ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,350,121, issued on July 8, was assigned to Align Technology Inc. (San Jose, Calif.).
"Orthodontic aligner with isolated segments" was invented by Peter Webber (Lafayette, Calif.), Jennifer C. Chen (Alhambra, Calif.) and Yan Chen (Cupertino, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A dental appliance includes a first segment comprising a first plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive and to impart a first distalization force in a distal direction on a first part of a patient dentition on a first jaw. The dental appliance further includes a second segment comprising a second plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receiv...