Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7850451?dq=6188988
Timestamp: 2015-01-30 09:34:27
Document Index: 566995217

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 2']

Patent US7850451 - Modular system for customized orthodontic appliances - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA set of customized orthodontic brackets are provided with slots that are arranged substantially parallel to the tooth surface. The archwire, in an as-manufactured condition, has a portion of substantial arcuate extent, which is canted relative to the occlusal plane. The brackets are designed on a computer...http://www.google.com/patents/US7850451?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7850451 - Modular system for customized orthodontic appliancesAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7850451 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/897,149Publication dateDec 14, 2010Filing dateJul 22, 2004Priority dateFeb 13, 2002Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2476264A1, CA2476264C, DE60324770D1, DE60334746D1, EP1474064A2, EP1474064B1, EP1702582A2, EP1702582A3, EP1702582B1, EP1844730A1, EP1844730B1, EP1941842A2, EP1941842A3, EP2762105A1, EP2772222A1, US6776614, US7811087, US8057226, US20030152884, US20050003321, US20050158686, US20070015104, US20120015315, WO2003068099A2, WO2003068099A3Publication number10897149, 897149, US 7850451 B2, US 7850451B2, US-B2-7850451, US7850451 B2, US7850451B2InventorsDirk Wiechmann, Ralf Paehl, R�dger Rubbert, Thomas WeiseOriginal Assignee3M Innovative Properties CompanyExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (98), Non-Patent Citations (47), Referenced by (3), Classifications (15), Legal Events (7) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetModular system for customized orthodontic appliancesUS 7850451 B2Abstract A set of customized orthodontic brackets are provided with slots that are arranged substantially parallel to the tooth surface. The archwire, in an as-manufactured condition, has a portion of substantial arcuate extent, which is canted relative to the occlusal plane. The brackets are designed on a computer as a combination of three-dimensional virtual objects comprising the virtual bracket bonding pad and a separate virtual bracket body retrieved from a library of virtual bracket bodies. The virtual brackets can be represented as a file containing digital shape data and exported to a rapid prototype fabrication device for fabrication of the bracket in wax or other material and casting the wax prototype in a suitable alloy. Other manufacturing techniques are also contemplated, including milling and laser sintering.
1. A method of designing and manufacturing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a tooth-facing surface and a bracket body, the method comprising the steps of:
storing a digital representation of portions of a dentition of a specific patient in a computer memory;
determining a shape of a tooth-facing surface of a custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object, the shape of the tooth-facing surface conforming substantially to corresponding three-dimensional surfaces of a lingual portion of a tooth of the specific patient;
forming the custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object having tooth-facing surface conforming substantially to corresponding three-dimensional surfaces of the lingual portion of the tooth;
graphically displaying the custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object;
receiving a three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature from the computer memory, the non-custom bracket feature comprising a virtual bracket;
graphically displaying the received three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature;
graphically designing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket using a computer, the designing including the step of virtually incorporating the graphically displayed custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object and the graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature into a combined three-dimensional virtual object describing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket;
exporting digital data representing the virtual description of the designed custom orthodontic lingual bracket from the computer to a manufacturing system for manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket; and
manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket to include shaping the tooth-facing surface and the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket responsive to the digital data.
wherein the step of forming the custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object includes forming the tooth-facing surface as a negative of the shave of a substantial portion of the tooth surface; and
wherein the step of exporting digital data representing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket includes exporting digital data representing the combined three-dimensional virtual object.
3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the combined three-dimensional virtual object describing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket comprises a Boolean combination of the graphically displayed custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object and the graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature.
