3D-Printed Ceramic Aligner Attachments With Reduced Enamel Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for creating ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachments are inefficient and inaccurate, leading to shape alterations during placement and removal, enamel damage, and excessive material removal, necessitating a more precise and durable solution.
Innovation Solution
The use of ceramic slurry-based additive manufacturing (AM) for direct fabrication of customized ceramic attachments, which are then bonded to teeth using unfilled or partially filled bonding resin, minimizing excess material and enhancing precision and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If bonding material is used to create clear aligner attachments, then the attachments can be formed using conventional bonding techniques, but excess bonding material creates flash that requires grinding and drilling, leading to shape alteration and enamel damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from bonding resin to ceramic material, which fundamentally alters the manufacturing process. Ceramic attachments are fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques that build the attachment layer-by-layer with precise control over geometry, eliminating the need for post-processing drilling and grinding that alters the attachment shape and damages enamel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical drilling and grinding process with an additive manufacturing process. Instead of using drills to remove excess bonding material and create the attachment shape, the ceramic attachment is directly fabricated to the precise final shape through layer-by-layer deposition, eliminating the harmful mechanical removal process entirely.
2Ease of repair
If high speed drill is used to remove attachments and residual flash, then the attachments can be removed from teeth, but enamel is also removed from the tooth surface due to inability to discern boundary between bonding material and enamel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from bonding resin to ceramic material, which fundamentally alters the removal process. Ceramic attachments can be removed using abrasive instruments or ultrasonic scalers that selectively remove the ceramic material without damaging the underlying enamel, due to the distinct material properties and visual contrast between ceramic and enamel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of drill contact into a benefit by using the hardness and visual contrast of ceramic material. The ceramic attachment's distinct appearance allows precise identification of boundaries, and its hardness enables selective removal without enamel damage, turning the drilling process from harmful to beneficial.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional bonding material is used for attachments, then the attachments can be bonded to teeth, but the attachments are abraded by tray insertion and removal, altering shape and requiring replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from bonding resin to ceramic material, which fundamentally alters the durability characteristics. Ceramic material has superior wear resistance and hardness compared to bonding resin, allowing the attachment to withstand repeated tray insertions and removals without significant shape alteration, thereby improving reliability and reducing the need for replacement.
4Ease of manufacture
If drilling is used to remove flash and attachments, then the surface can be cleaned, but excessive enamel is removed and polishing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from bonding resin to ceramic material, which fundamentally alters the removal characteristics. Ceramic attachments can be removed with minimal enamel involvement because the ceramic material can be selectively abraded or ultrasonically fragmented, allowing removal with significantly reduced enamel loss compared to drilling through bonding resin where the boundary is indistinct.
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 reduces shape variability, minimizes enamel damage, and increases the attachments' resistance to abrasion and drill contact, resulting in more accurate and long-lasting orthodontic attachments.
Implementation Method 1
A slurry is defined as inorganic particles dispersed in a liquid, and may photopolymerizable or may polymerize by other mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing pre-formed, customized, ceramic, labial/lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachments (CCAA) by additive manufacturing (AM) may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth using reverse engineering, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a 3D CAD structure model for one or more CCAA on various parts of each tooth, importing data related to the 3D CAD CCAA structure model into an AM machine, directly producing the CCAA in the ceramic slurry-based AM machine by layer manufacturing, enabling the provider to deliver patient-specific CCAA's by an indirect bonding method to the patient's teeth to improve the efficacy and retention of the clear aligners.