CN114789526A

CN114789526A - Method for manufacturing shell-shaped dental instrument

Info

Publication number: CN114789526A
Application number: CN202110114975.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李俊生; 陈乐明
Original assignee: Wuxi Ea Medical Instruments Technologies Ltd
Current assignee: Wuxi Ea Medical Instruments Technologies Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-26
Filing date: 2021-01-26
Publication date: 2022-07-26
Also published as: WO2022161078A1

Abstract

One aspect of the present application provides a method of making a shell-like dental instrument, comprising: acquiring a three-dimensional digital model of a patient's teeth; adding the three-dimensional digital model of the solid element at the selected position on the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth to obtain a three-dimensional digital model of a male mold; controlling a 3D printing device to serve as a male mold by utilizing the three-dimensional digital model of the male mold, wherein the solid element can be separated from the male mold; pressing a film on the male die by using a hot-pressing film forming process to obtain a shell-shaped dental appliance body; and separating the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element from the male die to obtain a shell-shaped dental instrument which comprises the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element held and accommodated in the corresponding accommodating cavity of the shell-shaped dental instrument body.

Description

Method for manufacturing shell-shaped dental instrument

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to a method of making a shell-like dental instrument.

Background

Shell-like dental appliances made of polymeric materials are becoming more popular due to their advantages of aesthetics, convenience, and ease of cleaning. Typically, orthodontic treatment using shell appliances requires a series of successive shell appliances each of which has a cavity geometry that substantially matches the tooth arrangement desired for the corresponding appliance step.

In many cases, it is difficult to ensure that a correct force system with appropriate magnitude and direction is applied to the teeth by simply relying on the shell-shaped dental appliance itself. For example, when moving a tooth in the mesial or distal direction of the dental arch, although the desired movement is translation of the tooth, in practice, a large tilting moment is easily generated, so that the incisal end of the tooth is excessively moved to the same side as the movement direction, thereby causing an undesirable tilting movement of the tooth. In clinical practice, in order to avoid the above problems, in order to apply the correction force system on the teeth, which is closer to the design target, it is often necessary to additionally fix a convex attachment with a certain shape on the teeth by means of adhesion or the like, form a corresponding cavity for accommodating the attachment on the shell-shaped dental appliance, and apply an auxiliary force system to the teeth by the squeezing and friction action between the cavity and the attachment, so that the total correction force system applied to the teeth is closer to the desired force system. It follows that the attachment is critical to orthodontic treatment using a shell-shaped dental appliance.

Since the size of the attachment is typically small (e.g., 2-3mm), it is a challenge to accurately and securely fix the attachment in a predetermined orientation on the tooth surface. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a solution for precisely securing an attachment to a tooth surface in a selected orientation.

In yet another aspect, in some cases, some additional shapes or structures (e.g., jaw plates, jaw pads, tongue spurs, flat guide plates, etc.) need to be formed on the shell appliances to assist in orthodontic treatment, which are typically hollow for shell appliances based on the thermoforming process. The inventors of the present application have also found that such a structure is insufficient in strength and is easily deformed or broken by occlusion or the like.

In yet another aspect, in some cases, some structures (for example, tongue Button, also called Button) need to be added to the shell-shaped orthodontic appliance, and due to the demolding of the hot-pressing film forming process, the structures which are not beneficial to demolding cannot be directly formed on the shell-shaped orthodontic appliance, in this case, the separately manufactured elements can only be adhered and fixed on the shell-shaped orthodontic appliance by adhesion, and the inventors of the present application found that this increases the manufacturing complexity of the shell-shaped orthodontic appliance and increases the manufacturing cost thereof.

In view of the above, the inventors of the present application have considered it necessary to provide a new method for manufacturing a shell-shaped dental instrument to solve the above problems.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present application provides a method of making a shell-like dental instrument, comprising: acquiring a three-dimensional digital model of a patient's teeth; adding the three-dimensional digital model of the solid element at the selected position on the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth to obtain a three-dimensional digital model of a male mold; controlling a 3D printing device to serve as a male die by utilizing the three-dimensional digital model of the male die, wherein the entity element can be separated from the male die; pressing a film on the male die by using a hot-pressing film forming process to obtain a shell-shaped dental appliance body; and separating the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element from the male die to obtain the shell-shaped dental instrument, wherein the shell-shaped dental instrument comprises the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element which is held and contained in the corresponding containing cavity of the shell-shaped dental instrument body.

