Patents Assigned to Align Technology, Inc.
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Patent number: 12758418Abstract: An intraoral device for use in treating a sleep apnea condition may include an intraoral device body, a first advancement structure configured to be coupled to a first jaw of a patient, and an intraoral actuator coupled to the first advancement structure. The intraoral actuator may be configured to displace a lower jaw of the patient from a first position to a second position in order to treat the sleep apnea condition. Displacing the lower jaw of the patient may include advancing the lower jaw from the first position to the second position with the first intraoral actuator acting against the first advancement structure. The intraoral actuator may displace the lower jaw of the patient based at least in part on data from at least one sensor.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 2024Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventor: Avi Kopelman
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Patent number: 12758360Abstract: Generating a virtual filer for design of an orthodontic aligner includes inserting the virtual filer in a virtual model of a dental site between at least two naturally adjacent teeth in the virtual model, transforming points of the virtual filer into a voxel volume, and determining a geometry of an updated virtual filer by transforming a surface of the voxel volume into a polygonal mesh.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 2024Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Israel Velazquez, Andrey Cherkas, Stephan Albert Alexandre Dumothier, Anatoliy Parpara, Alexey Geraskin, Yury Slynko, Danila Chesnokov
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Patent number: 12760134Abstract: Disclosed herein are curable compositions containing a plurality of polymerizable monomers comprising at least 80 wt % of a crosslinker for additive manufacturing. The curable compositions comprise high-crosslinker content, and yield tough, lightweight polymeric materials suitable for dental appliances, including but not limited to aligners, attachment placement devices, incremental palatal expanders, dentures, crowns, etc.Type: GrantFiled: July 6, 2023Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Matthew Durban, John Michael Riedesel, Peter Dorfinger, Yan Chen
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Patent number: 12758091Abstract: An intraoral scanning system comprises an intraoral scanner and a base unit comprising a computing device and a cradle for the intraoral scanner. Responsive to placement of the intraoral scanner into the cradle, the intraoral scanner causes the base unit to wirelessly broadcast a unique identifier according to a first wireless communication protocol and receives the unique identifier. The intraoral scanner uses the unique identifier to establish a wireless connection with the base unit according to a second wireless communication protocol.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2024Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Edi Fridman, Moshe Alboher
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Patent number: 12758363Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for orthodontic treatment planning, including determining whether and how to activate existing attachments for use in secondary treatment. In some cases, activation may be by the dental appliance rather than through the attachment object. The secondary treatment may be needed to further treat the patient's teeth. The existing attachments may have been used as part of a previous treatment plan. A scan of the patient's teeth with the attachments is used as a basis to determine whether the existing attachments have a suitable shape and/or other characteristics for activation. If one or more of the existing attachments is determined to be suitable for activation, a secondary treatment plan can be generated based on activation of the existing attachments.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2025Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Mitra Derakhshan, Jun Sato, Crystal Tjhia, Bastien Pesenti, Jessica H. Schiltz, Palak Mittal
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Patent number: 12758366Abstract: Systems, methods, devices and apparatus for mandibular advancement or retraction via bone anchoring devices are described herein. In various aspects, an apparatus for treating a patient via mandibular advancement or retraction comprises a plurality of anchoring devices positioned in the patient's intraoral cavity. Each of the plurality of anchoring devices can be positioned in bone of the patient's upper jaw or bone of the patient's lower jaw. One or more connecting structures can be removably coupled to and extend between the plurality of anchoring devices in order to displace the lower jaw anteriorly or posteriorly relative to the upper jaw.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2025Date of Patent: October 13, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventor: Allen R. Boronkay
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Patent number: 12752487Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for additive manufacturing are provided. In some embodiments, an assembly for supporting 3D objects during an additive manufacturing process is provided. The assembly can include a plurality of build platforms, each build platform configured to support one or more 3D objects during the additive manufacturing process. The assembly can also include a carrier configured to support the plurality of build platforms. The assembly can further include an attachment mechanism configured to releasably couple the plurality of build platforms to the carrier during the additive manufacturing process such that the plurality of build platforms collectively form a build plane having a vertical deviation no greater than 500 ?m.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2025Date of Patent: October 6, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Thomas Förster-Romswinckel, Robert Gmeiner, Otmar Martl, Oliver Kesel, Bernhard Busetti, Markus Kury, Michael Christopher Cole, Peter Dorfinger, Shawn Stromenger, Viswanath Meenakshisundaram, Lance Robert Pickens, Mario Pavic, Kaimir Bekavac
