Adjustable Dental Drill Stop System for Depth Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current drill limit systems for dental procedures are inefficient in controlling drilling depth, often leading to overheating of bone tissue and are prone to misplacement or loss of drill stops, which complicates the process and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A drill limit system comprising a holder and platform with removably coupled drill stops that can be adjusted to desired positions using a torque-control tool, allowing for precise depth control and easy attachment/detachment of drill bits, reducing the risk of overheating and improving procedural efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a drill bit with a visual marker or small drill stop is used to indicate drilling depth, then depth indication is provided, but the drill stop is easily lost or misplaced and lacks a physical stop mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the visual marker function and physical stop function into a single integrated drill stop component. The drill stop includes both a visual indicator (colored band or marker) and a physical protrusion that contacts the bone to prevent over-drilling, eliminating the need for separate components and ensuring both functions are reliably provided together.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill stop serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides visual depth indication through colored markers, provides physical depth limitation through its protrusion, and acts as a depth measurement reference. This multi-functional design replaces multiple separate tools (marked drill bits and separate drill stops) with a single universal component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple drill bits and drill stops are used for various hole sizes, then versatility is achieved, but the system becomes expensive and difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The drill stop is designed to be universally applicable across multiple drill bit sizes. The holder component can accommodate different diameter drill bits while maintaining the same drill stop positioning mechanism, allowing a single drill stop to serve multiple hole size requirements rather than requiring separate drill stops for each drill bit size.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the drill stop from the drill bit, allowing the drill stop to be reused across multiple drill bits. The holder component provides a standardized interface that can accommodate various drill bit diameters, enabling the drill stop mechanism to be segmented and reused rather than being integrated into each individual drill bit.
3Productivity
If drilling is performed to remove bone tissue, then hole formation is achieved, but heat is generated that may harm the bone or surrounding tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The drill stop enables periodic drilling action by allowing the practitioner to drill to a predetermined depth, stop, withdraw the drill bit for cooling, and then resume drilling. This intermittent drilling pattern prevents continuous heat generation while maintaining overall drilling productivity, as the drill bit can cool between drilling cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill stop provides preliminary depth marking that allows the practitioner to plan drilling cycles in advance. By knowing the exact depth where the drill stop will contact the bone, the practitioner can perform preliminary cooling actions (withdrawing the drill bit) before heat damage occurs, rather than reacting to overheating after it has already damaged tissue.
Data Source
AI summary
A drill limit system includes a holder having drill stops removably coupled thereto and configured to receive a drill bit therethrough, and a platform coupled to the holder and configured to engage a tip end of the drill bits when received through the drill stops, wherein the holder and platform are movable relative to each other so that the position of the drill stops relative to the drill bits may be selectively varied. A method for attaching drill stops to a drill bit includes providing a holder and a platform movable relative to each other, the holder having a plurality of drill stops removably coupled thereto, inserting a plurality of drill bits through respective drill stops, moving the holder and platform relative to each other to select a desired height of the drill stops on the bits, and engaging the drill stops to the drill bits at the selected height.