Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 11, 2025 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 11, 2025 is noted. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 8-10, 12-13, 16 and 18-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kopelman et al. (2007/0238066) in view of Rosenberg (2006/0093984) in view off Perlman (4,134,208) in view of Schulhof et al. (2016/0346063).
Kopelman teaches a method of orthodontic treatment of a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 100 on the dentition such that a plurality of contoured surface of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped tooth surfaces of the dentition (see figs. 1-2, see abstract, pars. 40-42), and a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions the one or more dental attachments against one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth of the dentition (see pars. 40-45, 66-67, such that the body includes the window which positions the dental attachment as claimed), wherein each of the one or more dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports that extend from the body (see fig. 3b, such that points 451 are supports as the bracket is abutted against them for alignment, par. 67), wherein the plurality of supports abut to lateral regions of each of the one or more dental attachments, the lateral regions being lateral to a center of each of the one or more dental attachments (see fig 3b, par. 67, such that supports 451 abut the lateral edge of the attachment 70), wherein the plurality of supports 451 position each of the one or more dental attachments entirely within a corresponding aperture of the attachment placement apparatus (see fig. 3b) and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth (see abstract, pars. 36, 46). Kopelman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth, each of the plurality of supports has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachments from the body.
Rosenberg teaches a method of attaching one or more dental attachments to a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 28 on the dentition (see fig. 6, par. 51, such that band 30 mates with the dental arch and places attachments on the teeth), such that a plurality of contoured surfaces 31 of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped surfaces of the user (par. 51, such that the band is contoured to the dental arch), a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions one or more dental attachments 20 against one or more specified locations on one or more teeth of the dentition (see fig. 6, abstract, par. 51), wherein each of the one or more dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports 32 that extend from the body, the plurality of supports comprising breakable regions 34 configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachment form the body (par. 51), wherein the plurality of supports position each of the one or more dental attachments relative to the body of the attachment placement apparatus and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth (see abstract, par. 51). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the attachment placement apparatus taught by Kopelman to include the supports with the breakable regions taught by Rosenberg in order to more accurately place the attachments. Such that they are not moveable once relative to the body of placement apparatus once the desired position is determined. Kopelman/Rosenberg teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach the plurality of supports are spaced away from a respective tooth and plurality of supports has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at the breakable region.
Pearlman further a method of orthodontic treatment of a dentition (see abstract), the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 10 on the dentition (see fig. 1) such that a body 10 of the attachment placement apparatus positions one or more dental attachments 12 against one or more specified location on one or more teeth of the dentition (see abstract, fig. 1), wherein the one or more dental attachments 12 are coupled to a support (see annotated figure) that extends from the body, the support attached to a lateral region of the one or more dental attachment (see figs. 1-2, annotated figure), the lateral region being lateral to a center of each of the one or more dental attachments (see figs. 1-2, annotated figure below), wherein the support has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region 13 that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the corresponding dental attachment from the body (col. 2, ll. 46-53) and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified location on the one or more teeth (see abstract). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg with the shape of the support taught by Pearlman in order to provide a breakable region that is more easily broken. Such that the tapered regions provides or less material in the connection region that would allow for the region to be more easily broken. Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach each of the plurality of supports are spaced away from a respective tooth.
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Schulhof teaches a method of attaching one or more dental attachments to a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 20 on the dentition (see fig. 7), such that a plurality of contoured surfaces 21 of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped tooth surfaces of the dentition (see fig. 2, par. 30), a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions the one or more dental attachments 29 against one or more specified locations on one or more teeth of the dentition (see fig. 7, pars. 37, 43), wherein each of the one or more dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports 22 that extend from the body, wherein each of the plurality of supports are spaced away from a respective tooth (see figs. 1-2, 7), the plurality of supports comprising breakable regions configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachment form the body (see pars. 27, 37, such that they are configured to break, such as by cutting, see cited definition of break, such as to make or effect by cutting, forcing, or pressing through), wherein the plurality of supports position each of the one or more dental attachments relative to the body of the attachment placement apparatus and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth (see abstract, pars. 25, 27, 43). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effecrtive filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman with the supports being spaced away from the tooth as taught by Schulhof in order to prevent adhesive from accidentally adhering the supports to the teeth. Such that if spaced away from the teeth extra adhesive expelled from the attachment would not accidentally bond the support to the tooth due to the spaced between them.
With respect to claim 2, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches, wherein securing the one or more dental attachments comprises bonding the one or more dental attachments on the one or more teeth (see par. 46).
With respect to claim 3, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above including Rosenberg further teaching releasing the one or more dental attachments from the body by breaking the breakable regions of the plurality of supports (see par. 51).
With respect to claim 4, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches, further comprising removing the attachment placement apparatus from the dentition after the one or more dental attachments are separated from the body and secured to the one or more teeth (see par. 46).
