Analysis of 3-D images of dental imprints using computer vision

This paper addressed two important aspects of dental analysis: (1) location and (2) identification of the types of teeth by means of 3-D image acquisition and segmentation. The 3-D images of both maxillaries are acquired using a wax wafer as support. The interstices between teeth are detected by non-linear filtering of the 3-D and grey-level data. Two operators are presented: one for the detection of the interstices between incisors, canines, and premolars and one for those between molars. Teeth are then identified by mapping the imprint under analysis on the computer model of an 'ideal' imprint. For the mapping to be valid, a set of three reference points is detected on the imprint. Then, the points are put in correspondence with similar points on the model. Two such points are chosen based on a least-squares fit of a second-order polynomial of the 3-D data in the area of canines. This area is of particular interest since the canines show a very characteristic shape and are easily detected on the imprint. The mapping technique is described in detail in the paper as well as pre-processing of the 3-D profiles. Experimental results are presented for different imprints.