KR20140136270A - orthodontics device and coating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention an orthodontic device having a color similar to natural teeth and a coating method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an orthodontic device which may improve aesthetic and represent antimicrobial properties by implementing an ivory color similar to the natural teeth, and to a coating method thereof. The orthodontic device having a color similar to natural teeth according to the present invention includes: a metal base; and a composite coating layer formed on a surface of the metal base. The composite coating layer includes: a nitride based coating layer including at least one basic metal selected from aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si), and titanium (Ti) and nitrogen and silver (Ag); and an oxide based coating layer formed inside or outside the nitrite based coating layer and including the basic metal, oxygen, and silver (Ag).

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a orthodontic appliance and coating method having a color similar to a natural tooth,

The present invention relates to a tooth correcting device having a color similar to a natural tooth and a coating method thereof, and more particularly, to a tooth correcting device having an excellent esthetics and antimicrobial properties, ≪ / RTI >

It is obvious that there is a part of orthodontic treatment that is difficult to treat compared to adolescents because the adult's dental activity is usually not active. However, when the orthodontic treatment is applied, the gums become worse, And there is a tendency to hesitate for orthodontic treatment due to the burden on the exposed orthodontic appliance.

However, tooth movement within the physiological range is not a problem at all, so, if possible, orthodontic treatment is the most desirable treatment for correcting poor dentition.

The correction of teeth is divided into lingual correction and internal correction. For esthetic reason, the lingual correction device which is recently attached to the inside of teeth is activated.

Although the lingual orthodontic device is somewhat uncomfortable, it does not cause more cavities than the internal orthodontic appliance. Lingual Orthodontics (Invisible Orthodontics), which uses a device that is not exposed to the outside as aesthetic orthodontic treatment, is used in most cases The orthodontic appliance is used for orthodontic correction.

Recently, as interest in appearance has increased, more and more patients are seeking orthodontic treatment in order to achieve good dentistry and good facial appearance. The orthodontic device (see FIG. 1), such as wire 93 and bracket 91, which are exposed to the tooth surface during orthodontic treatment, is mainly made of stainless steel, cobalt chrome alloy (Elgiloy), titanium molybdenum alloy TMA), and nickel-titanium alloy (Ni-Ti). However, these metal correction apparatuses have a very high rejection of patients due to the color of an achromatic color.

In addition, the teeth of the orthodontic appliance have much higher debris, plaque, and calculus deposits than the natural teeth, and even if brushing, it is difficult to maintain a clean state due to the attachment of the orthodontic appliance. In addition, sticky foods or hard foods can interfere with the food between the orthodontic appliances and cause rapid cavities. Carious teeth in the orthodontic appliance cause deformation and dislocation of the orthodontic appliance, which may not be achieved as intended or may result in undesired tooth movement. In particular, the problem of toothbrushing of the teeth is more serious when the children most in need of correction of the teeth are equipped with a correcting device. Korea Patent No. 0646832 discloses a dental antimicrobial prosthesis.

The above-mentioned antibacterial prosthesis is simply coated with nanosilver on the outer surface of the prosthesis, and when the prosthesis is mechanically abraded in the oral cavity, the nanosilver coating and plating may be peeled off. In addition, nanosilver, which is coated and plated on the prosthesis, is a solution in a silver solution state, which causes a problem in that the antibacterial ability and the sterilizing power of the harmful microorganisms are significantly lowered.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tooth correcting device and a coating method therefor which are capable of realizing an ivory color similar to that of a natural tooth and having an excellent sense of beauty and antibacterial properties.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an orthodontic appliance having a color similar to that of a natural tooth, including: a metal base; And a composite coating layer formed on the surface of the metal substrate, wherein the composite coating layer is formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti) Based coating layer formed on the inner side or the outer side of the nitride-based coating layer and containing the base metal, oxygen, and silver (Ag).

The nitride-based coating layer and the oxide-based coating layer are formed by an arc ion plating method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method of coating a dental orthodontic appliance having a color similar to that of a natural tooth, comprising the steps of: applying a coating solution containing one of aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si), and titanium A target manufacturing step of producing an alloy target in which a metal and silver (Ag) are mixed; And depositing an alloy target in the chamber and arc-discharging the alloy target to form a composite coating layer composed of a nitride-based coating layer and an oxide-based coating layer on the surface of the metal base.

Wherein the deposition step comprises: a) a first coating step of injecting argon and nitrogen gas into the chamber and arc-discharging the alloy target to form the nitride-based coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate; b) And a second coating step of injecting a gas and arc-discharging the alloy target to form the oxide-based coating layer on the surface of the nitride-based coating layer.