With respect to claim 6, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches wherein the dental attachments include affixing surfaces (see fig. 2a, such that the affixing surface is the surface facing the tooth) and exterior surfaces opposite the affixing surfaces (see fig. 2a, such that the exterior surface is the surface having away from the tooth when bonded), wherein the exterior surface of at least one dental attachment of the one or more dental attachments includes a flat surface (see fig. 2a, such that the exterior surface has a flat surface).
With respect to claim 8, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Rosenberg further teaches wherein the one or more dental attachments are made from the same material as the plurality of contoured surfaces and the plurality of supports (see pars. 49, 51, such that they can both be made from a thermoplastic material). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Kopelman with the teaching of Rosenberg to make the elements out the same materials as a matter of obvious design choice. Such that a the device is more easily manufactured when using a single material.
With respect to claim 9, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Rosenberg further teaches wherein the one or more dental attachments are made from a different material as the plurality of contoured surfaces and the plurality of supports (see pars. 49, 51, such that the attachment can be made from metal and the contoured surface can be made from thermoplastic). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Kopelman with the teaching of Rosenberg to make the elements out of different materials as a matter of obvious design choice. Such that a cheaper material can be used to make the body since it will be disposed of after use in order to save money.
With respect to claim 10, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches wherein, for each dental attachment, the corresponding supports extend radially around the dental attachment (see fig. 3b, such that the supports 451 are positioned radially around the attachment).
With respect to claim 12, Kopelman teaches a method of orthodontic treatment of a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 100 on the dentition such that a plurality of contoured surface of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped tooth surfaces of the dentition (see figs. 1-2, see abstract, pars. 40-42), and a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions dental attachments against corresponding specified locations of one or more teeth of the dentition (see pars. 40-45, 66, such that the body includes the window which positions the dental attachment as claimed), wherein each of the dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports that extend from the body (see fig. 3b, such that points 451 are supports as the bracket is abutted against them for alignment), wherein the plurality of supports position each of the dental attachments entirely within a corresponding aperture of the attachment placement apparatus (see fig. 3b) and securing the dental attachments at the corresponding specified locations of one or more teeth (see abstract, pars. 36, 46), wherein the secured dental attachments are configured to engage with one or more dental appliances to direct repositioning forces from the one or more dental appliance to the dentition (see cited prior art Chishti 2001/0002310 which teaches that brackets are configured to interact with alinger to deliver forces to the teeth, such that the bracket taught by Kopelman is configured to function as claimed). Kopelman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach the plurality of supports has a tapered width with a narrow end that coupled to the corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachments from the body and wherein each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth.
Rosenberg teaches a method of attaching one or more dental attachments to a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 28 on the dentition (see fig. 6, par. 51, such that band 30 mates with the dental arch and places attachments on the teeth), such that a plurality of contoured surfaces 31 of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped surfaces of the user (par. 51, such that the band is contoured to the dental arch), a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions one or more dental attachments 20 against one or more specified locations on one or more teeth of the dentition (see fig. 6, abstract, par. 51), wherein each of the one or more dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports 32 that extend from the body, the plurality of supports comprising breakable regions 34 configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachment form the body (par. 51), wherein the plurality of supports position each of the one or more dental attachments relative to the body of the attachment placement apparatus and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth (see abstract, par. 51). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the attachment placement apparatus taught by Kopelman to include the supports with the breakable regions taught by Rosenberg in order to more accurately place the attachments. Such that they are not moveable once relative to the body of placement apparatus once the desired position is determined. Kopelman/Rosenberg teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach the plurality of supports has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at the breakable region and each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth.
Pearlman further a method of orthodontic treatment of a dentition (see abstract), the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 10 on the dentition (see fig. 1) such that a body 10 of the attachment placement apparatus positions one or more dental attachments 12 against one or more specified location on one or more teeth of the dentition (see abstract, fig. 1), wherein the one or more dental attachments 12 are coupled to a support (see annotated figure) that extends from the body, the support attached to a lateral region of the one or more dental attachment (see figs. 1-2, annotated figure), the lateral region being lateral to a center of each of the one or more dental attachments (see figs. 1-2, annotated figure below), wherein the support has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region 13 that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the corresponding dental attachment from the body (col. 2, ll. 46-53) and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified location on the one or more teeth (see abstract). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg with the shape of the support taught by Pearlman order to provide a breakable region that is more easily broken. Such that the tapered regions provides or less material in the connection region that would allow for the region to be more easily broken. Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach each of the plurality of supports are spaced away from a respective tooth.
