Tools in a system for the design of customized three-dimensional models of dental restorations for subsequent manufacturing. dental restorations such as implant abutments, copings, crowns, wax-ups, bridge frameworks. Moreover, a computer-readable medium for implementing such a system on a computer. A system for designing at least one dental restoration, said system including: a display, means for acquiring and displaying a three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental restoration, and means for displaying a plurality of control points, each of the control points corresponding to a respective location on the dental restoration model, and each of said control points enabling manual customization of the dental restoration model.
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1. A system for designing at least one dental restoration, said system comprising:
a display,
means for acquiring and displaying a three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental restoration, and
means for displaying a plurality of control points, each of the control points corresponding to a respective location on the dental restoration model, and each of said control points enabling manual customization of the dental restoration model.
18. A method for designing at least one dental restoration at a display, said method comprising:
acquiring and displaying a three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental restoration, and
displaying a plurality of control points at the dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each of said control points providing means for manually customizing the dental restoration model.
30. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable medium, said computer program product providing a system for designing at least one dental restoration, said computer program product comprising means for carrying out the steps of:
acquiring and displaying a three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental restoration, and
displaying a plurality of control points at the dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each of said control points providing means for manually customizing the dental restoration model.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/222,761, filed on Mar. 24, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,075,937, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/119,514, filed on May 31, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,718,982, which is a U.S. national stage application of International Application No. PCT/DK2009/050243, filed on Sep. 17, 2009, and which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/098,255, filed on Sep. 19, 2008, and which also claims the priority of Danish Patent Application No. PA 2008-01310, filed on Sep. 18, 2008. All of the contents of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/222,761, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/119,514, International Application No. PCT/DK2009/050243, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/098,255, and Danish Patent Application No. PA 2008-01310 are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to tools in a system for the design of customized three-dimensional models of dental restorations for subsequent manufacturing. Dental restorations such as implant abutments, copings, crowns, wax-ups, bridge frameworks. Moreover, the disclosure relates to a computer-readable medium for implementing such a system on a computer.
The present disclosure is related to the field of designing and manufacturing of dental restorations such as crowns, bridges, copings, abutments and implants. When a patient requires a dental restoration the dentist will prepare the teeth e.g. a damaged tooth is grinded down to make a preparation where the crown is glued onto. An alternative treatment is to insert implants (titanium screws) into the jaw of the patient and mount crowns or bridges on the implants.
CAD technology for manufacturing dental restorations is rapidly expanding resulting in improved quality, reduced cost and facilitation of the possibility to manufacture in attractive materials otherwise not available. The first step in the CAD manufacturing process is to create a 3-dimensional dental model of the patient's teeth. This is provided by 3D scanning of one or both of the dental gypsum models or by scanning impressions of the teeth. The 3-dimensional replicas of the teeth are imported into a CAD program, where the entire dental restoration or a bridge substructure is designed. The final restoration 3D design is then manufactured e.g. using a milling machine, 3D printer, rapid prototyping manufacturing or other manufacturing equipment. Accuracy requirements for the dental restorations are very high otherwise the dental restoration will not be visual appealing, fit onto the teeth, could cause pain or cause infections.
Systems for designing dental restorations are known in the art, e.g. 3Shape DentalDesigner™ and 3Shape AbutmentDesigner™, which are generally used by dental specialists such as dental technicians. Users of such design tool systems are working with a three dimensional dental model of the patient trying to fit the dental restoration model into the dental model. During dental restoration of a patients teeth the typical procedure could be to secure an implant abutment in the jaw of the patient, a coping is then attached (e.g. by glue) to the abutment and finally a crown is glued onto the coping. However, both abutment, coping and crown must be designed to fit the patient, both physically and visually. I.e. the abutment, the coping and the crown must be customized for each tooth of each patient.
In the following the term “dental restoration” can be an implant abutment, a coping, a crown or any combination of these. Correspondingly a “dental restoration model” can be an abutment model, a coping model, a crown model or any combination of these.
