Dental Aligner Eruption Compensation Feature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental appliances face challenges in accommodating erupting teeth, particularly unerupted or partially erupted teeth, as it is difficult to predict their size and eruption path, leading to potential interference, discomfort, and improper fitting.
Innovation Solution
The development of dental appliances with an eruption compensation feature, which includes a cavity or space within the aligner shell, aligned with the predicted position of the erupting tooth, using asymmetric scaling to ensure proper fit and natural eruption, adjusting scaling factors based on tooth type, orientation, and eruption rate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cavity is provided in the aligner to provide space for an erupting tooth, then the tooth can erupt naturally without interference, but the cavity may be sized incorrectly for the erupting tooth
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the cavity dimensions by applying scaling factors to the predicted tooth geometry. The scaling factors modify the cavity size in mesial-distal, buccal-lingual, and apical-coronal directions based on tooth type, eruption stage, and predicted eruption rate, ensuring the cavity is appropriately sized for the specific erupting tooth
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by predicting the future position and size of the erupting tooth before the aligner is fabricated. Using 3D imaging and eruption models, the system pre-calculates the optimal cavity dimensions and position, allowing the aligner to be customized in advance to accommodate the tooth's eruption trajectory
2Reliability
If the aligner is designed to accommodate an erupting tooth, then eruption can proceed naturally, but the aligner may not fit properly if the tooth erupts ectopically
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies asymmetric scaling factors to different regions of the predicted tooth geometry. By differentiating the scaling in mesial-distal, buccal-lingual, and apical-coronal directions, the cavity becomes asymmetrically shaped to accommodate various eruption paths including ectopic eruptions, while maintaining proper fit for the majority of teeth
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates dynamic elements by adjusting cavity parameters based on predicted eruption rates and trajectories. The cavity dimensions and position are dynamically modified to follow the tooth's eruption path, allowing the aligner to adapt to both normal and ectopic eruption patterns throughout the treatment period
3Ease of manufacture
If little or nothing is known about the erupting tooth, then the aligner design becomes uncertain, but predicting tooth size and eruption path is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy or model of the erupting tooth based on 3D imaging data and anatomical databases. This digital twin allows the system to simulate and predict tooth eruption behavior, test different cavity designs, and determine optimal aligner parameters before physical fabrication, reducing uncertainty in the design process
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for forming eruption compensation (EC) features in dental appliances for accommodating erupting teeth. An EC feature may be oversized compared to a predicted geometry of an erupting tooth, thereby allowing natural eruption of the tooth when a subject wears the dental appliance. The size, shape, location and/or orientation of the EC feature may be determined based on a virtual EC region in a virtual dental model of the subject's teeth. Dimensions of the virtual EC region may be calculated using a scaling process applied to the predicted geometry of the erupting tooth. In some cases an asymmetric scaling may be used to provide a prescribed larger lingual or buccal side of the EC region to accommodate an ectopically erupting tooth.