In some embodiments, the male mold comprises a body portion corresponding to the patient's teeth and the solid element, wherein the solid element and the body portion are secured to each other with a weak connection therebetween.

In some embodiments, the solid element is disengaged from the male mold with the shell-like dental instrument body.

In some embodiments, the solid element has a first retaining structure formed thereon, and the receiving cavity of the shell-like dental instrument body has a second retaining structure formed thereon to cooperate therewith to retain the solid element within the receiving cavity.

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental appliance body is a unitary shell-like shape forming a cavity for receiving the patient's teeth.

In some embodiments, the physical element is one of: jaw plate, tongue button, tongue thorn, denture, flat guide board and jaw pad.

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental appliance is a shell-like dental appliance.

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental appliance is an attachment mounting template assembly, and the solid element includes an attachment for interacting with a shell-like dental appliance to provide a secondary system of force.

In some embodiments, the physical element is an accessory and an accessory holder assembly, the accessory holder being positioned between the receiving cavity and the accessory.

In some embodiments, the male mold comprises a main body portion corresponding to the patient's teeth and the accessory and accessory bracket assembly, wherein the accessory bracket and the main body portion are fixed to each other with a weak connection, the accessory and the accessory bracket are fixed to each other with a weak connection, and the accessory and the main body portion are suspended.

Drawings

The above and other features of the present application will be further explained with reference to the attached drawings and detailed description thereof. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only several exemplary embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a method of making a shell-shaped dental instrument in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a shell-shaped dental appliance body molded by film pressing over a male mold according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B schematically illustrates a shell-shaped dental appliance obtained by compressing a film over the male mold shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument body molded by film pressing over a male mold according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3B schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument obtained by pressing a film over the male mold shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument body molded by film pressing over a male mold according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4B, schematically illustrating a shell-like dental implement obtained by pressing a film over the male tool shown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument body molded by film pressing over a male mold according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5B schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument obtained by pressing a film over the male mold shown in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C schematically illustrates the connection between the jaw plate and the body portion of FIG. 5A in one embodiment;

FIG. 5D schematically illustrates the jaw plate of FIG. 5C after it has been disengaged from the body portion and the bottom surface thereof;

FIG. 6A, schematically illustrating a weak connection in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6B schematically illustrates a weak link in a further embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7A schematically illustrates an attachment mounting plate for die pressing on a male die according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7B schematically illustrates an accessory mount template assembly obtained by pressing a film onto the male mold shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A schematically illustrates an attachment mounting plate for film forming over a male mold in yet another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8B schematically illustrates an accessory mounting template assembly obtained by pressing a film onto the male mold shown in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9A schematically illustrates an accessory holder in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9B schematically illustrates an accessory holder according to yet another embodiment of the present application; and

fig. 9C schematically illustrates an accessory holder according to yet another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. The exemplary embodiments mentioned in the description and the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that many other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present application, as generally described and illustrated herein, could be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are within the scope of the present application.

One aspect of the present application provides a method for manufacturing a shell-shaped dental instrument based on a hot-pressing film forming process, in which a part of a male mold is separated and left in a corresponding receiving cavity of the shell-shaped dental instrument as a part of the shell-shaped dental instrument during demolding.

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic flow chart of a method 100 for manufacturing a shell-shaped dental implement according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

In 101, a three-dimensional digital model of a patient's teeth is acquired.

The shell-shaped dental appliances are utilized to carry out orthodontic treatment, a series of successive shell-shaped dental appliances are needed, and the shell-shaped dental appliances are sequentially worn in order to reposition the dentition of a patient from the original layout to the first middle layout, the second middle layout … … and the final middle layout until the target layout.

Each shell-shaped dental appliance corresponds to one correction step and is used for repositioning dentition of a patient from the initial layout of the correction step to the target layout of the correction step. Generally, the shell-shaped dental appliance is in a shell shape integrated to form a cavity for accommodating teeth, the geometric shape of the cavity is basically matched with the target layout of the corresponding correction step, and the shell-shaped dental appliance is manufactured based on the target tooth layout of each correction step.

