Additive Manufactured Orthodontic Attachments for Transfer Tray Placement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthodontic attachment methods, such as direct and indirect bonding procedures, face challenges in accurately and efficiently placing small, complex attachments onto teeth, which can affect the precision and duration of orthodontic treatments.
Innovation Solution
The development of additive manufactured orthodontic attachments with a custom-formed shape, featuring a retaining member, coupling portion, and bonding surface, facilitates easier placement into a transfer tray and improves bonding accuracy, reducing the need for manual handling and potential errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional direct or indirect bonding procedures are used to place small orthodontic attachments, then the attachments can be bonded to teeth, but the placement accuracy is compromised due to difficulty in manipulating small attachments
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment placement system is segmented into distinct functional components: the attachment itself, the transfer tray with receiving cavities, and the indexing mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the attachment can be small and tooth-specific, while the transfer tray provides the manipulation interface and positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer tray acts as an intermediary device between the practitioner and the small attachments. It provides receiving cavities that hold attachments in predetermined positions and includes indexing features that guide accurate placement onto the tooth, eliminating the need to directly manipulate tiny attachments with hand instruments.
2Productivity
If each attachment is bonded individually using direct bonding technique, then the attachment can be placed on the tooth, but the treatment time increases due to sequential placement
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple attachments are pre-positioned in the transfer tray in their final destination locations before patient treatment begins. The practitioner can load and position multiple attachments simultaneously or in advance, then transfer them to the patient's teeth in a single coordinated action, eliminating sequential placement time.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer tray combines multiple attachment holding cavities and positioning features into a single integrated device. Multiple attachments are held and positioned simultaneously within one tray, allowing the practitioner to place multiple attachments in one clinical visit rather than requiring multiple separate bonding appointments.
3Manufacturing precision
If custom-formed attachments are manufactured to improve bonding accuracy, then the placement precision increases, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each attachment is customized with specific local qualities - unique shapes, sizes, and bonding surface characteristics - optimized for its specific tooth location and treatment requirements. The transfer tray provides standardized receiving cavities and indexing features that work with these varied attachment designs, allowing customization without increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes articles, systems, and techniques including an additive manufactured orthodontic attachment including a body defining a retaining member configured to retain the article in a recess defined by a shell of a transfer tray; a coupling portion configured to engage a tool for insertion of the attachment into the recess of the transfer tray; and a bonding surface configured to bond the attachment to a portion of an outer surface of a tooth of a patient.