Dental Prosthesis Guide Hole for Precise Screw Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing process of installing dental prostheses is time-consuming and uncomfortable for patients, requiring a waiting period for screw integration and often results in misaligned screw placement due to unguided drilling, which can cause complications like gum irritation and infection.
Innovation Solution
A dental prosthesis with a guide hole through its height to direct a drill bit for precise screw placement, allowing concurrent installation with the screw and eliminating the need for adhesive cement by directly attaching the screw to the prosthesis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If unguided drilling is used for screw installation, then the drilling process is simpler and faster, but the screw placement accuracy deteriorates leading to misalignment and complications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a guide structure as an intermediary component between the drill and the bone. This guide structure includes a guide channel that directs the drill bit along a predetermined safe path, ensuring accurate screw placement while protecting surrounding tissues. The guide structure acts as a mediator that translates the dentist's drilling action into precise, controlled hole formation without requiring complex real-time guidance systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide structure is designed with pre-determined drilling paths and angles built into its geometry. Before drilling begins, the guide structure is positioned on the bone surface, establishing the correct drilling trajectory in advance. This preliminary positioning ensures that subsequent drilling follows the predetermined safe path, eliminating the need for complex real-time adjustments during the drilling process.
2Reliability
If a two-step installation process is used (screw first, then prosthesis), then the screw can set and integrate with bone, but the treatment time and patient discomfort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the prosthesis and the guide structure into a single integrated unit. The guide structure is formed as an integral part of the prosthesis body, allowing both components to be installed simultaneously in one procedure. The prosthesis is temporarily secured with adhesive, the drill is guided through the integrated guide channel to create the screw hole, and the screw is inserted—all while the prosthesis remains in place. This eliminates the need for a separate healing period before prosthesis installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous installation without interruption. The prosthesis is secured temporarily, the screw hole is drilled immediately through the guide channel, and the screw is inserted without removing the prosthesis. This continuous process eliminates the traditional gap between screw implantation and prosthesis installation, reducing overall treatment time while maintaining screw integration quality.
3Ease of operation
If adhesive cement is used to attach prosthesis, then the prosthesis can be secured, but gum irritation and infection risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the adhesive cement from the attachment process by enabling direct mechanical fixation. The screw provides primary mechanical anchorage of the prosthesis to the bone through the guide channel, making adhesive cement unnecessary for structural attachment. This removal of adhesive eliminates the source of gum irritation and infection risk while maintaining secure prosthesis attachment through the screw mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A dental prosthesis having a guide hole formed therein. The guide hole is configured to guide a drilling for a screw, and configured to receive the screw, holding the prosthesis in place when screwed into the bone of a patient.