For a shell dental appliance, the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth may be a three-dimensional digital model representing the target tooth placement for a certain corrective step.

Depending on the use of the shell-like dental instrument, the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth may also be a three-dimensional digital model representing the patient's current tooth placement.

Depending on the use of the shell-like dental instrument, the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth may be a three-dimensional digital model representing the entire dentition of the patient, or may be a three-dimensional digital model representing a portion of the dentition of the patient.

Methods for obtaining a three-dimensional digital model of a patient's teeth are well known in the art, and for example, a three-dimensional digital model representing a current tooth layout of a patient may be obtained by intraoral scanning, and then a three-dimensional digital model representing a corresponding tooth layout may be obtained by segmentation and movement, which will not be described herein again.

At 103, a three-dimensional digital model of a solid element is superimposed on the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth, obtaining a three-dimensional digital model of a positive mold.

The male die is used for shaping the membrane material, and the shell-shaped dental appliance main body can be obtained by pressing the membrane material which is softened by heating on the male die.

The three-dimensional digital model of the solid element and the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth are secured to one another with a weak connection.

A weak link is a relatively weak link that has a mechanical strength that is much lower than the mechanical strength of the element itself (which is referred to herein as a three-dimensional solid model of a solid element and a patient's teeth), and can be broken with less force without causing damage to the element itself. Such as thinner connections, or spaced connections, etc.

In one embodiment, the solid element has a retaining structure formed thereon such that when the shell-like dental appliance body is ejected from the male mold, the shell-like dental appliance body can be retained in the corresponding receiving cavity of the shell-like dental appliance body and can be released from the body of the male mold (i.e., the three-dimensional solid model of the patient's teeth) along with the shell-like dental appliance body.

In one embodiment, the retaining structures on the solid elements may be laterally concave and/or convex structures formed in the direction of their convexity.

The solid element may be solid or hollow, depending on the particular requirements.

In one embodiment, the solid element may be determined according to the particular use of the shell-like dental instrument.

For example, if the shell-like dental appliance is a shell-like dental appliance, if a patient's dentition lacks one tooth, a denture can be added to the corresponding portion of the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's tooth, in this example, the solid element is the added tooth. In one embodiment, after the shell-like dental appliance body is die-molded and demolded on the male mold, the added teeth are separated from the male mold along with the shell-like dental appliance body and are held in the corresponding accommodating parts of the shell-like dental appliance body, and the shell-like dental appliance comprises the shell-like dental appliance body and the tooth solid model held in the corresponding accommodating parts of the shell-like dental appliance body.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a shell-shaped dental appliance body 210a is schematically illustrated that is molded over a male mold 200a in one embodiment of the present disclosure. The male mold 200a comprises a body portion 201a corresponding to the patient's teeth and an added tooth 203a, wherein the tooth 203a and the body portion 201a are secured to each other with a weak connection 205a therebetween.

Referring to fig. 2B, a shell-shaped dental appliance is schematically shown, which is obtained by laminating a film on the male mold 200a shown in fig. 2A, and comprises a shell-shaped dental appliance body 210a and teeth 203a held in the corresponding receiving cavities 211 a.

On the one hand, due to the tooth 203a on the male mold 200a, the two sides of the shell-shaped dental appliance body 210a at the tooth missing position are effectively connected together, so that the force applied to the teeth on the two sides can be coordinated and acted on each other to more effectively perform dental appliance. On the other hand, the presence of the tooth 203a in the shell-shaped appliance 210a can increase the mechanical strength of the portion of the shell-shaped appliance 210a, making it less likely to dent. In another aspect, the shell-shaped dental appliance can be more aesthetically pleasing to wear if the color of the added teeth is similar to the color of the actual teeth.

