JP4506745B2 - Orthodontic mouthpiece - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an orthodontic mouthpiece.

  As a conventional orthodontic method, a wire is used, and by applying a constant force (static load) to the dentition by the return force of the wire, the arrangement of teeth and biting are cured. . That is, when a constant force is applied to the dentition, the alveolar bone that supports the teeth in the gums is gradually deformed, thereby correcting the dentition.

  However, such an approach takes a very long period, as early as six months, usually several years, and is particularly painful and often does not last for children who are of the right age for orthodontics. Therefore, Non-Patent Document 1 compares a sample in which a constant force is applied to the dentition and a sample in which a vibration force is applied to the dentition, and the sample to which the vibration force is applied is more effective in shortening the correction period. There is research that there is. Similarly, Non-Patent Document 2 compares a sample in which a constant force is applied to the dentition and a sample in which a constant force + vibration force is applied to the dentition. Research has also been done on how to reduce the correction period.

  According to these studies, the period of orthodontics is to be greatly shortened to about 1/2 to 1/3. In addition to that, non-patent document 1 gives only 1.5 hours per day, and non-patent document 2 only applies 2 minutes once every two weeks. That is, in Non-Patent Document 1, treatment may be continued for 1.5 hours per day, and in Non-Patent Document 2, treatment may be continued for 2 minutes once every two weeks. From these studies, it can be understood that applying a vibration force is more effective in significantly shortening the orthodontic period than simply applying a constant force to the dentition with a wire or the like.

  Therefore, as an attempt to put these studies into practical use, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that applies ultrasonic vibration to the surrounding tissue around the mouthpiece attachment site that promotes movement of the correction target tooth. An apparatus for applying ultrasonic vibration to a target tooth has been proposed.

  However, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the ultrasonic supply head is pressed against the skin surface of the cheek, for example, to apply ultrasonic vibration from the outside, and the ultrasonic vibration is accurately applied only to the correction target tooth. There was a problem that it was difficult to give. Further, since an ultrasonic generator is required, there is a problem that treatment cannot be continued unless the patient visits a dental clinic equipped with this device.

  For this reason, the present applicant has previously proposed an orthodontic apparatus that can accurately apply vibration only to the correction target tooth and can simply and safely continue treatment without going to the dental clinic. Such an orthodontic apparatus includes a mouthpiece to be mounted on the dentition, and the mouthpiece has a structure in which an inner piece and an outer piece are overlapped, and an eccentric weight is placed on the portion of the correction target tooth in the overlapped portion. Like the motor which has, it becomes a vibration means and stores the vibration actuator which produces | generates a mechanical vibration.

According to this orthodontic apparatus, mechanical vibration (mechanical stimulation) can be accurately applied from the mouthpiece to the portion of the tooth to be corrected, and a high effect can be obtained. In addition, since the vibration actuator is stored in the mouthpiece, treatment can be continued easily and safely at any time, for example, at home without going to the dental clinic. Furthermore, since the mechanical vibration of the vibration actuator is transmitted to the tooth part to be corrected through the overlapping portion of the double mouthpiece, the tooth caused by the mechanical vibration being directly transmitted to the tooth to be corrected. Can relieve pain.
Shimizu: Japanese Journal of Dentistry 45: 56-72, 1986 Ohmae et al .: Journal of Japanese Orthodontic Society, 60 (4): 201, 2001 JP 2002-102255 A JP 2004-201895 A

  The above-described prior art is based on the premise that an undesired load is not applied to the mouthpiece. That is, the constraint condition of the vibration actuator changes depending on the user's occlusal state (occlusion force or occlusal surface), and a load different from the intended load may be applied. For example, there is a case where the user unconsciously bites in the vicinity of the vibration actuator, and the way the vibration is transmitted changes so that the intended vibration cannot be applied. In such a case, the expected effect may not be obtained. Therefore, when trying to drive the vibration generating actuator completely in an unconstrained state, the user is always maintained in the open state during use, which imposes a great burden.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an orthodontic mouthpiece capable of obtaining an expected orthodontic effect without imposing a burden on a user.

  The orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention has an oscillating means, and the orthodontic that allows the orthodontic to be promoted by the vibration generated by the oscillating means being applied to the dentition of the wearing user. A mouthpiece, which corresponds to the upper and lower dentitions, and is separated from the correction target tooth between the upper piece and the lower piece storing at least one of the vibration generating means and the upper piece and the lower piece. And a connecting member that connects the upper piece and the lower piece.

