Method and system for customizing an orthodontic archwire
a technology for orthodontic archwires and custom wires, applied in dental surgery, instruments, dental tools, etc., can solve the problems of hardly being modified by the orthodontist in order, lingual tooth surfaces are by far not as generic, and wires require a high degree of customization. , to achieve the effect of reliable and efficien
Inactive Publication Date: 2013-12-24
3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO
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- Abstract
- Description
- Claims
- Application Information
AI Technical Summary
Benefits of technology
This method enables efficient and reliable fabrication of customized non-planar archwires, reducing production time and error, while accommodating unique patient-specific geometries, such as those required for lingual brackets, by using standardized components and automated processes.
Problems solved by technology
The significant disadvantage of SMA wires in orthodontic treatment is that they can hardly be modified by the orthodontist in order to adapt them to patient specific conditions.
The significant disadvantage is that the lingual tooth surfaces are by far not as generic as the labial surfaces.
Obviously, such a wire requires a high degree of customization.
Manually applying precise bends and twists to a wire is difficult enough and gets significantly harder when an additional tube that encases the wire has to be deformed as well.
The required forces to apply deformations increase, and since the tubular body needs to have a longitudinal slit in order to remove the archwire after heat treatment, it introduces additional unpredictable mechanical side-effects during deformation.
Firstly, his assumption that an assortment of pre-fabricated templates would cover all necessary geometric requirements for a large number of orthodontic cases seems questionable.
Especially for canted wires as referenced above, his approach is not adequate.
Secondly, Wildman's method allows customizing only the segments of the archwire between the brackets.
Thirdly, the process of setting up and adjusting the templates to each individual wire is laborious, costly and has high error susceptibility.
Andreiko's method is obviously restricted to planar wires, since the plate-like clamp fixture does not allow for individual vertical control values at specific wire portions.
Complex archwire shapes as required by the system of T.O.P. Service cannot be produced with his method.
While this process can be highly automated, it has the disadvantages that it is time consuming since each bend can only be shaped after the previous bend has been finished; it requires heavy customized machinery; and it requires a very high amount of precision for each bend, since any systematic deviation from the desired shape adds up in the bending process, so there is little control of the overall shape.
The process therefore is time-consuming and critical regarding the overall shape.
Method used
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Archwire Descriptions
[0054]The methods disclosed in this invention have in common that as a starting point they need a definition of the archwire in a numerical format. The term “numerical” is supposed to distinguish a mathematical or abstract description of the shape of an archwire from a concrete representation like a 1:1 drawing or a physical sample.
[0055]The term “numerical description” of an orthodontic archwire, as used in the claims, is interpreted to mean a description of the physical shape of an orthodontic archwire in numerical format. Such a definition may include additional information, like for instance the cross-section, the wire material, the lengths of specific wire portions and other valuable data, but this additional information is not mandatory. Such a definition may furthermore be a continuous description, defining the wire shape along its complete length, or a discrete or discontinuous description, defining only portions of the wire, while other portions remain ...
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A method for applying a desired shape to an orthodontic archwire includes the steps of obtaining a numerical description of the desired shape of an orthodontic archwire, generating a description of the design of a fixture basing on the numerical description, manufacturing a fixture basing on this description of the design, constraining a wire into the fixture and applying an adequate treatment to the wire in order to cause it to adopt the shape dictated by the fixture.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not ApplicableThis application is a Reissue Divisional Application of Reissue application Ser. No. 11 / 893,632 filed Aug. 16, 2007, now U.S. Reissue Pat. No. Re. 42,815, which is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,733, titled “Method and System for Customizing an Orthodontic Arch Wire.”STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not ApplicableREFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX[0003]Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]The present invention relates to methods for applying a desired shape to archwires to be used in orthodontic appliances for the straightening of teeth, and more particularly, to the automated design and manufacture of customized fixtures allowing an archwire made from shape memory alloy to be heat-treated while being inserted into said fixture.[0005]The typical approach to straighten or align teeth of a patient is to bond brackets onto t...
Claims
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IPC IPC(8): G06F7/60A61C3/00G06F17/10B23Q17/00A61C7/20
CPCA61C7/20Y10T29/49771Y10T29/49568Y10T29/49769B33Y80/00B33Y50/00B21F43/00
InventorRUBBERT, RUEDGERWEISE, THOMAS
Owner3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO