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

Claim 0:
1. 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, geometries corresponding to a pair of orthodontic aligners, wherein the geometries for the pair of orthodontic aligners comprises:
a first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities corresponding to an upper aligner, wherein the first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities are configured to receive at least a portion of the patient's upper dentition;
a first protrusion extending buccally from the first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities;
a second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities corresponding to a lower aligner, wherein the second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities are configured to receive at least a portion of the patient's lower dentition;
a second protrusion extending buccally from the second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities;

fabricating the pair of orthodontic aligners based on the geometries determined, wherein fabricating the pair of orthodontic aligners comprises:
forming the first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities and the first protrusion together;
removing material from the first protrusion to form a first hook;
forming the second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities, the second protrusion together;
removing material from the second protrusion to form a second hook;

wherein the first hook is configured to receive a first end of an elastic band, and the second hook is configured to receive a second end of the elastic band;
wherein securing the elastic band at the first hook and the second hook provides tooth-moving forces as part of the orthodontic treatment plan;
wherein the geometry for the upper aligner comprises a locally reinforced portion connected with the first protrusion; and
wherein the locally reinforced portion comprises a curved geometry.