Patent ID: 8303301

Claim:
A method for diagnosing an orthodontic condition of a plurality of teeth of a mouth of a patient wherein the plurality of teeth have sizes, the method comprising the steps of: providing a wafer which fits inside the mouth wherein the wafer has a labial side and a lingual side wherein the labial side is located in a position opposite to the lingual side and further wherein the wafer is made from a material capable of being bitten creating a deformation of the wafer wherein the deformation corresponds to one tooth of the plurality of teeth and further wherein the one tooth has a size wherein the wafer retains the deformation following removal from the mouth; generating an image of the deformation; transmitting the image of the deformation to a remote location without sending the wafer to the remote location; and determining the sizes of the plurality of teeth based on the deformation wherein a central processing unit programmed with dental standards that are statistics regarding standard sizes of teeth determines the sizes of the plurality of teeth using the size of the one tooth indicated to the central processing unit by the image of the deformation and further wherein the plurality of teeth that are not the one tooth are not used to determine the sizes of the plurality of teeth wherein the central processing unit is located at the remote location.