| CPC A61C 7/10 (2013.01) [A61C 7/002 (2013.01); A61C 7/08 (2013.01); A61C 7/16 (2013.01); B29C 65/48 (2013.01); B33Y 40/20 (2020.01); B33Y 80/00 (2014.12); G16H 20/40 (2018.01); A61C 2201/00 (2013.01); B29C 64/386 (2017.08); B29L 2031/753 (2013.01); B33Y 50/00 (2014.12)] | 15 Claims |
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1. A method of forming a palatal expander to be worn by a patient to expand a palatal arch of the patient, the method comprising:
accessing a three-dimensional (3D) model that is based on the patient's upper dental arch;
based on the 3D model, 3D printing a patient-specific palatal region made of a first polymer material by photopolymerizing a first photo-curable material in a 3D printing vat, wherein the palatal region is shaped and sized to apply an expansion force across the patient's palate, and wherein the palatal region is formed at a first location in the 3D printing vat;
removing the first photo-curable material from the vat;
adding a second photo-curable material in the vat, the second photo-curable material being different than the first photo-curable material;
based on the 3D model, 3D printing a patient-specific left tooth engagement region configured to receive one or more teeth of a left side of an upper jaw of the patient and a patient-specific right tooth engagement region configured to receive one or more teeth of a right side of the upper jaw of the patient, each made of a second polymer material that is less rigid than the first polymer material by photopolymerizing the second photo-curable material in the vat, wherein the left tooth engagement reion and the right tooth engagement region are formed at second and third locations that are on left and right sides, respectively, of the first location in the 3D printing vat;
removing the second photo-curable material from the vat; and
forming, with the palatal region and the left and right tooth engagement regions in place at their respective locations, a left junction region that directly couples the palatal region to the left tooth engagement region and a right junction region that directly couples the palatal region to the right tooth engagement region, wherein each of the left and right junction regions is formed by:
sequentially adding and removing different mixtures to and from the vat, wherein each mixture added to the vat has a different ratio of the first and second photo-curable materials than a mixture added previously to the vat; and
sequentially 3D printing different portions of the corresponding left or right junction region by photopolymerizing each of the different mixtures in the vat following each respective addition, wherein each portion of the different portions of the corresponding left or right junction region is made of a different combination of the first and second polymer materials based on the different ratios of the first and second photo-curable materials in the vat, thereby sequentially photopolymerizing multiple layers to form the corresponding left or right junction region in a layer by layer fashion such that each layer has a different ratio of the first and second polymer materials, thereby providing gradual material transitions between the palatal region and each of the left and right tooth engagement regions and a robust bond between the palatal region and each of the left and right tooth engagement regions.
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