Dental Shade Guide Molding Device with Light-Permeable Cover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental shade guides made from industrial plastic materials have poor texture and color differences compared to natural teeth, leading to inaccuracies in selecting the appropriate shade of dental composite resin paste, and the curing process often results in uneven surfaces that require grinding, which can alter the shade of the composite resin.
Innovation Solution
A molding device that integrates a handle with a shade guide portion, where the shade guide portion has a convex front face and a plain back face, with a handle-holding mechanism that allows for radial sliding resistance and a light-permeable cover for uniform curing, ensuring a smooth surface finish with low surface roughness, and using photo-curable composite resin paste to create a shade guide that matches natural teeth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If colored industrial plastic material is used to make shade guides, then the shade guides can be manufactured easily and at low cost, but the texture and color differences are poor compared to natural teeth, leading to inaccurate shade selection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from industrial plastic to dental composite resin paste, which has optical and textural properties matching natural teeth. This material substitution resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturability while significantly improving shade selection accuracy through better optical matching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses dental composite resin paste, a composite material consisting of filler particles suspended in a binder matrix, to create shade guides that replicate the optical properties of natural teeth. This composite material approach allows the shade guide to exhibit appropriate light reflection and transmission characteristics.
2Ease of operation
If the shade guide portion is made with a convex front face for uniform light reflection, then shade comparison can be simplified, but the surface becomes uneven after curing requiring grinding, which may alter the shade
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a surface smoothing layer or finishing treatment as a preliminary action during the molding process. This preliminary surface treatment ensures that the convex front face achieves both uniform light reflection for ease of operation and sufficient smoothness to eliminate the need for post-curing grinding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adjusts the surface roughness parameter of the convex front face to an optimal range that balances light reflection uniformity with surface smoothness. By controlling the surface roughness within specific parameters, the design achieves both ease of operation and manufacturing precision without requiring subsequent grinding.
3Productivity
If multiple shade guides are arranged circumferentially on a round plate, then shade selection can be performed systematically, but the handle and shade guide portion require complex engagement mechanisms to prevent accidental dropping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the shade guide assembly into separate functional segments: the round plate for systematic arrangement, the handle for manipulation, and the shade guide portion for comparison. This segmentation allows each component to have optimized, simpler engagement mechanisms rather than requiring complex integrated designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the curved surface of the round plate to arrange shade guides circumferentially, creating a natural gradient in light exposure and systematic progression of shades. This curved arrangement simplifies the engagement mechanism by allowing the shade guides to rest against the curved surface without requiring complex locking structures.
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 device produces dental shade guides with improved accuracy and surface smoothness, reducing the likelihood of shade discrepancies and ensuring a closer match to natural teeth, while the uniform curing process minimizes post-curing grinding needs, resulting in a more reliable selection of dental composite resin paste.
Implementation Method 1
using photo-curable composite resin paste to create a shade guide that matches natural teeth
Data Source
AI summary
In dental crown restoration, a dental shade guide which is selected to match patient's teeth comprises a shade-guide portion and a handle. A molding device for molding the dental shade guide comprises a molding plate having a shade-guide molding portion and a handle-holding groove. The molding plate is closed by a cover. While the handle is held in the handle-holding groove of the molding plate, dental composite resin paste is filled in the shade-guide molding portion and the upper surface of the molding plate is tightly pressed by the inner surface of the cover.