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How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

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Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#11

Post by nullable_bool »

ivan_gammel wrote: post #8
hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

It is definitely not that simple for a number of reasons. Yes, aligners and retainers in theory may be printed on some commercially available hardware. At your own risk, because you will be printing a medical device and you will need: 1. A treatment plan: simulated movement of teeth at every step, taking into account all forces. That’s specialized software or external lab service. 2. Precision. You put too much press…

Per point #3, aren't the liners thermo formed around at 3d printed model of your teeth?

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#12

Post by maccard »

afavour wrote: post #7
hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

I did Invisalign a few years ago. Manufacturing the retainers is surely only a small part of the puzzle. They used a specialized sort of 3D camera on a stick to get an incredibly accurate model of my mouth, any open source solution would need an equivalent. And you’d also need open source code from somewhere to work out which teeth need to move where and at what stage in the treatment.

That’s pretty wild. I got a mould taken with some sort of a putty .

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#13

Post by doubled112 »

maccard wrote: post #12
afavour wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did Invisalign a few years ago. Manufacturing the retainers is surely only a small part of the puzzle. They used a specialized sort of 3D camera on a stick to get an incredibly accurate model of my mouth, any open source solution would need an equivalent. And you’d also need open source code from somewhere to work out which teeth need to move where and at what stage in the treatment.

That’s pretty wild. I got a mould taken with some sort of a putty .

I wear a night guard and have had them made both ways.

The 3D camera was really neat. A little faster, and I didn’t once dry heave.

I could watch the software and a 3D model slowly form of my mouth. Looked surprisingly user friendly. Missed areas were highlighted, for example.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#14

Post by ivan_gammel »

nullable_bool wrote: post #11
ivan_gammel wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is definitely not that simple for a number of reasons. Yes, aligners and retainers in theory may be printed on some commercially available hardware. At your own risk, because you will be printing a medical device and you will need: 1. A treatment plan: simulated movement of teeth at every step, taking into account all forces. That’s specialized software or external lab service. 2. Precision. You put too much press…

Per point #3, aren't the liners thermo formed around at 3d printed model of your teeth?

IIRC, yes. It’s been some time ago, I don’t know how manufacturing looks now. It’s different process compared to 3D printing at home. It doesn’t mean it should be different, it just has to maintain certain properties. I’m not chemical or bioengineer to go into detail of it :)

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#15

Post by plomme »

hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

A point I didn’t see sibling comments make is that the dentist often has to file between teeth for them to sit and align correctly. They did so several times in my case. I would not want to do that to myself!

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#16

Post by joe_mamba »

kube-system wrote: post #10
hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

Orthodontics is simply “making a retainer” the same way orthopedics is simply “putting screws in a leg”. The difficult part is not the manufacturing, but knowing how to do it properly so you don’t harm the patient.

>The difficult part is not the manufacturing, but knowing how to do it properly so you don’t harm the patient.

And yet I read plenty of horror stories of bad orthodontic results. Ask me how I know.

Went to 3 different orthodontist to fix what a bad orthodontist did to me when I was a kid, and each gave me a completely different treatment plan. I feel like being an orthodontist is just eyeballing and patching your way as you go to an acceptable resolution.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#17

Post by joe_mamba »

afavour wrote: post #7
hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

I did Invisalign a few years ago. Manufacturing the retainers is surely only a small part of the puzzle. They used a specialized sort of 3D camera on a stick to get an incredibly accurate model of my mouth, any open source solution would need an equivalent. And you’d also need open source code from somewhere to work out which teeth need to move where and at what stage in the treatment.

>They used a specialized sort of 3D camera on a stick to get an incredibly accurate model of my mouth

AFAIK Align's 3D scanning system is more or less branched from the same Israeli tech that went into the Xbox 360 kinect camera and the iPhone face-ID.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#18

Post by greedo »

afavour wrote: post #7
hattmall wrote: post #2

So shouldn't this really be something that could be opened sourced. I think I've seen a few write ups of people that did their own, but seems like a highly functional implementation could be democratized.

I did Invisalign a few years ago. Manufacturing the retainers is surely only a small part of the puzzle. They used a specialized sort of 3D camera on a stick to get an incredibly accurate model of my mouth, any open source solution would need an equivalent. And you’d also need open source code from somewhere to work out which teeth need to move where and at what stage in the treatment.

They also use this camera system when creating implants. After the implant post was installed, they scan your mouth to determine the optimum shape for your crown (that goes on the post).
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