ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,588,977, issued on March 31, was assigned to BIXBY INTERNATIONAL Corp. (Newburyport, Mass.).
"Dental aligner" was invented by Marc Gagnon (Exeter, N.H.), Tim Glowik (Danvers, Mass.), Ethel Bermejo (Somerville, Mass.) and Rick Bass (Fremont, N.H.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The instant invention provides dental aligner(s) that can be better tuned to deliver a specific and more stable (lower creep) force on the teeth while also being softer and thinner. The instant dental aligners also provide the medical practitioner greater control to customize the treatment based on a patient's therapeutic stage, discreet requirements, and pain tole...