Schedule of movement modifications in orthodontic treatment to avoid collisions

Abstract

Apparatus, system, and methods for utilizing one or more computing devices to stage the movement of teeth during an alignment treatment are disclosed. The computing device receives an electronic representation of the patient's teeth in their initial position and an electronic representation of the teeth a final position for each tooth. A route each tooth will travel to reach its final position is determined, and the teeth are scheduled to move according to a movement pattern. Moreover, the schedule of movement takes into account a maximum rate of tooth movement for each tooth, the path of movement for each tooth, the distance each tooth needs to move, any needed tooth staggering, any needed round-tripping or tooth movement slowing. The invention also includes techniques for determining an optimum number of stages for the treatment based on the schedule of movement.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 determining a schedule of movement for dental objects during treatment stages of a dental treatment, wherein the schedule of movement indicates whether or not each of the dental objects moves during each of the treatment stages;   determining a respective distance each of the dental objects moves between their respective initial position and respective final position for the dental treatment;   determining a rate each respective dental object moves during the dental treatment;   determining a total number of stages for the dental treatment based on the respective distance and the respective rate of each of the dental objects;   identifying a collision between a first of the dental objects and a second of the dental objects based at least on the schedule of movement of the dental objects and the respective locations of first and second dental objects during at least a first treatment stage;   performing a first modification of the schedule of movement in response to the identifying;   determining that the first modification does not avoid a collision between the first of the dental objects and the second of the dental objects;   performing a second modification of the schedule of movement after the determining that the first modification does not avoid a collision; and   fabricating at least a first dental appliance based on the schedule of movement after performing the second modification.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the first modification of the schedule of movement and the second modification of the schedule of movement includes modifying wither or not at least one of the dental objects move during at least one of the treatment stages. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein fabricating at least a first dental appliance includes:
 fabricating a positive mold of the dental objects; and   thermoforming an orthodontic aligner over each respective positive mold.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the schedule of movement is determined by selection by a user. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the schedule of movement includes one of an all-equal pattern, an A-shaped pattern, a V-shaped pattern, a mid-line shift pattern, or a M-shaped pattern. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the schedule of movement comprises analyzing, by a computer processor, the dental objects in their respective initial positions and respective final positions. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a respective distance each of the dental objects moves between their respective initial position and respective final position for the dental treatment is based on a location of each of the respective dental objects during each of the treatment stages. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the first modification comprises delaying initial movement of the first of the dental objects. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the second modification comprises slowing or stopping movement of the first of the dental objects during one or more of the treatment stages following a previous one of the treatment stages in which the first dental object moved. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the second modification comprises one or more of:
 delaying initial movement of the first of the dental objects; and   slowing or stopping movement of the first of the dental objects during one or more of the treatment stages following a previous one of the treatment stages during which the first of the dental objects moved.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 determining a schedule of movement for dental objects during treatment stages, wherein the schedule of movement indicates whether or not each of the dental objects moves during each of the treatment stages;   determining a total number of stages for the dental treatment based on the schedule of movement a respective distance each of the dental objects moves during the treatment and the respective rate each of the dental objects moves during the treatment;   performing a first modification to the schedule of movement to avoid a collision or obstruction between two or more of the dental objects on their respective routes;   determining that the first modification does not avoid the collision or obstruction between the two or more dental objects;   performing a second modification of the schedule of movement after determining that the first modification does not avoid the collision or obstruction; and   fabricating at least a first dental appliance based on the schedule of movement after performing the second modification.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the first modification of the schedule of movement and the second modification of the schedule of movement includes modifying wither or not at least one of the dental objects move during at least one of the treatment stages. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein fabricating at least a first dental appliance includes:
 fabricating a positive mold of the dental objects; and   thermoforming an orthodontic aligner over each respective positive mold.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the schedule of movement is determined by selection by a user. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the schedule of movement includes one of an all-equal pattern, an A-shaped pattern, a V-shaped pattern, a mid-line shift pattern, or a M-shaped pattern. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein determining the schedule of movement comprises analyzing, by a computer processor, the dental objects in their respective initial positions and respective final positions. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining, after performing a second modification to the schedule of movement, based on the schedule of movement a respective distance each of the dental objects moves during the treatment and the respective rate each of the dental objects moves during the treatment. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the first modification comprises delaying initial movement of the first of the dental objects. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the second modification comprises slowing or stopping movement of the first of the dental objects during one or more of the treatment stages following a previous one of the treatment stages in which the first dental object moved. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the second modification comprises one or more of:
 delaying initial movement of the first of the dental objects; and   slowing or stopping movement of the first of the dental objects during one or more of the treatment stages following a previous one of the treatment stages during which the first of the dental objects moved.