Method of forming a dental appliance

Abstract

The present disclosure includes dental appliances and methods of making and using such appliances. One method for forming a dental appliance includes forming a liquid thermoset polymer material into a semi-solid first shape, thermoforming the semi-solid first shape of thermoset polymer material onto a dentition mold, and curing the thermoset polymer on the dentition mold with a curative trigger to complete a molecular cross-linking reaction.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for forming a dental appliance for a patient, comprising:
 forming a semi-solid formable first shape of thermoset polymer material, wherein the semi-solid first shape of thermoset polymer material is a different shape than the patient dentition; and   curing the thermoset polymer material to induce a molecular cross-linking reaction to form the dental appliance, wherein the dental appliance is a shell having a number of cavities to receive one or more teeth.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein curing the thermoset polymer includes adding a curative trigger to complete the molecular cross-linking reaction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the curative trigger is energy. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of the dental appliance is accomplished by a process selected from the group including: molding, extrusion, and rolling. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the forming of the dental appliance is accomplished by a process selected from the group including: compression molding, liquid injection molding, or reaction injection molding. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the semi-solid formable first shape is substantially horseshoe-shaped in at least one dimension. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the semi-solid formable first shape is substantially horseshoe-shaped in at least two dimensions. 
     
     
         8 . A dental appliance comprising:
 a number of cavities to receive one or more teeth, the cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition teeth from a first arrangement to a second arrangement, wherein:
 the dental appliance is fabricated from a thermoset polymer material that is irreversibly cured to irreversibly link molecules into a rigid three dimensional structure to form the dental appliance, wherein the dental appliance is formed by a process of curing a semi-solid formable shape of thermoset polymer material to induce a molecular cross-linking reaction in the shape of the second arrangement. 
   
     
     
         9 . The dental appliance of  claim 8 , the dental appliance is one of a series of dental appliances corresponding to steps of an orthodontic treatment where the number of cavities are arranged to reposition the one or more teeth from a first configuration to a successive configuration. 
     
     
         10 . The dental appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the dental appliance is formed by formation of a semi-solid formable shape of thermoset polymer material onto a dentition mold. 
     
     
         11 . The dental appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the semi-solid shape of thermoset polymer material is formed in a first mold and the first mold is a different mold than the dentition mold. 
     
     
         12 . The dental appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the dental appliance is further formed by curing the semi-solid formable shape of thermoset polymer material on the dentition mold to induce a molecular cross-linking reaction. 
     
     
         13 . A dental appliance comprising:
 a number of cavities to receive one or more teeth, wherein:
 the dental appliance is one of a series of dental appliances corresponding to intermediate steps of an orthodontic treatment where the number of cavities are arranged to reposition the one or more teeth from a first configuration to a successive configuration, and 
 the dental appliance is fabricated from a thermoset polymer material that is irreversibly cured to irreversibly link molecules into a rigid three dimensional structure to form the dental appliance, wherein the dental appliance is formed by a process of curing a semi-solid formable shape of thermoset polymer material to induce a molecular cross-linking reaction. 
   
     
     
         14 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has at least a one percent (1%) cross-linking network structure. 
     
     
         15 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has a tensile strength at yield of greater than 6,000 psi. 
     
     
         16 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has an elongation at yield of greater than ten percent (10%). 
     
     
         17 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has an elongation at break of greater than eighty percent (80%). 
     
     
         18 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has a tensile modulus at secant one percent (1%) greater than 100,000 psi. 
     
     
         19 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has a flexural modulus greater than 100,000 psi. 
     
     
         20 . The appliance of  claim 13 , where the thermoset polymer material has a stress relaxation in 37° C. and 100% relative humidity over 24 hours of more than twenty percent (20%).