Abstract: A series of appliances including a first shell and a second shell can be designed to incrementally implement a treatment plan. The first and second shells can have cavities designed to receive teeth of a jaw. The first shell can be designed to interface with a first surface of a plurality of surfaces of an attachment structure to provide a first engagement force specific to a first stage of the treatment plan. The second shell can be designed to interface with a second surface of the plurality of surfaces of the attachment structure attached to the at least one tooth of the first jaw to provide a second engagement force specific to a second stage of the treatment plan.

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, methods, and devices for improved orthodontic treatment of a patient's teeth are provided herein. In some aspects, a method for fabricating an orthodontic appliance for treating a patient's teeth is disclosed. The method may comprise determining a movement path to move a tooth from an initial arrangement towards a target arrangement; determining a force system to move the tooth along the movement path; determining a variable gable bend to produce the force system; determining a geometry for a tooth receiving cavity of the appliance based on the variable gable bend; and generating instructions for fabricating the appliance having a tooth receiving cavity formed according to the geometry for the tooth receiving cavity.

Abstract: Dental apparatuses, such as palatal expanders, and methods of forming them. The dental apparatuses may have multiple regions having different physical characteristics for performing different functions when worn by a patient as part of a dental treatment. The different regions may be made of different materials, or different combinations of materials, based on rigidity, flexibility and/or other physical characteristics. For palatal expanders, the different regions can include a tooth engagement region adapted to engage with the patient's teeth and a palatal region adapted to exert an expansion force across the patient's palate. The different regions may be joined together by a junction or a transition region configured to sufficiently hold adjacent regions together during use.

Abstract: Dental apparatuses, such as palatal expanders and aligners, and methods of forming them. The dental apparatuses may formed by printing different regions of the device with different properties, including hybrid regions formed between adjacent regions having different physical characteristics for performing different functions when worn by a patient as part of a dental treatment. The different regions may be joined together by a transition region configured to hold adjacent regions together during use and provide advantageous properties.

Abstract: Dental apparatuses, such as palatal expanders, attachment templates, mandibular repositioning aligners, and a variable property aligners, and methods of forming them. The dental apparatuses may have multiple regions having different physical characteristics for performing different functions when worn by a patient as part of a dental treatment. The different regions may be made of different materials, or different combinations of materials, based on rigidity, flexibility and/or other physical characteristics. The different regions may be joined together by a junction region configured to sufficiently hold adjacent regions together during use.

Abstract: Computer-implemented methods and systems for designing oral appliances. These methods and systems may include receiving patient data and a treatment plan (including a proposed one or more dental appliances), and determining, using the patient data and the treatment plan, an improved appliance design for treating the patient. These methods and systems may include evaluating the appliance design based on simulation and finalizing the appliance design based on the evaluation.

Abstract: A system for correcting class III malocclusions is disclosed. The system may include a maxilla appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of the maxilla and a first coupling for receiving an elastic. The system may also include a mandibular appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of the mandible. In some embodiments, the system includes a class III corrective appliance having a first mount shaped to engage with the mandibular arch of the patient and having a second coupling shaped to receive the elastic.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental attachment placement structure. One dental attachment placement apparatus includes a body having an attachment placement surface that is to be placed on an attachment affixing surface of a tooth and wherein the attachment placement surface includes a portion that is shaped to allow placement of an attachment at a particular position on the affixing surface of the tooth and a portion of the body having a contour that is shaped to correspond with a contour of an alignment surface of a tooth and when the contour of the body and the corresponding contour is aligned, the attachment is located at the particular position and can be secured to the affixing surface of the tooth.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for improved orthodontic treatment of a patient's teeth are provided herein. In some aspects, a method for fabricating an orthodontic appliance for treating a patient's teeth is disclosed. The method may comprise determining a movement path to move a tooth from an initial arrangement towards a target arrangement; determining a force system to move the tooth along the movement path; determining a variable gable bend to produce the force system; determining a geometry for a tooth receiving cavity of the appliance based on the variable gable bend; and generating instructions for fabricating the appliance having a tooth receiving cavity formed according to the geometry for the tooth receiving cavity.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental attachment placement structure. One dental attachment placement apparatus includes a body having an attachment placement surface that is to be placed on an attachment affixing surface of a tooth and wherein the attachment placement surface includes a portion that is shaped to allow placement of an attachment at a particular position on the affixing surface of the tooth and a portion of the body having a contour that is shaped to correspond with a contour of an alignment surface of a tooth and when the contour of the body and the corresponding contour is aligned, the attachment is located at the particular position and can be secured to the affixing surface of the tooth.

