DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the response to restriction filed on January 20, 2026. Invention I (claims 1-5) has been elected with traverse. Invention II (claim 6) has been withdrawn. Claims 1-5 have been examined and are currently pending.
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 .
Response to Restriction
Applicant’s election of Invention I in the reply filed on January 20, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on October 29, 2024 has been considered. An initialed copy of the Form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Independent claim 1 recites “A dental system”. Add a preamble to the independent claim by adding the term “comprising” and a colon. For instance, “A dental system comprising: Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 2 recites “the side” in line 6 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 2 recites “the face” in line 6 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 2 recites “the initial visit” in line 8 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the nose” in line 3 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the other edge” in line 3 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the columella” in line 4 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the edge” in line 4 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the upper lip” in lines 4-5 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the other eye” in line 6 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the inner end” in line 8 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the labial vestible” in line 8 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the upper buccal frenum” in line 9 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the lower buccal frenum” in line 10 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the other side” in line 12 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the eye” in line 13 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the lower border” in line 13 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the chin” in line 13 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the mouth” in line 14 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the menton” in line 15 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the mandible” in line 15 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the junction” in line 15 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the floor” in line 15 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the outer canthus” in line 16 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 3 recites “the angle” in lines 16-17 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 4 recites “the data” in line 2 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 4 recites “the knowledge” in line 3 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 4 recites “the anatomic” in line 3 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Dependent claim 4 recites “the orofacial” in line 4 which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is not directed to statutory subject matter. A system claim needs to recite the physical structures that make up the system, e.g., a processor, a memory, an input device, an output device, etc. for a computer-based system. In the instant application, independent claim 1 does not recite physical structures are included in the system which would enable a practitioner to make and use the system, the system claim is considered to be non-statutory.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Aminzadeh WO 20230240333 A1.
Claim 1:
As per claim 1, Aminzadeh teaches a dental system and software configured to obtain facial measurement data associated and unique to a patient and create a removable dental prosthesis based on the facial measurement data by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze the facial measurement data (paragraph 0020 “According to another aspect, there is provided a method for collecting data for use in designing a personalized dental prosthesis for a patient, the method comprising: obtaining, using at least one camera, a series of two-dimensional photos or a three-dimensional model of a head and face of the patient; using at least one machine learning model to determine facial or oral landmarks and a central incisal edge of the prosthesis from the photos or model; determining dimensions for the dental prosthesis from the landmarks and the central incisal edge, wherein the dimensions comprise a labial border of the prosthesis, distal borders of the prosthesis, a superior border of the prosthesis, an inferior border of the prosthesis, a lingual border of the prosthesis, and buccal borders of the prosthesis; and outputting the dimensions to an output file for use in manufacturing the prosthesis.”).
Claim 2:
As per claim 2, Aminzadeh teaches the system of claim 1 as described above and further teaches wherein the facial measurement data comprises:
initial patient intraoral scan or impression, initial panoramic radiograph, initial cephalometric radiograph, Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) medium field of view, full front facial pictures in smiling and non-smiling posture, facial picture from the side of the face, facial picture with patient slightly smiling, patient’s weight and height measurement, patient’s facial measurement taken at the initial visit or historical photos of when the patient had his or her teeth (paragraphs 0061, 0071, and 0080).
Claim 3:
As per claim 3, Aminzadeh teaches the system of claim 2 as described above and further teaches wherein the patient’s facial measurement data comprises:
distance from one edge of ALA of the nose to the other edge of ALA of the nose, distance from the columella of the nose to the edge of philtrum of the upper lip, nasoliabial angle, distance from edge of lateral canthus of one eye to the lateral canthus of the other eye, distance from edge of medial canthus of one eye to the edge of medial canthus of the other eye, measurement from the edge of upper lip to the inner end of the labial vestibule, measurement from upper incisal frenum to the upper buccal frenum on right and left sides, measurement from lower incisal frenum to the lower buccal frenum on both sides, measurement from upper lip to lip in maximal mouth opening, measurement from one side of the side to the other side of the face, measurement from the eye brown to the lower border of the chin (mental region) when the mouth is closed and patient is in a relaxed position, measurement from the menton of the mandible to the junction of the floor the nose and upper lip, measurement from the outer canthus of the eye to the angle of the lips (paragraph 0010).
Claim 4:
As per claim 4, Aminzadeh teaches the dental system of claim 3 as described above and further teaches wherein the facial measurement data are input into a computer software that uses artificial intelligence to analyze all the data using the knowledge of the anatomic relationship between each component/part of the orofacial anatomy, and positions the teeth for that particular patient using the measurements for that particular patient (paragraphs 0020, 0044, and 0045).
Claim 5:
As per claim 5, Aminzadeh teaches the dental system of claim 4 as described above and further teaches wherein the data is then sent to a CADCAM milling machine or a 3D printer for fabrication of the prosthesis (paragraph 0028).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nulty et al. US Publication 20240189076 Method of Generating Manufacturing Parameters During Dental Procedure for Dental Prosthesis
Nulty discloses a method of generating manufacturing parameters during a dental procedure to construct a dental prosthesis, the method comprising the steps of: a) intra-orally scanning a patient to generate intra-oral data; b) extra-orally scanning the patient during a mandibular motion to generate dynamic extra-oral maxillofacial data; c) resolving the intra-oral data with the dynamic extra-oral maxillofacial data to generate a combined data model; d) generating a model representation of the dental prosthesis based on the combined data model and displaying the model representation to a user; and e) generating manufacturing parameters based on the combined data model.
Zhao et al. US Publication 20240256719 A1 Deep Learning based Method to Generate a Dental Prosthesis
Zhao discloses a computer-implemented geometric processing method generates the design for a model of a dental prosthesis beginning with obtaining a blended prosthesis dataset for dental prostheses including natural tooth data and prosthesis tooth data designed by a technician. This dataset is preprocessed by generating a depth map with preprocessing so that the data is more suitable for deep learning (DL) so as to ensure generation of a smooth surface. An artificial intelligence neural network generation model with tooth feature loss is trained on the preprocessed dataset and is used to form a model of the prosthesis. Then the dental information associated with the dental model of dentition is used to generate a 3D dental prosthesis surface with a post-processing method to meet the requirement of the dental prosthesis. Finally, the rest of the dental prosthesis is completed to meet full function.
Hollenbeck et al. US Publication 20250064562 A1 Systems and Methods for Designing a Dental Prosthesis
Hollenbeck discloses a computer-implemented method for designing a dental prosthesis. A first step of the method may be to obtain a digital 3D representation of a surface, the surface including at least a part of a preparation surface adapted to receive the dental prosthesis, wherein the preparation surface includes a visible part and a hidden part. A second step of the method may be to determine at least one part of a surface of the dental prosthesis using a statistical design model, wherein the at least one part is determined independent of any knowledge or estimate of the hidden part of the preparation surface. A final step of the method may be to design the dental prosthesis wherein the surface of the dental prosthesis includes the at least one part.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW L HAMILTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1837. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9:30-5:30 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marc Jimenez can be reached at (571)272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW L HAMILTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3681