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Schulhof teaches a method of attaching one or more dental attachments to a dentition, the method comprising placing an attachment placement apparatus 20 on the dentition (see fig. 7), such that a plurality of contoured surfaces 21 of the attachment placement apparatus are aligned with correspondingly shaped tooth surfaces of the dentition (see fig. 2, par. 30), a body of the attachment placement apparatus positions the one or more dental attachments 29 against one or more specified locations on one or more teeth of the dentition (see fig. 7, pars. 37, 43), wherein each of the one or more dental attachments are coupled to a plurality of supports 22 that extend from the body, wherein each of the plurality of supports are spaced away from a respective tooth (see figs. 1-2, 7), the plurality of supports comprising breakable regions configured to be broken to facilitate removal of a corresponding dental attachment form the body (see pars. 27, 37, such that they are configured to break, such as by cutting, see cited definition of break, such as to make or effect by cutting, forcing, or pressing through), wherein the plurality of supports position each of the one or more dental attachments relative to the body of the attachment placement apparatus and securing the one or more dental attachments at the one or more specified locations on the one or more teeth (see abstract, pars. 25, 27, 43). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effecrtive filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman with the supports being spaced away from the tooth as taught by Schulhof in order to prevent adhesive from accidentally adhering the supports to the teeth. Such that if spaced away from the teeth extra adhesive expelled from the attachment would not accidentally bond the support to the tooth due to the spaced between them.
With respect to claim 13, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above including Rosenberg further teaching releasing the one or more dental attachments from the body by breaking the breakable regions of the plurality of supports, wherein breaking the breakable regions comprises applying a compressive or tensile force on the breakable regions without the user of a cutting tool (par. 51, such that the attachments are individually removed by applying a force to the area with the perforations to break them away from the body).
With respect to claim 16, Kopelman teaches an attachment placement apparatus 100 comprising a body 110 shaped to engage with a patient’s dentition (see fig. 1, abstract, par. 65), wherein the body comprises a plurality of dental attachments 70, that, when worn at specified locations on the patient’s dentition, are capable of engaging with one or more dental appliances to direct repositioning forces from the one or more dental appliances to the patient’s dentition (see cited prior art Chishti 2001/0002310 which teaches that brackets are configured to interact with alinger to deliver forces to the teeth, such that the bracket taught by Kopelman is configured to function as claimed, such that it is noted that the applicant is only claiming the attachments that when worn can interact with a dental appliance as claimed), wherein each of the plurality of dental attachments is entirely within a corresponding aperture of the attachment placement apparatus (see figs. 1, 3b, such that the attachments is within the window); and a plurality of contoured surfaces shaped in accordance with corresponding surfaces of the patient’s teeth, the plurality of contoured surfaces arranged to place the dental attachments at the specified locations on the patient’s dentition (see fig. 1, par. 65, such that the shell has the contoured surfaces); and a plurality of supports 45 extending from the body and coupled to each of the dental attachments (see fig. 3b, such that points 451 are supports as the bracket is abutted against them for alignment), wherein, for each dental attachment, corresponding supports position the corresponding dental attachment within the corresponding aperture (see figs. 1, 3b, pars. 66-67). Kopelman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach wherein each of the supports comprises a tapered width with a narrow end that coupled to a corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the dental attachment form the body and wherein each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth when the attachment placement apparatus is placed on the patient’s dentition.
Rosenberg teaches an attachment placement apparatus comprising a body 30 shaped to engage with a patient’s arch (par. 51), wherein the body comprises a plurality of dental attachments 20 that when worn at specified locations on the patient’s dentition, engage with one or more dental appliances 36 to direct repositioning force from the one or more dental appliances to the patient’s dentition, a support 32 extending form the body and attached to lateral regions of each of the dental attachment (see fig. 6), the lateral regions being lateral to a center of each of the one or more dental attachment, wherein each of the plurality of supports comprises a breakable region 34 that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the corresponding dental attachment from the body (see par. 51). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the attachment placement apparatus taught by Kopelman to include the supports with the breakable regions taught by Rosenberg in order to more accurately place the attachments. Such that they are not moveable once relative to the body of placement apparatus once the desired position is determined. Kopelman/Rosenberg teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach the plurality of supports has a tapered width with a narrow end that couples to a corresponding dental attachment at the breakable region and wherein each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth when the attachment placement apparatus is placed on the patient’s dentition.
Pearlman further an attachment placement apparatus 10 (see fig. 1) comprising a body 1, a dental attachment 12 a support extending from the body (see annotated figure below) and attached to a lateral region of the dental attachment, the lateral regions being lateral to a center of the dental attachment, wherein the support comprises a tapered width with a narrow end that coupled to a corresponding dental attachment at a breakable region that is configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the dental attachment form the body (col. 2, ll. 46-53). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg with the shape of the support taught by Pearlman in order to provide a breakable region that is more easily broken. Such that the tapered regions provides or less material in the connection region that would allow for the region to be more easily broken. Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach each of the plurality of supports is spaced away from a respective tooth when the attachment placement apparatus is placed on the patient’s dentition.