  According to said structure, it has a vibration means in the mouthpiece with which it mounts | wears with a user's dentition, and the orthodontic correction can be accelerated | stimulated by adding the vibration which the vibration means generate | occur | produced to the dentition which mounted. In the orthodontic mouthpiece to be made, the way in which vibration is transmitted differs depending on whether the user is biting and the mouth is open. Therefore, in the present invention, a pair of an upper piece and a lower piece respectively corresponding to the upper and lower tooth rows are used, and the vibration generating means is stored in at least one of them. And while connecting those upper piece and lower piece with a connection member and integrating, let the position which provides the connection member be the position spaced apart from the correction object tooth.

  Therefore, the occlusal state (occlusion force and occlusal surface) between the upper piece and the lower piece at the position where the vibrating means is provided can be kept constant, and the user is unconsciously near the vibrating means. Can be prevented from changing the way the vibration is transmitted. Accordingly, the expected effect can be obtained by continuously applying the desired vibration to the correction target tooth without forcing the user to keep the opening state.

  In the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention, the connecting member is provided at the position of the front tooth.

  According to said structure, the load by engagement is not added to the part of a molar, a fixed occlusal state can be ensured, and it is suitable when correcting the molar.

  Furthermore, in the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention, the connecting member is provided at a molar position.

  According to said structure, the load by engagement is not added to the part of an anterior tooth, a fixed occlusion state can be ensured and it is suitable when correcting the anterior tooth.

  In the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention, the connecting member is provided at a position behind the molar tooth.

  According to said structure, the load by engagement is not added to any part of an anterior tooth and a molar, and it can ensure an open state, and is suitable when correcting those whole dentition. is there.

  As described above, the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention has a vibrating means in the mouthpiece to be mounted on the user's dental row, and vibration generated by the vibrating means is applied to the mounted dental row. An orthodontic mouthpiece that facilitates orthodontics, and uses a pair of an upper piece and a lower piece that respectively correspond to the upper and lower dentitions, and at least one of them is used. The vibration generating means is stored, and the upper piece and the lower piece are connected and integrated by a connecting member, and the position where the connecting member is provided is a position away from the correction target tooth.

  Therefore, the occlusal state (the occlusal force and the occlusal surface) between the upper piece and the lower piece at the position where the vibration generating means is provided can be kept constant, and the user unconsciously generates the vibration means. It is possible to prevent the vicinity from being bitten and changing the way the vibration is transmitted. Accordingly, the expected effect can be obtained by continuously applying the desired vibration to the correction target tooth without forcing the user to keep the opening state.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a mouthpiece 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a user's tooth mold 1. The mouthpiece 7 according to the present embodiment includes a lower piece 71 corresponding to the lower jaw mold 11, an upper piece 72 corresponding to the upper jaw mold 12, connecting members 21 and 22 for connecting them, and vibration generation A vibration actuator 8 provided on at least one of the lower piece 71 and the upper piece 72 (only in the lower piece 71 in the example of FIG. 1).

  2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lower piece 71 is mounted on the lower jaw mold 11, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lower jaw mold 11, and FIG. 4 is a section line IV-IV in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from. In the example of FIG. 3, brackets (wire locking metal fittings) 4 are respectively fixed to the outer surface portions of the teeth 3 b to 3 m excluding the back teeth 3 a and 3 n among the teeth 3 a to 3 n of the tooth row 3. The wire 5 is locked in series across the bracket 4. Then, by applying a constant force (static load) to the dentition 3 with the return force of the wire 5, the teeth alignment and biting are corrected with these correction tools. In addition, the tooth | gear which fixes the bracket 4 and the bracket 4 which latches the wire 5 are not restricted to what was illustrated in FIG.

  The mouthpiece 7 of this embodiment is attached to the dentition 3 to which the wire 5 is attached. Hereinafter, although the lower piece 71 will be described, the same applies to the upper piece 72. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower piece 71 includes an inner piece 7A that is in direct contact with the dentition 3, an outer piece 7B that is placed on the outer side of the inner piece 7A, and an airtight (watertight that does not allow moisture to enter) therebetween. And the vibration actuator 8 provided in the portion of the correction target tooth (the front teeth (intermediate teeth) 3g, 3h in the example of FIG. 2).

  As the material of the inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B, a material that is widely used as a mouthpiece (or mouthguard) and in which hygienic safety is ensured is used. For example, EVA (ethylene) which is a polymer material is used. It is preferable to form the (vinyl acetate resin) sheet as will be described later, since the effects of allergies to teeth and gums can be suppressed. The material of the inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B is not limited to the EVA sheet, but the EVA sheet is more preferable because it has electrical insulation and functions as a heat insulating material. In particular, when an EVA sheet is used for the inner piece 7A, the inner piece 7A can be made soft, and thereby, a high-speed component of mechanical vibration transmitted from the vibration actuator 8 described later to the correction target teeth 3g and 3h. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the correction target teeth 3g and 3h.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a bulge portion 7a corresponding to the vibration actuator 8 is formed on the correction target teeth 3g and 3h of the outer piece 7B, and a small and light vibration actuator in the bulge portion 7a. 8 is stored sideways (so that the vibration direction is substantially perpendicular to the tooth row 3). The vibration actuator 8 has a structure that generates mechanical vibration with an eccentric weight attached to a rotating shaft of a motor, and is widely used as a vibrator of a mobile phone.

