Customized Bristle Disk Milling for Dental Arch Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental arch toothbrushes lack customization, resulting in suboptimal contact between bristles and teeth, particularly in varying tooth geometries and interdental spaces, due to universal mouthpieces that are not adaptable to individual dental arch shapes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the detection of a patient's dental arch shape using an intraoral scanner, followed by carving out a disk with embedded bristles to create an individually adapted toothbrush, where the bristles' tips are exposed from a support material, allowing for precise shaping and adjustment to ensure optimal contact with the teeth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a universal mouthpiece is used for bristle arrangement, then manufacturing is simplified and cost is reduced, but contact between bristles and teeth is suboptimal for varying tooth geometries
Solution Approach 1:
The mouthpiece is segmented into multiple customizable sections that can be independently shaped to match different tooth geometries. Each section can be adapted to the specific curvature and orientation of teeth in different regions, allowing precise bristle contact while maintaining manufacturability through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the mouthpiece are given different local geometries and properties to match specific tooth characteristics. The bristle arrangement and mouthpiece shape are optimized for each local region's dental anatomy, ensuring optimal contact without requiring complete customization of the entire device
2Productivity
If bristles are arranged in a fixed pattern, then production is simplified, but adaptation to individual dental arch shapes is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The mouthpiece incorporates flexible or adjustable elements that can dynamically adapt to the patient's specific dental arch shape. This allows the bristle arrangement to automatically conform to individual anatomical variations while maintaining a standardized production process for the flexible components
Solution Approach 2:
The mouthpiece design allows for variable geometric parameters (curvature, orientation, spacing) that can be adjusted based on detected dental arch characteristics. These parameters are modified during or after production to match the patient's specific anatomy, enabling adaptation without complicating the base production process
3Ease of manufacture
If interdental spaces are not specifically adapted, then manufacturing is easier, but cleaning of interdental areas is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The mouthpiece includes specifically designed interdental sections with optimized geometry, bristle density, and orientation to target interdental cleaning. These local regions are differentiated from other areas to provide enhanced cleaning capability in spaces between teeth while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing a dental arch toothbrush (100), including the steps of detecting (S101) a dental arch shape (101) of a patient; and milling (S102) the dental arch shape (101) out of a disk (103) in which the bristles (105) of the dental arch toothbrush (100) are embedded.