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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 filing trajectory.

8,164
US patents granted
A61
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+50%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Dentistry ranks #189 of 670 CPC technology areas - 8,164 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 50% over five years.

#189
of 670 CPC technology areas
8,164
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Align Technology
leading assignee (941)
+50%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Align Technology, Inc. (941 patents)

CPC subclass A61C - DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE - covers 8,164 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A61C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Align Technology, Inc. leads with 941 patents, followed by 3M Innovative Properties Company at 263 grants and Colgate-palmolive Company at 233.

Filing activity in A61C is up 50% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A61C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A61C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 50% versus 2015–2019.

5006007008009001,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 679

Who leads A61C?

The 12 most active assignees in DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

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.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
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

About This Class

CPC subclass A61C belongs to class A61.

8,164 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

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).

Top 14 A61C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 02004006008001000 Patents in A61C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Align Technology3m Innovative Propert…Colgate-palmoliveDentsply SironaIvoclar Vivadent3shape A/SBiomet 3iJames R Glidewell Den…The BraunOrmcoStraumann HoldingNobel Biocare ServicesKing Saud UniversityOxilio
Top 14 A61C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A61C?
CPC subclass A61C covers DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE. It belongs to CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE), with 8,164 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A61C?
8,164 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A61C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A61C?
Align Technology, Inc. leads A61C with 941 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A61C collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A61) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A61C provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

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.