Digital Prosthetic Element Design for Virtual Tooth Preparation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing dental restoration process is lengthy, requires multiple appointments, and is prone to technical errors due to tooth cutting and laboratory workflows, failing to accurately account for patient-specific hard and soft tissue structures.
Innovation Solution
A method involving digital design steps using intra-oral and radiographic images to determine a prosthetic element's extrados and intrados, with technical parameters derived from these images, allowing virtual tooth preparation and precise prosthetic element production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional dental restoration process with physical impressions and laboratory workflows is used, then the prosthetic element can be produced, but the process is lengthy and requires multiple appointments
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary digital planning and design of the prosthetic element before the actual tooth preparation. The system creates a digital model of the tooth, plans the preparation geometry, and designs the prosthetic element in advance using intra-oral scans and radiographic images, allowing the restoration to be completed in a single appointment without multiple laboratory iterations
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the traditional mechanical workflow of physical impressions, manual model casting, and laboratory fabrication with a digital system. Intra-oral scanners capture tooth geometry digitally, and computer-aided design software generates the prosthetic element model, eliminating the need for physical impression materials and laboratory molds
2Ease of manufacture
If tooth cutting is performed by dentist based on general guidelines, then the tooth can be prepared for prosthetic placement, but technical errors occur due to inability to account for patient-specific tissue structures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary virtual tooth preparation on the digital model before the actual cutting. The software simulates the preparation geometry, checks clearance for the prosthetic element, and validates the design against patient-specific anatomical constraints including hard and soft tissue structures, ensuring precision before clinical execution
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates an accurate digital copy of the patient's tooth and surrounding structures using intra-oral scanning and radiographic imaging. This digital replica allows for precise planning and simulation of the preparation without affecting the actual tooth, enabling customization to the patient's specific anatomy
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional laboratory workflow with physical models is used, then the prosthetic element can be designed and adapted, but the process is complex and prone to technical errors
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical laboratory workflow with a fully digital process. Computer-aided design software generates the prosthetic element model based on the digital tooth model and selected restoration type. The system automatically calculates preparation geometry, checks clearances, and generates manufacturing data, eliminating manual model manipulation and reducing human error
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where the digital model is continuously refined based on anatomical constraints, prosthetic design requirements, and manufacturing capabilities. The software validates each step of the design process and allows for iterative adjustments before finalizing the prosthetic element model, ensuring high reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A disclosed method for designing a prosthetic element is executable prior to a cutting of a tooth of a patient for placing the prosthetic element.