Abstract: A method for treatment-based photo guidance may include receiving a treatment plan, determining the movement of a first one or more teeth based on the movement of tooth models in the treatment plan, and determining one or more photo views for capturing the movement of the first one or more teeth.

Abstract: A method for dental treatment may include receiving photos of a patient's dentition, gathering treatment parameters for at treatment plan. The treatment parameters may represent attributes of the treatment plan selected by a doctor for the patient's dentition of a patient. The method may include generating, using the photos and the treatment parameters, one or more intelligent guidance rules to guide application of at least a portion of the treatment parameters to the patient's dentition, generating instructions to apply the intelligent patient guidance rules to the patient's dentition, and providing the instructions to the patient to apply the at least a portion of the treatment plan in accordance with the intelligent patient guidance rules.

Abstract: Methods and systems for determining a dental treatment difficulty in digital treatment planning. The methods may include calculating tooth position changes from an initial dental model to a target dental model in a mouth quadrant of a patient's dentition. The changes in position may be determined by projecting distances between initial positions and subsequent positions of teeth onto an arch line of the initial dental model. A treatment difficulty of anterior-posterior (A-P) correction may be determined for the mouth quadrant based on an average change in position, wherein a greater average change in position is associated with a higher treatment difficulty of A-P correction. The digital treatment plan may be adjusted so that a provider skill level meets or exceeds the treatment difficulty of A-P correction.

Abstract: Patterned dental positioning appliances including a shell including one or more cavities shaped to receive and exert repositioning forces on one or more teeth of a subject's dentition. An inner surface of at least a portion of the one or more cavities may include a raised mesh pattern arranged to contact one or more teeth within the at least a portion of the one or more cavities. The raised mesh pattern may be arranged to impart a contact force that affects one or more of a direction, a duration and a magnitude of the repositioning forces exerted on the one or more teeth. The raised mesh pattern may be is integrally formed with the shell and is made of the same polymer material as the shell.

Abstract: A method for image-based orthodontic treatment may include receiving image data of a patient's dentition and an orthodontic appliance, identifying, from the image data, the orthodontic appliance, calculating a misalignment height of a misalignment of the orthodontic appliance with respect to the patient's dentition, determining whether the misalignment height satisfies a misalignment threshold, and in response to satisfying the misalignment threshold, providing a notification.

Abstract: Polymeric shell appliances are provided in which the polymeric shell appliances are configured to provide one or more activation forces to facilitate tooth movement. In many embodiments, the activation forces are arranged to provide force in a direction opposite to an intended direction of tooth movement. The polymeric shell appliances may comprise one or more tooth receiving cavities, in which each of the plurality of tooth receiving cavities is shaped and arranged to provide a counter moment of each of the plurality of teeth.

Abstract: Palatal expander apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate (“palatal expanders”) and methods of making them. The apparatuses may include a pair of tooth engagement regions connected by a palatal region. A detachment region on at least one of the tooth engagement regions may be defined by one or more first vertical cut-out regions extending from a bottom of a buccal side toward an occlusal side of the tooth engagement region. The buccal side may be more flexible than the occlusal side so that the detachment region flexes when a removal force to release the palatal expander apparatus from the patient's palate is applied to the detachment region.

Abstract: Dental appliances, materials, and methods of forming such appliances and materials for improved laser marking are provided herein including the use of a particulate material for enhancing laser marking.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for manufacturing a physical dental model. A virtual model is provided representative of at least a portion of the intra-oral cavity including at least one dental implant implanted therein, and the virtual model includes a virtual portion representative of each dental implant. The virtual spatial disposition of each such virtual portion is determined with respect to the virtual model, corresponding to a real spatial disposition of the respective implant with respect to the intra oral cavity. A physical model is then manufactured based on the virtual model, the physical model including a physical analog corresponding to each implant at a respective physical spatial disposition with respect to the physical model corresponding to the respective virtual spatial disposition of the respective virtual portion with respect to the first virtual model as already determined.

