features provided to at least one other customized temporary veneer of the plurality of customized temporary veneers.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the shaping comprises shaping the oral-facing surface of the veneer body to selectively support the customized temporary veneer relative to the target region solely by engagement with the one or more vestibular surfaces, wherein the one or more vestibular surfaces are defined by both the additive retention structure and one or more teeth within the target region of the customer's dental arch.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the shaping includes shaping such that the veneer body fails to extend across any lingual surfaces of any teeth within the target region of the customer's mouth.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the shaping comprises shaping the oral-facing surface to contact less than 30% of an area of a lingual surface of any tooth within the customer's mouth.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the shaping comprises shaping the oral-facing surface to be non-contacting with an occlusal surface of any teeth within the customer's mouth.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising analyzing the representation of the target region of the customer's mouth, wherein the analyzing comprises determining a vestibular profile of the target region of the customer's mouth, wherein the vestibular profile includes vestibular surfaces of at least one tooth within the target region and vestibular surfaces of a natural gum within the target region, and further wherein the shaping comprises shaping the oral-facing surface to closely match the vestibular profile of the target region such that the oral-facing surface is positioned at most 1 millimeter from vestibular surfaces within the target region of the customer's mouth.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising analyzing the representation of the target region of the customer's mouth, wherein the analyzing comprises determining a dental arch span of the target region of the customer's mouth, wherein the dental arch span is measured transverse to a midline of the customer's mouth and between opposed vestibular surfaces of corresponding teeth positioned on either side of the midline, wherein the forming comprises forming the veneer body from a resilient material, wherein the oral-facing surface of the veneer body defines an interior arch span that corresponds to the dental arch span of the target region, and wherein the shaping comprises shaping the oral-facing surface of the veneer body such that the interior arch span thereof is less than the dental arch span of the target region.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving feedback from the customer about the customized temporary veneer, wherein the receiving feedback comprises at least one of: receiving, from the customer, one or more desired oral features selected from the plurality of oral features presented by the customized temporary veneer; receiving, from the customer, one or more undesired oral features selected from the plurality of oral features presented by the customized temporary veneer; and receiving, from the customer, feedback regarding a conformation of the customized temporary veneer.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the receiving feedback is responsive to the customer wearing the customized temporary veneer.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising creating a permanent veneer design based on the feedback, wherein the permanent veneer design comprises a permanent veneer outward appearance, and wherein the permanent veneer outward appearance at least one of: comprises the one or more desired oral features; and is free from the one or more undesired oral features.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising installing a permanent veneer in the customer's mouth, wherein the permanent veneer comprises the permanent veneer design.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of oral features comprises a plurality of individual veneers, and wherein the providing the plurality of oral features comprises providing the plurality of individual veneers to the customized temporary veneer.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of oral features further comprises at least one of a selected veneer texture of the plurality of individual veneers and a selected veneer color of the plurality of individual veneers, and wherein the providing the plurality of oral features includes applying the at least one of the selected veneer texture and the selected veneer color to the plurality of individual veneers.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of oral features includes a custom gum structure, and wherein the providing the plurality of oral features comprises providing the custom gum structure to the customized temporary veneer.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of oral features further includes at least one of a selected gum color of the custom gum structure and a selected gum texture of the custom gum structure, and wherein the providing the plurality of oral features further includes applying the at least one of the selected gum texture and the selected gum color to the custom gum structure.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving feedback from the customer on the plurality of customized temporary veneers, wherein the receiving feedback comprises receiving a preferred customized temporary veneer selected from the plurality of customized temporary veneers.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising creating a permanent veneer design based on the preferred customized temporary veneer of the plurality of customized temporary veneers, wherein the permanent veneer design comprises a permanent veneer outward appearance, and wherein the permanent veneer outward appearance comprises at least one oral feature of the respective plurality of oral features presented by the preferred customized temporary veneer.