In the design phase of a dental restoration a three dimensional model of the dental restoration is typically provided by the system and the task of the dental specialist is to shape the dental restoration model to provide a perfect fit in the dental model, whereby the patient can end up with a tooth implant that matches the other teeth of the patient. A dental specialist (i.e. a user of the system) is typically working with a dental model with at least one attached dental restoration model on a screen and the 3D models can typically be rotated around any axis, zoomed, panned and the like. Thus the user will typically be able to specify and change the orientation and viewing angle of the dental model and the dental restoration model. The task of a user is to shape and customize the dental restoration model into the dental model by translating, rotating, dragging, tilting, widening and/or narrowing the 3D dental restoration model (which preferably is fixed in the dental model). This is typically provided by use of an electronic screen pointing tool, such as a mouse, a ball pen or the like. In the following any reference to a “mouse cursor” or a “mouse marker” is a reference to the element on the screen representing the electronic screen pointing tool.
The dental restoration model can be customizably shaped by means of the pointing tool by shaping (“dragging”) the dental restoration model with origin in specific points on the dental restoration model. These points are in the following termed “control points” and can be seen in
When creating a dental restoration model certain rules must be applied, for example in terms of distance to adjacent teeth and gingival ridge and integration into the gingival. Measuring and checking these distances can be a cumbersome process during the design and creation of a dental restoration model, thus an object of the disclosure is to provide an intuitive and quick indication of distances between neighboring and adjacent objects in the process of creating a custom dental restoration.
This is achieved by a system for designing at least one dental restoration, said system having a display, such as a computer screen, and comprising:
The disclosure further relates to method for designing at least one dental restoration at a display, a display such as a computer screen, said method comprising the steps of:
In a further embodiment of the disclosure means for displaying an arrow at at least one of the control points is provided. The length of said arrow is preferably determined by a user defined value, whereby the distance between the dental restoration model and neighboring objects can be measured or indicated.
Thus, for a dental specialist in the process of creating a dental restoration this disclosure provides a quick real-time distance indicator when shaping the dental restoration model. For example when the dental specialist is varying the width of the dental restoration model by dragging the model in a control point, an arrow with origin in the specific control point will, by the length of said arrow, indicate a certain distance from the dental restoration model. The length of the arrow is determined by the user (i.e. the dental specialist in this case), thus if the user in advance knows that the distance from the dental restoration to the neighboring tooth should be 1.5 mm, the length of the arrow is specified to 1.5 mm and when widening the dental restoration model by dragging a control point, the arrow with origin in said control point will indicate for the user when the distance to the neighboring tooth is 1.5 mm. Thus, adjusting a dental restoration model to the correct width can be provided within seconds by the system and method according to the disclosure.
In a further embodiment of the disclosure means for displaying a grid at at least one control point is comprised. The size of the grid is determined by a user defined value. This grid provides the user with yet another way of measuring the distance to adjacent objects. The grid can have the appearance of a square divided into smaller and preferably equally sized squares, for example the grid can be a square of height and width of 1 mm divided into 4 squares of height and width 0.5 mm, or 16 squares of height and width 0.25 mm. An example of a grid can be seen in
A second embodiment of the disclosure relates to a system for designing at least one dental restoration, said system having a display, such as a computer screen, and comprising:
Correspondingly the disclosure relates to a method for designing at least one dental restoration at a display, a display such as a computer screen, said method comprising the steps of:
Preferably the arrow and/or the grid is located at the edge of the dental restoration model, preferably pointing towards a neighboring object. Naturally the arrow and/or the grid may also be displayed adjacent to, preferably at the edge of, a neighboring object (such as the dental model).
If each control point of the dental restoration model is showing an arrow or a grid, a confusing picture will be provided to the user. Thus in a preferred embodiment of the invention an arrow or a grid of a control point is only displayed under certain circumstances, preferably when the control point is activated. In a preferred embodiment activation of a control point is provided when the mouse cursor is close to a control point. “Close to” in the meaning of within a certain number of pixels on the screen and/or within a certain distance from the control point. Thus, an arrow or a grid of a control point is preferably only visible when the mouse marker is close to said control point. In another embodiment of the invention an arrow or a grid is only visible when the mouse marker is close to the origin of said arrow or grid.
