US 11,890,159 B2
Reinforced aligner hooks
Eric Kuo, San Jose, CA (US); Artem Borovinskih, Union City, CA (US); and Shiva Sambu, Santa Clara, CA (US)
Assigned to ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 10, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/884,972.
Application 14/951,245 is a division of application No. 12/772,130, filed on Apr. 30, 2010, abandoned.
Application 17/884,972 is a continuation of application No. 17/227,158, filed on Apr. 9, 2021, granted, now 11,471,250.
Application 17/227,158 is a continuation of application No. 17/163,144, filed on Jan. 29, 2021.
Application 17/163,144 is a continuation of application No. 16/285,004, filed on Feb. 25, 2019, granted, now 10,912,627, issued on Feb. 9, 2021.
Application 16/285,004 is a continuation of application No. 14/951,245, filed on Nov. 24, 2015, granted, now 10,271,923, issued on Apr. 30, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0378550 A1, Dec. 1, 2022
Int. Cl. G06T 15/00 (2011.01); A61C 7/00 (2006.01); A61C 7/08 (2006.01); G06F 30/20 (2020.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01); A61C 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 7/002 (2013.01) [A61C 7/08 (2013.01); B33Y 50/02 (2014.12); G06F 30/20 (2020.01); A61C 9/0046 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of providing orthodontic treatment, the method comprising:
receiving an initial dentition model of a patient's dentition in an initial arrangement;
determining a target arrangement for the patient's dentition;
generating an orthodontic treatment plan for the patient's dentition, the orthodontic treatment plan comprising a plurality of polymeric aligners configured to incrementally reposition the patient's dentition from the initial arrangement towards the target arrangement;
designing at least one of the plurality of polymeric aligners, wherein designing the at least one of the plurality of polymeric aligners comprises:
determining a geometry for an upper shell having a first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities, wherein the first plurality of teeth-receiving cavities are configured to receive at least some of the patient's upper dentition;
determining a geometry for a lower shell having a second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities, wherein the second plurality of teeth-receiving cavities are configured to receive at least some of the patient's lower dentition;
determining a position of a first integral hook disposed on the upper shell; and
determining a position of a second integral hook disposed on the lower shell;
wherein the geometry for the upper shell comprises a locally reinforced portion connected with the first integral hook, wherein the locally reinforced portion comprises a curved geometry;
fabricating the at least one of the plurality of polymeric aligners based in part on the determined geometries of the upper and lower shells and the determined positions of the first integral hook and second integral hook; and
removing material from a surface of each of the upper and lower shells to form the first and second integral hooks, wherein an edge of the aligner formed from the removed material is configured to engage with an elastic member when the elastic member is secured to the first integral hook.