Semi-Custom Orthodontic Bracket Bases for Accurate Tooth Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lingual orthodontic appliances are expensive, time-consuming to produce, and require specialized skills for application, leading to limited practitioner demand and increased treatment costs, while standard buccal tubes often have gaps that compromise bond strength and enamel demineralization risks.
Innovation Solution
A method using machine learning to analyze dental anatomy and classify teeth into average shapes, allowing for semi-custom orthodontic appliances with pre-manufactured brackets that fit within a tolerance, and custom brackets where necessary, reducing manufacturing costs and improving fit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If custom lingual brackets are manufactured, then fit accuracy is improved, but manufacturing cost and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket system is divided into a standardized body portion and a customizable base portion. The body portion is mass-produced using injection molding, while only the base portion is customized to match individual tooth anatomy. This segmentation allows most brackets to be produced efficiently through standard manufacturing while enabling customization where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Customization is applied locally only to the base portion of the bracket that contacts the tooth, while the rest of the bracket body remains standardized. This local customization approach maintains fit accuracy at the critical interface without requiring complete custom manufacturing of the entire bracket assembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If standard one-shape-fits-all buccal tubes are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but bond strength is compromised due to gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The base geometry is customized to match the specific anatomy of each tooth's buccal groove, eliminating gaps and ensuring complete adhesive coverage. This local adaptation to individual tooth morphology maintains standardized manufacturing while achieving optimal bond strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional trial-and-error mechanical fitting is replaced with computer-aided design and virtual fitting systems. The system automatically generates customized base geometries based on digital tooth models, eliminating the need for manual adjustment and ensuring precise fit without compromising bond strength.
3Manufacturing precision
If lingual brackets are delivered via indirect bonding, then application precision is improved, but practitioner skill requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The customized bracket bases are pre-manufactured using digital design and 3D printing technologies before the clinical appointment. This preliminary preparation allows the practitioner to simply transfer the pre-fitted bracket to the tooth using standard indirect bonding techniques, reducing the skill complexity required during application while maintaining high precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining orthodontic brackets in order to use standard brackets or a combination of standard and custom brackets. The method determines which teeth in a digital 3D model of teeth have surfaces that will virtually fit to a base of a standard bracket within a tolerance. For those teeth that will virtually fit to one of the standard brackets, each of the teeth are associated with the corresponding standard bracket for later placement of the brackets on the surfaces of the patient's teeth. The method also identifies the teeth in the digital 3D model of teeth that will not virtually fit to a standard bracket, and brackets with custom bases can be designed and made for those teeth.