  When the eccentric weight is in direct contact with the inner surface of the bulging portion 7a and the like, vibration is easily restrained, and therefore the eccentric weight is stored in advance in a metal or high polymer material housing such as rubber rubber in a state where vibration force is not restrained. It is preferable that the vibration actuator 8 is stored in the bulging portion 7a. The power supply line 9 to the vibration actuator 8 is drawn out from a through hole (not shown specifically) formed in the bulging portion 7a of the outer piece 7B to the outside, and further drawn out from between the lips to the outside of the mouth. Is done. When the motor in the vibration actuator 8 is a direct current (DC) motor, the intensity and period of vibration can be adjusted by supplying electric power from a battery (battery) via a switch and a variable resistor. it can. The number of rotations of the vibration actuator 8, that is, the vibration frequency (frequency) is preferably about several Hz to several hundred Hz. The vibration actuator 8 may be an alternating current (AC) motor. In addition to the vibration actuator 8, the control board and the like may be provided in the mouthpiece 7 as necessary.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus 101 for the lower piece 71 and the upper piece 72 configured as described above. The manufacturing apparatus 101 includes a stage 102 on which the tooth molds 11 and 12 are mounted, and a main body 104 including a pump that performs suction from a plurality of suction holes 103 formed in the stage 102, A pair of upper and lower sheet fixtures 106 and 107 sandwiching the EVA sheet 105, and an electric heater 109 mounted on the column 108 are configured.

  FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing the lower piece 71 using the manufacturing apparatus 101 described above. First, in step S1, an impression material is attached to the user's dentition 3 at the dental clinic to mold, and in step S2, gypsum is poured into the impression material holding the dentition shape in the dental laboratory. The plaster mold 11 is completed by taking out the plaster after solidification. Here, when a corrector such as a bracket 4 or a wire 5 is attached to the user's dentition 3, when the mouthpiece 7 is attached to or detached from the dentition 3, the inner piece 7A is pulled to the edge of the corrector. The inner piece 7A may be damaged or the bracket 4 may come off the tooth surface. In order to prevent such inconvenience, it is only necessary to fill the gap between the bracket 4 portion and the wire 5 portion of the tooth mold 11 with a wax agent or the like so as to eliminate the edge. According to this method, when an impression is taken from the user, the burden on the user is reduced as compared with a method in which a non-toxic wax agent or the like that can be washed with water is filled in the gap between the bracket 4 and the wire 5 in advance. .

  Next, the tooth mold 11 is mounted on the stage 102 of the manufacturing apparatus 101 in step S3. On the other hand, the EVA sheet 105 sandwiched between the sheet fixtures 106 and 107 is heated when the sheet fixtures 106 and 107 rise on the support column 108 in the vicinity of the electric heater 109 and soften. Then, the EVA sheet 105 is gradually covered on the tooth mold 11. At this time, the suction is performed from the suction hole 103, so that the EVA sheet 105 is brought into close contact with the tooth mold 11 by the air flow. Therefore, the tooth mold 11 is provided with a notch 1a for suction so that the mold can be accurately taken.

  At this time, the electric heater 109 may also be lowered and continuously heated, or may be molded by pressurizing the whole from the outside of the EVA sheet 105 with air pressure. In this way, the inner piece 7A is completed by performing pressure and suction molding. Up to this step S3, the conventional mouthpiece manufacturing method is the same.

  Next, in step S4, the vibration actuator 8 is attached while the inner piece 7A is hot. Here, the material of the mouthpiece 7, especially the EVA, exhibits a high viscosity at the time of melting as it is used as a main raw material for so-called hot bonds. Therefore, as described above, the inner piece 7A immediately after being molded in the semi-molten state in step S3 has heat and exhibits high viscosity until it cools. Therefore, by using the adhesive force exerted by the material of the inner piece 7A due to the residual heat of the inner piece 7A, it is simply installed by pressing the vibration actuator 8 without using any fixing means such as an adhesive. The vibration actuator 8 can be temporarily fixed. If the adhesive force is insufficient, a protrusion may be provided on the vibration actuator 8 side and inserted into the inner piece 7A, or heated EVA may be injected as an adhesive.

