Orthodontic Arch Member with Varying Cross-Section
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional orthodontic braces face challenges such as poor oral hygiene due to food and plaque trapping, limited corrective force capabilities of removable appliances, and difficulties in achieving complex tooth movements, leading to inefficiencies in treating dental malocclusions.
Innovation Solution
The development of an orthodontic appliance with a self-ligating arch member and varying cross-sectional geometry that allows for releasable connection to anchors, providing customizable corrective forces and improved tooth movement capabilities without the need for additional ties or wires, and can be designed for lingual placement to enhance aesthetics and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional braces with brackets and archwires are used, then tooth movement can be achieved, but oral hygiene deteriorates due to food and plaque trapping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional bracket component from the orthodontic appliance, extracting the source of food and plaque trapping. The archwire is designed to directly contact teeth without intermediate brackets, eliminating the spaces where debris accumulates while maintaining tooth movement capability through direct wire-tooth contact.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using brackets that protrude from tooth surfaces to guide archwire movement, the patent inverts the approach by having the archwire make direct contact with teeth. This reversal of the traditional bracket-archwire interface eliminates the hygiene problems associated with conventional braces while preserving orthodontic function.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If removable appliances are used to improve oral hygiene, then cleaning is facilitated, but corrective force capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an appliance that is easily removable by the patient for cleaning (self-service capability), yet maintains strong corrective force through the direct archwire-tooth contact design. The simplified structure without brackets allows easy removal while the engineered archwire geometry ensures adequate force delivery for complex tooth movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the archwire, including its cross-sectional geometry and material properties, to optimize both removability and force delivery. By adjusting wire dimensions and elastic characteristics, the appliance achieves sufficient corrective force while maintaining ease of removal for hygiene purposes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional braces are used to achieve complex tooth movements, then corrective capability is sufficient, but friction increases reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the bracket component that creates friction between the archwire and tooth surface. By eliminating this intermediate interface, the system reduces energy loss to friction while maintaining full corrective capability through direct wire-tooth contact and optimized archwire geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical bracket-archwire interaction system with a direct archwire-tooth contact system. This substitution eliminates the friction-generating mechanical interface of traditional braces while preserving the ability to deliver complex corrective forces through carefully designed wire geometry and material properties.
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 appliance facilitates efficient tooth movement, reduces treatment time, and improves oral hygiene by minimizing friction and allowing for precise control over angulation, rotation, and translation of teeth, while being aesthetically pleasing and easy to install and remove.
Implementation Method 1
the body of the arch member can include a cross-sectional geometry that varies along a length of the body
Data Source
AI summary
A method of forming an arch member comprising an arch member body and an arch member coupling integral with the body, comprising: providing a substrate comprising a resilient material; and removing a portion of the substrate to form the arch member. The arch member body including a cross-sectional geometry that varies along a length of the body. Also a method of designing an orthodontic appliance comprising: providing a proposed specification of the orthodontic appliance, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises an arch member comprising an arch member body and an arch member coupling integral with the body, and a set of anchors, providing a first digital image representing a first dental arrangement associated with the orthodontic appliance; deriving a target digital image representing a target dental arrangement; revising the proposed specification of the orthodontic appliance based in part on the target digital image; and forming the orthodontic appliance based on the revised proposed specification.