For another example, if the shell-like dental appliance requires a pulling member (e.g., a rubber band, etc.) to be suspended, a three-dimensional digital model of a button (button) may be added to the patient's teeth at a selected location on the labial-buccal side of the three-dimensional digital model, in this example, the solid element is a button. In one embodiment, after the shell-like dental instrument body is molded and demolded over the male mold, the added tab is released from the male mold with the shell-like dental instrument body and is retained in the corresponding receptacle of the shell-like dental instrument body. On one hand, the manufacture of the shell-shaped dental instrument is simplified because the tongue button does not need to be adhered on the shell-shaped dental instrument body, and on the other hand, the whole mechanical strength is higher because the structure of the tongue button part of the shell-shaped dental instrument is integrally formed (non-adhered) and filled with the solid tongue button.

Referring to fig. 3A, a shell-shaped dental implement body 210b is schematically illustrated that is die-formed over a male die 200b in yet another embodiment of the present application. For simplicity of illustration, fig. 3A shows only a portion of the male mold 200b and the shell-like dental instrument body 210 b. The male mold 200b comprises a main body portion 201b corresponding to the patient's teeth and a lingual button 203b added on the labial-buccal side of one of the teeth, wherein the lingual button 203b and the main body portion 201b are secured to each other with a weak connection 205b therebetween.

Referring to fig. 3B, a shell-shaped dental instrument is schematically shown obtained by molding a film over the male mold 200B shown in fig. 3A, and includes a shell-shaped dental instrument body 210B and a tongue button 203B held in its corresponding receiving cavity 211B.

For another example, in some cases, some patients have poor tongue habits such as tongue stretching, tooth licking, finger sucking, and primary tongue vomiting, and can use tongue pricks to help these patients correct these poor tongue habits. In one embodiment, a three-dimensional digital model of a tongue spinous process may be added at a selected location of a selected tooth of the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth (e.g., the lingual side of the anterior mandibular teeth), in this example, the solid element is a tongue spinous process. In one embodiment, after the shell-like dental instrument body is molded and demolded on the male mold, the added tongue pricks are separated from the male mold along with the shell-like dental instrument body and are kept in the corresponding accommodating parts of the shell-like dental instrument body. On one hand, the tongue pricks do not need to be pasted on the shell-shaped dental appliance body, so that the manufacturing of the shell-shaped dental appliance is simplified, and on the other hand, the tongue pricks of the shell-shaped dental appliance body are integrally formed (non-adhered) and filled with the solid tongue pricks, so that the overall mechanical strength is high.

Referring to fig. 4A, a shell-shaped dental implement body 210c is schematically illustrated with a film pressed over a male mold 200c in yet another embodiment of the present application. For simplicity of illustration, fig. 4A shows only a partial cross-section of the male mold 200c and the shell-like dental instrument body 210 c. The male mold 200c includes a main body portion 201c corresponding to the patient's teeth and a tongue 203c added to the labial-buccal surface of one of the teeth, wherein the tongue 203c and the main body portion 201c are secured to each other by a weak connection 205 c. The tongue 203c is formed with a concave structure 207c on its circumference, and correspondingly, the corresponding portion of the shell-shaped dental device body 210c is formed with a concave structure 213c matching therewith, and the matching of the two structures can keep the tongue 203c in the receiving cavity 211c of the shell-shaped dental device body 210c, and make the tongue 203c separate from the male mold 200c when the shell-shaped dental device body 210c is demolded.

Referring to fig. 4B, a shell-shaped dental instrument is schematically illustrated, which is obtained by pressing a film onto the male mold 200c shown in fig. 4A, and includes a shell-shaped dental instrument body 210c and a tongue 203c held in its corresponding receiving cavity 211 c.

As another example, some patients have malocclusion, and a double jaw plate (Twin-Block) may be used to adjust the patient's jaw position. In one embodiment, a three-dimensional digital model of a jaw plate, in this example the solid element is a jaw plate, can be added on a selected location of a selected tooth (e.g., an occlusal surface of a molar region) of the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth. In one embodiment, after the shell-like dental instrument body is molded and demolded on the male mold, the added jaw plate is separated from the male mold along with the shell-like dental instrument body and is held in the corresponding accommodating part of the shell-like dental instrument body. On one hand, as the accommodating part of the shell-shaped dental appliance body is filled with the solid jaw plate, the overall mechanical strength is higher, and the shell-shaped dental appliance is not easy to collapse due to occlusion. On the other hand, the jaw plate of the shell-shaped dental instrument body is filled without additional process steps, so that the manufacturing process of the shell-shaped dental instrument is simplified. In yet another aspect, the geometry of the bottom surface of the jaw plate is concave-convex matched with the occlusal surface of the corresponding tooth, so that the jaw plate is comfortable to wear and is uniformly stressed when occluded.