Abstract: An orthodontic aligner includes a first plastic segment having a first shape that fits over a first portion of a dental arch of a patient, a second plastic segment having a second shape that fits over a second portion of the dental arch of the patient, and a connector that joins the first plastic segment to the second plastic segment. The connector is configured to be disposed along a lingual side of one or more additional teeth of the patient without exerting a clinically significant force on the one or more additional teeth. The connector spans a gap between the first plastic segment and the second plastic segment, the gap corresponding to the one or more additional teeth that are not to receive the clinically significant force. The connector includes a flexible material that will perform at least one of flex, move or change shape responsive to applied forces.

Abstract: A dental attachment placement device comprises a plurality of registration elements shaped for placement on a plurality of teeth and one or more flexible arms for biasing the registration element to a tooth. A first a first flexible arm may extend from a registration element on a lingual side. The first flexible arm may have a connected end and a distal end. The distal end may be configured to extend at least part way over the tooth and apply a lingual force to bias the registration element against the tooth.

Abstract: A dental attachment placement device comprises a plurality of articulated registration elements shaped for placement on a plurality of teeth, which can facilitate placement, accommodate tooth movement, and improve alignment of the registration elements with the teeth, so as to accurately position an attachment for placement. An orthodontic device may include a plurally of registration element. A plurality of first flexible arms may extend from each registration element on a lingual side. The first flexible arm may have a connected end and a distal end. The distal end may be configured to extend at least part way over the tooth and apply a lingual force to bias the registration element against the tooth. A plurality of attachment supports may each be located on a buccal side of the plurally of registration elements and include an attachment frame that is releasably coupled to an attachment.

Abstract: A dental attachment placement device comprises a plurality of articulated registration elements shaped for placement on a plurality of teeth, which can facilitate placement, accommodate tooth movement, and improve alignment of the registration elements with the teeth, so as to accurately position an attachment for placement. The plurality of registration elements may comprise one or more attachment supports and one or more retention supports extending from the plurality of registration elements. A dental attachment can be removably coupled to the attachment support. The plurality of registration elements and attachment supports may be located on opposing sides of one or more teeth in order to maintain placement prior to adhering the attachment to the tooth. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of registration elements comprises a tooth registration surface shaped to engage the tooth with a specific position and orientation for accurate positioning of the attachment.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental appliance binding structure. One method can include to create a treatment plan based on a virtual model of a jaw of a patient, wherein the treatment plan includes use of a dental appliance having a first surface that defines a plurality of cavities shaped to receive a plurality of teeth, modify the virtual model of the jaw in a first configuration to include a virtual binding structure on a second surface, the platform shaped to receive a specialized feature that provides one or more force characteristics, select a particular specialized feature as an attachment to the dental appliance, and adjust the virtual model of the jaw from a first configuration to a second configuration, based at least in part on a modeled force provided by the virtual binding structure and the particular specialized feature.

Abstract: A method includes forming a plastic orthodontic aligner having a plurality of cavities shaped to receive at least portions of a plurality of teeth of a patient. A first segment of the plastic orthodontic aligner corresponds to a first subset of the plurality of cavities for moving a first subset of the plurality of teeth of the patient. A second segment of the plastic orthodontic aligner corresponds to a second subset of the plurality of cavities. The method further includes removing a first portion of the plastic orthodontic aligner between the first and second segments of the plastic orthodontic aligner to form a connector to minimize force transmission between the first and second segments. The connector is configured to be disposed along one or more additional teeth to span a gap between the first and second segments without exerting a clinically significant force on the one or more additional teeth.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental appliance binding structure. One method can include to create a treatment plan based on a virtual model of a jaw of a patient, wherein the treatment plan includes use of a dental appliance having a first surface that defines a plurality of cavities shaped to receive a plurality of teeth, modify the virtual model of the jaw in a first configuration to include a virtual binding structure on a second surface, the platform shaped to receive a specialized feature that provides one or more force characteristics, select a particular specialized feature as an attachment to the dental appliance, and adjust the virtual model of the jaw from a first configuration to a second configuration, based at least in part on a modeled force provided by the virtual binding structure and the particular specialized feature.

Abstract: Strategies that reduce shrinkage and ultimately warping of parts that are directly fabricated from photopolymer resins. This increases the accuracy of directly fabricated parts, which is essential for patient specific applications. Implementing these strategies can reduce the need for directly fabricated parts to have supporting structures, which can reduce pre-processing and post-processing steps and facilitate an easier route for production level scale of additive manufacturing.

Abstract: A mold includes a first section, a second section, and a weakened region that joins the first section to the second section. The weakened region is breakable, deflectable, or deformable in response to a first threshold force to enable the first section to be removed from a shell independently of the second section after the shell is formed over the mold. The first threshold force is less than a second threshold force that would damage or permanently deform the shell. The first section is a first mold of at least a portion of one or more first teeth of a dental arch and the second section is a second mold of at least a portion of one or more second teeth of the dental arch.