The target manufacturing step comprises the steps of: a) a first arc melting step of charging a base metal and silver into a vacuum melting furnace and generating an arc to dissolve the base metal to produce a metal single light mixed with the base metal; and b) A second arc melting step of preparing an alloy target by dissolving the consumable electrode by generating an arc after the consumable electrode is installed in a vacuum melting furnace; .

As described above, according to the present invention, a composite coating layer obtained by laminating a nitride-based coating layer and an oxide-based coating layer in a double layer can be formed on the surface of an orthodontic appliance, thereby realizing an ivory color similar to a natural tooth. Therefore, it is possible to improve the satisfaction of the patient because of the excellent aesthetic sense.

In addition, since the coating layer is formed by the arc ion plating method, the strength and adhesion of the coating layer are excellent.

Since the coating layer contains silver and has an excellent antibacterial activity, it is possible to prevent a dental disease that may occur in the oral cavity by bacteria.

In addition, since a coating film is formed by using an alloy material which is a mixture of silver and a base metal as a target, the antimicrobial effect of silver can be continuously maintained.

1 is a plan view showing a state in which a conventional orthodontic appliance is installed in an oral cavity,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a cross-section of a tooth-polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an arc ion plating apparatus applied to the present invention,
4 is a photograph showing the results of antibacterial experiments,
5 is a photograph showing a measurement site in the calculation of the size of the clear zone,
6 is a scanning electron microscope photograph showing a cross section of the composite coating layer formed on the orthodontic appliance,
7 is a photograph showing a wire having a composite coating layer formed on its surface.

Hereinafter, a tooth correcting apparatus having a color similar to that of a natural tooth according to the present invention and a coating method thereof will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the orthodontic appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated orthodontic appliance shows a cross section in which a composite coating layer 101 is formed on the surface of a wire.

Referring to FIG. 2, the orthodontic appliance of the present invention includes a metal base 100 and a composite coating layer 101 formed on the surface of the metal base 100.

In the illustrated example, the metal base 100 refers to the wire of the orthodontic appliance. It goes without saying that various components of a conventional orthodontic appliance as well as a bracket attached to a tooth with a metal base can be applied.

The metal substrate 100 may be made of a titanium material and may be made of stainless steel, cobalt chrome alloy (Elgiloy), titanium molybdenum alloy (TMA), nickel titanium alloy (Ni-Ti) .

The composite coating layer 101 is formed on the surface of the metal substrate 100. In the present invention, the composite coating layer 101 is composed of two coating layers. The nitride-based coating layer 103 and the oxide-based coating layer 105. In the illustrated example, the oxide-based coating layer 105 is formed on the outer side of the nitride-based coating layer 103, but a nitride-based coating layer may be formed on the outer side of the oxide-based coating layer.

The nitride-based coating layer 103 is made of aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si), titanium (Ti), and nitrogen or silver (Ag). Nitrogen is bonded to the base metal and silver to form a nitride.

The oxide-based coating layer 105 is formed of any one of a metal selected from aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si), and titanium (Ti), oxygen and silver. Oxygen is combined with the base metal and silver to form oxides.

On the other hand, silver (Ag) is contained in the nitride-based coating layer 103 and the oxide-based coating layer 105 for antibacterial properties. Silver is the most abundant metal in its antimicrobial properties and ability to inhibit microbial adhesion. The mechanism of antimicrobial action of silver is that silver ions (Ag ⁺ ) finely distributed in nano units adsorb and bind to -SH (thiol group) and COO- or OH- ions in bacterial protein, which is a microorganism, to cause cell deformation, And it is reported that the cells are killed by making the metabolism of the bacteria and the respiration of the energy metabolism difficult.

The nitride-based coating layer 103 and the oxide-based coating layer 105 may be laminated to realize a cyan color similar to a tooth color as shown in FIG. The color can be adjusted by controlling the thicknesses of the nitride-based coating layer 103 and the oxide-based coating layer 105, respectively. For example, the thickness of the nitride-based coating layer 103 is 100 to 300 nm, and the thickness of the oxide-based coating layer 105 is 1.0 to 1.6 占 퐉.

The composite coating layer 101 composed of the nitride-based coating layer 103 and the oxide-based coating layer 105 is formed on the surface of the gold base material by the PVD method. The PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) method is an eco-friendly process that does not emit pollutant emissions. It is capable of precise process control and has excellent adhesion and abrasion resistance of the coating layer. The arc ion plating (AIP) method, which has excellent adhesion of the coating film in the PVD method, is used.

