US 11,744,677 B2
Arch adjustment appliance
Ryan Kimura, San Jose, CA (US); John Morton, San Jose, CA (US); Richard Shaw, Morgan Hill, CA (US); and Chunhua Li, Cupertino, CA (US)
Assigned to Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 21, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/659,442.
Application 16/659,442 is a division of application No. 14/850,305, filed on Sep. 10, 2015, granted, now 10,449,016.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/052,893, filed on Sep. 19, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2020/0046463 A1, Feb. 13, 2020
Int. Cl. A61C 7/10 (2006.01); A61C 7/08 (2006.01); A61C 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 7/10 (2013.01) [A61C 7/002 (2013.01); A61C 7/08 (2013.01)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of forming a dental appliance, comprising:
forming a virtual arch element using a virtual dental arch of a patient, the virtual dental arch including a palate and a number of teeth of the patient's jaw, wherein the virtual arch element is wider than an arch width across the virtual dental arch; and
forming one or more virtual tooth engagement structures connected to the virtual arch element, each of the one or more virtual tooth engagement structures configured to engage with teeth on opposing sides of the virtual dental arch, wherein the virtual arch element extends from the one or more virtual tooth engagement structures in a lingual direction so that, when the one or more virtual tooth engagement structures are engaged with the teeth on opposing sides of the virtual dental arch, the virtual arch element spans across the palate and applies a virtual force on the teeth on opposing sides of the virtual dental arch in accordance with a stage of a treatment plan.