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US-12616556-B2 - Methods for direct fabrication of appliances for palate expansion

US12616556B2US 12616556 B2US12616556 B2US 12616556B2US-12616556-B2

Abstract

Methods for fabricating orthodontic appliances for expansion of the palate of a patient are provided. Methods may comprise receiving scan data of a patient's upper arch and palate, determining an amount of force to expand the patient's palate in response to the scan data, determining a shape profile of an orthodontic appliance for engaging the patient's teeth, and determining one or more of a force-generating or a resilient structure to provide the force. Methods of generating instructions for and direct fabrication of the orthodontic appliance with the teeth engaging structure and the force generating or resilient structures are also provided.

Inventors

  • Chunhua Li
  • Avi Kopelman
  • Srinivas Kaza
  • Ryan Kimura
  • Yaser Shanjani

Assignees

  • ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20210311

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method, the method comprising: receiving scan data of an upper arch and a palate of a patient; receiving a selected rate of palatal expansion for the patient; determining an amount of force to expand the palate based on the scan data and the selected rate of palatal expansion; generating a 3D model of an orthodontic appliance configured to expand the palate of the patient, wherein the orthodontic appliance includes first and second teeth engaging regions configure to receive teeth of the patient and a transpalatal region extending between the first and second teeth engaging regions, and wherein the generating comprises: determining a structure of the first and second teeth engaging regions shaped to engage and deliver a force to the teeth of the patient; and determining a structure of the transpalatal region to provide the force based at least partially on a varying rigidity in the transpalatal region that comprises a first region of the transpalatal region having a different rigidity than a second region of the transpalatal region, wherein the transpalatal region comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and wherein a vertical height of the transpalatal region is determined to form a gap that inhibits contact of the top surface with a top of the palate of the patient when the orthodontic appliance is worn by the patient, and wherein a portion of the transpalatal region is shaped to engage and deliver a force directly to lateral sides of the palate of the patient, and wherein the amount of force to expand the palate comprises a first amount of force applied directly to the lateral sides of the palate and a second amount of force applied to the teeth of the patient; outputting, based on the 3D model, direct fabrication instructions to manufacture the orthodontic appliance with the first and second teeth engaging regions and the transpalatal region; and manufacturing the orthodontic appliance based on the direct fabrication instructions.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the structure of the first and second teeth engaging regions comprises determining a shape profile of the orthodontic appliance to inhibit contact between the transpalatal region and a top of the palate when worn.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transpalatal region comprises one or more of a spring, a leaf spring, a coil spring, or an elastic structure.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises outputting direct fabrication instructions to manufacture a plurality of directly fabricated orthodontic appliances configured to expand the palate in accordance with a predetermined palate expansion plan.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the direct fabrication instructions comprise instructions to manufacture the orthodontic appliance using an additive manufacturing process.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the additive manufacturing process comprises one or more of vat photopolymerization, material jetting, binder jetting, material extrusion, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, or directed energy deposition.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first region comprises a first layer of material and the second region comprises a second layer of material, wherein the first layer of material is more rigid than the second layer material.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first region is more rigid than the second region based at least partially upon a different swelling capacity than the second region when the appliance is placed in a mouth of the patient.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first region has a different rigidity than the second region based at least partially upon a different degree of polymeric crosslinking within the first region than within the second region.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the varying rigidity throughout at least a portion of the structure imparts a greater force on a first region of the palate than on a second region of the palate.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first region has a first thickness and the second region has a second thickness, a thickness dimension measured normal to an upper or lower surface of the transpalatal region, and wherein the first region has a different rigidity than the second region based at least partially upon the first thickness being different than the second thickness.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the force generating portion comprises a sintered plastic material, and size and shape profile arranged to increase a size of the palate and the teeth engaging portion comprises a sintered plastic material, and size and shape profile arranged to increase a size of the palate.
  13. 13 . A method for fabricating an orthodontic appliance, the method comprising: receiving, by a processor, scan data of an upper arch and a palate of a patient, wherein the scan data comprises a 3D model; receiving, by the processor, a selected rate of palatal expansion for the patient; determining, by the processor, an amount of force to expand the palate based on the scan data and the selected rate of palatal expansion; generating, by the processor, a 3D model of an orthodontic appliance configured to expand the palate of the patient, wherein the orthodontic appliance includes first and second teeth engaging regions configure to receive and deliver a force to teeth of the patient and a transpalatal region extending between the first and second teeth engaging regions, and wherein the generating comprises: determining, by the processor, a structure of the first and second teeth engaging regions; and determining, by the processor, a structure of the transpalatal region to provide the force based at least partially on a varying rigidity in the transpalatal region that comprises a first region of the transpalatal region having a different rigidity than a second region of the transpalatal region, wherein the transpalatal region comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and wherein a vertical height of the transpalatal region is determined to form a gap that inhibits contact of the top surface with a top of the palate of the patient when the orthodontic appliance is worn by the patient, and wherein a portion of the transpalatal region is shaped to engage and deliver a force directly to lateral sides of the palate of the patient, and wherein the amount of force to expand the palate comprises a first amount of force applied directly to the lateral sides of the palate and a second amount of force applied to the teeth of the patient; generating, by the processor, direct fabrication instructions based on the 3D model to manufacture the orthodontic appliance with the first and second teeth engaging regions and the transpalatal region; receiving, by a fabrication machine, the direct fabrication instructions; and directly manufacturing, by the fabrication machine, the orthodontic appliance according to the direct fabrication instructions.