Hereinafter, a method of applying the arc ion plating system and coating the orthodontic appliance will be described.

The method of forming a coating layer of the present invention includes a target manufacturing step of manufacturing an alloy target in which aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti) And a deposition step of depositing an alloy target in the chamber and arc discharging the alloy target to form a composite coating layer on the surface of the metal base.

The coating method of the present invention will be described in detail in each step.

1. Target manufacturing stage

In the present invention, an alloy target is prepared by vacuum melting a base metal and silver. The vacuum arc melting method can be applied as a vacuum melting method. In the vacuum arc melting method, a metal to be melted is charged into a vacuum melting furnace and an arc is generated in a vacuum or inert gas atmosphere to melt the metal in the vacuum melting furnace.

The vacuum arc melting method is divided into a consumable electrode method in which the electrode itself of the metal material installed in the vacuum melting furnace is melted and a non-consumable electrode method in which a separate metal material is melted in the vacuum melting furnace.

The present invention applies a first arc dissolution step using a non-consumable electrode method and a second arc dissolution step using a second consumable electrode method for the production of an alloy target. For example, the target manufacturing step includes: a) a first arc melting step of charging a base metal and silver into a vacuum melting furnace and generating an arc to dissolve the base metal to form a metal single light mixed with the base metal; and b) And a second arc melting step of producing an alloy target by dissolving the consumable electrode by generating an arc after the consumable electrode is installed in a vacuum melting furnace .

(1) First arc melting step

First, in the first arc melting step, the base metal and silver are melted to produce a metal single beam mixed with two kinds of metals.

An arc is generated after charging a base material metal selected from aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti) and silver (Ag) into a vacuum melting furnace.

The vacuum arc melting apparatus for performing the first arc melting step may be a conventional one. For example, a mold having a hemispherical groove is provided in a vacuum melting furnace, and a rod-shaped non-consumable electrode (tungsten material) is disposed on the upper side of the mold. An arc is generated by the electrode, and the metal material located in the mold is melted by the generated arc.

The metals charged into the vacuum melting furnace are base metals and silver. The base metals and silver are charged into the vacuum furnace in the form of briquette with a purity of 99.9% or more. The content of the base metal to silver contained in the vacuum melting furnace is adjusted to a weight ratio of 0.88 to 0.95: 0.05 to 0.12. Arc is generated and molten base metal and silver flow into the center of the mold and mix.

When the molten metal is cooled, the metal metal: silver is mixed with the metal monochromate at a weight ratio of 0.88 to 0.95: 0.05 to 0.12. The size of the single-metal light is approximately 20 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length.

(2) Electrode Fabrication Step

Next, a consumable electrode to be used in the second arc melting step is produced. For this purpose, a plurality of rod-shaped metal single beams are prepared and then welded to each other to produce a long stick-shaped consumable electrode. The consumable electrode has a diameter of 20 mm and a length of 700 to 800 mm.

(3) Second arc melting step

Next, a second arc melting step is performed in which a consumable electrode is installed in a vacuum melting furnace, and an arc is generated to dissolve the consumable electrode to produce an alloy material.

The second arc melting step is a consumable electrode type vacuum arc melting process. The vacuum arc melting apparatus for performing the second arc melting step may be a conventional one. For example, the vacuum melting furnace has a mold formed with hemispherical grooves in the inside thereof, and a consumable electrode is provided on the upper side of the mold. When an arc is generated, the consumable electrode is melted, and the molten molten metal is moved to a mold to produce an ingot-shaped alloy material. The ingot can be machined to an appropriate shape and size for use as an alloy target. The processed alloy target is used as the material of the coating film.

The prepared alloy target is composed of 88 to 95% by weight of the base metal and 5 to 12% by weight of silver. If the content of the second metal is more than 12% by weight, it may cause toxicity in vivo. If the content of the second metal is less than 5% by weight, the antibacterial effect is insignificant.

2. Deposition step

The deposition step comprises: a) a first coating step of injecting argon and nitrogen gas into the chamber and arc-discharging the alloy target to form a nitride-based coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate, b) injecting argon and oxygen gas into the chamber, Based coating layer on the surface of the nitride-based coating layer by arc-discharging the oxide-based coating layer.

(1) First coating step

When the alloy target is ready, the first coating step is carried out.

