Patent 11963842 was granted and assigned to Align Technology on April, 2024 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Appliances for intraoral delivery of agents are provided. In some embodiments, an appliance includes a shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to apply a repositioning force to a patient's teeth, and the outer surface oriented away from the patient's teeth. The appliance can also include a reservoir integrally formed in the outer surface of the shell, the reservoir being configured to store at least one agent. The appliance can further include a membrane covering at least a portion of the reservoir to control release of the agent into an intraoral cavity of the patient. The membrane can include a plurality of pores that are configured to open based at least in part on a temperature of the patient's intraoral cavity to allow the at least one agent to pass therethrough.