Three-dimensional printed dental appliances using support structures

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for fabricating a dental or oral appliance utilizing support structures. A three dimensional representation of the dentition of a patient may be captured and reconfigured for correcting one or more malocclusions. The oral appliance may be printed upon an inner structure which supports the oral appliance during fabrication. The inner structure may be subsequently removed once the oral appliance is completed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of adjusting a thickness of a 3D printed oral appliance, comprising:
 capturing a three-dimensional electronic representation of a dentition of a subject including an upper arch model and a lower arch model of the dentition;   setting a bite registration between the upper arch model and the lower arch model via a processor;   generating an initial shell model based on the upper arch model and the lower arch model via the processor, the initial shell model having a predetermined thickness;   simulating a bite between the upper arch model and the lower arch model;   determining overlap regions in the initial shell model when the bite is simulated; and   removing the overlap regions from the initial shell model to form thinned regions having a thickness less than the predetermined thickness to form a final shell model.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein simulating the bite comprises digitally mounting the upper arch model and the lower arch model on a virtual articulator. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein generating the initial shell model further comprises incorporating one or more features into the initial shell model. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the one or more features comprise projections or slots. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining overlap regions further comprises determining stresses on the initial shell model. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein removing the overlap regions further comprises removing isolated islands or peninsular pieces from the initial shell model. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising exporting the final shell model for fabrication upon a 3D printer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising fabricating the oral appliance upon the 3D printer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising fabricating a support structure having an interfacing surface which corresponds to an outer occlusal surface of the oral appliance, wherein the interfacing surface is based on the three-dimensional representation and is complementary to the dentition. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising forming the oral appliance upon an exterior surface of the support structure such that the oral appliance is supported by the interfacing surface and an interior of the oral appliance conforms to the dentition, wherein an opening defined by the oral appliance corresponds to a width of the support structure where the width is constant along its height such that the oral appliance is readily removable from the support structure through the opening. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising removing the support structure from the interior of the oral appliance. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein fabricating the support structure comprises fabricating the support structure from a first material and forming the oral appliance from a second material different from the first material.