Patient-Specific Palatal Expander for Uniform Orthodontic Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthodontic appliances, such as palatal expanders, often fail to account for individual patient morphologies, leading to non-uniform force distribution and potential discomfort, with customization limitations affecting treatment efficacy.
Innovation Solution
Customizable orthodontic appliances designed using direct fabrication techniques, such as 3D printing, to optimize force distribution and patient comfort by analyzing patient-specific data and biomechanical principles, allowing for rapid production and precise control over appliance geometry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional palatal expanders are used with standardized designs, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but force distribution becomes non-uniform and patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance design incorporates variable thickness and geometry tailored to each patient's specific palate morphology. The system divides the palate into multiple regions and optimizes the appliance structure in each region to achieve uniform force distribution, rather than using a standardized uniform design throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
The system varies key geometric parameters of the appliance including thickness, curvature, and material distribution based on patient-specific measurements. By changing these parameters according to individual palate depth, width, and shape, the appliance achieves optimal force distribution while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through digital fabrication.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If appliance thickness is reduced to accommodate patient comfort, then patient comfort improves, but structural strength and force application capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance features non-uniform thickness distribution optimized for each location. Thinner sections are placed in areas requiring patient comfort and tongue space, while strategically thicker sections maintain structural strength where force application is needed. This localized optimization resolves the contradiction between comfort and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses materials with optimized mechanical properties and may combine multiple materials with different characteristics to achieve both thin profile for comfort and sufficient strength for force application. Material selection and composition are tailored to specific appliance regions.
3Manufacturing precision
If customized appliance designs are created for each patient morphology, then force distribution uniformity improves, but design and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex manual design and fabrication processes with automated computational design and digital fabrication. Software algorithms automatically generate optimized appliance geometries based on patient scans, and 3D printing or other additive manufacturing techniques fabricate the custom appliances, reducing the practical complexity despite high design precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses patient-specific digital scans and automated algorithms to self-determine the optimal appliance design parameters. The design process automatically adapts to each patient's morphology without requiring manual intervention for complex calculations, simplifying the workflow while maintaining high precision.
4Manufacturing precision
If traditional iterative design methods are used for appliance optimization, then design accuracy can be achieved, but computational resources and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary computational analysis and pre-optimization of design parameters before final appliance fabrication. By pre-calculating optimal geometries and force distributions based on patient morphology, the system achieves high accuracy without requiring extensive iterative adjustments during manufacturing, thus improving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for generating and fabricating a dental device having a body. The body may have a first plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of a first side of an arch. The body may also have a second plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of a second side of an arch. A palatal portion may extend between the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities. The palatal portion may be shaped to apply an expansion force to the teeth of the first side of the arch and the teeth of the second side of the arch. The palatal portion may include a plurality of bands that extend between the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities, each respective band may have a respective different thickness.