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Patent number: 12740712Abstract: A system for treating food traps may include an intraoral scanner and a processor coupled in electronic communication with the intraoral scanner, a processor, and memory comprising instructions that when executed by the processor cause the system to carry out a method. The method may include receiving a 3D digital model of a patient's detention and analyzing the 3D digital model of the patient's detention by detecting anatomic structures in the 3D digital model of the patient's detention that correspond to food traps. The 3D digital model of the patient's detention may be displayed on a display and digital feedback may be provided on the displayed 3D digital model of the patient's detention. The feedback may identify a location of the food traps.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 2024Date of Patent: September 22, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Avi Kopelman, Zelko Relic, Mitra Derakhshan
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Patent number: 12740849Abstract: Removable polymer shell appliances. An appliance may include first and second tooth engagement regions including corresponding first and second sets of teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive a patient's teeth on respective left and right sides of the patient. The appliance may include an arch region shaped to expand a dental arch of the patient according to a stage of a treatment plan. The arch region may extend between the first and second tooth engagement regions. The arch region may include one or more raised portions extending transversely across the arch region to reinforce the arch region in a transverse direction. The arch region and the first and second tooth engagement regions may be formed of the same material. The arch region may be offset in a vertical direction to form a gap between the arch region and a patent's palate when the appliance is worn over the patient's teeth.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2025Date of Patent: September 22, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Avi Kopelman, Shiva Sambu, Rene M. Sterental, Eric Kuo, Mauricio De Alencar Casa
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Patent number: 12734613Abstract: A method includes: identifying marking parameters associated with performance of dental appliance etching; includes identifying a first segment of marking data to be etched onto a dental appliance; causing, via dental appliance marking equipment based on the marking parameters, etching of the first segment on the dental appliance; capturing image data associated with the etching of the first segment; and causing the marking parameters to be updated based on the image data. A method includes: subsequent to dental appliances being simultaneously thermoformed via a thermoforming system in a single batch, determining dental appliance data and laser tool data; determining, based on the dental appliance data and the laser tool data, global plan data for performing laser operations of the dental appliances via laser tools; and causing, based on the global plan data via the laser tools, the laser operations of the dental appliances.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2024Date of Patent: September 15, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Javier Antonio García Ramírez, Alan Gerardo Martinez Reyes, Miriam Sarahi Esquivel Salas, Ismael Núñez Garcia, Rene David Alfaro, Shiva P. Sambu, Luiyi Morales Vargas, Fidel Castro Hernandez, Mario Alfonso Rito Martinez
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Patent number: 12734019Abstract: A method for dental treatment may include receiving a plurality of images of a patient's dentition, identifying, from the plurality of images, individual teeth of the patient's dentition, detecting, from the plurality of images, one or more attachments on the patient's dentition, assigning, based on each of the plurality of images, each of the one or more attachments to one of the individual teeth in each image, and combining the assignments of each of the plurality of images for attachment detection results.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 2023Date of Patent: September 15, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Christopher E. Cramer, Chad Clayton Brown, Guotu Li
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Patent number: 12735380Abstract: The present disclosure provides polymerizable monomers which may be used as reactive diluents in additive manufacturing. The polymerizable monomers may have low vapor pressures and may be compatible with a range of low glass transition temperature oligomers.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2022Date of Patent: September 15, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Umesh Upendra Choudhary, Jessica Kalay Su
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Publication number: 20260262928Abstract: A system may include one or more processors and memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the system to receive a first dental image depicting a patient's teeth in a first view and crop the first dental image. The system may generate a score of overall image quality for the cropped first dental image using a trained neural network. The trained neural network may be trained using a plurality of ranked sub-sets of dental images and a loss function may be configured to preserve a relative ranking order of the ranked sub-sets of dental images. The sub-sets of dental images may be ranked based on perceived overall image quality. The system may determine that the score is below a threshold and request, based on the determination, a second dental image depicting the patient's teeth in the first view.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 24, 2026Publication date: September 10, 2026Applicant: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.Inventors: Guotu LI, Chao SHI, Chad Clayton BROWN, Christopher E. CRAMER, Phillip Thomas HARRIS, Adam SILL, Will NEVILLE, Ritvik BANSAL
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Patent number: 12727972Abstract: Methods of forming dental appliances. A virtual arch element may be formed using a virtual dental arch of a patient. The virtual arch element may be wider than an arch width across the virtual dental arch. One or more virtual tooth engagement structures connected to the virtual arch element may be formed. The virtual tooth engagement structure(s) may be configured to engage with teeth on opposing sides of the virtual dental arch. The virtual arch element may extend from a lingual side of the virtual tooth engagement structure(s) so that, when the virtual tooth engagement structure(s) are engaged with the teeth, the virtual arch element spans across the palate and the virtual arch element and the virtual tooth engagement structure(s) applies a virtual force on the teeth on opposing sides of the virtual dental arch in accordance with a stage of a treatment plan.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2023Date of Patent: September 8, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Ryan Kimura, John Morton, Richard Shaw, Chunhua Li