  Thereafter, in step S5, the heated EVA sheet 105 is placed on the inner piece 7A on which the vibration actuator 8 is mounted as described above, similarly to step S3, and the outer piece 7B is created by suction. Thus, the inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B hermetically seal the vibration actuator 8 inside. Subsequently, in step S6, EVA in the lead wire 8a portion of the vibration actuator 8 of the outer piece 7B is peeled off, and after the feeder 9 is connected to the lead 8a, the feeder 9 is connected to the feeder 9 in step S7. The end portion of the covered EVA tube 10 is locally heated with a dryer or the like, and the connection portion with the outer piece 7B is hermetically sealed, and the lower piece 71 is completed.

  Similarly, although the upper piece 72 can also be created, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, since the vibration actuator 8 is attached only to the lower piece 71, The EVA sheet 105 having a necessary thickness may be used and the creation may be performed up to step S3. For example, when the hardness of the inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B is changed, the mounting of the vibration actuator 8 in step S4 can be omitted and the steps up to step S5 can be performed.

  The lower piece 71 and the upper piece 72 created in this way are mounted on the tooth molds 11 and 12 corresponding to each of the tooth molds 1 whose meshing has been adjusted, and both ends of the tooth pieces 11 and 12 are opened. When the EVA column is heated and melted upright at a predetermined position of the lower piece 71 and then the tooth molds 11 and 12 are closed to a predetermined angle, the opposite end of the EVA column becomes the upper piece. When contacted with 72 and cooled, the EVA pillars become the connecting members 21, 22, and the pair of upper and lower mouthpieces 7 are completed.

  The connecting members 21 and 22 are provided between the upper piece 72 and the lower piece 71 at positions separated from the correction target teeth. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 1, the correction target teeth are the front teeth (intermediate incisors) 3g and 3h, and therefore are provided in the vicinity of molars 3c and 3d; 3k and 3l as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the correction target teeth are molars 3a to 3d and 3k to 3n, as shown by a mouthpiece 7 'in FIG. Further, when provided in the vicinity of the front teeth (intermediate incisors) 3g and 3h, as shown by the mouthpiece 7 '' in FIG. . When the correction target teeth are the front teeth (side incisors) 3f, 3i and the front teeth (canine teeth) 3e, 3j, the connecting members 20, 21, 22 are located near the molars 3a-3d, 3k-3n or the front teeth ( (Middle incisor) It may be provided in any of the vicinity of 3g and 3h.

  Furthermore, as shown by the mouthpiece 7 ′ ″ in FIG. 9, when the connecting members 21 and 22 are provided at positions deeper than the molars 3a and 3n, the front teeth (medium incisors) 3g and 3h, the front teeth (sides) Incisors 3f, 3i, front teeth (canine teeth) 3e, 3j, molars 3a-3d, 3k-3n are not loaded by meshing, and an open state can be secured. It is suitable for the correction of the entire dentition.

  By comprising in this way, the occlusion state (occlusal force and occlusal surface) of the upper piece 72 and the lower piece 71 in the position where the said vibration actuator 8 is provided can be kept constant, and a user can It is possible to prevent unintentional biting of the vicinity of the vibration generating actuator 8 and change in how vibration is transmitted. Accordingly, the expected effect can be obtained by continuously applying the desired vibration to the correction target tooth without forcing the user to keep the opening state.

It is a perspective view which shows the state with which the mouthpiece which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was mounted | worn with the user's tooth shape. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the lower jaw piece of the said mouthpiece with the tooth type of the lower jaw. It is a perspective view of a user's lower jaw tooth type. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line IV-IV in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus of a mouthpiece. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the mouthpiece using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the mouthpiece in case a correction object tooth | gear is a molar. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the mouthpiece in case a correction object tooth | gear is a molar. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the user's tooth shape with the mouthpiece which concerns on the other form of implementation of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tooth type 11 Mandibular tooth type 12 Maxillary tooth type 3 Tooth row 5 Wire 7 Mouthpiece 7A Inner piece 7B Outer piece 7a Swelling part 71 Lower piece 72 Upper piece 8 Excitation actuator 9 Feeding line 20, 21, 22 connection Member 101 Manufacturing apparatus 102 Stage 103 Suction hole 104 Main body 105 EVA sheet 106, 107 Sheet fixture 109 Electric heater

Claims (4)

An orthodontic mouthpiece that has an oscillating means and allows vibrations generated by the oscillating means to be applied to the user's dentition worn by the user to promote orthodontics,
An upper piece and a lower piece that respectively correspond to the upper and lower tooth rows and store the vibration generating means in at least one of them;
An orthodontic mouthpiece comprising a connecting member that is provided between the upper piece and the lower piece and is spaced from the correction target tooth and that connects the upper piece and the lower piece. .   The orthodontic mouthpiece according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is provided at a position of an anterior tooth.   The orthodontic mouthpiece according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is provided at a molar position.   The orthodontic mouthpiece according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is provided at a position behind the molar tooth.

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