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the customized temporary veneer is configured to be selectively and repeatedly engaged with and disengaged from the one or more vestibular surfaces without damage or destruction to the customized temporary veneer or the one or more vestibular surfaces.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more retention structure-engaging surfaces are configured to engage and be anchored by the corresponding additive retention structure, and wherein the corresponding additive retention structure includes a protrusion that projects from the corresponding vestibular surface within the target region of the customer's mouth, and wherein the one or more retention structure-engaging surfaces include one or more of a slot, a groove, a recess, or a sleeve configured to selectively receive and engage the protrusion.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more retention structure-engaging surfaces are configured to engage and be anchored by the corresponding additive retention structure, and wherein the method further comprises forming the corresponding additive retention structure on the corresponding vestibular surface within the target region of the customer's mouth.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to customized temporary veneers and methods of providing the same. BACKGROUND A study commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists found that over one third of American adults are unhappy with the appearance of their teeth, and of this group, thirty-six percent believe they would have a better social life if they had better teeth. Dental veneers are one approach to improving the appearance of an individual's teeth. Generally speaking, dental veneers are tooth-like shells that are attached to the front surface of an individual's existing teeth. Each dental veneer may cover and obscure an existing tooth and is designed to replace the appearance of the existing tooth with an ideal tooth appearance. Dental veneers typically are bonded to the individual's existing teeth using permanent adhesives, and a customer's existing teeth often must be “prepped” before the dental veneers are attached. This prepping can involve permanent modifications to the existing teeth, such as grinding down or adding grooves to the existing tooth structures to alter the existing teeth to facilitate a strong and secure bond with the veneers. Currently, an individual seeking dental veneers is provided with a digital or a “wax up” model of their veneer-modified teeth, which they are not able to physically wear in their mouth. In this way, the current dental veneer installation process requires individuals to make permanent decisions about their teeth with limited knowledge about the outcome. Thus, a need exists for improved customized temporary veneers and/or methods of providing customized temporary veneers, with such veneers and methods allowing an individual to improve their oral appearance without making permanent decisions and/or to try out veneer appearances before making permanent decisions. SUMMARY Customized temporary veneers and methods of providing customized temporary veneers are disclosed herein. The customized temporary veneers are configured to be temporarily installed in a customer's mouth and provide a desired oral appearance to the customer's mouth. The customized temporary veneers include a veneer body configured to extend across at least a portion of a target region of the customer's mouth. The veneer body includes an oral-facing surface and an outward-facing surface opposed to the oral-facing surface. The oral-facing surface is configured to engage one or more vestibular surfaces within the target region and to selectively support the customized temporary veneers relative to the target region by engagement with the one or more vestibular surfaces. The customized temporary veneers further include a plurality of oral features defining at least a portion of the outward-facing surface of the veneer body and collectively configured to present the desired oral appearance in a vestibular direction of the target region when the customized temporary veneer is installed in the customer's mouth. The methods include obtaining a representation of the target region, selecting the plurality of oral features to be presented by the customized temporary veneer, and creating the customized temporary veneer. Creating the customized temporary veneer may include forming the veneer body, shaping the oral-facing surface of the veneer body based on the representation of the target region, and providing the plurality of oral features to the outward-facing surface of the veneer body. The methods may include forming a plurality of customized temporary veneers. In such methods, the selecting may include selecting a respective plurality of oral features to be presented by each customized temporary veneer, the creating may include creating the plurality of customized temporary veneers, and the providing may include providing the respective plurality of oral features to each customized temporary veneer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of examples of a target region of a customer's mouth. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating examples of customized temporary veneers, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic elevation view illustrating examples of customized temporary veneers, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view representing examples of customized temporary veneers installed in the example target regions of FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a less-schematic illustration of examples of customized temporary veneers installed in a customer's mouth, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a less-schematic illustration an oral-facing surface of the examples of customized temporary veneers of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a less schematic bottom plan view showing the examples of customized temporary veneers of FIG. 5 installed in a customer's mouth. FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically representing examples of methods of providing customized temporary veneer(s), according to the present disclosure.