Polymeric Foam Sponge for Gingival Retraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spacer materials like cotton and gauze used in dental implant surgeries and endodontal repair surgeries are prone to becoming sticky and disheveled, especially when soaked with bodily fluids, and can provide pathways for microbial growth, while also causing tissue damage.
Innovation Solution
The use of a polymeric foam sponge that is autoclavable at 250° F. and has a porosity not less than that of polyurethane, configured in various shapes and sizes for specific dental surgical applications, such as retraction, spacing, and protecting gum tissue during oral surgeries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cotton and gauze are used as spacer materials, then they are readily available and easy to use, but they become sticky and disheveled when soaked with bodily fluids and provide pathways for microbial growth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous polymeric foam sponge as the spacer material. The porous structure allows the material to absorb bodily fluids without becoming disheveled or sticky, maintaining structural integrity while preventing microbial growth pathways. The porosity enables fluid management while preserving the spacer's form and function throughout the osseointegration period.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses polymeric foam sponge material that combines the benefits of porosity, fluid resistance, and structural stability. This composite approach creates a material that resists degradation in the oral environment, maintaining both ease of operation and reliability by preventing the sticky, disheveled condition that plagues traditional cotton and gauze spacers.
2Ease of operation
If retraction cords with chemical solutions are used for gingival retraction, then retraction is achieved, but tissue damage and gingival recession occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes harmful chemical solutions from the retraction cord composition. By using a purely mechanical retraction approach with the polymeric foam sponge, the invention eliminates the tissue-damaging chemicals (such as aluminum chloride, phenol, or other astringents) while maintaining effective gingival retraction through the sponge's physical presence and expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The retraction sponge is designed as a disposable, single-use element that is inserted, allows gingival retraction during the procedure, and is then removed and discarded. This eliminates the need for chemical agents that cause long-term tissue damage, providing effective retraction without the harmful side effects of chemical retraction cords.
3Manufacturing precision
If electrosurgery is used for crevicular troughing, then precise tissue removal is achieved, but long-term damage risk increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates electrosurgery from the retraction and tissue preparation process. Instead, the polymeric foam sponge provides mechanical retraction and tissue displacement without thermal or electrical energy, thereby removing the risk of long-term thermal damage to surrounding tissues while still achieving the necessary crevicular troughing and tissue separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the electrical/thermal system of electrosurgery with a purely mechanical system. The polymeric foam sponge achieves tissue retraction and crevicular troughing through mechanical insertion and expansion, substituting the high-energy electrosurgical method with a low-energy mechanical approach that avoids long-term tissue damage while maintaining procedural precision.
4Ease of operation
If injectable materials are used to form expanding matrix for gingival retraction, then retraction is achieved, but effectiveness decreases at deeper subgingival sites
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the retraction material by using a pre-formed polymeric foam sponge with controlled porosity and expansion characteristics. Unlike injectable materials that rely on in-situ polymerization and expansion, the foam sponge provides immediate, predictable expansion and retraction force that remains effective at deeper subgingival sites, maintaining both patient comfort and procedural reliability.
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 polymeric foam sponge maintains structural integrity even when soaked in bodily fluids, provides effective retraction and spacing without causing tissue trauma, and is suitable for extended use in oral surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The polymeric foam sponge may be configured in size and shape to preserve a volume above a dental implant for coupling an abutment to the dental implant during an osseointegration period
Implementation Method 2
The polymeric foam sponge that is autoclavable at 250° F.
Data Source
AI summary
A subgingival deep dental implant oral surgical retraction article comprises a polymeric foam sponge that is autoclavable at 250° F. and has a porosity not less than a porosity of polyurethane and is configured in size and shape for retracting a gingival flap at an incision site during a subgingival implant surgery.