Denture Tooth Registration Using Machinable Wax
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current denture tooth manufacturing processes are time-intensive, costly, and prone to errors due to the need for multiple steps and physical tooth supports, which hinder efficient alignment with digital workflows and quality control.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a mold fixture with a sticky surface for positioning teeth, using machinable wax to expose the root or crown end for scanning and milling, allowing for digital registration and milling without physical tooth supports, enabling efficient and precise denture tooth production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If physical tooth supports are used for every tooth in a library, then teeth can be registered and milled, but the process becomes expensive and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the unnecessary intermediate step of creating physical tooth supports for each tooth. Instead, teeth are directly registered to the fixture using digital methods, extracting the harmful complexity of maintaining physical support libraries while preserving the essential function of accurate tooth positioning and milling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital copies and models of teeth rather than physical tooth supports. Digital tooth models are registered to the fixture coordinate system, eliminating the need for physical replicas while maintaining registration accuracy. This digital copying approach大幅 reduces labor and costs associated with creating and managing physical tooth support libraries.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple steps are used in the manufacturing process, then teeth can be properly positioned and milled, but the process becomes time-intensive and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate steps into an integrated digital workflow. Tooth selection, digital model creation, registration to the fixture, and milling path generation are merged into a continuous digital process, eliminating the time-consuming transitions between physical setup steps while maintaining positioning accuracy through digital coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs digital registration and milling path planning before the actual milling operation. By pre-planning the entire process digitally and preparing the fixture with appropriate indicators beforehand, the actual manufacturing time is reduced while ensuring precision is achieved through careful digital preparation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If physical tooth supports and extensive libraries are maintained, then tooth variety is available, but costs and labor for quality control increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical tooth supports and libraries with a digital information system. Tooth varieties are stored as digital models that can be easily selected, modified, and registered without physical manipulation. This substitution eliminates the complexity of physically managing tooth libraries while maintaining or expanding tooth variety options.
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
This approach reduces costs by eliminating the need for extensive tooth support libraries, enhances precision, and facilitates easier digital workflow integration, allowing for the expansion of tooth libraries and improved quality control.
Implementation Method 1
placing a root end or a crown end of a tooth on a first side of a mold fixture, the first side having a sticky surface
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to the field of dentures. More particularly, the present invention relates to manufacturing denture teeth using fixtures to hold the teeth during a scanning, registration and milling sequence. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to using machinable wax to set denture teeth within a fixture, so that the root or crown end of the teeth may be scanned, registered with an ideal tooth model to create a milling strategy, and milled or otherwise have material removed.