Since the present invention forms a composite coating layer using an alloy target, the composition ratio of the base metal and silver can be precisely controlled. On the other hand, without using an alloy target, a target made of a base metal and a target made of silver can be simultaneously arc-discharged to form a coating layer mixed with the base metal and silver on the surface of the base metal. In this case, Is difficult.

In the first coating step, an alloy target is placed in the chamber, argon and nitrogen gas are injected, and the alloy target is arc discharged to form a nitride-based coating layer on the surface of the gold base material.

A metal substrate on which the nitride based coating layer is to be formed is prepared in order to carry out the first coating step. When the metal substrate is prepared, the foreign substance on the surface of the metal substrate is cleaned. In order to clean the foreign object, the gold base material is put into the cleaning container, and then a conventional cleaning liquid is injected and the impurities adhering to the surface of the metal base material are cleaned by using a washing machine. In addition, it can be cleaned using ultrasonic waves.

After rinsing, rinsing, drying in a drier to evaporate water, and arc ion plating method is applied to form a first coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate.

An arc ion plating apparatus for applying a specific substance to a surface of a metal substrate using an arc discharge generates an arc discharge between a cathode (target) for arc evaporation and an anode as a chamber during start-up, And the evaporated material is deposited on the surface of the metal substrate as ionized by the plasma existing between the cathode and the anode.

An example of an arc ion plating apparatus for performing a coating step using an arc ion plating method is shown in FIG. The arc ion plating apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 3 includes a chamber 21 provided with a gas inlet capable of introducing gas and a gas outlet connected with a vacuum pump 23 so as to allow the gas to flow out, (27) for melting and evaporating the alloy target (25) caused by arc evaporation by one or a plurality of arc welding sources (25) mounted on one side of the arc evaporation source And a holder 28 to which a negative potential bias voltage is applied through the bias source 29 so as to attract the material.

The vacuum pump 23 is operated in a state where the alloy target 25 and the gold base material 100 are mounted in the chamber 21 in order to perform the reaction using the arc ion plating apparatus, And then arc discharge is performed to form a nitride-based coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate 100. Argon gas and nitrogen gas are used as the gas. During the arc discharge, negative (-) potential bias voltage of 100 to 300 V is applied to the holder 28 to discharge.

As an example of the arc discharge condition, an arc power of 20 to 60 A at a chamber pressure of 5 to 10 mTorr, 200 to 300 캜, 100 sccm of argon gas and 100 sccm of nitrogen gas under a negative potential bias voltage of 100 to 300 V was injected for 60 minutes Arc discharge can be performed. The base metal and silver which are evaporated in the alloy target through arc discharge react with nitrogen to form a first coating layer of the nitride-based material on the surface of the gold base material.

(2) Second coating step

After the formation of the first coating layer, all the gas in the chamber is exhausted, the vacuum pump 23 is operated to bring the chamber 21 into a vacuum state, and arc discharge is performed to form an oxide-based coating layer on the outside of the nitride-based coating layer. Argon gas and oxygen gas are used as the gas. During the arc discharge, negative (-) potential bias voltage of 100 to 300 V is applied to the holder to discharge.

As an example of the arc discharge condition, 100 sccm of argon gas and 100 sccm of oxygen gas were injected at a chamber pressure of 5 to 10 mTorr, 200 to 300 캜, an arc power of 20 to 60 A, a negative potential bias voltage of 100 to 300 V, Arc discharge can be performed. The base metal and the silver which are evaporated in the alloy target through arc discharge react with oxygen to form an oxide-based coating layer of an oxide-based material.

The composite coating layer can be formed on the surface of the orthodontic appliance through the first and second coating steps described above.

<Antibacterial activity test>

In order to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the Ti-Ag alloy target prepared according to one embodiment of the present invention, the following experiment was conducted.

1. Preparation of specimens

The test specimens were classified into a control group using titanium metal of 99.9% purity and a test group using titanium and silver mixed alloy. In the test group, five kinds were prepared by varying the mixing ratio of silver to 3 wt%, 5 wt%, 7 wt%, 10 wt% and 12 wt%.

A total of six specimens were processed into disks of 15 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height. All specimens were ultrasonically cleaned in ethanol for 20 minutes and sterilized by autoclave (121 ° C / 20min).

The types of the specimens are shown in Table 1 below.

division Components of the specimen Control group Ti (99.9%)

Test group

Ti-3Ag Ti (97%) - Ag (3%) Ti-5Ag Ti (95%) - Ag (5%) Ti-7Ag Ti (93%) - Ag (7%) Ti-10Ag Ti (90%) - Ag (10%) Ti-12Ag Ti (88%) - Ag (12%)

2. Experimental Method

Streptococcus mutans, which induces cavities in the oral cavity as a published strain, mutans ) KCTC3065. The deep freezers were kept frozen and used for the experiment.

