Single-Visit Dental Crown Design Using 3D Scanning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The current process for designing and fabricating temporary crowns is time-consuming and inefficient, requiring multiple trips to the dentist and involving significant resources, while also posing challenges in processing efficiency due to the need for acquiring and storing updated patient data.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize 3D modeling and scanning to generate models of both external and internal surfaces of teeth, allowing for the design and fabrication of temporary and permanent crowns in a single office visit, with the ability to update models based on physical fits and generate instructions for fabrication, thereby reducing resource usage and improving processing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional temporary crown fabrication process is used, then multiple trips to dentist are required, but treatment time is extended and patient convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scanning and 3D modeling of the patient's tooth during the first visit, creating a digital template that guides subsequent crown fabrication. This preliminary action eliminates the need for multiple follow-up visits, as the entire crown can be fabricated using the pre-captured digital data, thereby reducing total treatment time while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a digital 3D copy of the patient's tooth using optical scanning technology. This digital replica serves as a precise template for crown design and fabrication, replacing the traditional method of physical impressions and multiple fitting visits. The digital copy enables the crown to be manufactured accurately in advance, significantly reducing treatment time without compromising productivity.
2Ease of operation
If traditional crown design process is used, then multiple visits are required for design and fitting, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated algorithms that generate crown designs directly from the scanned 3D tooth model, eliminating the need for manual digital modeling by dentists or technicians. The software automatically calculates optimal crown geometry, dimensions, and fit based on the patient's unique tooth anatomy, thereby improving design efficiency while minimizing computing resource consumption through algorithmic optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transforms the crown design process from manual iterative adjustments to automated parameter-based generation. By converting physical tooth measurements into digital parameters and using these to drive automated design algorithms, the system achieves rapid crown design with minimal resource consumption, improving ease of operation while reducing energy usage compared to traditional methods.
3Measurement precision
If updated patient data is continuously acquired and stored, then treatment accuracy is improved, but computing overhead and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential geometric features and dimensional parameters from the scanned tooth data, storing only the critical information needed for crown fabrication. By separating and storing only the necessary measurement data rather than the complete raw scan dataset, the system maintains high measurement precision for crown design while minimizing computing overhead and storage requirements, thereby reducing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for preparing a tooth crown may include generating a 3D model of an external surface of a patient's tooth and generating a 3D model of an external surface of a first crown based on the 3D model of the external surface of the patient's tooth. The method may also include preparing the patient's tooth to receive the first crown while generating the 3D model of the external surface. A 3D model of the prepared tooth my be generated. A 3D model of an internal surface of the first crown may also be generated. The 3D model of the external surface and the 3D model of the internal surface may form a 3D model of the first crown.