Dental Implant Drill-Guide Using Orthodontic Screw References

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for drilling dental implant cavities in edentulous maxillary or mandibular arches are inaccurate due to compression of the gingival mucosa during impression taking, leading to potential misalignment of implants and increased invasive procedures.

Innovation Solution

A method using mucosal impression data and image data of orthodontic screws inserted into the osseous tissue to determine dental implant position data, forming a drill-guide with screw-seats for accurate alignment with the bone rather than the mucosal tissue, minimizing invasive procedures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a mucosal impression is taken using an impression body, then the drill guide can be aligned with the mucosa, but the gingival mucosa deforms or compresses under the force applied, skewing the information and resulting in misaligned dental implants

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrill guide alignment accuracyVSAvoidmucosal tissue deformation

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces orthodontic screws as intermediary reference points that penetrate through the mucosa to engage with the bone. These screws serve as stable mediators between the soft tissue and bone structure, providing accurate anatomical references that are not affected by mucosal compression during impression taking. The drill guide then aligns with these screw references rather than the compressible mucosa, eliminating the source of measurement error.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The orthodontic screws are inserted into the bone through the mucosa before the impression taking process. This preliminary action establishes stable reference points in advance, allowing the subsequent impression to capture the true anatomical position of the bone relative to these fixed references, rather than capturing distorted positions caused by mucosal compression.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the drill guide is aligned with the mucosal tissue, then the procedure is less invasive, but the compressible and mobile mucosa prevents accurate alignment with the bone

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinvasiveness of procedureVSAvoiddrill guide alignment precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The orthodontic screws act as intermediaries that bridge the gap between the accessible mucosal surface and the target bone structure. By engaging with the bone directly while being visible through the mucosa, they provide a reference system that maintains precision without requiring direct mucosal compression or extensive invasive procedures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the alignment reference into two parts: the visible portion of the orthodontic screw through the mucosa (for drill guide engagement) and the embedded portion in the bone (for anatomical accuracy). This segmentation allows the drill guide to align with the visible screw portion while maintaining precision through the bone-embedded reference.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Manufacturing precision

If orthodontic screws are inserted into the osseous tissue to provide accurate reference points, then the drill guide alignment precision is improved, but the invasive procedure increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrill guide alignment precisionVSAvoidpatient trauma and healing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The orthodontic screws are inserted only to the extent necessary to engage with the bone and provide reference points, rather than requiring extensive penetration or removal of tissue. The screws are placed locally at the site where reference points are needed, minimizing the overall invasive burden while achieving the required precision for drill guide alignment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20220087789A1Method of Creating a Dental Implant Drill-Guide

Publication Date: 2022.03.24 NULTY ADAM BRIAN

AI summary

A method of creating a dental implant drill-guide is provided comprising the steps of using mucosal impression data of an edentulous maxillary or mandibular arch having a plurality of orthodontic screws inserted into the osseous tissue thereof and which extend through the gingival mucosa, along with image data of the arch to determine dental implant position data for the insertion of one or more dental implants into the edentulous maxillary or mandibular arch relative to the positions of the plurality of orthodontic screws. It is then possible to create a dental implant drill-guide to guide the drilling of dental-implant cavities in the edentulous maxillary or mandibular arch, and subsequently create a dental implant drill-guide from the dental implant drill-guide parameter data, the dental implant drill-guide having a plurality of orthodontic screw-seats which are engagable with the said plurality of orthodontic screws.