Orthodontic Aligner Super Contact Region Thickness Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Orthodontic aligners cause discomfort due to excessive material thickness between upper and lower teeth, leading to temporomandibular joint issues and reduced treatment adherence, as they force the jaw apart and lead to speech impairment.
Innovation Solution
The development of orthodontic aligners with thinned super contact regions determined by force or depth of penetration analysis, reducing material thickness at specific contact areas between teeth to enhance comfort and minimize joint problems, using a computer-implemented method to create digital models for manufacturing aligners with tailored thickness profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If aligner material thickness is increased to provide structural support and apply orthodontic force, then the strength and force application capability are improved, but subject comfort deteriorates and temporomandibular joint issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the thickness of the aligner material across different regions. Specifically, the aligner has reduced thickness at super contact regions (areas where upper and lower teeth contact during occlusion) while maintaining adequate thickness at other areas. This localized thickness variation allows the aligner to provide necessary structural support and force application where needed while minimizing interference with natural tooth contact and reducing discomfort at critical contact points.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform aligner thickness is used throughout the aligner body, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but subject comfort and joint health deteriorate due to excessive material at contact regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality through a non-uniform thickness profile where the aligner material thickness is specifically reduced at super contact regions identified through force analysis or depth of penetration analysis. This approach maintains manufacturing feasibility through computer-implemented design methods while creating localized thickness variations that improve subject comfort and prevent temporomandibular joint issues by reducing material interference at tooth contact points.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If aligner thickness is reduced at super contact regions to improve comfort and reduce joint issues, then subject comfort is improved, but aligner structural integrity may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by strategically reducing thickness only at super contact regions while maintaining adequate thickness in other areas of the aligner. The reduced thickness at super contact regions is optimized based on force analysis or depth of penetration analysis to provide sufficient comfort improvement while the overall aligner structure maintains structural integrity through adequate material thickness in non-contact regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by using computer-implemented methods to perform force analysis or depth of penetration analysis before manufacturing the aligner. This preliminary analysis identifies the specific super contact regions where thickness reduction is needed, allowing the aligner design to be optimized in advance to balance comfort improvement with structural integrity requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for making an orthodontic aligner, as well as an orthodontic aligner. The method comprising: determining at least one super contact region between upper teeth and lower teeth of a subject, the super contact region comprising identifying an area around an at least one contact region between the upper teeth and the lower teeth which exceeds a predetermined magnitude of contact between the upper and lower teeth during a predefined upper/lower teeth position; and generating a digital model of the aligner comprising applying the determined super contact region to a digital model of a pre-form aligner such that a thickness of the aligner body at the determined super contact region is less than a thickness of the aligner body at regions which are not determined super contact regions.