Patent ID: 7878805

Claim:
A dental appliance for use with a tooth that is not fully erupted, comprising: a shell having a number of tooth apertures configured to receive and apply force to reposition teeth from one arrangement to a successive arrangement and include side surfaces that are configured to extend substantially to the patient's gumline, wherein the number of tooth apertures are configured to receive a number of teeth from only one of an upper or lower jaw of a patient, wherein the shell includes an outer surface opposite the number of tooth apertures that is shaped to match contours of the coronal surfaces of the teeth, and wherein the shell includes: a tab having a length to span across only a portion of a coronal surface of the tooth, in a distal direction, when fully erupted; wherein the tab includes a tooth contact surface shaped to mate with the portion of the coronal surface of the tooth and a surface opposite the tooth contact surface shaped to mate with an outer surface of a second appliance or a coronal surface of one or more teeth on an opposite jaw of the patient; wherein the tooth contact surface of the tab is positioned to receive the coronal surface of the tooth when the tooth is fully erupted; and wherein the tab includes side surfaces that are configured not to extend substantially to the patient's gumline when the tooth has fully erupted.