Aligner Retention via ML-Optimized Contact Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The smooth surface of teeth and small friction between aligners and teeth lead to inadequate retention and unpredictable tooth movements in orthodontic treatments, limiting the generation of desired forces and movements, especially with large gaps between the aligner and tooth surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The development of systems and methods for designing and fabricating aligners with increased activation and retention using machine learning-based modeling and optimization to determine degrees of freedom, local contact surfaces, and associated penetration/relief, allowing for six degrees of freedom of aligner movement without the need for attachments, thereby improving force application and tooth movement predictability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If attachments are used to improve retention and force application, then tooth movement predictability improves, but treatment time and cost increase, and aesthetics deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes attachments entirely from the orthodontic system, extracting the problematic component that caused aesthetic issues and treatment time delays. Instead of using attachments on teeth, the invention uses direct aligner-tooth contact with optimized friction and engagement surfaces to achieve retention and force application without any auxiliary components.
Solution Approach 2:
The aligner is designed to self-retain and self-activate through its own geometric features and friction characteristics. The engagement surfaces and friction properties of the aligner material create self-sustaining force application and retention mechanisms, eliminating the need for separate attachment components that would require additional fabrication and application time.
2Reliability
If attachments are used to improve retention and force application, then tooth movement predictability improves, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of retention and force application directly into the aligner structure itself. The engagement surfaces, friction characteristics, and force application geometry are integrated into the single aligner component, eliminating the need for separate attachment components and their associated manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The aligner serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides retention through friction and engagement surfaces, applies orthodontic forces through its geometry, and maintains aesthetic appearance without attachments. This multi-functionality is achieved by designing the aligner to perform all these roles as a single universal component.
3Reliability
If aligner gaps are reduced to improve retention, then force application improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different regions of the aligner. Engagement surfaces are designed with specific friction properties and geometric features optimized for force application, while other regions maintain appropriate gaps for comfort and hygiene. This local differentiation allows adequate retention without requiring uniformly high precision across the entire aligner surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the friction parameter of the aligner material and the geometric parameters of engagement surfaces to compensate for larger gaps. By optimizing these parameters, the system achieves adequate retention and force application even with reduced manufacturing precision requirements compared to tight-fit approaches.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the efficiency of orthodontic treatments by improving aligner retention and activation, allowing for more precise and predictable tooth movements, reducing the reliance on attachments and improving processing efficiency in designing and fabricating aligners.
Implementation Method 1
The smooth surfaces introduce limitations for generating forces and movements in some directions. A lack of tooth surfaces normal to desired tooth movements for force application on a tooth and the small friction between the tooth and aligner causes less than desirable forces
Data Source
AI summary
A system for generating aligner shapes may include one or more processors and memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more processors, causes the system to carry out a method. The method may include determining a desired force system for moving a tooth, generating a population of sets of degrees of freedom and contact surfaces, determining a force system for each of the sets in the population evaluating a cost function of each of the force systems compared to the desired force system, updating the population of sets of degrees of freedom and contact surfaces based on the cost function of each of the force systems, and repeating determining a force system, evaluating a cost function and updating the population until the determined force system for one of the sets matches the desired force system, to generate a final set of degrees of freedom and contact surfaces.