Dental Restoration Molds for Controlled Material Placement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional dental restoration methods face challenges such as poor isolation leading to contamination, difficulty in achieving proper tooth contours and symmetry, overfilling, and lack of control over restorative material placement, resulting in flash and reduced restoration quality.

Innovation Solution

Custom-designed dental restoration tools with apertures and features like hinges, vents, and alignment indicators allow practitioners to have better control over restorative material placement, reduce flash, and improve symmetry by providing visibility and ease of use.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional dental restoration methods are used, then practitioners can perform restorations with existing tools, but isolation is poor leading to contamination and control over restorative material placement is limited resulting in flash

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveisolation and controlVSAvoidcontamination and flash
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The mold body is divided into multiple sections with apertures that allow practitioners to see and control restorative material placement in specific areas. This segmentation provides both isolation for contamination prevention and visibility for control, resolving the contradiction between reliability and harmful factors.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The mold body acts as an intermediary tool between the practitioner and the restorative material. It provides a controlled environment (isolation) while allowing precise material placement through apertures, thereby preventing both contamination and flash while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Manufacturing precision

If conventional tools are used, then practitioners can perform restorations, but difficulty in achieving proper tooth contours and symmetry arises due to lack of control

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetooth contours and symmetryVSAvoidcontrol over material placement
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The mold body is segmented into multiple apertures positioned at specific locations corresponding to different tooth surfaces. This allows practitioners to control material placement precisely for each contour requirement while maintaining ease of operation through a single mold body structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The mold body is pre-configured with apertures and internal structures that guide restorative material flow to achieve proper contours and symmetry. This preliminary design eliminates the need for complex manual shaping operations, improving both precision and ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If conventional methods are used, then restorations can be performed, but overfilling occurs due to lack of control, requiring additional finishing work

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial placement accuracyVSAvoidfinishing work time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The mold body is designed with internal flow channels and aperture positions that pre-determine the exact amount and location of restorative material needed. This preliminary configuration prevents overfilling at the source, eliminating the need for time-consuming finishing work to remove excess material.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The mold body structure itself controls material flow and placement, automatically preventing overfilling without requiring additional practitioner intervention or finishing steps. The design serves its own function of precise material delivery, reducing overall process time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The tools facilitate high-quality dental restorations with reduced time and skill requirements, minimizing flash and improving the final appearance and functionality of dental restorations.

Implementation Method 1

The restorative dental material may be introduced into the mold cavity and cured to define a dental restoration

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPhotopolymerization: Photopolymerisation

Data Source

PatentEP3490488B1Dental restoration molds
Publication Date: 2025.11.05 SOLVENTUM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES CO
  • EP3490488B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2B
  • EP3490488B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~4A
  • EP3490488B1 patent drawingFigure 4B~5

AI summary

A tool for forming a dental restoration includes a mold body configured to combine with a tooth of a patient to define a mold cavity encompassing at least a portion of desired tooth structure of the tooth. In some examples, the portion of desired tooth structure defines an interproximal surface of the tooth. The mold body may include, in some examples, a base member configured to provide a customized fit with at least one tooth of the patient to attach the mold body to the at least one tooth, and an interproximal member extending from the base member and configured to be disposed between adjacent teeth of the patient when the base member is fit over the at least one tooth. The interproximal member defines a surface of the mold cavity.