Patent ID: 11896457
Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  B  G | IPC A  B  G

Claim 28:
29. A method of planning an orthodontic treatment, the method comprising:
receiving an initial dentition model of a patient's teeth in an initial arrangement;
determining a target arrangement for the patient's teeth;
generating an orthodontic treatment plan, wherein the orthodontic treatment plan comprises a plurality of incremental arrangements to sequentially reposition the patient's teeth from the initial arrangement towards the target arrangement;
determining, for at least one of the plurality of incremental arrangements, a geometry corresponding to an orthodontic aligner, wherein the geometry comprises:
a plurality of teeth-receiving cavities configured to receive at least a portion of the patient's upper or lower dentition; and
a marking disposed on the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities, wherein the marking corresponds to a position of a hook for receiving an end of an elastic band;

fabricating the orthodontic aligner based on the geometry determined, wherein fabricating the orthodontic aligner comprises:
forming the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities;
forming the marking on the first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities; and
forming the hook by cutting the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities based on the marking;
wherein cutting the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities comprises manual cutting;

wherein the hook extends in a gingival direction relative to a gingival edge of the geometry of the upper aligner.