| abstract |
A system and method by which an orthodontic appliance is automatically designed and manufactured from digital lower jaw and tooth shape data of a patient provides for preferably scanning a model of the patient's mouth to produce two or three dimensional images and digitizing contours and selected points. A computer may be programmed to construct archforms and/or to calculate finish positions of the teeth, then to design an appliance to move the teeth to the calculated positions. The appliance may include archwires and brackets. Machine code is generated and appliances are automatically produced that will straighten the teeth of the patient. Custom placement jigs may also be automatically designed and fabricated and are provided with the custom appliance to position the appliance on the patient's teeth. |