In specific embodiments of the invention an arrow or grid is only visible when the mouse cursor is within a distance of preferably 10 pixels from a corresponding control point and/or the origin of said arrow or grid, such as within a distance of 100 pixels, such as within a distance of 80 pixels, such as within a distance of 60 pixels, such as within a distance of 40 pixels, such as within a distance of 30 pixels, such as within a distance of 20 pixels, such as within a distance of 15 pixels, such as within a distance of 12 pixels, such as within a distance of 8 pixels, such as within a distance of 6 pixels, such as within a distance of 5 pixels, such as within a distance of 4 pixels, such as within a distance of 3 pixels, such as within a distance of 2 pixels, such as within a distance of 1 pixel from a corresponding control point and/or the origin of said arrow or grid.
The length of an arrow or the size of a grid can be defined by the user, e.g. by a graphical menu. However, means for varying the length of an arrow or the size of a grid can advantageously be provided to the user simultaneous with an activation of a control point. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the system the length of an arrow or the size of a grid can be adjusted when a control point is activated. This adjustment can preferably be provided by means of user interaction, such as a screen pointing tool action, e.g. by turning the scroll wheel of the mouse. In this case a specific revolution of the scroll wheel is transferred to a specific increase or decrease of the length of the arrow or the size of the grid. For example a revolution of 5 degrees of the scroll wheel could correspond to a change in 0.1 mm in the length of an arrow or the size of a grid. Correspondingly for other types of screen pointing tools with or without variable buttons, scroll wheels and/or the equivalents of that. For practical reasons the numerical value of the length of the arrow or the size of the grid may be displayed to the user on the screen concurrently with the user interaction, e.g. the user can see the numerical value of the length of an arrow while turning the scroll wheel of the mouse.
When customizing the dental restoration model in a dental model it might be necessary to both expand, tilt and rotate the dental restoration model. A solution where each control point has only one functionality (e.g. the functionality of “rotation”) requires a great number of control points on the dental restoration model, possibly creating a confusing Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the user. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the functionality of at least one control point is variable, i.e. at least one of the control points has more than one function and the user can shift between these functions. Shifting the functionality of a control point can be provided in numerous ways in the GUI (e.g. by means of menus, buttons and/or the like). However, for the user a quick shift in functionality is advantageous, preferably without moving the mouse away from the control point, i.e. the user can preferably change the functionality of a control point when said control point is activated. For practical reasons the specific functionality of a control point can be indicated by a symbol on the screen to ease the user interaction. E.g. a specific symbol near a control point corresponds to a specific current functionality of the control point. Examples of functionality symbols are illustrated in
Furthermore, the functionality of a control point can preferably be changed by some specific activation of the mouse. A known specific activation is the “double-click” of a mouse button. Another specific activation is a “quick click” on a mouse button. By a “quick click” is understood a click on a mouse button executed within a certain time interval, for example with 0.5 seconds. I.e. the mouse button is activated in a time period less than the specified time interval. If the click execution is slower (i.e. the mouse button is activated in a time period longer than the specified time interval) nothing will happen. The time interval may be predefined and/or may be specified by a user. This “quick click” feature greatly enhances the dental restoration modeling experience for the user. Within seconds the dental restoration model can be dragged, widened, tilted and/or rotated by just few clicks on the mouse.
However, not all possible functionalities of a control point are always relevant. For example when the dental model and the dental restoration model are seen from the side. In this case a rotation of the dental restoration around the long axis is irrelevant to the user. And when a dental restoration model is seen from the top a variation of the height of the dental restoration is also irrelevant for the user. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the functionality of at least one control point is depending on the orientation of the dental restoration model. I.e., orientation in the meaning of the view angle of the dental restoration model seen by the user.
