Patent ID: 11890160
Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  B  G | IPC A  B  G

Claim 20:
21. 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;
a protrusion extending buccally from the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities;

fabricating the orthodontic aligner based on the geometry determined, wherein fabricating the orthodontic aligner comprises:
forming the plurality of teeth-receiving cavities and the protrusion together;
removing material from the protrusion to form a hook;
wherein the hook is configured to engage with an elastic band;

wherein engaging the elastic band to the hook facilitates generating tooth-moving forces as part of the orthodontic treatment plan;
wherein the geometry for the orthodontic aligner comprises a locally reinforced portion connected with the protrusion; and
wherein the locally reinforced portion comprises a curved geometry.