Orthodontic Tracking Template for Wire-to-Aligner Transition Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthodontic treatments, including both wire-and-bracket systems and patient-removable appliances, face challenges in efficiently transitioning patients from initial to intermediate and final tooth arrangements without requiring frequent adjustments or impressions.
Innovation Solution
The use of an orthodontic tracking template that fits over teeth in a planned intermediate arrangement without applying a tooth-moving force, allowing for seamless transition from wire-and-bracket treatments to patient-removable appliances, enabling determination of tooth positioning without removing affixed appliances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional wire-and-bracket treatments are used to move teeth to desired positions, then tooth repositioning can be achieved through reactive adjustments, but frequent clinical visits and adjustments are required which increases treatment time and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating a tracking template that fits over teeth in a planned intermediate arrangement before the actual treatment phase. This template is designed in advance based on digital treatment planning, allowing the orthodontist to predict and prepare for the intermediate tooth position without waiting for gradual movement through frequent adjustments. The template serves as a pre-planned guide that eliminates the need for multiple reactive adjustments during treatment.
2Productivity
If patient-removable clear shell appliances are used to reposition teeth, then fewer clinical visits are needed, but determining when to transition from wire-and-bracket to shell appliances requires impressions and measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by creating a physical tracking template that replicates the planned intermediate tooth arrangement from digital treatment planning software. Instead of taking new impressions or measurements to assess readiness for transition, the orthodontist simply checks whether the patient's current teeth fit into the pre-made template copy. This eliminates the need for complex assessment procedures while maintaining high treatment efficiency.
3Ease of manufacture
If a tracking template is designed to fit over teeth in a planned intermediate arrangement, then transition timing can be determined without impressions, but the template must be precisely fabricated to match the planned arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanics substitution by replacing traditional mechanical impression-taking and model-casting processes with digital treatment planning software. The tracking template is designed using computer-aided design (CAD) based on digital scans of the patient's teeth and the planned intermediate arrangement. This digital approach ensures high precision in template fabrication while simplifying the overall manufacturing process, as the template can be directly manufactured from digital data without requiring physical impressions or manual model preparation.
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
Facilitates a smooth transition between treatment phases, improves the quality of fit for patient-removable appliances, and allows for determination of tooth readiness without impressions, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of orthodontic treatment planning.
Implementation Method 1
The imparted forces are resilient in nature and are associated with corresponding appliance elastic deformation.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus's for improving orthodontic treatments. In an embodiment, an orthodontic tracking template is provided for assisting in determining whether a patient's teeth are in an appropriate tooth arrangement for transitioning between a wire and bracket orthodontic treatment to a patient-removable orthodontic appliance treatment. The tracking template may include a shell portion defining a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities arranged to fit over at least a portion of the patient's teeth in an intermediate tooth arrangement without applying a tooth-moving force to the teeth or to any brackets attached to the teeth.