Dental Overlay Guide for Precise Tooth Preparation Tilt Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dentist tools are inadequate for guiding cutting tools along complex movements, limiting their ability to precisely remove tooth structure for preparing teeth for further treatments like crowns, bridges, and veneers, especially on complex surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A dentist tool with an overlay featuring two guiding edges spaced apart by at least 0.5 mm, allowing the cutting tool to be guided in a predetermined tilt and position, enabling complex movements and precise removal of tooth structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single guiding edge is used in the overlay, then the cutting tool can be guided in a predetermined position, but the cutting tool cannot be guided in a predetermined tilt
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single guiding edge (one-dimensional constraint) to two spaced-apart guiding edges (two-dimensional constraint). This dimensional enhancement allows the system to simultaneously control both the position and tilt of the cutting tool, resolving the limitation where a single edge could only guide position but not orientation.
2Ease of operation
If conventional techniques are used for tooth preparation, then the dentist can rely on eyesight and expertise to shape the tooth, but the treatment requires multiple visits and is highly dependent on dentist skill
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an overlay with guiding edges as an intermediary tool between the dentist and the tooth preparation process. This mediator translates the dentist's intent into precise, predetermined movements, reducing dependency on the dentist's manual skill while ensuring consistent, accurate results across multiple preparations.
Solution Approach 2:
The overlay is pre-designed with guiding edges that encode the predetermined movement path and tilt angles before the actual tooth preparation begins. This preliminary action allows the complex guidance geometry to be prepared in advance, enabling the dentist to simply follow the predetermined path during the procedure.
3Reliability
If multiple visits are required for tooth preparation, then the dentist can perform incremental work, but the treatment time increases and the risk of contamination rises
Solution Approach 1:
The overlay with its predetermined guiding edges allows the complete preparation path to be planned and encoded in advance. This enables the dentist to perform the entire tooth preparation in a single controlled session rather than multiple incremental visits, reducing both treatment time and the cumulative risk of contamination between visits.
Data Source
AI summary
A dental overlay for preparing a tooth is prepared. Movements a cutting tool follows in preparing the tooth are simulated based on data acquired from a dentition and define tooth structure to be removed by the tool from the tooth. The overlay is produced with an inner surface corresponding to and configured for contacting a contact region on and extending between respective top and bottom portions of and partially around the tooth or a neighboring tooth of the tooth. The respective bottom portion or portions are configured to be adjacent to a gingiva. The inner surface thereby remains releasably fixed to the contact region and in a same position relative to the tooth upon pressure to the overlay by the tool during the defined tooth structure removal. A groove of the overlay is configured for contacting the tool to limit its movements to predetermined movements corresponding to the simulated movements.