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Patent number: 12731673Abstract: The present technology provides solutions for anonymizing patient data and in particular, for anonymizing potentially unique patient-identifying information while retaining clinically relevant information, for example, that can be used to illustrate the results or outcomes of a clinical intervention. In some aspects, a process of the disclosed technology can include steps for receiving patient data, wherein the patient data comprises a patient image corresponding with a patient, receiving treatment data, wherein the treatment data is based on a treatment goal for the patient, automatically determining, using one or more semantic controls, one or more anonymization parameters for the patient image; and generating, based on the one or more anonymization parameters, an anonymized patient image. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2023Date of Patent: September 8, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Eric P. Meyer, Christopher E. Cramer, Doruk Cetin, Niko Benjamin Huber, Chad Clayton Brown
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Patent number: 12731263Abstract: A system includes an intraoral scanner and a computing device. The intraoral scanner generates intraoral scans of a dental site. The computing device processes the intraoral scans using a trained machine learning model to classify points of the intraoral scans into first points having a first dental class and second points having a second dental class; generates a 3D model of the dental site from the intraoral scans; determines first points of the 3D model having the first dental class based on the first points of the intraoral scans and second points of the virtual 3D model having the second dental class based on the second points of the intraoral scans; and removes data for a plurality of the first points of the virtual 3D model having the first dental class to generate a modified virtual 3D model.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2024Date of Patent: September 8, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Mikhail Minchenkov, Ran Katz, Pavel Agniashvili, Chad Clayton Brown, Jonathan Coslovsky
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Patent number: 12721700Abstract: Systems and methods for adjusting an arch of teeth. An upper dental appliance may include an arch element that is wider than a width of a patient's upper arch such that, when the patient wears the upper dental appliance. The upper dental appliance may apply a transverse expansion force on opposing posterior teeth of the patient's upper arch for widening the width of the patient's upper arch. A lower dental appliance may include a shell having cavities that are shaped to receive teeth of the patient's lower arch. The shell may be shaped to apply a force to reposition one or more of the teeth of the patient's lower arch from a first arrangement toward a second arrangement in accordance with a stage of a treatment plan.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2023Date of Patent: September 1, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Ryan Kimura, John Morton, Richard Shaw, Chunhua Li
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Patent number: 12714541Abstract: Provided herein are systems and methods for determining hook and or positioning feature placements during dental treatment planning. A patient's dentition may be scanned and/or segmented. A target tooth may be identified. Hook and or positioning feature placement may be determined based on satisfying manufacturing and clinical constraints. The hook or positioning features can be input into a dental treatment planning system.Type: GrantFiled: May 31, 2023Date of Patent: August 25, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Svetlana Makarenkova, Mikhail Yudashkin, Andrey Cherkas, Kristina Anikina, Viktor Sazhaev
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Patent number: 12714539Abstract: A system for generating a treatment plan for repositioning a plurality of teeth comprises instructions to receive a digital data set representing the plurality of teeth, and determine a movement trajectory for repositioning, each tooth from an initial position and orientation towards a target position and orientation. The movement trajectory of at least one tooth comprises movement along a plurality of different directions. A movement velocity is determined for repositioning each tooth along the corresponding movement trajectory. The movement velocity is determined independently for each tooth, and the movement velocity for the at least one tooth is determined independently for each direction.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2017Date of Patent: August 25, 2026Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: John Morton, James Nishimuta
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Patent number: 12714540Abstract: A method for treating malocclusions of a patient's teeth is disclosed. The method includes receiving an initial position of a patient's teeth and a target position of the patient's teeth. The method also includes determining a treatment plan to reposition the patient's teeth towards the target position. The method also includes receiving treatment strategies for the patient's teeth based at least in part of the treatment plan and matching the initial position of the patient's teeth, the target position of a patient's teeth, and the treatment strategies for the patient's teeth with initial positions, target positions, and treatment strategies of a plurality of existing cases. The method also includes sending the matched cases to a dental practitioner including matched educational assets.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2021Date of Patent: August 25, 2026Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.Inventors: Mitra Derakhshan, Sophie Acker, Susanne Reichart