The orientation of the dental model and the dental restoration model is also relevant in other circumstances. The user will typically shape the dental restoration model when viewed along with the dental model. However, because the dental restoration is typically located between adjacent teeth the dental model can block the view of the dental restoration model for the user for certain view angles. Thus, the display of at least a part of the dental model is preferably depending of the orientation of the dental model, i.e. the view angle for the user. This dental restoration view blocking can preferably be solved by letting at least part of the dental model be invisible for certain orientations, preferably the invisible part of the dental model is the part that is between the user and the dental restoration model. Thereby the dental restoration model can be seen by the user for any orientation of the dental model.
In one embodiment of the invention the control points of the dental restoration model are a central part of the system. However, the appearance of all the control points can disturb the image of the dental restoration model when trying to create the perfect fit into the dental model. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the control points are only visible when the mouse marker (cursor) is within a specific distance from the dental restoration model. This specific distance can be a specific number of pixels on the screen or a specific distance related to the dental model and the dental restoration model. The dental model is a replica of a patient's teeth, thus the specific dimensions of the dental model are known exactly and at least one coordinate system is embedded in the system according to the disclosure. Thus, it can be specified in the system that the control points are only visible when the mouse marker is within a distance of a specific number of millimeters.
In specific embodiments of the invention the control points are only visible when the mouse cursor is within a distance of preferably 10 pixels from the dental restoration model, such as within a distance of 500 pixels, such as within a distance of 300 pixels, such as within a distance of 200 pixels, such as within a distance of 100 pixels, such as within a distance of 80 pixels, such as within a distance of 60 pixels, such as within a distance of 40 pixels, such as within a distance of 30 pixels, such as within a distance of 20 pixels, such as within a distance of 15 pixels, such as within a distance of 12 pixels, such as within a distance of 8 pixels, such as within a distance of 6 pixels, such as within a distance of 5 pixels, such as within a distance of 4 pixels, such as within a distance of 3 pixels, such as within a distance of 2 pixels, such as within a distance of 1 pixel from the dental restoration model.
A situation where the user is working on at least two dental restoration models in the same dental model can occur. This can for example be the case when two adjacent abutments are being designed. In this case the appearance of control points in both dental restoration models can confuse the image for the user. This can preferably be overcome by only showing the control points on the dental restoration model closest to the mouse marker.
A significant part of a dental restoration may be located below the gingival, especially when the dental restoration mode is an abutment model. Thus, when customizing a dental restoration model in a dental model, a part of the dental restoration model is hidden by the gingival of the dental model. It was previously indicated that if the dental model is blocking the view of the dental restoration model the blocking part of the dental model would advantageously become invisible to the user. However this is not a good solution in all cases, because if the dental model was invisible when trying to shape the dental restoration model to fit into the gingival of dental model, a perfect fit would be almost impossible. This can be solved by changing the transparency of the dental model. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the transparency of the dental model is variable. The transparency of the dental model is preferably automatically adjusted when needed, for example when the mouse cursor is close to a control point below the surface of the dental model. This is very helpful to the user, because the entire dental restoration model and the control points are thereby visible and the dental restoration model can be shaped to fit a dental model that is still visible but transparent. The transparency can for example be adjusted to 50%, where 0% transparency is the normal image, i.e. see through is impossible, and 100% transparency is totally invisible.
The systems and methods according to the disclosure furthermore regard the embodiments wherein the dental restoration is an implant abutment, a coping, a crown and/or any combination of these. Correspondingly, the disclosure regards the embodiments wherein a dental restoration model is an abutment model, a coping model, a crown model or any combination of these.
The disclosure furthermore includes a computer program product having a computer readable medium, said computer program product comprising means for carrying out any of the listed methods.
The disclosure will now be explained in greater details with reference to the figures showing embodiments of the invention where the dental restoration is one or more abutments.
A 3D model of an implant abutment is shown in
Fisker, Rune, Deichmann, Nikolaj, Clausen, Tais
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