Standard orthodontic appliances with semi-custom bases

Abstract

A method for determining orthodontic brackets in order to use standard brackets or a combination of standard and custom brackets. The method determines which teeth in a digital 3D model of teeth have surfaces that will virtually fit to a base of a standard bracket within a tolerance. For those teeth that will virtually fit to one of the standard brackets, each of the teeth are associated with the corresponding standard bracket for later placement of the brackets on the surfaces of the patient's teeth. The method also identifies the teeth in the digital 3D model of teeth that will not virtually fit to a standard bracket, and brackets with custom bases can be designed and made for those teeth.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method of selecting an orthodontic appliance, comprising steps of:
 receiving a 3D digital model of a dental anatomy;   selecting at least a portion of a base of an orthodontic appliance from a set of orthodontic appliances, wherein the appliances within the set have different geometries of the base;   virtually fitting the portion of a base to at least a portion of the dental anatomy;   evaluating the fit; and   determining at least one of: whether the current fit is within a tolerance, and whether the current fit is better or worse than a previous fit.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising comparing the fit to previous fits. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of orthodontic appliances comprises one or more of: lingual brackets, labial brackets, buccal tubes, bands, buttons, and attachments used in conjunction with removable appliances. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising indicating that the dental anatomy requires a custom bracket. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating standard appliances for the selecting step, comprising:
 receiving digital 3D models of at least a portion of teeth from a sample group;   classifying the digital 3D models into classes of similar shapes; and   creating digital 3D model representatives for each of the classes, where each digital 3D model representative is an average shape of the shapes in the corresponding class.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving user constraints for a position of the base on the dental anatomy; and   determining which of the orthodontic appliances from the set of orthodontic appliances best fits within the user constraints.   
     
     
         7 . A computer-implemented system for selecting an orthodontic appliance, comprising:
 a module for receiving a 3D digital model of a dental anatomy;   a module for selecting at least a portion of a base of an orthodontic appliance from a set of orthodontic appliances, wherein the appliances within the set have different geometries of the base;   a module for virtually fitting the portion of a base to at least a portion of the dental anatomy;   a module for evaluating the fit; and   a module for determining at least one of: whether the current fit is within a tolerance, and whether the current fit is better or worse than a previous fit.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising a module for comparing the fit to previous fits. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the set of orthodontic appliances comprises one or more of: lingual brackets, labial brackets, buccal tubes, bands, buttons, and attachments used in conjunction with removable appliances. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising a module for indicating that the dental anatomy requires a custom bracket. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising a module for generating standard appliances for the selecting module, comprising:
 a module for receiving digital 3D models of at least a portion of teeth from a sample group;   a module for classifying the digital 3D models into classes of similar shapes; and   a module for creating digital 3D model representatives for each of the classes, where each digital 3D model representative is an average shape of the shapes in the corresponding class.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a module for receiving user constraints for a position of the base on the dental anatomy; and   a module for determining which of the orthodontic appliances from the set of orthodontic appliances best fits within the user constraints.   
     
     
         13 . A computer-implemented system for determining orthodontic appliances, comprising:
 a module for receiving a digital 3D model of teeth for affixing a set of orthodontic appliances;   a module for determining teeth in the digital 3D model of teeth having surfaces that will virtually fit to a base of a standard appliance in the set of orthodontic appliances within a tolerance;   a module for selecting the standard appliances for the determined teeth that will virtually fit to the standard appliances and associating each of the determined teeth with a corresponding standard appliance that will virtually fit; and   a module for identifying teeth in the digital 3D model of teeth that will not virtually fit to the standard appliances within the tolerance.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the set of orthodontic appliances comprises one or more of: lingual brackets, labial brackets, buccal tubes, bands, buttons, and attachments used in conjunction with removable appliances. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the determining module comprises a module for accessing a library of the standard appliances classified according to average shapes of surfaces of teeth. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the identifying module comprises a module for indicating that each of the identified teeth requires a custom orthodontic appliance. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising a module for generating the standard appliances for the determining module, comprising:
 a module for receiving digital 3D models of at least a portion of teeth from a sample group;   a module for classifying the digital 3D models into classes of similar shapes; and   a module for creating digital 3D model representatives for each of the classes, where each digital 3D model representative is an average shape of the shapes in the corresponding class.