Transparent Dental Aligner with Resilient Component
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dental positioning appliances, such as those using metallic bands and brackets, are uncomfortable, difficult to clean, and aesthetically unappealing due to their visibility, and require professional assistance for removal, leading to potential dental issues and inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A removable dental positioning appliance comprising a polymeric shell with cavities shaped to receive teeth and a resilient component attached to its side, made from transparent materials to minimize visibility, allowing patients to easily remove and clean the appliance without professional help, and featuring pre-bent resilient components based on treatment plans for gradual tooth repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If metallic bands and brackets are used for tooth positioning, then effective tooth repositioning is achieved, but the appliance becomes visible and aesthetically unappealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin polymeric shell (aligner) that is substantially transparent to replace the traditional metallic bands and brackets. This shell conforms to the teeth and provides positioning forces while being aesthetically pleasing due to its transparency, directly resolving the contradiction between effectiveness and visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of metallic brackets and rubber bands with a polymeric shell that uses elastic deformation of the material itself to provide positioning forces. This substitution eliminates the visible metallic components while maintaining repositioning effectiveness.
2Reliability
If metallic bands and brackets are used for tooth positioning, then effective tooth repositioning is achieved, but the appliance becomes difficult to clean and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic metallic bands, brackets, and rubber bands from the system and replaces them with a single smooth polymeric shell. This eliminates the complex structure with crevices and ligatures that trap food and make cleaning difficult, while maintaining tooth repositioning effectiveness through the shell's elastic deformation.
3Reliability
If metallic bands and brackets are used for tooth positioning, then effective tooth repositioning is achieved, but professional assistance is required for removal leading to potential dental issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the polymeric shell to be removable by the patient themselves without requiring professional assistance. The shell can be taken out for cleaning or other purposes and reinserted, giving the patient control and eliminating the risks associated with professional removal procedures while maintaining effective tooth repositioning.
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 appliance provides effective and comfortable tooth repositioning while being discreet and easy to maintain, reducing the risk of dental caries and enhancing patient convenience by allowing self-removal and cleaning, with reduced reliance on professional expertise for appliance adjustment.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient component attached to a side of at least two cavities of the shell... the resilient component can be pre-bent to provide a range of resilient movement according to at least a portion of a treatment plan
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices utilizing a dental appliance having a resilient portion are disclosed. One such appliance is a removable dental positioning appliance that includes, a plurality of shell portions each having one or more cavities shaped therein to receive one or more teeth and wherein each of the plurality of shell portions is formed to be separate from each of the other plurality of shell portions; a resilient component attached to a side of at least two shell portions; and wherein at least one of, the resilient component and one or more of the shell portions, provides one or more forces to reposition one or more teeth from a first orientation to a successive orientation.