Referring to fig. 5A, a shell-like dental instrument body 210d is schematically illustrated that is press molded over a male mold 200d in yet another embodiment of the present application. The male mold 200d includes a main body portion 201d corresponding to the patient's teeth and a jaw plate 203d added on the occlusal surface of the posterior dental area thereof, wherein the jaw plate 203d and the main body portion 201d are fixed to each other by a weak connection 205 d. The jaw plate 203d has an inner concave structure 207d formed on the lingual (not shown) and buccal sides thereof, and accordingly, the corresponding portion of the shell-shaped dental device body 210d has an inner concave structure for engaging therewith, so that the jaw plate 203d can be held in the receiving cavity 211d of the shell-shaped dental device body 210d and the jaw plate 203d can be separated from the male mold 200d when the shell-shaped dental device body 210d is demolded.

Referring to fig. 5B, a shell-shaped dental instrument obtained by pressing a film on the male mold 200d shown in fig. 5A is schematically shown, and includes a shell-shaped dental instrument body 210d and a jaw plate 203d held in its corresponding receiving cavity 211 d.

Referring to fig. 5C, a connection manner between the jaw plate 203d and the body portion 201d shown in fig. 5A is schematically illustrated in an embodiment.

The profile of the tooth-side of the jaw plate 203d generally matches the occlusal surface of the corresponding tooth, but microscopically forms a plurality of concave structures that disengage from the body portion 201d to further weaken the connection between the jaw plate 203d and the body portion 201 d.

Referring to FIG. 5D, the bottom surface of the jaw plate 203D shown in FIG. 5C is schematically shown after it is separated from the body portion 201D.

Referring to fig. 6A, a weak connection in one embodiment is schematically illustrated. Here, 300a is a butting surface of two elements, and connection is performed only at a plurality of points 301a, not the entire surface.

Referring to fig. 6B, a weak connection in a further embodiment is schematically illustrated. Here, 300b is a butt surface of two elements, and is connected only at lines in a grid pattern, not the entire surface.

For example, when orthodontic treatment is performed using a shell-shaped dental appliance, in some cases, it is necessary to provide an auxiliary force system by interacting with the shell-shaped dental appliance via an attachment cemented to the surface of a tooth, thereby more effectively performing orthodontic treatment of the tooth. In one embodiment, an attachment mounting template can be utilized to affix the attachment to the surface of the patient's teeth. The attachment mounting template assembly includes an attachment mounting template and an attachment, and in one embodiment, the attachment mounting template may be a unitary shell defining a tooth receiving cavity and an attachment receiving cavity, the attachment being retained and positioned within the attachment receiving cavity. The attachment is positioned in a selected orientation on a surface of a selected tooth when the attachment mounting template assembly is worn on the patient's tooth. In one embodiment, the accessory mounting template may be fabricated using a hot-embossing process.

In one embodiment, a three-dimensional digital model of an attachment may be added at a selected orientation of a selected tooth of the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth, in this example, the physical element is an attachment. And after the accessory mounting template is subjected to film pressing forming on the male die and demolding, the added accessories are separated from the male die along with the accessory mounting template and are kept in the accommodating parts corresponding to the accessory mounting template, so that an accessory mounting template assembly is obtained. Because the accessory attaching template is separated from the male die, the step of installing the accessory on the accessory installing template is not needed, and the manufacture of the accessory installing template assembly is simplified.

In one embodiment, an undercut may be provided on the side of the attachment near the bottom (the side near the teeth) so that the molded attachment mounting plate is correspondingly recessed therein so that the attachment mounting plate can hold the attachment and release it from the male mold during demolding.