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein determining the structure of the first and second teeth engaging regions comprises determining a shape profile of the orthodontic appliance to inhibit contact between the transpalatal region and a top of the palate when worn.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the transpalatal region comprises one or more of a spring, a leaf spring, a coil spring, or an elastic structure.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises generating direct fabrication instructions to manufacture a plurality of directly fabricated orthodontic appliances configured to expand the palate in accordance with a predetermined palate expansion plan.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein directly manufacturing the orthodontic appliance comprises an additive manufacturing process, wherein the additive manufacturing process comprises one or more of vat photopolymerization, material jetting, binder jetting, material extrusion, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, or directed energy deposition.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the fabrication machine, curing parameters; and wherein directly manufacturing the orthodontic appliance comprises monitoring and adjusting the curing parameters during fabrication.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein directly manufacturing the orthodontic appliance comprises using multiple materials in an additive manufacturing process to provide an integrally formed orthodontic appliance.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first region comprises a first layer of material and the second region comprises a second layer of material, wherein the first layer of material is more rigid than the second layer material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,467, filed Jul. 5, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,271, filed Jul. 7, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,301, filed Jul. 7, 2015, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The subject matter of the following co-pending patent applications is related to the present application: U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,342 filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “MULTI-MATERIAL ALIGNERS,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,259, filed Jul. 7, 2015 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,282, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,472, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DIRECT FABRICATION OF ALIGNERS WITH INTERPROXIMAL FORCE COUPLING,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,263, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,452, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DIRECT FABRICATION OF ALIGNERS FOR ARCH EXPANSION,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,271, filed Jul. 7, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,301, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,348, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DIRECT FABRICATION OF ATTACHMENT TEMPLATES WITH ADHESIVE,” which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,259, filed Jul. 7, 2015 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,282, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,254, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “SYSTEMS, APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR DENTAL APPLIANCES WITH INTEGRALLY FORMED FEATURES,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,291, filed Jul. 7, 2015, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,312, filed Jul. 7, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,317, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,299, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DIRECT FABRICATION OF POWER ARMS,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,291, filed Jul. 7, 2015, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,312, filed Jul. 7, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,317, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,187, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DIRECT FABRICATION OF ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCES WITH VARIABLE PROPERTIES,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,291, filed Jul. 7, 2015, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,312, filed Jul. 7, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,317, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,139, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “SYSTEMS, APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR SUBSTANCE DELIVERY FROM DENTAL APPLIANCE,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,303, filed Jul. 7, 2015; U.S. application Ser. No. 15/201,958, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DENTAL MATERIALS USING THERMOSET POLYMERS,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,380, filed Jul. 7, 2015; and U.S. application Ser. No. 15/202,083, filed Jul. 5, 2016, entitled “DENTAL APPLIANCE HAVING ORNAMENTAL DESIGN,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/189,318, filed Jul. 7, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prior methods and apparatus of expanding a patient's palate can be less than ideal in at least some instances. Prior palate expanders can be somewhat uncomfortable to wear. Work in relation to embodiments suggests that the fit of prior palate expanders to the patient can be less than ideal, and that this less than ideal fit can result in discomfort and decreased compliance with treatment. Also, prior methods and apparatus for fabricating palate expanders can be somewhat more time consuming and cost more than would be ideal, such that fewer people can benefit from the use of palate expanders. Furthermore, prior palate expanders require inconvenient adjustment on a daily or weekly basis by patients. Additionally, some patients may have teeth arranged in a less than ideal manner, such that expansion of the arch with movement of the teeth can be helpful. Prior methods and apparatus for expanding a patient's arch can be less than ideal in at least some respects. Work in relation to embodiments suggests that the fit of prior arch expanders to the patient can be less than ideal, and that this less than ideal fit can result in discomfort and decreased compliance with treatment. Also, prior methods and apparatus for fabricating arch expanders can be somewhat more time consuming and cost more than would be ideal, such that fewer people can benefit from the use of arch expanders. In light of the above there is a need for an improved, patient specific palate expanders and arch expanders having a better fit with the mouth of the patient, and designed to meet the patient's specific needs, which can be readily manufactured. SUMMARY