Method for defining a finish line of a dental prosthesis

Abstract

A computer-based prosthodontic method is provided, for enabling a dental practitioner to define a finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation. The method comprises the following steps: providing a three-dimensional (3D) digital data relating to the patient's dentition, the 3D data includes data representative of the surface topology of the preparation and its surroundings; generating first finish line data representative of at least a portion of the finish line and superimposing an image of the finish line on an image of the dentition; obtaining second finish line data determined on the basis of input received from a dental practitioner; and using the second finish line data to update the first finish line data and superimposing the updated data on the dentition image.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-based prosthodontic method for enabling a dental practitioner to define a finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation, comprising:
 (One) providing a three-dimensional (3D) digital data relating to the patient's dentition, said 3D data includes data representative of the surface topology of said preparation and its surroundings;   (Two) generating first finish line data representative of at least a portion of said finish line and superimposing an image of said finish line on an image of said dentition;   (Three)obtaining second finish line data determined on the basis of input received from a dental practitioner; and   (Four) using said second finish line data to update said first finish line data and superimposing the updated data on the dentition image.   
     
     
       2. A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the updating of the first finish line data comprises defining a portion of the finish line not defined in said first finish line data or changing a portion of said first finish line data. 
     
     
       3. A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the second finish line data is generated by virtually drawing a line at the apical limit of the preparation. 
     
     
       4. A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the line is drawn in a continuous fashion. 
     
     
       5. A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the line is drawn by marking dots in small intervals and then forming a line by automatically connecting the dots to one another. 
     
     
       6. A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the defined finish line is used as an input in constructing a crown. 
     
     
       7. A computer-based method for constructing a crown to be fitted on a tooth preparation in a subject, the method comprising defining a finish line on said preparation to obtain finish line data and employing said data in constructing the crown; the method being characterized in that defining the finish line comprises:
 (One) providing a three-dimensional (3D) digital data relating to the patient's dentition, said 3D data includes data representative of the surface topology of said preparation and its surroundings;   (Two) generating first finish line data representative of at least a portion of said finish line and superimposing an image of said finish line on an image of said dentition;   (Three) obtaining second finish line data on a finish line determined on the basis of input received from a dental practitioner; and   (Four) using said second finish line data to update said first finish line data and superimposing the updated data on the dentition image.   
     
     
       8. A method according to  claim 7 , wherein a virtual image of the preparation with a defined finish line is presented on a suitable display medium. 
     
     
       9. A method according to  claim 7 , comprising:
 constructing a virtual crown and virtually fitting said crown on said preparation in said virtual teeth;   generating digital data representing the three dimensional structure of the virtual crown;   employing said digital data to construct a physical crown for fitting on a tooth preparation in a patient.   
     
     
       10. A server utility of a computer-based system, for enabling a dental practitioner to define a finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation, said utility comprising:
 (a) a processor;   (b) a memory coupled to the processor for storing a three-dimensional (3D) digital data relating to the patient's dentition, the 3D data including data representative of the surface topology of the preparation and its surroundings;   (c) a dedicated utility coupled to or integrated with the processor for generating a first finish line data representative of at least a portion of said finish line and superimposing an image of said finish line on an image of said dentition; and   (d) a network interface coupled to the processor for transmitter to a dental practitioner computerized device at least a portion of the 3D digital data and the first finish line data and for receiving from the practitioner device data representative of a second finish line determined on the basis of practiotioner input, wherein the second finish line data is used to update the first finish line data.   
     
     
       11. A computer-based program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for constructing a crown to be fitted on a tooth preparation in a subject, the method comprising defining a finish line on said preparation to obtain finish line data and employing said data in constructing the crown; the method being characterized in that defining the finish line comprises:
 (a) providing a three-dimensional (3D) digital data relating to the patient's dentition, said 3D data includes data representative of the surface topology of said preparation and its surroundings;   (b) generating first finish line data representative of at least a portion of said finish line and superimposing an image of said finish line on an image of said dentition;   (c) obtaining second finish line data on a finish line determined on the basis of input received from a dental practitioner; and   (d) using said second finish line data to update said first finish line data and superimposing the updated data on the dentition image.   
     
     
       12. A computer-based prosthodontic method for enabling a dental practitioner to define a three-dimensional (3D) finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation, comprising:
 providing 3D digital data relating to a patient's dentition, the 3D data includes data representative of a surface topology of the tooth preparation and its surroundings;   generating, on a display, a first 3D finish line data and superimposing an image of the first 3D finish line data on an image of the dentition;   generating, on the display, a second 3D finish line data created on the basis of input data received from the dental practitioner, based on their professional consideration, using a stylus on a touch-sensitive screen or pad;   after receiving the input data from the dental practitioner, using the second 3D finish line data to update a portion of the first 3D finish line data to generate an updated first 3D finish line data; and   superimposing, on the display, the updated first 3D finish line data on the dentition image,   wherein the updated first 3D finish line data is subsequently used to form the dental prosthesis of the at least one tooth to be fitted over the tooth preparation.   
     
     
       13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second 3D finish line data is used to update the portion of the first 3D finish line data by defining a portion of the updated first finish line not defined by the first 3D finish line data. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second 3D finish line data is used to change the portion of the first 3D finish line data by defining a portion of the updated first finish line that is incorrectly defined by the first 3D finish line data. 
     