Referring to fig. 7A, an attachment mounting plate 210e for film lamination to a male mold 200e in yet another embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The male mold 200e includes a body portion 201e corresponding to the patient's tooth and an attachment 203e added at a selected orientation to a selected tooth's tooth surface, wherein the attachment 203e and the body portion 201e are secured to each other by a weak connection 205 e. The accessory 203e forms an inverted concave structure (not shown) on the side surface near the bottom, and correspondingly, the corresponding portion of the accessory mounting template 210e forms a concave structure matched with the accessory mounting template, and the matching of the two structures can keep the accessory 203e in the accommodating cavity 211e of the accessory mounting template 210e, and the accessory 203e can be detached from the male mold 200e along with the accessory mounting template 210e when the accessory mounting template 210e is demolded.

Referring to fig. 7B, an accessory mounting template assembly is schematically illustrated as obtained by laminating a film onto the male mold 200e shown in fig. 7A, including an accessory mounting template 210e and an accessory 203e held within its corresponding receiving cavity 211 e.

And after the adhesive is cured, the accessory mounting template is removed, and then the cementation of the accessory on the teeth of the patient is finished.

To enable the attachment mounting template to better hold the attachment, the three-dimensional digital model of the attachment and attachment support assembly may be added in a selected orientation to the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth, since the attachment is typically smaller in size, in this example the physical elements being the attachment and attachment support. On the male die, the accessory support is positioned at the periphery of the accessory, the accessory support is fixed on the male die through weak connection, the accessory and the accessory support are mutually fixed through the weak connection, and the accessory is suspended on the surface of the tooth (namely is not connected with the surface of the tooth). Because the accessory bracket is larger in size than the accessory, a larger sized retaining structure may be provided on the accessory bracket to enable the accessory mounting template to more reliably retain the accessory and accessory bracket assembly therein.

Referring to fig. 8A, an attachment mounting plate 210f for film forming on a male mold 200f in yet another embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The male mold 200f includes a body portion 201f corresponding to the patient's teeth and an attachment and attachment bracket assembly 203f added at a selected orientation of a selected dental surface, wherein the attachment bracket 2031f and the body portion 201f are secured to one another by a weak link 205f, the attachment 2033f and the attachment bracket 2031f are secured to one another by a weak link 2035f, and the attachment 2033f and the body portion 201f are suspended.

Referring to fig. 8B, an accessory mounting template assembly is schematically illustrated as obtained by stamping the film onto the male mold 200f shown in fig. 8A, including an accessory mounting template 210f and an accessory and accessory holder assembly 203f held within its corresponding receiving cavity 211 f.

And after the adhesive is cured, the accessory mounting template and the accessory bracket are removed, and then the cementation of the accessory on the teeth of the patient is finished.

It will be appreciated in light of the present application that the accessory holder may be any suitable shape and configuration, including but not limited to the shapes and configurations shown in fig. 9A-9C.

Referring to fig. 9A, an accessory holder 2031g is schematically illustrated in one embodiment of the present application, comprising a plurality of fins connected together with which to position an accessory.

Referring to fig. 9B, an accessory bracket 2031h in another embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated, which has a rectangular box shape with an open bottom side. Fig. 9B does not show the holding structure of the accessory bracket 2031 h.

Referring to fig. 9C, an accessory bracket 2031i of another embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated, which is box-shaped with an opening at one side, and has a plurality of protrusions protruding from an inner sidewall thereof for positioning an accessory. Fig. 9C does not show the holding structure of the accessory bracket 2031 i.

It will be appreciated that in addition to the examples given above, the solid elements may be any other suitable elements, such as jaw pads and guide plates, and will not be described in any further detail herein.

At 105, the three-dimensional digital model of the male mold is used to control a 3D printing device to produce the male mold.

In one embodiment, the different portions may be printed with different materials, for example, the body portion is printed with a first material, the weak link is printed with a second material, and the solid element is printed with a third material. In some cases, printing different portions with different materials has a high practical value. For example, the attachment can be printed with a material that has a higher hardness after curing to ensure the performance of the attachment throughout the entire dental appliance cycle; for another example, the weak link may be printed with a material that is brittle after curing, so that when the shell-like dental instrument is demolded, the solid element is separated from the male mold; for another example, the jaw plate may be printed with a softer material after curing to improve the wearing comfort of the shell-like dental instrument.

As can be seen from the above, the obtained male mold comprises said body portion and a solid element, both of which are detachable.

