Orthodontic Appliance Positioning via Digital Tooth Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The precise positioning of orthodontic appliances on teeth is challenging due to the complex three-dimensional geometry of teeth, making manual measurement techniques time-consuming and prone to errors, and the existing methods are subjective and difficult to execute with precision.
Innovation Solution
The use of digital data files representing the shapes of teeth, analyzed by software to determine marginal ridge heights and calculate adjusted appliance heights to ensure proper alignment of marginal ridges at the end of treatment, allowing for precise and efficient positioning of orthodontic appliances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual measurement techniques using ruler, protractor and pencil are used to determine appliance positions, then the practitioner can visually determine bracket positions, but the process becomes time-consuming and difficult to carry out with precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy (3D model) of the patient's teeth and uses software to automatically determine appliance positions. This digital copy can be repeatedly analyzed without physical measurement tools, eliminating the time-consuming manual measurement process while maintaining accuracy through computational algorithms that process the 3D geometry of teeth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical measurement system (ruler, protractor, pencil) with a digital computational system. The software automatically calculates appliance positions based on 3D tooth models, substituting manual mechanical measurements with digital processing that is both faster and more precise.
2Ease of operation
If manual measurement techniques are used to determine appliance positions, then the practitioner can mark features on plaster cast, but the process is subjective and difficult to execute with precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a digital 3D model of the teeth as a copy that can be precisely measured and analyzed multiple times. This digital copy eliminates the subjectivity of manual marking on plaster casts, as the software provides objective, repeatable measurements based on the exact geometry of the tooth structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The software provides feedback by automatically calculating and displaying the precise positions of appliances based on the 3D tooth models. This feedback mechanism allows the practitioner to review and verify the measurements, ensuring precision before finalizing the treatment plan, something that cannot be done with manual measurement techniques.
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized appliance placement protocol is used based on distances from cusp tips or incisal edges, then the process is simplified, but it does not account for patient-specific tooth shapes and marginal ridge positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by customizing the appliance positions for each patient based on their specific tooth geometry. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all standardized protocol, the software analyzes the unique 3D shape of each patient's teeth and calculates appliance positions that are locally optimized for their specific anatomy, ensuring precise marginal ridge alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters for appliance positioning from fixed standardized distances to dynamically calculated positions based on patient-specific 3D tooth models. The software adjusts appliance heights and positions according to the actual marginal ridge locations detected in the digital models, allowing the protocol to adapt to individual patient characteristics while maintaining precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
The positions of orthodontic appliances such as brackets and buccal tubes on a patient's teeth are determined using digital data that represents the shapes of the patient's teeth. Certain landmarks of the teeth such as the marginal ridges are determined using software, and the software adjusts positions of the virtual appliances on the teeth as needed in order to bring the marginal ridges into proper alignment at the conclusion of treatment. The resulting positions are optionally used to determine the location of the appliances in an indirect bonding apparatus such as a transfer tray.