Adjustable Dental Impression Tray for Single-Visit Bite Registration

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional denture fabrication requires multiple visits due to the lack of a custom fitting variable dimension bite registration dental impression tray, leading to inefficiencies in capturing occlusal records and replicating denture teeth positions.

Innovation Solution

A customized dental impression tray with adjustable wax bite registrations and thermoplastic components that allow for capturing occlusal records and shaping wax rims during a single patient visit, enabling accurate denture production.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If conventional impressioning techniques are used with rigid trays and low viscosity elastomeric materials, then the impression material can flow and capture dental tissue details, but multiple separate visits are required for preliminary impressions, final impressions, and bite registration

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedenture fabrication efficiencyVSAvoidnumber of patient visits

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines preliminary impression, final impression, and bite registration functions into a single integrated tray system. The tray includes both the impression-receiving portion and the bite registration portion with occlusal surfaces, allowing all three procedures to be performed simultaneously in one patient visit, thereby eliminating the need for multiple separate visits required by conventional techniques

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The tray is designed as a multi-functional device that serves multiple purposes: it acts as a preliminary impression tray, a final impression tray, and a bite registration device. The tray includes an impression receiving portion for capturing dental tissue details and a bite registration portion with occlusal surfaces for recording jaw relationships, enabling one device to perform functions that traditionally required separate devices and visits

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Measurement precision

If conventional separate procedures are used for preliminary impression, final impression, and bite registration, then each procedure can be optimized independently, but the overall treatment time and number of appointments increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of dental recordsVSAvoidtotal treatment time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple dental recording procedures into a single simultaneous operation using one tray. The tray structure allows the impression material to capture dental tissue details while the bite registration portion records jaw relationships in the same appointment, maintaining measurement precision while reducing total treatment time from multiple visits to one visit

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Ease of operation

If a single tray is used for both impression and bite registration, then chair time and number of visits are reduced, but the tray design becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconvenience of single-visit procedureVSAvoidtray structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tray is segmented into distinct functional portions: an impression receiving portion with specific wall configurations for capturing dental tissue details, and a bite registration portion with occlusal surfaces for recording jaw relationships. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for its specific function while being integrated into a single tray structure, managing complexity through functional division

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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

Facilitates the production of accurate dentures in a single visit by capturing necessary records, reducing chair time and improving patient outcomes through a simplified, efficient denture fabrication process.

Implementation Method 1

heating and adapted to the anatomical intraoral landmarks

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeating: Heating

Data Source

PatentUS12502259B2Dental impression tray with bite registration and method of making dentures from the same

Publication Date: 2025.12.23 MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE

AI summary

An impression system is disclosed for enabling the creation of dentures in one-visit. The impression system may include an upper impression tray, an upper wax bite registration coupled to the upper impression tray, a lower impression tray, a lower wax bite registration coupled to the lower impression tray, and one or more arc-shaped wax plates configured to be coupled to at least one of the upper or lower wax bite registrations. Each of the upper and lower impression trays may include a convex outer surface and a concave inner surface with the associated wax bite registration coupled to the convex outer surface. The one or more arc-shaped wax plates may be configured to adjust distance between the concave inner surfaces of the upper and lower impression trays, generally associated with an occlusal vertical dimension of the patient.