Customized Temporary Crown via Intra-Office 3D Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental crown procedures often require prefabricated temporary crowns that may not fit individual patients' specific anatomical shapes, leading to discomfort, tooth shifting, and prolonged treatment times due to the need for multiple visits and adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a three-dimensional printer to fabricate customized temporary crowns onsite during a dental visit, based on digital impressions of the patient's teeth, ensuring a precise fit and reducing trauma to gingival tissues, while also providing a biocompatible, flexible material for improved comfort and bite alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If prefabricated temporary crowns are used, then the treatment process is simplified and inventory management is easier, but the fit to patient-specific anatomy is poor causing discomfort and tooth shifting
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy of the patient's prepared tooth using intraoral scanning technology, then uses this digital model to fabricate a custom temporary crown that precisely matches the patient's anatomy. This eliminates the need for physical impressions and enables patient-specific customization without manual drafting
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary crown material properties are modified to be reversible and repositionable, allowing the crown to be removed and reattached multiple times during the treatment period. This enables adjustment of the crown's position and fit while maintaining patient-specific anatomical precision
2Manufacturing precision
If custom temporary crowns are fabricated using traditional methods, then the anatomical fit is improved, but the treatment time increases due to multiple visits and remote manufacturing
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines the tooth preparation procedure, digital impression taking, temporary crown fabrication, and crown placement into a single integrated workflow that is completed during one office visit. The 3D printer is brought into the dental office, eliminating the need for external laboratory manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional mechanical impression-taking methods and external laboratory fabrication processes are replaced with digital scanning technology and in-office 3D printing. This substitution dramatically reduces the time from tooth preparation to temporary crown placement from days or weeks to minutes
3Strength
If rigid temporary crown materials are used, then the structural strength is sufficient, but trauma to gingival tissues occurs and patient comfort is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The temporary crown material is formulated with reversible physical properties that allow it to be softened for insertion and then hardened for structural support. The material can also be repositioned if minor adjustments are needed, reducing trauma to surrounding tissues while maintaining adequate structural strength
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary crown uses a composite material formulation that combines the structural properties needed for crown strength with the flexibility required for gentle tissue interaction. The material can be adapted to fit precisely while being non-traumatic to gingival tissues
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 allows for immediate fabrication of patient-specific temporary crowns that reduce discomfort, prevent tooth shifting, and streamline the dental process by minimizing the need for adjustments and follow-up visits, ensuring proper spacing and occlusal alignment.
Implementation Method 1
the temporary crown can be manufactured (e.g., in a dentist's facility using a three-dimensional printer apparatus or the like, during a single office visit)
Data Source
AI summary
A dental device (such as a temporary dental crown or dental space maintainer), which may be fabricated in an intra-office process while the patient is located onsite, for use in securing to one or more teeth during a dental restoration procedure or another dental procedure.