4. A method of designing and manufacturing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a tooth facing surface and a bracket body, the method comprising the steps of:
storing a digital representation of portions of a dentition for a specific patient in a computer memory;
determining a shape of a lingual portion of a tooth of the specific patient to thereby form and graphically display a custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object having a tooth-facing surface conforming substantially to corresponding three-dimensional surfaces of the lingual portion of the tooth;
forming the custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object to include forming the tooth-facing surface as a negative of the shape of a substantial portion of a tooth surface of the lingual portion of the tooth of the specific patient;
receiving a graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature from the computer memory, the non-custom bracket feature including a virtual bracket body;
exporting digital data representing the designed custom orthodontic lingual bracket from the computer to a manufacturing system for manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket; and
6. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the combined three-dimensional virtual object describing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket comprises a Boolean combination of the graphically displayed custom shaped virtual bracket bonding object and the graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature.
7. A method of designing for custom-shaping a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a tooth-facing surface and a bracket body for an individual patient with the aid of a computer having access to a library of three-dimensional virtual descriptions of bracket features, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a three-dimensional shape of a tooth-facing surface of a first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the tooth-facing surface conforming substantially to corresponding three-dimensional surfaces of a lingual portion of a tooth of a specific patient;
receiving from the library at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature for the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object; and
graphically updating the graphically displayed first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object by adding the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of the bracket feature, the graphically updated first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object defining a second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object to be used for shaping of the tooth-facing surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
8. A method as defined in claim 7,
wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature comprises an archwire slot adapted to receive an archwire;
wherein the step of graphically updating the first three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object includes graphically virtually orienting the virtual representation of the archwire slot relative to the tooth-facing surface of the first three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object; and
wherein the method further comprises the step of shaping the custom orthodontic lingual bracket according to the second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the step of shaping comprising shaping of the tooth-facing surface and shaping of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
9. A method as defined in claim 7,
wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature comprises a virtual hook; and
wherein the step of graphically updating the first three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object includes graphically virtually orienting the virtual representation of the hook relative to the tooth-facing surface.
10. A method as defined in claim 7, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad, and wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature comprises an archwire slot.
11. A method as defined in claim 7, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad having a greater thickness in medial portions than in peripheral portions thereof.
12. A method of designing for custom-shaping a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and a bracket body for an individual patient with the aid of a computer having access to a library of three-dimensional virtual descriptions of bracket features, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a three-dimensional shape of a lingual tooth-facing surface of a first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object responsive to data describing a three-dimensional shape of a corresponding lingual portion of a tooth surface of a specific tooth of a specific patient, the three-dimensional shape of the lingual tooth-facing surface of the first graphically displayed three-dimensional bracket object substantially matching the three-dimensional shape of the corresponding lingual portion of the tooth surface of the specific tooth to conform substantially thereto;
receiving from the library at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature for the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object; and
updating the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object by subtracting the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of the feature from the graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the updated first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object defining a second graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object configured to be used for shaping of the three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature comprises an archwire slot for receiving an archwire;
wherein the step of updating the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object includes orienting the virtual representation of the archwire slot relative to the tooth-facing surface; and
wherein the method further comprises the step of shaping the custom orthodontic lingual bracket according to the second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the step of shaping comprising shaping of the three-dimensional bonding surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
14. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein the graphically displayed first three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object includes a bonding pad having an increased thickness adjacent the slot.
15. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad, and wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature comprises an archwire slot.
16. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad having a greater thickness in medial portions than in peripheral portions thereof.
17. A method of designing for custom-shaping a custom lingual orthodontic bracket including a three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and a bracket body for an individual patient with the aid of a computer having access to a library of three-dimensional virtual descriptions of bracket features, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a three-dimensional shape of a tooth-facing surface of a first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object responsive to data describing a three-dimensional shape of a corresponding lingual portion of a tooth surface of a specific tooth of a specific patient, the three-dimensional shape of the lingual tooth-facing surface of the first graphically displayed three-dimensional bracket object precisely matching the three-dimensional shape of the corresponding lingual portion of the tooth surface of the specific tooth to conform thereto;
deriving from the library at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature for the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object; and
modifying the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object to include the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature to thereby form an updated three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object configured to be used for shaping of the three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the step of modifying includes virtually adding the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature in its entirety to the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object to thereby form the updated three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object.
19. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the step of modifying includes subtracting the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature in its entirety from the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object to thereby form the updated three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object.
20. A method as defined in claim 17,
wherein the feature comprises an archwire slot for receiving an archwire;
wherein the modified first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object defines a second graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object; and
wherein the method further comprises the step of shaping the custom orthodontic lingual bracket according to the second graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the step of shaping comprising shaping of the three-dimensional bonding surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
21. A method as defined in claim 20, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad having an increased thickness adjacent the slot for receiving the archwire.
22. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object comprises a bonding pad, and wherein the at least one three-dimensional virtual representation of a feature comprises an archwire slot.
23. A method of designing for custom-shaping a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and a bracket body for an individual patient, with the aid of a computer having access to a library of three-dimensional virtual descriptions of bracket features, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a three-dimensional shape of a lingual tooth-facing surface of a first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object responsive to data describing a three-dimensional shape of a corresponding lingual portion of a tooth surface of a specific tooth of a specific patient, the three-dimensional shape of the lingual tooth-facing surface of the first graphically displayed three-dimensional bracket object substantially matching the three-dimensional shape of the corresponding lingual portion of the tooth surface of the specific tooth to conform substantially thereto, the first three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object including a bonding pad;
modifying the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object to include the at least one graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual representation of a bracket feature, the modified first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object defining a second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object configured to be used for shaping of the three-dimensional tooth-facing bonding surface and of the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket during manufacturing of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
24. A method as defined in claim 23,
wherein the bonding pad has a greater thickness in medial portions than in peripheral portions thereof; and
wherein the method further comprises the step of manufacturing the three-dimensional bonding surface of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket and the bracket body of the custom orthodontic bracket according to the second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object.
25. A method of designing for manufacturing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket for an individual patient with the aid of a computer having access to a library of virtual descriptions of bracket features, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a three-dimensional shape of a lingual tooth-facing surface of a first graphically displayed virtual orthodontic bracket object at least substantially matching a corresponding three-dimensional shape of a lingual portion of a tooth surface of a tooth of the individual patient, the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object including a bonding pad;
deriving from the library at least one graphically displayed virtual representation of a feature for the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket object, the at least one graphically displayed virtual representation of a bracket feature including one or more of the following: a virtual archwire slot and a virtual auxiliary bracket device; and
modifying the first graphically displayed virtual orthodontic bracket object to include the at least one graphically displayed virtual representation of a bracket feature, the modified first graphically displayed virtual orthodontic bracket object defining a second virtual orthodontic bracket object configured to be used for custom shaping of a three-dimensional bonding surface and a shaping a bracket body of the custom lingual orthodontic bracket during manufacturing of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket.
26. A method as defined in claim 25,
wherein modifying includes subtracting the at least one graphically displayed virtual representation of a feature from the first graphically displayed three-dimensional virtual orthodontic lingual bracket object; and
wherein the method further comprises the step of manufacturing the three-dimensional bonding surface and the bracket body of the custom lingual orthodontic bracket according to the second three-dimensional virtual orthodontic lingual bracket object.
27. A method of designing and manufacturing a custom lingual orthodontic bracket including a tooth-facing bonding surface and a bracket body, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a tooth-facing surface conforming substantially to corresponding three-dimensional surfaces of a lingual portion of a tooth of a specific patient to thereby form and graphically display a virtual object;
receiving a graphically displayed virtual description of a non-custom bracket feature from the computer memory;
graphically designing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket using a computer, the designing including the step of virtually combining the graphically displayed virtual description of the non-custom bracket feature and the graphically displayed virtual object associated with the determined tooth-facing surface into a combined three-dimensional object describing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket so that the custom orthodontic lingual bracket design incorporates a shape of the determined tooth-facing surface and a shape of the non-custom bracket feature;
exporting digital data representing the designed custom lingual orthodontic bracket from the computer to a manufacturing system for manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket, the exporting including exporting digital data representing the combined three-dimensional object; and
manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket at least substantially in its entirety to include the tooth-facing bonding surface and the bracket body, responsive to the digital data.
