Orthodontic Aligner Hollow Feature Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current plastic orthodontic aligners face challenges in removing shells from molds due to features with significant undercuts or complex geometries, leading to potential damage or deformation, limiting their application in treating certain malocclusions.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating hollow features in orthodontic aligners that are at least partially filled with objects to enhance structural strength and prevent crushing, while also allowing for the insertion of objects to adjust bite, control jaw articulation, and perform additional functions such as jaw repositioning or treating temporomandibular joint disorder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the mold includes features with significant undercuts or complex geometries, then the orthodontic treatment capability is improved, but the shell removal from mold becomes difficult or impossible without damage
Solution Approach 1:
The shell is divided into multiple segments or pieces that can be separated from each other. This segmentation allows the shell to be removed from complex mold geometries by breaking it into smaller, more manageable sections that can navigate undercut features without causing damage to either the shell or mold.
Solution Approach 2:
The shell is extracted or removed from the mold in a controlled manner by utilizing its elastic properties. The shell can be temporarily deformed to pass over complex mold features and then return to its original shape, effectively extracting itself from difficult-to-reach areas without damage.
2Ease of operation
If the plastic shell is made thin and flexible to conform to dental arch, then the comfort and fit is improved, but the structural strength decreases making it susceptible to crushing
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic shell incorporates composite material structures that combine the flexibility needed for conforming to the dental arch with reinforcement elements that provide structural strength. This composite approach allows the shell to maintain both comfort/fit and resistance to crushing forces applied during orthodontic treatment.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2D
AI summary
A plastic shell such as an orthodontic aligner has an interior shape that substantially conforms to a current or future dental arch of a patient. The plastic shell includes a hollow feature comprising a cavity. The plastic shell additionally includes an object inserted into the cavity, wherein the object provides structural strength to the plastic shell at a location of the hollow feature and does not interfere with a fit of the plastic shell onto the dental arch of the patient.