Fluid Permeable Dental Aligner for Oral Hygiene
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional orthodontic aligners do not allow oxygen to pass through, leading to anaerobic bacteria growth and halitosis, and are cumbersome for patients, requiring frequent removal and shortening their usage lifetime.
Innovation Solution
Dental aligners made from fluid-permeable materials with pores or micro-channels that allow oxygen and saliva to reach the teeth, preventing bacterial growth and improving oral hygiene, while also being designed for incremental tooth movement and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional non-permeable aligners are used, then the aligner structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but oxygen cannot pass through leading to bacterial growth and halitosis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating a porous layer between the inner and outer surfaces of the aligner. This porous layer allows oxygen and other gases to permeate through to the tooth surface, preventing anaerobic bacterial growth while maintaining the overall aligner structure. The porosity of the material directly addresses the harmful effect of bacterial growth without requiring complete structural redesign of the aligner.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining multiple layers with different properties: an inner surface layer, a porous intermediate layer, and an outer surface layer. This composite structure allows the aligner to simultaneously provide mechanical support, gas permeability, and bacterial growth prevention, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and harmful effect prevention.
2Ease of operation
If aligners are made non-permeable to maintain structural integrity, then manufacturing is easier, but patient comfort is reduced due to inability to breathe and increased bacterial growth
Solution Approach 1:
The porous layer integrated into the aligner allows gas permeability while maintaining structural integrity. This enables patients to breathe more comfortably with the aligner in place and reduces bacterial growth, improving ease of operation without requiring complete manufacturing redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The aligner is segmented into multiple functional layers: inner surface layer, porous intermediate layer, and outer surface layer. Each layer performs a specific function, allowing the structure to be manufactured as an integrated composite while providing breathability and comfort to the patient.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If aligners require frequent removal for cleaning and breathability, then oral hygiene is maintained, but usage lifetime is shortened and patient convenience is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The porous layer enables continuous gas exchange and reduces bacterial growth accumulation, allowing patients to wear the aligner continuously without frequent removal for cleaning. This extends the usage lifetime while maintaining oral hygiene, improving both duration of action and patient convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous structure enables the aligner to self-regulate gas exchange and bacterial growth prevention without requiring patient intervention. The material itself provides breathability and hygiene maintenance, eliminating the need for frequent removal and cleaning by the patient, thus extending usage lifetime and improving convenience.
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 fluid-permeable aligners reduce bacterial growth, improve oral hygiene, and extend the usage lifetime by allowing oxygen and saliva to permeate, enhancing patient comfort and treatment efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid-permeable material to allow fluid to communicate between the patient's tooth and the vicinity of the outer surface
Implementation Method 2
Dental aligners made from fluid-permeable materials with pores or micro-channels that allow oxygen and saliva to reach the teeth
Data Source
AI summary
A shell-shaped dental aligner for producing predetermined movement in a patient's tooth includes a shell portion comprising a fluid-permeable material, an outer surface of the shell portion, and an inner surface of the shell portion, the inner surface to be in contact with the patient's tooth. The fluid-permeable material can allow fluid to communicate between the patient's tooth and the vicinity of the outer surface.