28. A method as defined in claim 27,
wherein the graphically displayed virtual object associated with the determined tooth-facing surface comprises a virtual bracket bonding pad object having the determined tooth-facing surface; and
wherein the step of graphically designing further includes forming and graphically displaying the virtual bracket bonding pad object.
29. A method as defined in claim 28, wherein the step of forming the graphically displayed virtual bonding pad object includes:
forming a virtual tooth-surface object having zero thickness and having a substantially same three-dimensional shape of the lingual portion of the tooth of the patient to be covered by a corresponding physical custom bonding pad, to thereby form the virtual tooth-facing surface of the graphically displayed virtual bonding pad object.
30. A method as defined in claim 29, wherein the virtual three-dimensional tooth-surface object is a first graphically displayed virtual tooth-surface object, and wherein the step of forming a virtual bracket bonding pad object further includes:
forming a second virtual tooth-surface object having zero thickness and having a substantially same three-dimensional shape of the first virtual tooth-surface object and positioned offset therefrom to thereby form a virtual lingual facing surface of the virtual bracket bonding pad object located opposite of the tooth-facing surface of the virtual bracket bonding pad object.
31. A method as defined in claim 28,
wherein the step of designing further includes graphically forming a virtual archwire slot in a virtual bracket body of the graphically displayed virtual non-custom bracket feature; and
wherein the step of designing further includes the steps of graphically positioning and orienting the virtual archwire slot relative to the tooth-facing surface of the virtual bracket bonding pad object.
32. A method as defined in claim 28, wherein the step of designing further includes:
graphically shifting a virtual location of a virtual bracket body of the graphically displayed virtual non-custom bracket feature relative to the tooth-facing surface of the graphically displayed virtual bracket bonding pad object to thereby merge the virtual bracket body with the virtual bracket bonding pad object.
33. A method as defined in claim 32,
wherein portions of the virtual bracket body of the graphically displayed virtual non-custom bracket feature initially extend through the graphically displayed virtual bracket bonding pad object responsive to the merging of the virtual bracket body with the virtual bracket bonding pad object; and
wherein the step of designing further includes the step of virtually subtracting the portions of the virtual bracket body extending through the virtual bracket bonding pad object.
34. A method as defined in claim 28,
wherein the graphically displayed virtual non-custom bracket feature comprises a virtual bracket body; and
wherein the step of designing further includes:
graphically shifting a virtual location of the virtual bracket body relative to a tooth surface of a virtual tooth model so that portions of the virtual bracket body initially extend through portions of the virtual tooth, and
virtually subtracting the portions of the virtual bracket body extending through the virtual tooth.
