Dental hardness measuring device, dental hardness measuring method, and method for supporting the determination of carious dentin

Abstract

A dental hardness measuring device is provided that can easily measure the hardness of carious dentin. [Solution] The dental hardness measuring device 1 disclosed herein includes an indenter 10, an elastic body 20, and a strain sensor 30. The indenter 10 is positioned so that its rear end can come into contact with the elastic body 20. When the tip of the indenter 10 is pressed against a tooth, the contacting elastic body 20 is urged and deformed, and the strain sensor 30 can detect the amount of deformation of the elastic body 20.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dental hardness measuring device, a dental hardness measuring method, and a method for supporting the determination of carious dentin. [Background technology]

[0002] In caries treatment, it is important to know the hardness of carious dentin as an index for determining how much carious dentin should be removed. As a means for determining the degree of softening of carious dentin, Patent Document 1 discloses a hardness measurement system that includes a holder for holding a hardness measurement indenter, a pressing mechanism for pressing the indenter held by the holder against an object to be measured with a predetermined pressure, and a measuring means for measuring the length of the recessed portion at the tip of the indenter body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-112629 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The hardness measurement system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes, as measuring means, a microscope, a computer connected to the microscope, and a display connected to the computer. Meanwhile, in clinical settings, a method that can easily measure the hardness of carious dentin is required. To achieve this, it is desirable that the entire system be more compact.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a dental hardness measuring device, a dental hardness measuring method, and a method for supporting the assessment of carious dentin, for easily measuring the hardness of carious dentin. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the dental hardness measuring device of the present disclosure comprises: an indenter, an elastic body, and a strain sensor; the indenter is disposed so that a rear end of the indenter can come into contact with the elastic body, When the tip of the indenter is pressed against a tooth, the elastic body in contact with the tooth is urged and deformed, The strain sensor is a device capable of detecting the amount of deformation of the elastic body.

[0007] The dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure includes: The method includes a pressing step and a detection step, The pressing step includes pressing an indenter against a tooth, The detecting step is a method for detecting the amount of deformation of an elastic body that comes into contact with the indenter.

[0008] The method for supporting the determination of carious dentin according to the present disclosure includes: The method includes a hardness measurement step and a determination step, The hardness measuring step includes measuring the hardness of a tooth by the dental hardness measuring method of the present disclosure, The determining step is a method for determining carious dentin to be removed based on the measured hardness. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, the hardness of carious dentin can be measured easily. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure, in which Fig. 1(A) is a side view of the dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure, and Fig. 1(B) is a front view of the dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Fig. 2 is a side view showing an example of measuring tooth hardness using the dental hardness measuring device of the present disclosure. Fig. 2(A) is a view before the tip of the indenter comes into contact with the tooth. Fig. 2(B) is a view after the tip of the indenter comes into contact with the tooth. Fig. 2(C) is a view after the tip of the guide comes into contact with the tooth. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of an approximation line and a function. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a top view showing an example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing another example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure, in which Fig. 5A is a side view of the dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure, and Fig. 5B is a front view of the dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of steps in the dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another example of steps in the dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of steps in the method for supporting the determination of carious dentin according to the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example of steps in the carious dentin removal method of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiment. In the following drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the descriptions of the embodiments can be used interchangeably unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the configurations of the embodiments can be combined unless otherwise specified.