     
       15. A computer-based prosthodontic method for enabling a dental practitioner to define a three-dimensional (3D) finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation, comprising:
 providing 3D digital data relating to a patient's dentition, the 3D data includes data representative of a surface topology of the tooth preparation and its surroundings;   generating, on a display, a first 3D finish line data and superimposing an image of the first 3D finish line data on an image of the dentition;   generating, on the display, a second 3D finish line data created on the basis of input data received from the dental practitioner, based on their professional consideration, using a stylus on a touch-sensitive screen or pad, wherein the dental practitioner provides the input data for generating the second 3D finish line data by actively drawing a virtual line at the apical limit of the preparation using the stylus on the touch-sensitive screen or pad;   after receiving the input data from the dental practitioner, using the second 3D finish line data to update a portion of the first 3D finish line data to generate an updated first 3D finish line data; and   superimposing, on the display, the updated first 3D finish line data on the dentition image,   wherein the updated first 3D finish line data is subsequently used to form the dental prosthesis of the at least one tooth to be fitted over the tooth preparation.   
     
     
       16. The method of claim 15, wherein the virtual line is drawn as a continuous line by moving the stylus on the touch-sensitive screen or pad. 
     
     
       17. The method of claim 12, wherein the dental practitioner provides input data for generating the second 3D finish line data by marking dots in intervals using the stylus on the touch-sensitive screen or pad. 
     
     
       18. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the second 3D finish line data further comprises automatically connecting the series of dots indicated on a 2D or 3D image by the dental practitioner. 
     
     
       19. The method of claim 12, wherein the dental prosthesis is a crown. 
     
     
       20. The method of claim 12, wherein the 3D digital data relating to the patient's dentition is captured using a finish line utility integrated in a computer local to the dental practitioner. 
     
     
       21. The method of claim 12, wherein data may be manipulated to display the superimposed finish line and the image of the dentition from at least one of different angles and different magnifications. 
     
     
       22. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the first 3D finish line data further comprises, providing, on the display, at least one 2D image of a cross-section of the patient's dentition. 
     
     
       23. The method of claim 12, wherein the first 3D finish line data is generated in a fully automated manner. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 12, wherein the first 3D finish line data is generated in a semi-automated manner. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 24, wherein generating the first 3D finish line data further comprises:
 plotting a train of points in a margin area; and   converting the train of points into the first 3D finish line data.   
     
     
       26. A server utility of a computer-based system, for enabling a dental practitioner to define a three-dimensional (3D) finish line of a dental prosthesis of at least one tooth to be fitted over a tooth preparation, comprising:
 a processor;   a memory coupled to the processor for storing 3D digital data relating to a patient's dentition, the 3D data including data representative of a surface topology of the tooth preparation and its surroundings;   a dedicated utility coupled to or integrated with the processor for generating first 3D finish line data representative of at least a portion of said finish line; and   a network interface coupled to the processor for transmitting, to a computerized device of a dental practitioner, the first 3D finish line data and for receiving, from the computerized device of the dental practitioner, a second 3D finish line data determined from practitioner input, wherein the second 3D finish line data is used to generate an updated first 3D finish line data, and   wherein the memory comprises instructions, executable by the processer, the instructions being configured to:
 generate, on a display, the first 3D finish line data and superimpose an image of the finish line on an image of a patient's dentition; 
 generate, on the display, the second 3D finish line data created on the basis of input data received from the dental practitioner, based on their professional consideration; 
 after receiving the input data from the dental practitioner, use the second 3D finish line data to update a portion of the first 3D finish line data to generate the updated first 3D finish line data; and 
 superimpose, on the display, the updated first 3D finish line data on the dentition image, wherein the updated first 3D finish line data is subsequently used to form the dental prosthesis of the at least one tooth to be fitted over the tooth preparation. 
   
     
     
       27. The system of claim 26, wherein the second 3D finish line data is used to update the portion of the first 3D finish line data by defining a portion of the updated first finish line not defined by the first 3D finish line data. 
     
     
       28. The system of claim 26, wherein the second 3D finish line data is used to change the portion of the first 3D finish line data by defining a portion of the updated first finish line that is incorrectly defined by the first 3D finish line data. 
     
     
       29. The system of claim 26, wherein the dental practitioner provides the input data for generating the second 3D finish line data by actively drawing a continuous line at an apical limit of the preparation by moving a stylus on a touch-sensitive screen or pad. 
     
     
       30. The system of claim 26, wherein the dental practitioner provides input data for generating the second 3D finish line data by marking dots in intervals using the stylus on the touch-sensitive screen or pad and automatically connecting the series of dots indicated on a 2D or 3D image by the dental practitioner. 
     
     
       31. A computer-based program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for constructing a crown to be fitted on a tooth preparation in a subject, the method comprising defining a three-dimensional (3D) finish line on the tooth preparation to obtain finish line data and employing the finish line data in constructing the crown, the method being characterized in that defining the 3D finish line comprises:
 providing 3D digital data relating to a patient's dentition, the 3D data includes data representative of a surface topology of the tooth preparation and its surroundings;   generating, on a display, a first 3D finish line data and superimposing an image of the first 3D finish line data on an image of the dentition;   generating, on the display, a second 3D finish line data created on the basis of input data received from a dental practitioner, based on their professional consideration;   after receiving the input data from the dental practitioner, using the second 3D finish line data to update a portion of the first 3D finish line data to generate the updated first 3D finish line data; and   superimposing, on the display, the updated first 3D finish line data on the dentition image,   wherein the updated first 3D finish line data is converted into a format capable of being used to form the crown to be fitted over the tooth preparation.