In 107, a shell-like dental appliance body is pressed onto the male mold in a hot-pressing film forming process.

The thermoforming process is well known in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

In 109, the shell-like dental instrument body and the solid element are detached from the male mold, resulting in a shell-like dental instrument.

In one embodiment, the solid element can be disengaged from the male mold together with the shell-like dental instrument body, during which the solid element is always held and received in the corresponding receiving cavity of the shell-like dental instrument body.

In another embodiment, the shell-shaped dental instrument body may be detached from the male mold, and then the solid element may be removed from the male mold and installed in the corresponding receiving cavity of the shell-shaped dental instrument body, so as to obtain the shell-shaped dental instrument.

In one embodiment, the solid element substantially matches the geometry of the abutment surface of the body portion. This makes the shell-like dental instrument more comfortable to wear and more evenly stressed for the jaw plate; this can ensure the reliability of the attachment fixation for the attachment mounting template.

While various aspects and embodiments of the disclosure are disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting. The scope and spirit of the application are to be determined only by the claims appended hereto.

Likewise, the various diagrams may illustrate an exemplary architecture or other configuration of the disclosed methods and systems that is helpful in understanding the features and functions that may be included in the disclosed methods and systems. The claimed subject matter is not limited to the exemplary architectures or configurations shown, but rather, the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, to the extent that flow diagrams, functional descriptions, and method claims do not follow, the order in which the blocks are presented should not be limited to the various embodiments which perform the recited functions in the same order, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, the terms and phrases used herein, and variations thereof, are to be interpreted as open ended and not limiting. In some instances, the presence of an extensible term or terms such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to," or other similar terms should not be construed as intended or required to represent a narrowing in instances where such extensible terms may not be present.

Claims

1. A method of making a shell-like dental instrument, comprising:

obtaining a three-dimensional digital model of a patient's teeth;

adding the three-dimensional digital model of the solid element at the selected position on the three-dimensional digital model of the patient's teeth to obtain a three-dimensional digital model of a male mold;

controlling a 3D printing device to serve as a male die by utilizing the three-dimensional digital model of the male die, wherein the entity element can be separated from the male die;

pressing a film on the male die by using a hot pressing film forming process to obtain a shell-shaped dental appliance body; and

and separating the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element from the male die to obtain the shell-shaped dental instrument which comprises the shell-shaped dental instrument body and the solid element held and contained in the corresponding containing cavity of the shell-shaped dental instrument body.

2. A method of making a shell-like dental implement according to claim 1, wherein the male mould comprises a body portion corresponding to the patient's tooth and the solid element, wherein the solid element and the body portion are secured to each other with a weak connection therebetween.

3. A method of making a shell-like dental instrument as in claim 1, wherein the solid element is released from the male mold with the shell-like dental instrument body.

4. A method of making a shell-like dental instrument as in claim 3, wherein the solid element has a first retaining formation formed thereon and the receiving cavity of the shell-like dental instrument body has a corresponding second retaining formation formed thereon for cooperating therewith to retain the solid element within the receiving cavity.

5. A method of manufacturing a shell-shaped dental device according to claim 1, wherein the shell-shaped dental device body is formed in an integral shell shape and forms a cavity for receiving the patient's tooth.

6. Method of manufacturing a shell-like dental instrument according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said solid element is one of the following: jaw plate, tongue button, tongue thorn, denture, flat guide and jaw pad.

7. The method of making a shell-like dental appliance of claim 6, wherein the shell-like dental appliance is a shell-like dental appliance.

8. A method of making a shell-like dental implement according to any of claims 1 and 3 to 5, wherein the shell-like dental implement is an attachment mounting template assembly and the solid element comprises an attachment for interacting with a shell-like dental appliance to provide a secondary force system.

9. A method of making a shell-like dental implement according to claim 8, wherein the physical element is an accessory and accessory holder assembly, the accessory holder being positioned between the receiving cavity and the accessory.

10. A method of making a shell-like dental implement according to claim 8, wherein the male mold includes a body portion corresponding to the patient's tooth and the attachment and attachment bracket assembly, wherein the attachment bracket and the body portion are secured to one another with a weak connection, the attachment and attachment bracket are secured to one another with a weak connection, and the attachment and the body portion are suspended.