Posterior Molar Shim System for Jaw Slant Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral sleep appliances, particularly those using anterior stabilization methods, fail to achieve proportional airway dilation and clearance in the posterior region, leading to undesirable mouth breathing and slant in the jaw position, which can disrupt the normal functioning of facial muscles and temporomandibular joint.
Innovation Solution
A posterior adjustable shim system that stabilizes the jaw in the molar area, allowing for vertical, lateral, and protrusive adjustments, eliminating or minimizing slant, and enabling effective airway dilation by focusing on widening the bite in the posterior jaw, with modular shims of varying sizes that can be easily interconnected and installed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If anterior stabilization shims are used to achieve posterior airway clearance, then vertical dimension in the anterior is increased, but lip closure becomes uncomfortable and mouth breathing occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing shims in the anterior region to achieve posterior airway clearance, the invention inverts the approach by placing shims directly in the posterior molar region. This allows posterior airway clearance to be achieved without compromising anterior vertical dimension or lip closure comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies local quality by placing stabilization shims specifically in the posterior molar regions where they are needed for airway clearance, rather than using anterior shims that affect the entire anterior vertical dimension. This localized approach targets the problem area without causing unwanted side effects in other regions.
2Volume of moving object
If anterior stabilization shims are used to achieve necessary posterior clearance, then vertical dimension in the anterior is increased, but slant in the inter-arch jaw position occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the stabilization approach from anterior to posterior placement. By placing shims in the posterior molar regions, it achieves airway clearance while maintaining accurate inter-arch jaw position, eliminating the slant problem caused by anterior stabilization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular shims are used for posterior stabilization, then adjustability in vertical, lateral, and protrusive distances is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the posterior stabilization system into modular shim components that can be individually adjusted in vertical, lateral, and protrusive dimensions. This segmentation allows precise adaptability while keeping each individual shim component simple in structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular shim system incorporates dynamic adjustability, allowing the posterior stabilization to be customized in multiple dimensions (vertical, lateral, protrusive) to match the specific needs of each patient, transforming a static device into an adaptable system.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a posterior molar shim system that allows an oral sleep appliance clinician to incorporate the parameters of vertical, lateral, protrusive and slant into the process of designing an effective oral sleep appliance. The molar shim system is comprised of square-shaped, rigid shims having between 2.0 mm-8.0 mm thicknesses and having two protrusions (herein referred to as ‘alignment pegs’) on one side and two matching apertures on another side. Said pegs and apertures allow the shims to be stacked in a stable, accurate, vertical, friction-fit manner. One side of the shims also has a slot to receive a rectangular arch-wire that connects a set of shims for positioning inside a mouth. An object of the system is to provide a means of posterior inter-arch stabilization during bite registration to reduce slant angle as part of an oral sleep appliance design that minimizes sleep apnea more effectively.