Dental appliance having ornamental design

Abstract

A dental appliance having an integrally formed reservoir and/or an ornamental design integrated thereon. The ornamental design can be selected or customized by a patient. The design can be created by directing energy to the dental appliance to alter a material property of at least a portion of the appliance to create the design. Alternatively, a groove or recess can be formed on a surface of the appliance to either mechanically retain an ornamental design or the groove or recess can be filled with ink to form the design. The appliance, including the integrally formed reservoir, can be formed using direct fabrication techniques.

1 - 27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . A method comprising:
 displaying one or more digital images to integrate into a dental appliance, the dental appliance comprising a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to receive a plurality of teeth and apply repositioning forces thereto, and the dental appliance having a plurality of layers of polymeric material associated with a respective plurality of color properties;   receiving a selection of at least one digital image of the one or more digital images;   identifying a specific layer of the plurality of layers to receive the digital image, the specific layer associated with a specific color property of the plurality of color properties; and   providing instructions to direct a specific type of energy to the specific layer to integrate into the specific layer an ornamental design comprising a representation of the digital image.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein displaying the one or more digital images comprises providing the one or more digital images on a website or storing a customized ornamental design on a server associated with the website. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising fabricating the dental appliance with the ornamental design integrated thereon by obtaining the selected image from the server. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the web site is associated with a dentist or orthodontist or a manufacturer of dental appliances. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the selected image is created on a computer and then uploaded to the website. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the selected image is scanned using a scanner and uploaded to the website. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the selected image is created directly on the web site. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising fabricating the dental appliance comprising the plurality of layers, wherein the ornamental design dictates a geometry of proximate layers used to build the appliance near the ornamental design. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the geometry of the proximate layers comprises a recessed area having a depth to receive the ornamental design such that the ornamental design is flush with a surface of the dental appliance. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the ornamental design is attached to the appliance in the recessed area. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein each layer creates depth to accommodate colors desired in the ornamental design. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising fabricating the dental appliance with a recessed area sized and shaped to receive the ornamental design. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , further comprising fabricating the ornamental design. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising attaching the ornamental design to the recessed area using adhesive. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein providing instructions to direct a specific type of energy to the specific layer to integrate the ornamental design into the specific layer comprises instructing extraction of the specific color property associated with the specific layer. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the specific energy comprises energy due to etching, heat, or light. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein providing instructions to direct a specific type of energy to the specific layer to integrate the ornamental design into the specific layer comprises instructing attachment of the ornamental design to the specific layer. 
     
     
         45 . A dental appliance fabricated by a method of providing a design on a dental appliance having a geometry configured to receive teeth, the method comprising:
 providing the appliance comprising a plurality of layers, wherein each of the plurality of layers is associated with a color; and   altering an appearance of at least a portion of the appliance to provide the design on the appliance by directing an etching device, heat, or light energy to at least a portion of the appliance to alter a material property of the at least a portion of the appliance, wherein altering the material property further comprises removing at least a portion of one of the plurality of layers from the appliance to reveal the color associated with an underlying layer of the appliance.   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the etching device is a laser or milling tool. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 45 , further comprising:
 providing on a website a selection of images or an ability to upload or create a customized image for use as the design integrated with the dental appliance;   allowing selecting of an image from the selection or uploading of a customized image to the website via a network for use as the design for integration with the dental appliance; and   storing the selected or uploaded image on a server associated with the website.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein altering an appearance of at least a portion of the appliance comprises directing an etching device, heat, or light energy to at least a portion of the appliance to alter a material property of the at least a portion of the appliance to create a design selected or uploaded from the server. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the design dictates layers used to build the appliance near the design. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein each layer has depth to accommodate colors desired in the design.