35. A method of designing and manufacturing a custom orthodontic lingual bracket including a tooth-facing surface and a bracket body, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a three-dimensional virtual description of a selected bracket bonding pad of a plurality of bracket bonding pads stored in memory of a computer, the virtual description of the selected bracket bonding pad to be graphically displayed;
receiving a three-dimensional virtual description of a selected bracket body of a plurality of bracket bodies stored in the computer memory;
graphically displaying the virtual description of the bracket body separate from the graphically displayed virtual description of the bracket bonding pad;
graphically combining the graphically displayed virtual description of the bracket bonding pad and the graphically displayed virtual description of the bracket body by the computer to form a consolidated three-dimensional virtual object providing a virtual description of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket;
exporting digital data representing the graphically displayed virtual description of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket from the computer to a manufacturing system for manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket; and
manufacturing the custom orthodontic lingual bracket to include shaping the tooth-facing surface and the bracket body of the custom orthodontic lingual bracket together responsive to the digital data. Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/075,676, filed Feb. 13, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,614, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A computerized approach to orthodontics based on design and manufacture of customized brackets for an individual patient, and design and manufacture of a customized bracket placement jig and archwire, has been proposed in the art. See U.S. Pat. RE 35,169 to Lemchen et al. and U.S. Patents to Andreiko et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,447,432, 5,431,562 and 5,454,717. The system and method of Andreiko et al. is based on mathematical calculations of tooth finish position and desired ideal archform. The method of Andreiko et al. has not been widely adopted, and in fact has had little impact on the treatment of orthodontic patients since it was first proposed in the early 1990s. There are a variety of reasons for this, one of which is that the deterministic approach proposed by Andreiko et al. for calculating tooth finish positions does not take into account unpredictable events during the course of treatment. Furthermore, the proposed methods of Andreiko et al. essentially remove the orthodontist from the picture in terms of treatment planning, and attempt to replace his or her skill and judgment in determining tooth finish positions by empirical calculations of tooth finish positions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect, a set of brackets (one or more) is provided in which the bracket has a slot which is oriented with respect to the bracket bonding pad such that the wire runs substantially parallel to the surface of the teeth, i.e., the portion of the tooth surface adjacent to where the bracket receives the archwire, as will be explained in further detail and as shown in the drawings.
One reason why the basic design of orthodontic wires remains one in which the wires have a flat, planar shape is the ease of industrial manufacturing. To decrease the thickness of an orthodontic bracket, it is much preferable to run the wire parallel to the surface of each individual tooth as provided by this aspect of the invention. The lingual surfaces of front teeth are significantly inclined relative to a vertical axis for most patients. A wire that runs parallel from tooth to tooth in accordance with this aspect of the invention has a �canted� shape in order to take advantage of the parallel nature of the bracket slots. Using standard mass-production procedures, such a wire could not be fabricated, as every patient has a very individual tooth anatomy. Shaping a wire manually to provide the canted shape is extremely challenging. Usage of modern materials for the archwire like shape memory alloys makes this task even more challenging or even impossible by hand. However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the required wire geometry is available in electronic format. This wire geometry can be dictated by the three-dimensional location of the bracket slots and/or the brackets, as placed on the teeth in the desired occlusion. This format can be exported to new wire bending robots that have been recently developed that are capable of bending wires in virtually any shape (including canted shapes). For example, it is possible to export digital data reflecting wire geometry to flexible wire bending production devices like the 6-axis-robot described in WO 01/80761, and have the robot bend and twist wires of the canted configuration as described herein. Thus, wires having the canted shape as dictated by the bracket invention are now able to be mass-produced. The presently preferred wire-bending robot is also described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/834,967, filed Apr. 13, 2001, the content of which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Bracket Slot Parallel to Tooth Surfaces and Canted Archwire As noted earlier, in the straight wire approach to orthodontics practiced today, the basic design of orthodontic wires in the prior art is a flat, planar shape. All the slots of the brackets, when the teeth are moved to the desired occlusion, lie in a plane. Accordingly, the archwire itself, which is of rectangular cross-section, has a flat, planar configuration. This is also the case for wires to be used with the CONSEAL� brackets mentioned previously. While the cross-section of the wire is oriented in a vertical manner (the longer side of the wire is vertical), the archwire still forms a plane that is substantially parallel to the occlusal plane and the orientation of the cross-section is maintained along the wire. The primary reason for this phenomenon is the ease of industrial manufacturing of archwires of flat planar configuration. In a first aspect of the invention, we propose a significant departure from flat, planar archwires.
Decreased articulation problems Decreased tongue irritation Decreased risk of bracket loss (the flatter the bracket is, the shorter the moment arm is when a patient bites onto the bracket, and the smaller the stress at the adhesive connection) Increased positioning control for finishing (the smaller the distance between wire and tooth is, the better the tooth �follows� the wire) Increased patient comfort Increased hygiene conditions The orientation of the archwire 10 at the molars may be vertical, as shown in FIG. 1, which results in minimal overall thickness at the molars, or alternatively it could be horizontal. The horizontal orientation would add more thickness (for instance 0.025 inches per side instead of 0.017 inches for a typical wire cross section of 17�25), but the addition is so small that this would certainly be acceptable, if manufacturing or clinical considerations would call for such an orientation. Since a horizontal slot orientation is acceptable for molars and premolars, it would also make sense to mix conventional brackets with brackets according to this invention. For example, the premolars and molar brackets could be conventional brackets, while a set of brackets according to this invention would be supplied for the anterior and canine teeth.
Once the pad 18 areas are defined, the shape of this portion of the tooth defines exactly the required shape of tooth-facing portion of the bracket pad. There are several options how to shape the outside portion of the pad. In order to receive a thin pad, the best method is to create the normal vector of each surface element (for instance, a triangle) describing the tooth-facing surface of the pad, and to �shift� each surface element in the direction of the normal vector using a predefined offset value corresponding to the desired thickness of the bracket bonding pad. In this way a thin shell is created, the outside of the shell having the same contour (albeit shifted) as the tooth-facing side. Alternatively, the thickness of the bracket can vary over the surface of the pad with the pad thickness the least at the edges (e.g., 0.1 mm) and greatest (e.g., 0.3 mm) in the center.
Exemplary Embodiment The process described below is a process that has already been successfully tested. From the comments in the section above, it is obvious that many variations are possible. The reader is directed to FIGS. 2, 3A and 9A-15 in the following discussion. The following discussion is made by way of disclosure of the inventor's best mode known for practicing the invention and is not intended to be limiting in terms of the scope of the invention.
To remove the portion of the body 20 that is sticking out of the pad towards the interior of the tooth, the original tooth models are re-loaded. The Magics� software provides �Boolean� operations that include unite functions and subtraction functions. Using these functions, as described below in conjunction with FIG. 16-21, all parts of the bracket body 20 that are inside the tooth model 16 are eliminated. Thus, the bracket body 20 is also shaped precisely according to the tooth surface and is equal to the surface of the pad. FIGS. 13A and 13B show two bracket bodies that have had their surfaces 58 modified so as to conform to the surface of the tooth.
The reference herein to archwires with a rectangular, square or similar cross-section is considered to encompass archwires that basically have this cross-sectional form but have slightly rounded comers and as such are not exactly of rectangular or square cross-section. Similarly, the reference to the appended claims of an archwire having a flat planar side is intended to cover an archwire that basically has a flat planar side, notwithstanding a rounded of the corner from one face of the wire to another face.
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Part 2: Archwire fabrication;" J Orofac OrthopjFortschr Kieferorthop; vol. 60, pp. 416-426 (1999).47Wiechmann, Dirk, et al., Customized Brackets and Archwires for Lingual Orthodontic Treatment, Am J Dentofacial Orthop 2003; 123:593-599.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8371847 *Apr 3, 2009Feb 12, 2013Pascal BaronMethod for designing orthodontic apparatusUS20110086322 *Apr 3, 2009Apr 14, 2011Pascal BaronMethod for designing orthodontic apparatusUSRE44668Oct 7, 2011Dec 24, 20133M Innovative Properties CompanyMethod and system for customizing an orthodontic archwire* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification433/24International ClassificationA61C7/14, A61C7/28, A61C3/00, A61C7/00, A61B19/00, A61C13/00, G06F17/50Cooperative ClassificationA61C13/0004, A61C7/002, A61C7/145, A61C7/148, A61C7/20European ClassificationA61C13/00C1, A61C7/14LLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 14, 2014FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jun 25, 2008ASAssignmentOwner name: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, MINNESOTAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:LINGUALCARE, INC., A CORPORATION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS;REEL/FRAME:021149/0517Effective date: 20080213Jul 3, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: LINGUALCARE, INC., TEXASFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:T.O.P. 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SERVICE FUR LINGUALTECHNICK GMBH;REEL/FRAME:015619/0855Effective date: 20030128RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services