Abstract: An orthodontic appliance including a shell aligner having a portion accommodating movement of a patient's bracketed teeth between a first position and the second position as elicited by force from an orthodontic braces appliance worn by the patient, related systems and methods.

Abstract: Palatal expander apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate (“palatal expanders”) and methods of using and making them. The palatal expanders may include tooth engagement regions connected by a palatal region that is configured to apply force between the tooth engagement regions. At least a portion of the palatal region may be configured to have a clearance from the patient's mid-palatal region when the palatal expander is worn by the patient. The clearance between the palatal region and the patient's palate may decrease from the patient's mid-palatal region laterally toward the tooth engagement regions.

Abstract: The example systems, methods, and/or computer-readable media described herein help with design treatment plans for orthodontic treatments. Treatment templates expressed according to treatment domain-specific protocols may be processed to provide treatment planning software, including automated or real-time treatment planning software, that accommodates treatment preferences of a practitioner and/or patient data relevant to a treatment plan. These methods and systems may be also be useful for planning, designing and producing as series of dental appliances (e.g., aligners).

Abstract: Methods for treating a patient are provided. These methods may include receiving scan data of a patient's teeth, forming a modified image of the teeth to simulate a dental treatment, combining the modified image of the teeth with an image of the patient's face to show an image of the patient's smile as it would appear according to the dental treatment, displaying the modified image to the patient, and treating the patient according to the simulated dental treatment.

Abstract: A physical model of at least a portion of a patient's dentition has model dental surfaces corresponding to real dental surfaces of the patient's dentition. The physical model includes one or more targets, each configured for facilitating placement of an orthodontic appliance on the model at a desired location. The targets lack mechanical stops that are outwardly protruding from the original model dental surfaces. Also provided are a method of manufacturing a physical model for use in indirect bonding procedures, a method for indirect bonding for use in an orthodontic procedure, a method for providing an indirect bonding transfer tray for use in an orthodontic procedure, and a system for providing a physical model for use in indirect bonding orthodontic procedures.

Abstract: A system includes an intraoral scanner and a computing device. The intraoral scanner generates an intraoral scan of a dental site. The computing device processes an input comprising data from the intraoral scan using a trained machine learning model that has been trained to classify regions of dental sites, wherein the trained machine learning model generates an output comprising, for each point in the intraoral scan, an indication as to whether the point belongs to a first dental class that represents excess material. The computing device determines, based on the output, one or more points in the intraoral scan that are classified as excess material. The computing device then hides or removes, from at least one of the intraoral scan or a virtual three-dimensional (3D) model generated using the intraoral scan, data for the one or more points that are classified as excess material.

Abstract: Dental attachment placement apparatuses with one or more replacement attachment systems for providing one or more replacement dental attachments. The replacement attachment systems may include a body that is configured to orient and align the apparatus with respect to the teeth. The apparatus may include one or more primary dental attachments coupled to the body, where the body is configured to position the primary dental attachments adjacent to the teeth for bonding. The replacement system can be configured to replace the primary dental attachments and align replacement dental attachments with respect to the teeth.

Abstract: Systems and methods for improved visual prosthetic and orthodontic treatment planning are provided herein. In some aspects, a method for preparing a tooth of a patient is disclosed. The method may comprise building a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of the initial shape of tooth. The method may also include determining a final prepared shape of the tooth. In some aspects, the method may also include generating a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth. The method may also include rendering visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan. The visualizations may depict the removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth.

Abstract: Appliances for intraoral delivery of agents are provided. In some embodiments, an appliance includes a shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to apply a repositioning force to a patient's teeth, and the outer surface oriented away from the patient's teeth. The appliance can also include a reservoir integrally formed in the outer surface of the shell, the reservoir being configured to store at least one agent. The appliance can further include a membrane covering at least a portion of the reservoir to control release of the agent into an intraoral cavity of the patient. The membrane can include a plurality of pores that are configured to open based at least in part on a temperature of the patient's intraoral cavity to allow the at least one agent to pass therethrough.