Dental Drill Guide Ring for Precise Implant Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental implant placement techniques rely heavily on the surgeon's skill and experience, often resulting in improper positioning and angle installation, which can affect the longevity and functionality of the implant.
Innovation Solution
The use of a dental drill guide positioning ring and surgical guide system that allows for axial coupling and free rotation of drill guides within a template material, enabling precise and repeatable drilling without the need for manual handling, using flange retention elements and snap-fit features for secure engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual handling and positioning techniques are used for implant placement, then the surgeon's skill and experience can be leveraged, but positioning accuracy and repeatability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces surgical guides and drill guides as intermediary devices between the surgeon and the implant placement. These guides physically mediate the positioning process, providing a mechanical framework that ensures accurate implant placement while allowing the surgeon to operate within a controlled, precise system rather than relying solely on manual skill.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide positioning ring system enables self-positioning through its design features. The ring can be placed on the surgical guide, and drill guides are automatically positioned and retained by the ring's retention elements, eliminating the need for manual handling and positioning of each drill guide while maintaining high precision.
2Ease of operation
If drill guides are manually handled and positioned, then flexibility in operation is maintained, but the risk of disengagement and positioning errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide positioning ring automatically retains drill guides through its retention elements, making the system self-servicing. The drill guides are held in place by the ring's structural features rather than requiring continuous manual attention, reducing disengagement risk while maintaining operational flexibility through easy insertion and removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning ring provides beforehand cushioning by pre-positioning retention elements that are ready to engage drill guides before they are inserted. This preventive design ensures secure engagement from the start, reducing the risk of disengagement during operation without requiring complex locking mechanisms.
3Ease of manufacture
If reusable surgical guides are used, then cost-effectiveness and sustainability improve, but cleaning and sterilization complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide system is segmented into separate components: the surgical guide itself, the drill guide positioning ring, and individual drill guides. This segmentation allows each component to be independently cleaned and sterilized, reducing overall complexity compared to a monolithic reusable system while maintaining cost-effectiveness through reuse of all components.
Data Source
AI summary
In some aspects, dental drill guides can include a body defining an outer surface and an interior hole for receiving and positioning a dental drill; a first end of the body defining a tapered lead-in portion of the outer surface; a second end of the body opposite the first end defining at least one lip feature configured to be gripped by a handling tool; an outer circumferentially formed recess around the outer surface; and a seating feature extending from the outer surface.