[0012] [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 shows an example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as "the device 1"). FIG. 1(A) is a side view of the device 1. FIG. 1(B) is a front view of the device 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the device 1 includes an indenter 10, an elastic body 20, and a strain sensor 30. The indenter 10 is arranged so that the rear end of the indenter 10 can come into contact with the elastic body 20. The indenter 10 is, for example, a rod-shaped indenter. The diameter of the indenter 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is a dimension that allows measurement of tooth hardness, and may be, for example, 0.3 mm or more, 0.4 mm or more, or 0.5 mm or more, and 0.7 mm or less, 0.6 mm or less, or 0.5 mm or less. The overall length of the indenter 10 may be, for example, 10 mm or more, 15 mm or more, or 20 mm or more, and may be 30 mm or less, 25 mm or less, or 20 mm or less. The indenter 10 may be, for example, a type in which the tip (the portion that presses against the tooth) and the portion other than the tip (the rod that contacts the elastic body 20) are separable. It is preferable that the indenter 10 be detachable, for example, from a hygienic standpoint. The elastic body 20 may be, for example, a leaf spring, a coil spring, a torsion spring, or a rubber elastic body. When the tip of the indenter 10 is pressed against a tooth, the elastic body 20 in contact therewith is biased and deformed, and the strain sensor 30 can detect the amount of deformation of the elastic body. That is, the rear end of the indenter 10 biases the elastic body 20, which deforms depending on the hardness of the tooth being pressed against, and the strain sensor 30 detects the amount of deformation. For example, the hardness of the tooth can be determined from the amount of deformation. The amount of deformation may be converted, for example, into a gram value or the like. The shape of the tip of the indenter 10 may be, for example, a cone, a triangular pyramid, a square pyramid, a sphere, a pyramid, a circle, an ellipse, a flat plate, etc. The tooth is, for example, carious dentin.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1 , the device 1 includes, for example, a guide 40. The guide 40 is, for example, a pipe-shaped guide. The inner diameter of the guide 40 is not particularly limited as long as it allows measurement of tooth hardness. For example, it may be 0.3 mm or more, 0.4 mm or more, 0.5 mm or more, or 0.6 mm or more, and 0.8 mm or less, 0.7 mm or less, or 0.6 mm or less. The overall length of the guide 40 may be, for example, 10 mm or more, 15 mm or more, or 20 mm or more, and 30 mm or less, 25 mm or less, or 20 mm or less. The guide 40 is, for example, detachably or integrally attached to a handpiece 50 (or a guide holder (not shown) attached to the handpiece 50), which constitutes the exterior of the device 1. From a hygienic perspective, it is preferably detachable. The tip of the indenter 10 is, for example, exposed from the guide 40 and housed within the guide 40 so as to be freely movable back and forth. When the tip of the indenter 10 is pressed against a tooth, for example, the indenter 10 retracts within the guide 40, and the elastic body 20 in contact with the tooth is biased and deformed. The strain sensor 30 detects the amount of deformation of the elastic body 20 when, for example, the tip of the indenter 10 contacts the tooth and then the tip of the guide 40 contacts the tooth. These are specifically explained using FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of measuring tooth hardness using the device 1. FIG. 2(A) is a view before the tip of the indenter 10 contacts the tooth. FIG. 2(B) is a view after the tip of the indenter 10 contacts the tooth. FIG. 2(C) is a view after the tip of the guide 40 contacts the tooth. As shown in FIG. 2(A), in the initial state, the tip of the indenter 10 and the tooth S are not in contact (i.e., the elastic body 20 is biased and not deformed). As shown in Figure 2(B), when the tip of the indenter 10 is pressed against the tooth S, the rear end of the indenter 10 biases the elastic body 20 in accordance with the hardness of the tooth S. As shown in Figure 2(C), when the tip of the indenter 10 is pressed further against the tooth S, the indenter 10 is housed in the guide 40 and is free to move back and forth. Therefore, when a certain amount of deformation is reached, the indenter 10 retreats within the guide 40, and the tip of the guide 40 comes into contact with the tooth S. The strain sensor 30 detects the amount of deformation of the elastic body 20 when the tip of the guide 40 comes into contact with the tooth S, thereby determining the hardness of the tooth.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus 1 includes, for example, a conversion unit 70. The conversion unit 70 converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness. The conversion unit 70 may convert the deformation amount into Knoop hardness using at least one of an arbitrary approximation line and an arbitrary function. The approximation line may be, for example, a linear approximation line, a quadratic approximation line, an exponential approximation line, a logarithmic approximation line, or a power approximation line. The function may be, for example, a linear function, a quadratic function, an exponential function, a logarithmic function, or a power function. The approximation line and the function can be obtained by, for example, using the apparatus 1 to determine the deformation amount of a sample with a known Knoop hardness. FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the approximation line and the function. In FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents gram values ​​converted from the deformation amount detected by the apparatus 1. The horizontal axis represents Knoop hardness. In Figure 3, the deformation amount was determined for each of four types of samples with known Knoop hardness using the apparatus 1, and the relationship between the gram value converted from the deformation amount and the Knoop hardness is displayed as an approximation line and a function. For example, if the deformation amount (gram value) of a sample with unknown Knoop hardness is determined to be "180 g" using the apparatus 1, the approximation line can be used to easily determine the Knoop hardness as "10 KHN." Furthermore, by using the function in Figure 3, it is possible to determine a more accurate Knoop hardness.

