Patent US6733289B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6733289B2
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US
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Method and apparatus for selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace
Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Co
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Filing: 2001-07-30
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Granted: 2004-05-11
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Expires: 2021-07-30
Abstract
Abstract A prescription for an orthodontic brace is selected by providing data representing a number of teeth of the dental arch and by displaying images of the teeth in two or more different positions. Images of at least one tooth when in the first position and when in the second position are simultaneously displayed in superimposed fashion, and any difference in orientations of the displayed tooth images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast. As a consequence, the relative difference in positions can be readily observed. The invention is particularly useful for selecting a prescription of a brace from two or more prescriptions, and is also useful for observing the relative effect of a single prescription when used on certain teeth in comparison to the position of the same teeth during an earlier stage of treatment.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert C. Manemann
- 👤 Russell A. Jordan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 21:02
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61C; A61C7/00; A61C7/002; G; G16; G16H; G16H20/00; G16H20/40; G16H30/00; G16H30/40; A61C2007/004
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
204 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace comprising: providing a set of data representative of a number of teeth of a dental arch; selecting a first orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the first brace has a certain prescription; determining first positions of the teeth as they might appear when the first brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; selecting a second orthodontic brace for at least some of the same teeth in the dental arch, wherein the second brace has a prescription that is different than the prescription of the first brace; determining second positions of the teeth as they might appear when the second brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; and simultaneously displaying an image of at least one tooth when in the first position and an image of said at least one tooth when in the second position, wherein at least part of the images are overlaid, and wherein at least a portion of any difference in the positions of the displayed tooth images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast so that the relative effect of the first brace and the second brace can be observed.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
204 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace comprising: providing a set of data representative of a number of teeth of a dental arch; selecting a first orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the first brace has a certain prescription; determining first positions of the teeth as they might appear when the first brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; selecting a second orthodontic brace for at least some of the same teeth in the dental arch, wherein the second brace has a prescription that is different than the prescription of the first brace; determining second positions of the teeth as they might appear when the second brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; and simultaneously displaying an image of at least one tooth when in the first position and an image of said at least one tooth when in the second position, wherein at least part of the images are overlaid, and wherein at least a portion of any difference in the positions of the displayed tooth images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast so that the relative effect of the first brace and the second brace can be observed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a color contrast.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a difference in shading of the images.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a difference in the shape of the perimeter of the images.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 wherein said images of at least one tooth when displayed in the first position and when in the second position are displayed without at least part of the first brace and at least part of the second brace, respectively.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 and including the act of selecting a brace from the first brace and the second brace, and the act of purchasing the selected brace.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 6 wherein the act of purchasing includes the act of creating an order entry using, at least in part, digital data corresponding to at least part of the selected brace.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 7 wherein the act of creating an order entry includes the act of creating a purchase order.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
81 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 1 wherein the act of simultaneously displaying images of at least one tooth when in the first position and when in the second position includes the act of displaying each tooth in the dental arch, and wherein any teeth that are in substantially the same position in both the first position and in the second position are displayed less prominently than the remaining teeth of the dental arch.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
269 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace comprising: providing a set of data representative of a number of teeth of a dental arch; selecting a first orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the first brace includes a first set of appliances comprising an archwire and a number of brackets, and wherein each appliance of the first set has a certain prescription; determining first positions of the teeth as they might appear when the first brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; selecting a second orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the second brace includes a second set of appliances comprising an archwire and a number of brackets, wherein each appliance of the second set has a certain prescription, and wherein at least one appliance of the second set has a prescription that is different than the prescription of one of the appliances of the first set; determining second positions of the teeth as they might appear when the second brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; and simultaneously displaying an image of at least one tooth when in the first position and an image of said at least one tooth when in the second position, wherein at least part of the images are superimposed with respect to each other, and wherein at least a portion of any difference in the positions of the displayed images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast so that the relative effect of the first brace and the second brace can be observed.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
269 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace comprising: providing a set of data representative of a number of teeth of a dental arch; selecting a first orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the first brace includes a first set of appliances comprising an archwire and a number of brackets, and wherein each appliance of the first set has a certain prescription; determining first positions of the teeth as they might appear when the first brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; selecting a second orthodontic brace for at least some of the teeth in the dental arch, wherein the second brace includes a second set of appliances comprising an archwire and a number of brackets, wherein each appliance of the second set has a certain prescription, and wherein at least one appliance of the second set has a prescription that is different than the prescription of one of the appliances of the first set; determining second positions of the teeth as they might appear when the second brace is mounted on corresponding teeth; and simultaneously displaying an image of at least one tooth when in the first position and an image of said at least one tooth when in the second position, wherein at least part of the images are superimposed with respect to each other, and wherein at least a portion of any difference in the positions of the displayed images between the first position and the second position appears in contrast so that the relative effect of the first brace and the second brace can be observed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the archwire of the first set of appliances is identical to the archwire of the second set of appliances.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the archwire of the first set of appliances is different than the archwire of the second set of appliances.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a color contrast.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a difference in shading of the images.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the contrast in the images appears as a difference in the shape of the perimeter of the images.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein said image of at least one tooth when displayed in the first position is displayed without the brackets of the first set of appliances.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orhtodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein said image of at least one tooth when displayed in the first position is displayed without the archwire of the first set of appliances.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 and including the act of selecting a brace from the first brace and the second brace, and the act of purchasing the selected brace after observing of the relative effect.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 18 wherein the act of purchasing includes the act of creating an order entry using, at least in part, digital data corresponding to at least part of the selected brace.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 19 wherein the act of creating an order entry includes the act of creating a purchase order.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
80 words
A method of selecting a prescription for an orthodontic brace according to claim 10 wherein the act of simultaneously displaying images of at least one tooth when in the first position and when in the second position includes the act of displaying each tooth in the dental arch, and wherein any teeth that are in the same position in both the first position and in the second position are displayed less prominently than the remaining teeth of the dental arch.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-05-11 | 2007-11-10 | 2008-05-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-05-11 | 2011-11-10 | 2012-05-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-05-11 | 2015-11-10 | 2016-05-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |