JP4506746B2 - Orthodontic mouthpiece and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an orthodontic mouthpiece and a method for manufacturing the same.

  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 correction target tooth, and a high effect can be obtained. In addition, since the vibratory 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 part of the double mouthpiece, the tooth due to 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

  In the prior arts of Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the ultrasonic vibration is applied by pressing the ultrasonic supply head from the outside such as the cheek, it can be used with the orthodontic appliance such as a wire or bracket attached. It is. On the other hand, in the prior art proposed by the present applicant, the mouthpiece is directly attached to the dentition. On the other hand, this mouthpiece is a mouthpiece that promotes an orthodontic effect, and the correction itself needs to be performed with a conventional orthodontic appliance.

  The objective of this invention is providing the orthodontic mouthpiece which can be mounted | worn from after mounting an orthodontic appliance, and its manufacturing method.

  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. The mouthpiece is characterized in that the shape of the inner surface is along the tooth shape of the user wearing the orthodontic appliance.

  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. The orthodontic mouthpiece to be made has an inner surface shape that conforms to the tooth shape of the user wearing the orthodontic appliance such as a wire or a bracket.

  Therefore, by reflecting the shape of the orthodontic appliance, it is possible to realize a mouthpiece that can be mounted after it is mounted and can be used together with the orthodontic appliance.

  In addition, the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention is such that the inner surface shape has an envelope shape of the outer shape of the orthodontic appliance, so that the unevenness of the orthodontic appliance and the inner shape of the mouthpiece are not interfered with each other. It is characterized by avoidance.

  Furthermore, the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention is made of a soft resin having a Shore hardness of about 80.

  According to the above configuration, (i) the stimulation of the vibrating means is eased and the gums are not damaged, (ii) the feeling of wearing is good, (iii) the workability is good and the mouthpiece is easy to manufacture, (iv ) A mouthpiece having the advantage of not damaging the gingiva with an edge or the like can be produced.

  The orthodontic mouthpiece manufacturing method of the present invention also has an oscillating means, and the vibration generated by the oscillating means is applied to the user's dentition so that the orthodontic can be promoted. A method of manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece to be prepared, wherein a paraffin wax is placed on the user's dental mold in a state where the orthodontic appliance is mounted in a process of creating the dental mold used for producing the mouthpiece. By applying a dental wax such as the step of creating the orthodontic appliance part into an envelope shape of the outer shape, a step of collecting an impression of the tooth mold coated with the dental wax, and a sampling And a step of making a tooth mold using the impression made.

  According to said structure, the said inner surface shape is made into the shape which reduced the unevenness | corrugation of orthodontic appliances, such as the said wire and a bracket, and reflected the shape as a space | gap.

  Therefore, it is possible to reduce the interference between the sharp wire or bracket and the mouthpiece, and prevent the orthodontic appliance from being displaced, dropped off or damaged when the mouthpiece is attached or detached. be able to.

  Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention, a sheet body having heat softening properties is heated and mounted on the tooth mold created by the above-described process, and the softened sheet body is heated by the airflow. A step of making an inner piece in close contact with a tooth mold; a step of mounting the vibration generating means and a configuration related thereto on the inner piece; and a step of mounting the inner piece equipped with the structure related to the vibration generating means to the tooth mold A sheet body having heat softening property is mounted on the sheet, and the softened sheet body is closely attached to the inner piece by an air flow to hermetically seal the configuration relating to the vibration generating means inside. Producing an outer piece to be performed.

  According to the above configuration, when the orthodontic mouthpiece is actually manufactured using the tooth mold created as described above, first, the sheet body having heat softening property is heated on the tooth mold as usual. For example, the softened sheet body is brought into close contact with the tooth mold by an air flow generated by, for example, air pressure applied from the outside of the tooth mold and / or suction from the inside of the tooth mold. Create Next, instead of taking a mold by mounting a dummy of a configuration to be built in a mouthpiece such as a control board provided as necessary, such as a motor having an eccentric weight, on the inner piece, In the state that the configuration itself to be built is directly mounted at a position corresponding to the tooth to be corrected of the inner piece, the inner piece is set on the tooth mold so as not to lose its shape, and from above, the inner piece and The outer piece is covered in the same manner, and the configuration relating to the vibration generating means is hermetically sealed.

  Therefore, the second molding is not required to create the outer piece, and the number of processes can be reduced. Also, the inner piece and the outer piece are softened by heating the whole piece, including the inner piece, uniformly by the heat of the covered outer piece, instead of bonding the hardened inner piece and outer piece together. Since the sheet body is in a semi-molten state and is naturally integrated, airtightness can be improved, and a gap is created between the inner piece and the outer piece as in the case of molding using a dummy. There is no problem that the inner piece does not fit into the outer piece, and a high-quality mouthpiece can be created.

  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. Thus, an orthodontic mouthpiece that facilitates orthodontic correction, and the inner shape of the mouthpiece is a shape that matches the shape of the user's teeth wearing an orthodontic appliance such as a wire or a bracket.

  Therefore, by reflecting the shape of the orthodontic appliance, it is possible to realize a mouthpiece that can be mounted after being mounted and can be used in combination with the orthodontic appliance.

  In addition, the orthodontic mouthpiece and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, as described above, reduce the unevenness of the orthodontic appliance such as the wire and the bracket, and reflect the shape as a gap. And

  Therefore, the interference between the sharp wire or bracket and the mouthpiece can be reduced, and it is possible to prevent the orthodontic appliance from dropping off or damaging the mouthpiece during attachment / detachment. it can.

  Furthermore, the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention is made of a soft resin having a Shore hardness of about 80 as described above.

  Therefore, (i) ease the stimulation of the vibration means, do not hurt the gums, (ii) good wearing feeling, (iii) good workability, easy to manufacture mouthpiece, (iv) edge etc. A mouthpiece having the advantage of not damaging the gums can be produced.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the orthodontic mouthpiece of the present invention, as described above, when actually manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece using the tooth mold created as described above, A sheet body having heat softening properties is heated and mounted on the tooth mold, and softened by an air flow generated by, for example, pressurizing with air pressure from the outside of the tooth mold and / or suctioning from the inside. An inner piece is prepared by closely attaching a sheet body onto the tooth mold, and then a vibration means such as a motor having an eccentric weight and a control board provided as necessary are teeth to be corrected of the inner piece. The inner piece is set on the tooth mold so that the inner piece does not lose its shape in a state of being mounted directly on the position corresponding to the above. The configuration on to seal in an airtight manner.

  Therefore, the second molding is not required to create the outer piece, and the number of processes can be reduced. Also, the inner piece and the outer piece are softened by heating the whole piece, including the inner piece, uniformly by the heat of the covered outer piece, instead of bonding the hardened inner piece and outer piece together. Since the sheet body is in a semi-molten state and is naturally integrated, airtightness can be improved, and a gap is created between the inner piece and the outer piece as in the case of molding using a dummy. There is no problem that the inner piece does not fit into the outer piece, and a high-quality mouthpiece can be created.

  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 lower jaw, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a user's lower jaw tooth mold 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line III-III in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, brackets (wire locking metal fittings) 4 are fixed to the outer surface portions of the teeth 3b to 3m excluding the back teeth 3a and 3n among the teeth 3a to 3n 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 bracket 4 which latches the tooth | gear which fixes the bracket 4, and the wire 5 is not restricted to what was illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mouthpiece 7 of the present embodiment is attached to the dentition 3 to which the wire 5 is attached. As shown in FIG. 3, the mouthpiece 7 includes an inner piece 7A that directly contacts the dentition 3, an outer piece 7B that covers the outer side of the inner piece 7A, and an airtight (watertight that does not allow moisture to enter) therebetween. And is provided with a vibration actuator 8 serving as a vibration generating means provided in a portion of the correction target tooth (3g, 3h in the example of FIG. 1).

  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 a soft EVA sheet having a Shore hardness of about 80 is used for the inner piece 7A, the inner piece 7A can be made soft, and (i) from the vibration actuator 8 to be described later, the teeth 3g and 3h to be corrected. Since the relaxation action acts on the high-speed component of the mechanical vibration transmitted to the part, it is possible to prevent damage to the parts of the correction target teeth 3g and 3h, (ii) good wearing feeling, (iii) It is possible to produce a mouthpiece having advantages such as good processability and easy production of the mouthpiece, and (iv) not damaging the gingiva with an edge or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, 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 lightweight vibration actuator is formed 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. 4 is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus 11 for the mouthpiece 7 configured as described above. The manufacturing apparatus 11 includes a stage 12 on which the tooth mold 1 is mounted, and a main body 14 including a pump that performs suction from a plurality of suction holes 13 formed in the stage 12, and a stand on the main body 14. It can be moved up and down by a support column 18 provided, and includes a pair of upper and lower sheet fixtures 16 and 17 sandwiching the EVA sheet 15 and an electric heater 19 mounted on the support column 18.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a manufacturing method of the mouthpiece 7 using the manufacturing apparatus 11 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 1 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 problems, it should be noted that in this embodiment, the dental wax agent 2 is filled in the gap between the bracket 4 portion and the wire 5 portion of the tooth mold 1 in step S11. It is to eliminate unevenness. As the dental wax agent, a general name "paraffin wax" or the like can be used. According to the material, the dental wax is solid at room temperature, melted with heat from an alcohol lamp or the like when used, and used in a liquid state. It is like that.

  In this way, the bracket 4 and the wire 5 are attached to the tooth mold 1 and the impression is taken, so that the non-toxic wax agent or the like that can be washed away with water while the bracket 4 or the wire 5 is attached by the user. Compared with the method of collecting an impression after filling the gap between 4 and wire 5 (using a wax agent at the time of impression collection in step S1), the burden on the user is reduced.

  Therefore, in step S12, the impression material 6 collected with silicon has an envelope shape of the outer shape of the bracket 4 and the wire 5, and a gap exists between the impression material 6 and the tooth row 3. . Thereafter, in step S13, gypsum is poured into the impression material 6, and after solidifying, the gypsum is taken out, whereby the tooth mold 1 'that is actually used to manufacture the mouthpiece 7 is completed.

  The tooth mold 1 'is mounted on the stage 12 of the manufacturing apparatus 11 in step S3. On the other hand, the EVA sheet 15 sandwiched between the sheet fixtures 16 and 17 is heated in the vicinity of the electric heater 19 when the sheet fixtures 16 and 17 rise on the support column 18 and soften. The EVA sheet 15 is gradually covered on the tooth mold 1 ′. At this time, suction is performed from the suction hole 13, whereby the EVA sheet 15 is brought into close contact with the tooth mold 1 ′ by the airflow. For this reason, the tooth mold 1 'is formed with a notch 1a for suction so that the mold can be accurately taken.

  At this time, the electric heater 19 may also be lowered and continuously heated, or may be molded by pressurizing the entire EVA sheet 15 with air pressure or the like. In this way, the inner piece 7A is completed by performing pressure and suction molding. This step S3 is the same as the manufacturing method of the conventional mouthpiece.

  Subsequently, 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 15 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. Here, the EVA sheet 15 serving as the inner piece 7 </ b> A and the outer piece 7 </ b> B has a softening temperature set lower than the heat-resistant temperature of the vibration actuator 8. Specifically, when the heat-resistant temperature of the vibration actuator 8 is 100 ° C., the EVA sheet 15 having a softening point of 60 to 70 ° C. is selected. Thus, the outer piece 7B can be directly melt-molded from above while reliably preventing the vibration of the vibration generating actuator 8 from occurring.

  After the thus created mouthpiece 7, the EVA of the lead wire 8 a portion of the vibration actuator 8 of the outer piece 7 B is peeled off in step S 6, and the feeder 9 is connected to the lead wire 8 a. In step S7, the end of the EVA tube 10 covered with the power supply line 9 is locally heated with a dryer or the like, and the connection portion with the outer piece 7B is hermetically sealed, whereby the mouthpiece 7 is completed. .

  As described above, in the mouthpiece 7 according to the present embodiment, the inner surface shape of the inner piece 7A is a shape along the tooth mold 1 of the user wearing the orthodontic appliance such as the wire 5 and the bracket 4. Therefore, by reflecting the shape of the orthodontic appliance, it is possible to realize a mouthpiece that can be mounted after it is mounted and can be used together with the orthodontic appliance.

  In addition, the inner shape of the inner piece 7A is a shape that reduces the unevenness of the orthodontic appliance such as the wire 5 and the bracket 4 and reflects the shape as a gap. Interference with the piece 7A can be reduced, and it is possible to prevent the orthodontic appliance from being rubbed or dropped during attachment or detachment, or the mouthpiece 7 from being damaged.

  Furthermore, the vibration actuator 8 is directly attached to the inner piece 7A, and the EVA sheet 15 is placed thereon and heated and sucked to create the outer piece 7B, which are integrated with each other. After mounting the vibration actuator 8 dummy, mold with an impression material, create a gypsum mold again, cover the gypsum mold with the EVA sheet 15, create the outer piece 7B, and then install the actual vibration actuator 8 Compared with the case where the mounted inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B are bonded, it is not necessary to mold the outer piece 7B and the number of processes can be reduced. In addition, the entire inner piece 7A including the inner piece 7A is uniformly heated by the heat of the EVA sheet for the outer piece 7B that is covered, as compared with the case where the inner piece 7A and the outer piece 7B that have been solidified are bonded together. Since the softened inner piece 7A and the EVA sheet for the outer piece 7B are in a semi-molten state and are naturally integrated, the airtightness can be improved and the inner piece as in the case of molding using a dummy There is no problem that a gap is generated between 7A and the outer piece 7B or the inner piece 7A does not fit into the outer piece 7B, and a high-quality mouthpiece can be created.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the user's lower jaw with the mouthpiece which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a user's lower jaw tooth type. It is sectional drawing seen from the cut surface line III-III of FIG. It is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus of a mouthpiece. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the mouthpiece which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1 'Tooth type 2 Dental wax agent 3 Tooth row 4 Bracket 5 Wire 6 Impression material 7 Mouthpiece 7A Inner piece 7B Outer piece 7a Swelling part 8 Excitation actuator 9 Feed line 11 Manufacturing apparatus 12 Stage 13 Suction hole 14 Main body 15 EVA sheet 16, 17 Sheet fixture 19 Electric heater

Claims (5)

An orthodontic mouthpiece that has an oscillating means and allows vibrations generated by the oscillating means to be applied to the user's dentition, thereby promoting orthodontics,
An orthodontic mouthpiece characterized by having an inner shape conforming to the tooth shape of the user wearing the orthodontic appliance.   The said inner surface shape has the envelope shape of the external shape of the said orthodontic appliance, The interference with the unevenness | corrugation by the said orthodontic appliance and the inner surface shape of this mouthpiece is avoided. Orthodontic mouthpiece.   The orthodontic mouthpiece according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a soft resin having a Shore hardness of about 80. A method of manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece that has an oscillating means and allows vibrations generated by the oscillating means to be applied to the user's dentition, thereby facilitating orthodontics,
In the process of creating the tooth mold used to create the mouthpiece,
Applying the dental wax on the user's dental mold with the orthodontic appliance attached, and creating the orthodontic appliance portion into an envelope shape of the outer shape; and
Collecting an impression of the dental mold coated with the dental wax;
A method of manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece, comprising: taking a dental mold using the collected impression. A sheet body having heat softening properties is heated and mounted on the tooth mold created by the process shown in claim 4, and the inner piece is created by closely contacting the softened sheet body on the tooth mold with an air flow. Process,
Mounting the vibration generating means and the configuration related thereto on the inner piece;
The inner piece on which the configuration relating to the vibration generating means is mounted is set on the tooth mold, and a sheet body having heat softening properties is heated and mounted thereon, and the softened sheet body is attached to the inner piece by airflow. A method of manufacturing an orthodontic mouthpiece, the method comprising: creating an outer piece that tightly adheres and seals the structure relating to the vibration generating means in an airtight manner.

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