[0015] 4 is a top view showing an example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure. The device 1 may include, for example, a display unit 80. The display unit 80 displays, for example, at least one of the deformation amount and the Knoop hardness. The display unit may be, for example, a digital display such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, an electronic paper display, or an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display.

[0016] The device 1 may also include various switches (power switch, zero setting switch, etc.), an electronic board, a power supply means (battery, dry cell, button cell, etc.) and the like (not shown) as needed.

[0017] Since the device 1 can measure the hardness of teeth (carious dentin), the hardness measured by the device 1 can be used as an index for caries removal, for example. Therefore, the Knoop hardness measurable by the device 1 is preferably within a range in which the hardness of carious dentin can be measured, for example, 5 to 25 KHN.

[0018] [Embodiment 2] Next, another example of a dental hardness measuring device according to the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as "the device 2") is shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5(A) is a side view of the device 2. FIG. 5(B) is a front view of the device 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the device 2 includes a bearing 60. The bearing 60 is connected to the elastic body 20. The bearing 60 has a conical recess and is disposed at the rear end of the indenter 10. The indenter 10 is in contact with the elastic body 20 via the bearing 60. Specifically, the rear end of the indenter 10 does not directly contact the elastic body 20, but rather makes line contact with the conical recess of the bearing 60, thereby making indirect contact. The bearing 60 may be removably connected to the elastic body 20, or may be integrally connected to the elastic body 20. In the case of the removably connected state, for example, the elastic body 20 may be threaded, and the bearing 60 may be attached and detached by threading. The other configurations may be similar to those described above for the device 1. The device 2 is provided with a bearing 60, and the rear end of the indenter 10 comes into line contact with the conical recess of the bearing 60, thereby enabling the slight deformation of the strain sensor 20 to be detected accurately.

[0019] [Embodiment 3] Next, the dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure may be performed using the dental hardness measurement device of the present disclosure, but is not limited to this.

[0020] First, as shown in Fig. 6, an indenter is pressed against a tooth (S11, pressing step), and then the amount of deformation of the elastic body in contact with the indenter is detected (S12, detection step).

[0021] As shown in FIG. 7, the deformation amount may be converted into Knoop hardness (S13, conversion step).

[0022] [Embodiment 4] Next, the caries diagnosis support method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0023] 8, first, the hardness of a tooth is measured by the dental hardness measurement method of the present disclosure (S21, hardness measurement step), and then, based on the measured hardness, carious dentin to be removed is determined (S22, determination step).

[0024] [Embodiment 5] Next, the caries removal method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0025] 9, first, carious dentin to be removed is determined by the carious dentin determination method of the present disclosure (S31, determination step), and then the carious dentin is removed based on the determination result (S32, removal step).

