Patents by Inventor Tony Solarek

Tony Solarek has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240058100
    Abstract: A method of cutting a dental aligner includes identifying, for each tooth of a plurality of teeth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for the tooth, determining a distance between the first point and a cut plane based on a characteristic of the dentition where the distance for a first is different than the distance for a second tooth, identifying a plurality of points on a first LAT of the first tooth based on the first cut plane and a plurality of points on a second LAT of the second tooth based on the second cut plane, and defining a cut line based on the plurality of points on the first LAT and the plurality of points on the second LAT.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Applicant: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Cherie Wilson, Josh Long, John Dargis, Tony Solarek
  • Patent number: 11801120
    Abstract: Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners include a cut line system for identifying a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for a tooth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, where the first point is disposed on a tooth-gingiva interface of the tooth. The cut line system defines a cut plane at a distance from the first point toward the second point, where the cut plane intersects a line between the first point and the second point, identifies a plurality of points on the LAT based on the cut plane, defines a cut line based on the plurality of points on the LAT and the first point, and controls a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Cherie Wilson, Josh Long, John Dargis, Tony Solarek
  • Publication number: 20220192787
    Abstract: Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners include a cut line system for identifying a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for a tooth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, where the first point is disposed on a tooth-gingiva interface of the tooth. The cut line system defines a cut plane at a distance from the first point toward the second point, where the cut plane intersects a line between the first point and the second point, identifies a plurality of points on the LAT based on the cut plane, defines a cut line based on the plurality of points on the LAT and the first point, and controls a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Applicant: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Cherie Wilson, Josh Long, John Dargis, Tony Solarek
  • Patent number: 11288410
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for marking a dental aligner. A method for marking a dental aligner includes receiving a digital model corresponding to a dental aligner. The digital model includes a dental arch comprising a plurality of teeth. The method further includes determining whether a section of teeth on a right side or a left side of the dental arch includes flatter occlusal surfaces and selecting the section with the flatter occlusal surfaces, identifying surfaces on the teeth of the selected section that are flat relative to other surfaces on the teeth of the selected section, determining a line of best fit between the flat surfaces, and marking the dental aligner with a marking based on the line of best fit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Josh Long, Christopher Yancey, Tony Solarek, Clete Culp
  • Patent number: 11273009
    Abstract: Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners include a cut line system for identifying a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for a tooth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, where the first point is disposed on a tooth-gingiva interface of the tooth. The cut line system defines a cut plane at a distance from the first point toward the second point, where the cut plane intersects a line between the first point and the second point, identifies a plurality of points on the LAT based on the cut plane, defines a cut line based on the plurality of points on the LAT and the first point, and controls a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Cherie Wilson, Josh Long, John Dargis, Tony Solarek
  • Publication number: 20210196430
    Abstract: Systems and methods for trimming dental aligners include a cut line system for identifying a first point and a second point based on a line around tooth (LAT) for a tooth of a model representative of a dentition of a user, where the first point is disposed on a tooth-gingiva interface of the tooth. The cut line system defines a cut plane at a distance from the first point toward the second point, where the cut plane intersects a line between the first point and the second point, identifies a plurality of points on the LAT based on the cut plane, defines a cut line based on the plurality of points on the LAT and the first point, and controls a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Inventors: Cherie Wilson, Josh Long, John Dargis, Tony Solarek
  • Patent number: 11007042
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for marking models for dental aligner fabrication. A method for producing a physical model of teeth including a three-dimensional marking includes receiving a first digital model of teeth in an alignment position and selecting a location for marking a physical model of the teeth in the alignment position with a three-dimensional marking, the physical model to be fabricated based on the first digital model. The method also includes generating a second digital model of the teeth in the alignment position based on the first digital model, the second digital model representing the physical model and including the three-dimensional marking at the marking location, and using a three-dimensional fabrication method to fabricate the physical model including the three-dimensional marking from the second digital model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Josh Long, Christopher Yancey, Tony Solarek, Daniel Pfeffer, Clete Culp
  • Patent number: 10925691
    Abstract: A method of cutting a dental aligner includes identifying a gingival line in a model representative of a user's dentition where the gingival line is an interface of a teeth portion and a gingival portion of the model, generating a plurality of points in the gingival portion of the model where each point of the plurality of points is generated at a threshold distance from the gingival line, generating a cut line that intersects at least some of the points of the plurality of points, and controlling a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV
    Inventors: Christopher Yancey, Josh Long, Tony Solarek, Ian Kitching
  • Publication number: 20200281689
    Abstract: A method of cutting a dental aligner includes identifying a gingival line in a model representative of a user's dentition where the gingival line is an interface of a teeth portion and a gingival portion of the model, generating a plurality of points in the gingival portion of the model where each point of the plurality of points is generated at a threshold distance from the gingival line, generating a cut line that intersects at least some of the points of the plurality of points, and controlling a cutting system to cut the dental aligner along the cut line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2019
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Inventors: Christopher Yancey, Josh Long, Tony Solarek, Ian Kitching
  • Publication number: 20200257766
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for marking a dental aligner. A method for marking a dental aligner includes receiving a digital model corresponding to a dental aligner. The digital model includes a dental arch comprising a plurality of teeth. The method further includes determining whether a section of teeth on a right side or a left side of the dental arch includes flatter occlusal surfaces and selecting the section with the flatter occlusal surfaces, identifying surfaces on the teeth of the selected section that are flat relative to other surfaces on the teeth of the selected section, determining a line of best fit between the flat surfaces, and marking the dental aligner with a marking based on the line of best fit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Applicant: SmileDirectClub LLC
    Inventors: Josh Long, Christopher Yancey, Tony Solarek, Clete Culp
  • Publication number: 20200246119
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for marking models for dental aligner fabrication. A method for producing a physical model of teeth including a three-dimensional marking includes receiving a first digital model of teeth in an alignment position and selecting a location for marking a physical model of the teeth in the alignment position with a three-dimensional marking, the physical model to be fabricated based on the first digital model. The method also includes generating a second digital model of the teeth in the alignment position based on the first digital model, the second digital model representing the physical model and including the three-dimensional marking at the marking location, and using a three-dimensional fabrication method to fabricate the physical model including the three-dimensional marking from the second digital model.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: Josh Long, Christopher Yancey, Tony Solarek, Daniel Pfeffer, Clete Culp
  • Patent number: 10482192
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for marking a dental aligner. A method for marking a dental aligner includes receiving a digital model corresponding to a dental aligner. The digital model includes a dental arch comprising a plurality of teeth. The method further includes determining whether a section of teeth on a right side or a left side of the dental arch includes flatter occlusal surfaces and selecting the section with the flatter occlusal surfaces, identifying surfaces on the teeth of the selected section that are flat relative to other surfaces on the teeth of the selected section, determining a line of best fit between the flat surfaces, and marking the dental aligner with a marking based on the line of best fit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: SmileDirectClub LLC
    Inventors: Josh Long, Christopher Yancey, Tony Solarek, Clete Culp