Custom Orthodontic Bracket Positioning for Accurate Tooth Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthodontic treatments involving bracket and arch wire systems require manual placement by trained specialists, are time-consuming, and often result in inaccuracies, while removable aligners lack precision and stability, and bonding trays deform during removal, leading to misalignment and adhesive smearing.
Innovation Solution
A subject-specific apparatus with integrally formed support arms and bracket elements, using additive manufacturing to create a customized fit for precise bracket placement, allowing for accurate and efficient alignment of dental brackets without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bonding trays are made from soft material to enable removal, then the trays can be peeled or pulled away from teeth, but the trays deform during positioning causing inaccurate bracket placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical bonding tray system with a digital workflow. A digital model of the patient's dentition is created, and brackets are positioned virtually on this model. The positioned brackets are then transferred to physical components (such as a positioning device or directly to the teeth) without requiring a physical bonding tray, thereby eliminating the trade-off between softness for removal and rigidity for precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy (virtual model) of the patient's dentition instead of using a physical bonding tray. This digital model allows for precise bracket positioning to be planned and visualized before treatment, eliminating the need for a physical tray that must be both soft for removal and rigid for positioning accuracy.
2Manufacturing precision
If bonding trays are made rigid to maintain shape during positioning, then bracket placement accuracy improves, but the trays cannot be easily removed from teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the physical bonding tray by substituting it with a digital positioning system. Brackets are positioned using a digital model, and this positioning information is transferred to a removal device or directly applied to the teeth, bypassing the need for a rigid physical tray that would be difficult to remove.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the positioning function from the removal function. Positioning is achieved through a digital model and planning software, while removal is facilitated by a separate device designed specifically for easy removal of the positioned brackets, eliminating the need for a single component to perform both functions.
3Reliability
If adhesive is applied to brackets before positioning in bonding tray, then brackets can be bonded to teeth, but adhesive is smeared over tooth surfaces during positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies adhesive to the teeth surfaces before positioning the brackets, rather than applying it to the brackets first. This preliminary application of adhesive to the correct locations on the teeth ensures that when brackets are positioned, the adhesive is already in place and does not get smeared during the positioning process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional sequence by applying adhesive to the teeth rather than to the brackets. This reversal of the application target prevents adhesive from being smeared during bracket positioning, as the adhesive remains fixed on the tooth surfaces until the brackets are placed.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate components (bonding tray and brackets) are manufactured and assembled, then each component can be optimized for its function, but the process becomes expensive and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the positioning information and bracket design into a single integrated digital model. The digital workflow combines tooth scanning, bracket positioning, and treatment planning into one unified process, eliminating the need to manufacture and assemble multiple separate physical components, thereby reducing both cost and time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical assembly process of multiple components with a digital workflow. Instead of manufacturing separate bonding trays and brackets that must be physically assembled, the system uses digital modeling and planning to integrate all positioning information, which is then transferred to the final treatment components in a streamlined process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed are orthodontic bracket elements comprising at least one subject-specific characteristic, wherein optionally, the characteristic is a contour of a surface of the bracket element, wherein further optionally, the subject-specific characteristic is a contour of a tooth facing surface of the bracket element, and wherein the contour corresponds with an outer-facing surface of a tooth of a subject. Also disclosed is an apparatus for positioning such bracket elements at a desired location proximate to at least one respective tooth of a subject; the apparatus comprising a support body supporting and integrally formed with at least one support arm, the support arm being arranged to locate a respective bracket element at a desired location with respect to a respective tooth.