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Schulhof teaches an attachment placement apparatus 20 to engage with a patient's dentition (see fig. 7), wherein the body comprises a plurality of dental attachments 29, that when worn at specified location on the patient's dentition are capable of engaging with one or more dental appliances to direct repositioning forces (see cited prior art Chishti 2001/0002310 which teaches that brackets are configured to interact with alinger to deliver forces to the teeth, such that the bracket taught by Schulhof is configured to function as claimed, such that it is noted that the applicant is only claiming the attachments that when worn can interact with a dental appliance as claimed), a plurality of contoured surfaces 21 shaped in accordance with corresponding surfaces of the patient's teeth (see fig. 2, par. 30), the plurality of contoured surfaces arranged to place the dental attachment at the specified locations on the patient's dentition (see fig. 7, pars. 37, 43), a plurality of supports 22 extending from the body and coupled to each of the dental attachments, wherein the plurality of supports comprise breakable regions configured to be broken to facilitate removal of the dental attachment from the body (see pars. 27, 37, such that they are configured to break, such as by cutting, see cited definition of break, such as to make or effect by cutting, forcing, or pressing through) and wherein each of the plurality of supports is spaced away form a respective tooth when the attachment placement apparatus is placed on the patient’s dentition (see figs. 1-2, 8). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effecrtive filling date of the invention to modify the supports taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman with the supports being spaced away from the tooth as taught by Schulhof in order to prevent adhesive from accidentally adhering the supports to the teeth. Such that if spaced away from the teeth extra adhesive expelled from the attachment would not accidentally bond the support to the tooth due to the spaced between them.
With respect to claim 18, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches wherein the dental attachments include affixing surfaces (see fig. 2a, such that the affixing surface is the surface facing the tooth) and exterior surfaces opposite the affixing surfaces (see fig. 2a, such that the exterior surface is the surface having away from the tooth when bonded), wherein the exterior surface of at least one dental attachment of the one or more dental attachments includes a flat surface (see fig. 2a, such that the exterior surface has a flat surface).
With respect to claim 19, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Rosenberg further teaches wherein the one or more dental attachments are made from the same material as the plurality of contoured surfaces and the plurality of supports (see pars. 49, 51, such that they can both be made from a thermoplastic material). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Kopelman with the teaching of Rosenberg to make the elements out the same materials as a matter of obvious design choice. Such that a the device is more easily manufactured when using a single material.
With respect to claim 20, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Rosenberg further teaches wherein the one or more dental attachments are made from a different material as the plurality of contoured surfaces and the plurality of supports (see pars. 49, 51, such that the attachment can be made from metal and the contoured surface can be made from thermoplastic). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Kopelman with the teaching of Rosenberg to make the elements out of different materials as a matter of obvious design choice. Such that a cheaper material can be used to make the body since it will be disposed of after use in order to save money.
With respect to claim 21, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches wherein a shape of a perimeter of at least one dental attachment of the one or more dental attachment is different than a shape of a corresponding aperture (see fig. 2B, such that the aperture 450 has a shape that is different than the attachment 70).
With respect to claim 22, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches wherein the plurality of supports are arranged around a periphery of each dental attachment such that one edge of each dental attachment is unobstructed by any of the plurality of supports (see fig. 3B, such that the edges are unobstructed, such that the supports are on the corners of the attachment).
With respect to claim 23, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kopelman further teaches each dental attachment has three supports attached thereto, wherein the three supports are arranged around a periphery of each dental attachment such that one edge of each dental attachment is unobstructed by any of the three supports (see fig. 3B, such that it has 3 supports, while there are 4 the claim does not limit to 3 only that three are required, and they are on the corners of the attachment, therefore, the edges are unobstructed by the supports).
With respect to claim 24, Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above including Schulhof teaching each of the plurality of supports is arched along its long axis in a direciont aweay form a respective tooth (see figs. 1-2, 8).
Claim(s) 5 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kopelman et al. (2007/0238066) in view of Rosenberg (2006/0093984) in view off Perlman (4,134,208) in view of Schulhof et al. (2016/0346063) as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Chishti et al. (2001/0002310).
Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach the method further comprises placing a dental appliance on the dentition, wherein the dental appliance applies a repositioning force on at least one of the one or more dental attachment for repositioning at least one tooth of the dentition.
With respect to claims 5 and 15, Chishti teaches a method of orthodontic treatment comprising placing dental attachments on the teeth and further comprises placing a dental appliance on the dentition, wherein the dental appliance applies a repositioning force on at least one of the one or more dental attachment for repositioning at least one tooth of the dentition (see pars. 140-141). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the method taught by Kopelman/Rosenberg/Pearlman/Schulhof to include the step of placing a dental appliance on the dentition as taught by Chishti in order to apply the desired forces to the teeth to achieve the desired treatment outcome.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/HEIDI M EIDE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772 1/26/2026