Virtually testing force placed on a tooth

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure include computing device related, system, and method embodiments for virtually testing force placed on a tooth are described herein. One method embodiment includes receiving initial orthodontic data (IOD) of teeth, and receiving a desired position of a tooth contained in the IOD. The method embodiment can also include computing a desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth to reach the desired position, wherein the force and torque are applied using a dental attachment. The method embodiment can include virtually testing and adjusting the attachment iteratively to reach the desired force and torque, and displaying the force and torque applied to the tooth via a user interface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computing device implemented method of virtually testing force placed on a tooth of a patient, comprising:
 receiving a desired position of the tooth included in initial orthodontic data (IOD), wherein the IOD includes tooth data of the patient;   determining at least one of a desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth by an aligner such that the tooth moves from an initial position to the desired position;   determining a placement area on the tooth for a dental attachment to achieve at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth in response to interaction between the aligner and the dental attachment;   determining an attachment location in the placement area on the tooth for the dental attachment;   virtually testing and virtually adjusting the attachment location in the placement area iteratively to reach the at least one of the desired force and torque to reach a desired attachment location of the dental attachment to move the tooth from the initial position to the desired position; and   creating a physical feature based on the virtual testing to cause the at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth by the aligner includes determining a force to cause the tooth to move once bone breakdown of the tooth has occurred. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the placement area on the tooth includes determining the placement area on the tooth based on a center of mass of the tooth associated with the at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the placement area on the tooth includes determining the placement area on the tooth based on a center of resistance of the tooth associated with the at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth. 
     
     
         5 . A system for virtually testing force placed on a tooth, comprising:
 an imaging device to scan a patient's dentition to generate initial orthodontic data (IOD), wherein the IOD includes tooth data of the patient;   a computing device including a processor and a memory, the processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
 receive, from the imaging device, the IOD; 
 receive a desired position of the tooth included in the IOD; 
 determine at least one of a desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth by an aligner such that the tooth moves from an initial position to the desired position; 
 determine a placement area on the tooth for a dental attachment to achieve at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth based on the aligner interacting with the dental attachment; 
 determine an attachment location in the placement area on the tooth for the dental attachment; 
 virtually testing and virtually adjusting the attachment location in the placement area iteratively to reach the at least one of the desired force and torque to reach a desired attachment location of the dental attachment to move the tooth from the initial position to the desired position; and 
 creating a physical feature based on the virtual testing to cause the at least one of the desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth. 
   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the physical feature includes at least one of the aligner and the dental attachment. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising a display to display the tooth, the attachment location in the placement area on the tooth, and the virtual testing and virtual adjusting of the attachment location. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the imaging device is an intra-oral scanner. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the IOD includes an initial virtual dental model of an initial tooth arrangement of the patient. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a display to display:
 the initial virtual dental model of the initial tooth arrangement of the patient;   a target virtual dental model of a tooth arrangement including the tooth at a desired location; and   at least one of a desired force and a desired force movement on the tooth as a vector arrow, wherein the vector arrow shows at least one of a direction and a magnitude of the desired force.   
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computing device readable medium having executable instructions executed by a processor to cause a computing device to:
 receive a desired position of a tooth of a patient included in initial orthodontic data (IOD), wherein the IOD includes tooth data of the patient;   determine at least one of a desired force and torque to be applied to the tooth to reach the desired position, wherein the at least one of the desired force and torque are applied using a dental attachment by interaction with an aligner, wherein the dental attachment includes a shape;   create a physical feature having a first shape and an initial position that interacts with the aligner to deliver the at least one of the desired force and torque to the tooth;   determine a placement area for the physical feature on the tooth included in the IOD based on a center of resistance of the tooth for virtual testing;   virtually testing and virtually adjusting the physical feature, including:
 virtually adjusting the physical feature by virtually adjusting at least one of the initial position to a revised position and adjusting the first shape of the physical feature to a second shape in response to the tooth being in a position outside a threshold proximity to the desired position; 
 determining at least one of an estimated actual force and torque generated by the physical feature having the second shape in the placement area; and 
 creating the physical feature based on the virtual testing having the second shape in response to the tooth being in a position within the threshold proximity to the desired position. 
   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computing device readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions are executed by the processor to cause the computing device to display, via a user interface:
 the at least one of the desired force and desired torque via the user interface; and   the at least one of the estimated actual force and torque applied to the tooth by the physical feature via the user interface.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computing device readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions are executed by the processor to cause the computing device to display, via a user interface:
 the at least one of the desired force and torque as first force and torque vector arrows, respectively, showing a first direction and magnitude of the desired force and torque; and   the at least one of the estimated actual force and torque as second force and torque vector arrows, respectively, showing a second direction and magnitude of the estimated actual force and torque.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computing device readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the IOD includes at least one of a gum structure and a mouth bone structure. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computing device readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the dental attachment is chosen to perform a particular movement with respect to the tooth positioning in the IOD based on a particular malocclusion of the tooth.