Automated treatment staging for teeth

摘要

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.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for staging movement of a plurality of dental objects, the method comprising:
receiving, at a host computer, an electronic representation of each dental object of the plurality of dental objects in relation to one another, the electronic representation comprising each dental object in a respective initial position; receiving, by the host computer, an electronic representation of a corrected position for each respective dental object; measuring, by the host computer, a movement distance between the electronic representation of the initial position and the electronic representation of the corrected position of at least one dental object of the plurality of dental objects; using the measured movement distance as a basis for selecting, by the host computer, a movement pattern from a plurality of movement patterns for moving the plurality of dental objects towards their corrected positions; and modifying, by the host computer, the computer-selected movement pattern at least by staggering or round-tripping at least one dental object of the plurality of dental objects so as to avoid collision or obstruction of the plurality of dental objects on their respective routes to their corrected positions.