CPC technology class · A61

A61C - Dentistry

Dentistry; apparatus or methods for oral or dental hygiene. 8,164 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

8,164
US patents granted: #9/13
in A61: 1.3%
A61 class share: +29%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Dentistry ranks #189 of 670 CPC technology areas - 8,164 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 29% over five years.

#189
of 670 CPC technology areas: 8,164
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Align Technology
leading assignee (941): +29%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61C recorded 4,101 grants versus 3,187 in 2015–2019 (+29% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 895 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 529 (+69% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Align Technology, Inc. holds 11.5% of the class ; the top three share 17.6%.

Leaderboard read

A61C concentration, lead at 11.5%

Align Technology, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 11.5% of A61C - us corporation assignees hold 60% of class grants (3,530 of 5,841). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 11.5%
Top three share: 17.6%
Lead over #2: 678

Where A61C sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61C ranks #9 and holds 1.3% of the parent class's 646,867 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A61B 162,009 A61K 151,067 A61P 125,535 A61M 57,639 A61F 50,959 A61N 30,889 A61L 25,308 A61Q 14,001

Rising assignees active in A61C

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 44 in A61C
#2 medmix Switzerland AG 41x 0 → 41 company-wide · 6 in A61C
#3 Fresh Health Inc. 8.00x 1 → 8 company-wide · 11 in A61C
#4 Institut Straumann AG 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 8 in A61C
#5 Bernhard Foerster GmbH 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 7 in A61C

A61C grants by year, peak 2024 (895)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 29% versus 2015–2019.

Align Technology

941
3m Innovative…

263
Colgate-palmolive

233
Dentsply Sirona

220
Ivoclar Vivadent

217
3shape A/S

124
Biomet 3i

99
James R Glidewell…

95
The Braun

90
Ormco

86
Straumann Holding

79
Nobel Biocare Services

68

What this shows Align Technology is the most active filer in A61C, holding 941 of the 8,164 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A61C
Rank	Company	Patents in A61C
#1	Align Technology, Inc.	941
#2	3M Innovative Properties Company	263
#3	Colgate-Palmolive Company	233
#4	Dentsply Sirona Inc.	220
#5	Ivoclar Vivadent AG	217
#6	3shape A/S	124
#7	Biomet 3i, LLC	99
#8	James R. Glidewell Dental Ceramics, Inc.	95
#9	The Braun Corporation	90
#10	Ormco Corporation	86
#11	Straumann Holding AG	79
#12	Nobel Biocare Services AG	68
#13	King Saud University	64
#14	Oxilio Ltd	60
#15	Water Pik, Inc.	54
#16	Shofu Inc.	53
#17	Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.	46
#18	W&H Dentalwerk Bürmoos GmbH	46
#19	Solventum Intellectual Properties Company	44
#20	SDC U.S. SmilePay SPV	43

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61C assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A61C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61C's 8,164-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61C (#189 of 670 by volume ; lead share 11.5%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C12M 8,154 C07B 8,058 E05Y 8,287 A47J 8,354

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G01V 11.4% A63J 11.4% G10H 11.7% B61F 11.7%

Questions about A61C

Which company holds the most patents in A61C?

Align Technology, Inc. leads A61C with 941 patents (11.5% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 60% of class grants.

Which A61C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61C, Solventum Intellectual Properties Company shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (88x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 88 in 2022–2024) while holding 44 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A61C compare inside parent class A61?

Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61C ranks #9 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 1.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61C in context - here's where to go next.

Align Technology, Inc. leads A61C with 941 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A61C ranks #189 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A61, the largest sibling subclass is A61B with 162,009 grants. Explore A61B

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A61C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (8,164 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.