Brain Heart Infusion (BHI, Difco, CA) containing 10% (v / v) horse blood serum (Oxide, Italy) supplemented with Streptococcus Mutans were diluted to 0.5 McFarland turbidity (1.6x10 ⁸ cells / ml), 100 ㎕ inoculated and spread. Then, the prepared specimen was placed on BHI medium and anaerobically cultured in a 37 ° C incubator for 18 hours.

3. Experimental Results

The size of the clear zone formed around the specimen after incubation for 18 hours is shown in Fig. Table 2 shows the size of the clear zone. The size of the clear zone was calculated by averaging the four values shown in FIG.

Clear Zone Control group
(Reference) Ti-3Ag Ti-5Ag Ti-7Ag Ti-10Ag Ti-12Ag ① - - 1.8 2.8 1.2 2.9 ② - - - 2.5 3.0 2.8 ③ - - 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 ④ - - 2.5 2.8 1.5 3.0 Average - - 1.325 2.775 2.175 2.925

Referring to the results of Table 2 and FIG. 4, it was confirmed that no clear zone was formed in Ti-3Ag among the control and experimental groups, but a clear zone was formed in Ti-5Ag to Ti-12Ag. It is expected that the alloy material having the silver content of 5 ~ 12 wt% will have excellent antimicrobial activity.

<2. Characteristics of coating layer>

Based coating layer was formed on the surface of a metal substrate (a wire of a tantalum material) using an alloy target composed of 93% by weight of titanium and 7% by weight of silver by an arc ion plating method, and then an oxide-based coating layer was formed .

The nitride-based coating layer was formed by discharging at a chamber pressure of 7.5 mTorr, an arc power of 250 캜, an arc power of 40 A, and a negative potential bias voltage of 200 V while injecting 100 sccm of argon gas and 100 sccm of nitrogen gas.

The oxide-based coating layer was formed by discharging at a chamber pressure of 7.5 mTorr, an arc power of 250 캜, an arc power of 40 A, and a negative potential bias voltage of 200 V while injecting 100 sccm of argon gas and 100 sccm of oxygen gas.

6 is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) photograph showing a cross section of the composite coating layer formed on the surface of the metal substrate. As shown in FIG. 6, the nitride-based coating layer and the oxide-based coating layer may be sequentially stacked on the surface of the metal substrate. The thickness of the nitride-based coating layer was about 198 nm, and the thickness of the oxide-based coating layer was about 1.32 μm.

The composite coating thus formed had a color similar to that of a natural tooth, as shown in Fig.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

20: arc ion plating device 21: chamber
25: alloy target 28: holder
100: metal base 101: composite coating layer
103: Nitride-based coating layer 105: Oxide-based coating layer

Claims (5)

A metal substrate;
And a composite coating layer formed on a surface of the metal substrate,
Wherein the composite coating layer comprises a nitride-based coating layer containing at least one of a base metal selected from aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti), nitrogen and silver (Ag) And an oxide-based coating layer formed on the inner side or the outer side and containing the matrix metal and oxygen and silver (Ag). The orthodontic appliance according to claim 1, wherein the nitride-based coating layer and the oxide-based coating layer are formed by an arc ion plating method. A target manufacturing step of manufacturing an alloy target in which aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti) are mixed with silver (Ag);
And depositing a composite coating layer comprising a nitride-based coating layer and an oxide-based coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate by arc-discharging the alloy target after the alloy target is installed in the chamber. Way. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the depositing comprises: a) a first coating step of injecting argon and nitrogen gas into the chamber and arc-discharging the alloy target to form the nitride based coating layer on the surface of the metal substrate; b) And a second coating step of injecting argon and oxygen gas into the chamber and arc-discharging the alloy target to form the oxide-based coating layer on the surface of the nitride-based coating layer. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the target manufacturing step comprises the steps of: a) a first arc melting step of charging the base metal and silver into a vacuum melting furnace and generating and dissolving an arc to produce a metal single beam mixed with the base metal and silver; ) Preparing an electrode for preparing a rod-shaped consumable electrode by preparing a plurality of the metal single rays and then welding them together; c) generating an arc after the consumable electrode is installed in a vacuum melting furnace to dissolve the consumable electrode And a second arc melting step.

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