[0026] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. The configuration and conditions of the present disclosure may be modified in various ways that are understandable to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] <Additional Notes> Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) an indenter, an elastic body, and a strain sensor; the indenter is disposed so that a rear end of the indenter can come into contact with the elastic body, When the tip of the indenter is pressed against a tooth, the elastic body in contact with the tooth is urged and deformed, The strain sensor is capable of detecting the amount of deformation of the elastic body. Dental hardness measuring device. (Appendix 2) Additionally, it includes a guide a tip end of the indenter is housed in the guide in a state exposed from the guide and can freely move back and forth; 2. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 1. (Appendix 3) When the tip of the indenter is pressed against a tooth, the indenter retracts within the guide, and the elastic body in contact with the indenter is urged and deformed. 10. A dental hardness measuring device as described in Appendix 2. (Appendix 4) the strain sensor detects the amount of deformation of the elastic body when the tip of the indenter comes into contact with the tooth and when the tip of the guide comes into contact with the tooth. 4. A dental hardness measuring device as described in Appendix 3. (Appendix 5) The guide is a pipe-shaped guide. 5. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 2 to 4. (Appendix 6) Further, the bearing is included, The bearing is connected to the elastic body, the bearing has a conical recess and is disposed at the rear end of the indenter; The indenter is in contact with the elastic body via the bearing. 6. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5. (Appendix 7) Further, a conversion unit is included, The conversion unit converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness. 7. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6. (Appendix 8) the conversion unit converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness using at least one of an arbitrary approximation line and an arbitrary function. 8. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 7. (Appendix 9) Further, the display unit includes: The display unit displays the deformation amount. 7. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6. (Appendix 10) Further, the display unit includes: The display unit displays the Knoop hardness. 9. A dental hardness measuring device according to claim 7 or 8. (Appendix 11) The indenter is a rod-shaped indenter. 11. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 10. (Appendix 12) The elastic body is a leaf spring. 12. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 11. (Appendix 13) The tooth is carious dentin. 13. A dental hardness measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 12. (Appendix 14) The method includes a pressing step and a detection step, The pressing step includes pressing an indenter against a tooth, the detecting step detects a deformation amount of an elastic body in contact with the indenter. Dental hardness measurement method. (Appendix 15) Further, a conversion step is included, The converting step converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness. 15. The dental hardness measurement method according to claim 14. (Appendix 16) The dental hardness measurement device according to any one of appendices 1 to 13 is used. 16. A dental hardness measurement method according to claim 14 or 15. (Appendix 17) The method includes a hardness measurement step and a determination step, the hardness measuring step includes measuring the hardness of a tooth by a dental hardness measuring method according to any one of Supplementary Notes 14 to 16; The determining step determines carious dentin to be removed based on the measured hardness. A method for assisting in the determination of carious dentin. (Appendix 18) A determination step and a deletion step are included, The determination step includes determining carious dentin to be removed by the method for determining carious dentin described in Appendix 17; The removing step removes carious dentin based on the determined result. How to remove carious dentin. [Industrial Applicability]

[0028] According to the present disclosure, the hardness of carious dentin can be easily measured. The present disclosure has a wide range of applications and is useful, for example, in the field of dentistry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Dental hardness measuring device 10 indenter 20 Elastic Body 30 Strain Sensor 40 Guide 50 handpieces 60 bearings 70 Conversion Department 80 Display section

Claims

1. an indenter, an elastic body, and a strain sensor; the indenter is disposed so that a rear end of the indenter can come into contact with the elastic body, When the tip of the indenter is pressed against a tooth, the elastic body in contact with the tooth is urged and deformed, The strain sensor is capable of detecting the amount of deformation of the elastic body. Dental hardness measuring device.

2. Additionally, it includes a guide a tip end of the indenter is housed in the guide in a state exposed from the guide and can freely move back and forth; 2. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 1.

3. When the tip of the indenter is pressed against a tooth, the indenter retracts within the guide, and the elastic body in contact with the indenter is urged and deformed.

3. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 2.

4. the strain sensor detects the amount of deformation of the elastic body when the tip of the indenter comes into contact with the tooth and when the tip of the guide comes into contact with the tooth.

4. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 3.

5. Further, the bearing is included, The bearing is connected to the elastic body, the bearing has a conical recess and is disposed at the rear end of the indenter; The indenter is in contact with the elastic body via the bearing. The dental hardness measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. Further, a conversion unit is included, The conversion unit converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness. The dental hardness measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. the conversion unit converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness using at least one of an arbitrary approximation line and an arbitrary function.

7. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 6.

8. Further, the display unit includes: The display unit displays the deformation amount. The dental hardness measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. Further, the display unit includes: The display unit displays the Knoop hardness.

8. The dental hardness measuring device according to claim 7.

10. The method includes a pressing step and a detection step, The pressing step includes pressing an indenter against a tooth, the detecting step detects a deformation amount of an elastic body in contact with the indenter. Dental hardness measurement method.

11. Further, a conversion step is included, The converting step converts the deformation amount into Knoop hardness. The dental hardness measuring method according to claim 10.

12. A dental hardness test is performed using the dental hardness tester according to claim 1. The dental hardness measuring method according to claim 10.

13. The method includes a hardness measurement step and a determination step, The hardness measuring step includes measuring the hardness of a tooth by a dental hardness measuring method according to claim 10, The determining step determines carious dentin to be removed based on the measured hardness. A method for assisting in the determination of carious dentin.

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