Dental apparatus

Abstract

An apparatus assisting in dental procedure, comprising: a body adapted to be received with an oral cavity; an anchoring means for securing the body within the oral cavity such that it at least partially surrounds one or more teeth; a dental device located within the body and adapted to move in a plurality of planes relative to the one or more teeth; and a controller for controlling the dental device to move into a suitable position relative to the one or more teeth and once located in position carry out work on or about the one or more teeth.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus assisting in dental procedure, comprising:
 a body adapted to be received with an oral cavity;   an anchoring means for securing the body within the oral cavity such that it at least partially surrounds one or more teeth;   a dental device located within the body and adapted to move in two or more planes relative to the one or more teeth; and   a controller for controlling the dental device to move into a suitable position relative to the one or more teeth and once located in position control the dental work device to carry out work on or about the one or more teeth.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the work device comprises a nozzle for depositing a composite material to the one or more teeth under the control of the controller. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a curing light operable to cure the deposited composite material. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the movement of the dental device is controlled by way of one or more actuators located remotely of the body. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the dental device is movable on one or more rails and wherein one or more lead screws within the body are rotatable by corresponding remotely located actuators for effecting the movement of the dental device. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the body is adapted to be wholly received within the oral cavity. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the anchoring means is a clamp that is adapted to secure to the one or more teeth and/or a tooth or teeth adjacent to the one or more teeth. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the clamp comprises one or more clamp peaks and one or more clamp bows and wherein the body is coupled to the bow(s). 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises one or more cameras operable to take an image of the work site and wherein the controller is configured to process the resultant image data for use in determining at least one of:
 a. the position to locate the dental device for performing the work;   b. appropriate selection of the preprogramed procedure;   c. monitor in real time the operations performed by the apparatus; and   d. diagnose anomalies of the tooth structures by means of direct imagery, transillumination and/or fluorescence.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the dental device comprises one or more lights for illuminating the oral cavity. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more lights are transillumination lights adapted to transilluminate the one or more teeth. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a processing unit programmed to instruct the work device to perform work. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a conduit for connected to a remotely located reservoir from the composite material is supplied. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a reservoir located within the body and adapted to store the composite material, the reservoir being fluidly coupled to the nozzle. 
     
     
         15 . A method assisting in dental procedure, comprising utilising the dental apparatus according to  claim 1  for performing the dental procedure. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitor computer readable medium storing computer program code which, when executed by a computer processor, is operable to control a dental apparatus comprising:
 a body adapted to be received with an oral cavity; an anchoring means for securing the body within the oral cavity such that it at least partially surrounds one or more teeth; a dental device located within the body and adapted to move in a plurality of planes relative to the one or more teeth, the control comprising: moving the device into a suitable position relative to the one or more teeth and once located in position further controlling the dental work device to carry out work on or about the one or more teeth.