Frustoconical Spacer for Endodontic Instrument Depth Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endodontic instruments face inaccuracies and reproducibility issues in determining and maintaining the maximum penetration depth due to the slippage of conventional silicone stoppers, leading to over-instrumentation and contamination during root canal treatments.
Innovation Solution
A truncated cone-shaped spacer with a cylindrical recess for receiving a stopper, designed to rest on the tooth crown and fix the instrument's penetration depth, allowing for precise and reproducible adjustment of the working length using spacers and additional discs for fine adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a conventional silicone stopper is used to determine the maximum penetration depth, then the instrument can be inserted to a defined depth, but the stopper slips during treatment leading to inaccurate penetration depth and over-instrumentation
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into a stopper component and a spacer component that work together. The spacer provides a rigid structural framework while the stopper provides the depth-limiting function, separating the functions of positioning and depth control to improve overall reliability and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer is pre-adjusted to the desired length before the procedure using a gauge, establishing the maximum penetration depth in advance. This preliminary setup ensures that the stopper will accurately limit instrument insertion depth without requiring adjustment during treatment, eliminating the slippage problem.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple stoppers are manually adjusted during treatment for different root canals, then different penetration depths can be achieved, but contamination and injury risk increase while treatment time prolongs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of manually adjusting the stopper position, the invention changes the parameter of spacer length. Different spacers with pre-determined lengths are used for different root canal depths, eliminating manual adjustment operations and reducing contamination risk while maintaining adaptability to various treatment requirements.
3Reliability
If a rigid spacer structure is used to prevent slippage, then penetration depth accuracy improves, but sterilization difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device combines a rigid spacer (metal or hard plastic) for structural stability and slippage prevention with a flexible stopper component (silicone or rubber) that can be easily sterilized. This composite construction allows the rigid portion to maintain position accuracy while the flexible portion accommodates sterilization processes.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a spacer (100) for an endodontic instrument (10), said spacer comprising: a base surface (12) having a diameter (do); a cover surface (14) having a diameter (dD), wherein the diameter (dD) is smaller than the diameter (dG); an axis of rotation (16); a lateral surface (18); a height (h); an opening (20) having a longitudinal axis for receiving an endodontic instrument (10); and a cylindrical recess (22) for receiving a stopper (24) on the base surface (12), wherein the spacer (100) is frustoconical, and wherein the opening (20) extends from the base surface (12) to the cover surface (14), the longitudinal axis of the opening (20) being arranged coaxially with respect to the axis of rotation (16) of the spacer (100), and the cylindrical recess (22) being arranged coaxially with respect to the opening (20).