Dental appliance binding structure

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, computing device readable medium, devices, and systems having a dental appliance binding structure. One method can include to create a treatment plan based on a virtual model of a jaw of a patient, wherein the treatment plan includes use of a dental appliance having a first surface that defines a plurality of cavities shaped to receive a plurality of teeth, modify the virtual model of the jaw in a first configuration to include a virtual binding structure on a second surface, the platform shaped to receive a specialized feature that provides one or more force characteristics, select a particular specialized feature as an attachment to the dental appliance, and adjust the virtual model of the jaw from a first configuration to a second configuration, based at least in part on a modeled force provided by the virtual binding structure and the particular specialized feature.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A dental appliance system, comprising:
 a first dental appliance including a first shell having a number of tooth apertures configured to receive a number of teeth of a patient according to a first stage of a treatment plan, the first shell including a first binding structure positioned specific to a tooth arrangement of the patient associated with the first stage such that a first specialized feature can be attached to the first binding structure; and   a second dental appliance including a second shell having a number of tooth apertures configured to receive the number of teeth of the patient according to a second stage of the treatment plan, the second shell including a second binding structure positioned specific to a tooth arrangement of the patient associated with the second stage such that a second specialized feature can be attached to the second binding structure.   
     
     
         2 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first dental appliance is configured to, when in position in the oral cavity, reposition a jaw of the patient a first incremental distance according to the first stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         3 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first dental appliance is configured to, when in position in the oral cavity, reposition one or more teeth of the patient a first incremental distance according to the first stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         4 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the second dental appliance is configured to, when in position in the oral cavity, reposition the jaw of the patient a second incremental distance according to the second stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         5 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the second dental appliance is configured to, when in position in the oral cavity, reposition one or more teeth of the patient a second incremental distance according to the second stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         6 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first specialized feature is configured to reposition a jaw of the patient according to the first stage of the treatment plan, and wherein the second specialized feature is configured to reposition the jaw of the patient according to the second stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         7 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first shell is configured to reposition one or more teeth of the patient according to the first stage of the treatment plan, and wherein the second shell is configured to reposition the one or more teeth of the patient according to the second stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         8 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first dental appliance is a first maxillary appliance for an upper jaw of the patient, wherein the dental appliance system further comprises a first mandibular appliance for the lower jaw of the patient and that cooperates with the first maxillary appliance to reposition the lower jaw with respect to the upper jaw. 
     
     
         9 . The dental appliance system of  claim 8 , wherein the first maxillary appliance and the first mandibular appliance cooperate to separate occlusal surfaces of the patient's teeth according to the first stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         10 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the treatment plan includes positioning a lower jaw of the patient with respect to an upper jaw of the patient such that condyles of the lower jaw are seated in a most posterior-superior position in temporal bone joints of the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The dental appliance system of  claim 10 , wherein the treatment plan further includes positioning the lower jaw of the patient with respect to the upper jaw of the patient to achieve centric occlusion of the mandibular teeth of the patient with respect to maxillary teeth of the patient. 
     
     
         12 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first binding structure has a different shape than the second binding structure. 
     
     
         13 . The dental appliance system of  claim 1 , wherein the first specialized feature has a different shape than the second specialized feature. 
     
     
         14 . A dental appliance system, comprising:
 a first dental appliance including a first shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition teeth of a patient according to a first stage of a treatment plan, the first shell including a first specialized feature configured to reposition a jaw of the patient a first incremental distance according to the first stage of the treatment plan; and   a second dental appliance including a second shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition the teeth of a patient according to a second stage of a treatment plan, the second shell including a second specialized feature configured to reposition the jaw of the patient a second incremental distance according to the second stage of the treatment plan.   
     
     
         15 . The dental appliance system of  claim 14 , wherein the first specialized feature is attached to a first binding structure of the first shell, the first binding structure positioned specific to a tooth arrangement of the patient associated with the first stage of the treatment plan; and wherein the second specialized feature is attached to a second binding structure of the second shell, the second binding structure positioned specific to a tooth arrangement of the patient associated with the second stage of the treatment plan. 
     
     
         16 . The dental appliance system of  claim 14 , wherein the first specialized feature has a different shape than the second specialized feature. 
     
     
         17 . The dental appliance system of  claim 14 , wherein the first specialized feature is attached to a first location on the first shell, and the second specialized features is attached to a second location on the second shell, wherein the first location is different than the second location. 
     
     
         18 . The dental appliance system of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second specialized features are made of a different material than the first and second shells. 
     
     
         19 . A dental appliance system, comprising:
 a first set dental appliances including:
 a first upper shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition upper teeth of a patient according to a first stage of a treatment plan; 
 a first lower shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition lower teeth of the patient according to a first stage of a treatment plan; and 
 a first specialized feature attached to the first upper shell or the first lower shell, the first specialized feature configured to cooperate with an opposing first upper or lower shell to reposition a lower jaw with respect to an upper jaw of the patient according to the first stage of the treatment plan; and 
   a second set dental appliances including:
 a second upper shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition upper teeth of a patient according to a second stage of a treatment plan; 
 a second lower shell having tooth apertures configured to receive and reposition lower teeth of the patient according to a first stage of a treatment plan; and 
 a second specialized feature attached to the second upper shell or the second lower shell, the second specialized feature configured to cooperate with an opposing second upper or lower shell to reposition the lower jaw with respect to the upper jaw of the patient according to the second stage of the treatment plan. 
   
     
     
         20 . The dental appliance system of  claim 19 , wherein the first upper shell and the first lower shell each includes a first specialized feature attached thereto, wherein the second upper shell and the second lower shell each includes a second specialized feature attached thereto.