Orthodontics treatment simulation by teeth segmentation and setup

This paper presents the development of three-dimensional (3D) computer aided orthodontic software using Borland C++ Builderreg and OpenGL with the purpose of creating the 3D orthodontic treatment simulation. The method consists of 4 main steps as follows: the dental cast produced by 3D scanner in STL format was transformed from un-indexed data to an indexed data and taken as input in the first step. The cast model can be displayed in various views while user can move the model to any directions as required. Second step is the 3D teeth segmentation which has 2 methods available: segmentation using landmarks and segmentation using planes. Third step is to rearrange the segmented teeth to align with standard arch form curves using translation and rotation tools developed to let the user interaction with ease. Finally, the simulation of the orthodontics treatment has been developed, which display the alignment of each tooth from the beginning to the final outcome. The result has shown that the 3D orthodontic treatment simulation can be shown as a guideline of treatment preview for the patients. It is also a training tool for orthodontists, residents and students to enhance the experience through simulation before taking actual orthodontic planning.