US 11,937,991 B2
Dental attachment placement structure
Peter Webber, Redwood City, CA (US); Siobhan O'Leary, Santa Clara, CA (US); and Jun Sato, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 27, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/366,686.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/648,698, filed on Mar. 27, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2019/0298494 A1, Oct. 3, 2019
Int. Cl. A61C 7/08 (2006.01); A61C 7/14 (2006.01); A61C 7/16 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 7/08 (2013.01) [A61C 7/145 (2013.01); A61C 7/16 (2013.01)] 32 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aligner attachment placement device, comprising:
a frame configured to extend over at least a portion of a dental arch;
an attachment support extending from a first side of the frame;
an aligner attachment frangibly connected to the attachment support;
a first and second registration anchor extending from the frame and configured to hold the aligner attachment against a tooth surface at a predetermined position, wherein a gap portion of the frame between the first and second registration anchors is configured to suspend over one or more teeth of the dental arch such that a space is between the gap portion and the one or more teeth when the aligner attachment placement device is placed on the dental arch, wherein the aligner attachment is shaped to interact with a surface of an aligner to impart forces on the dental arch when the aligner attachment is attached on the tooth surface; and
a retention support extending from a second side of the frame and configured to maintain the frame over the dental arch, wherein the retention support is separate from and located between the first and second registration anchors, wherein the retention support includes an extension arm and a tooth contact portion, wherein the tooth contact portion is shaped to contact one or more teeth of the dental arch, and the extension arm couples the tooth contact portion to the second side of the frame, wherein at least part of the extension arm has a smaller width than the tooth contact portion.