Training method for evaluating bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets

Abstract

A training method for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets is provided. The evaluation method includes a training device for racket bonding accuracy evaluation which includes virtual teeth with root-shaped connectors and an evaluation base to fix the virtual teeth. Multiple reference lines are marked on the evaluation base, and their intersection is set as the evaluation point. When the virtual tooth is fixed to the evaluation base, the reference lines and the evaluation points are utilized for rapid evaluation of the bonding accuracy of the bracket. Moreover, thanks to their horizontal arrangement, when there are multiple virtual teeth, the evaluation of bracket bonding would be more intuitive and efficient than using the traditional articulator.

Claims

1. A bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method, comprising: using a training device for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets, wherein the training device comprises a plurality of virtual teeth and an evaluation base to fix the virtual teeth, and a manufacture procedure of the training device comprises taking impressions of selected human teeth, and generating 3D tooth models of the selected human teeth by 3D scanning; wherein each of the virtual teeth comprises a virtual crown and a root-shaped connector fixed to the virtual crown, wherein the virtual crown has a standard bonding region (SBR) marked on the virtual crown; the root-shaped connector is merged to the virtual crown at ±1 mm from a cemento-enamal junction (CEJ), and the long axis of the root-shaped connector is parallel to the tooth long axis; the evaluation base comprises connecting grooves to fix the virtual teeth and reference lines for evaluation, wherein the connecting grooves fit the root-shaped connectors of a virtual tooth having a corresponding shape of the plurality of virtual teeth; each of the virtual teeth is fixed to the evaluation base through the connection between the root-shaped connector and the connecting groove, and when a plurality of virtual teeth are arranged, the plurality of virtual teeth are horizontally arranged, and crown surfaces used for bracket bonding face the same direction; the reference lines comprise horizontal reference lines, vertical reference lines, and tooth long axis (TA) reference lines, wherein the TA reference lines are parallel to long axes of corresponding virtual teeth fixed to the evaluation base, intersections of the horizontal reference lines and the TA reference lines define evaluation points, and the evaluation points overlap with corresponding SBR centers of the virtual teeth; the bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method further comprises steps of: (1) fixing the virtual teeth to the evaluation base; (2) bonding a bracket on the fixed virtual teeth from step (1); (3) removing the virtual teeth bonded with the bracket from the matching dental base, and fixing the virtual teeth bonded with the bracket to the corresponding connecting groove on the evaluation base; (4) determining a center point of the bonded bracket on the fixed virtual teeth, wherein a translation is defined by a distance between the center point of the bonded bracket and the evaluation point, and a rotation is defined by an angle between a vertical bracket slot and a TA reference line; (5) evaluating the bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and the rotation; or (1) fixing the virtual teeth to a corresponding connecting groove on the evaluation base; (2) bonding a bracket on the fixed virtual teeth from step (1); (3) determining a center point of the bonded bracket on the fixed virtual teeth, wherein a translation is defined by the distance between the center point of the bonded bracket and the evaluation point, and a rotation is defined by the angle between the vertical bracket slot and the TA reference line; (4) evaluating the bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and the rotation.

2. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 1 wherein the SBR of each of the virtual teeth has a rectangular area that is 2 mm up, 2 mm down, 2 mm left, and 2 mm right from a center point of a labial or buccal surface of each of the virtual teeth.

3. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 2 wherein angles between center lines of connecting grooves and the vertical reference lines are selected according to the type of the virtual teeth; and the angles range from 0° to 20° for anterior teeth and 15° to 45° for posterior teeth.

4. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 2 wherein the evaluation points overlap with the corresponding SBR centers of the virtual teeth in a horizontal direction when the virtual teeth are fixed in the connecting grooves on the evaluation base.

5. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 4 wherein the evaluation base is in a shape of a cuboid with the connecting grooves to fix the virtual teeth on a top surface; the evaluation base has side walls bilateral to the connecting grooves, and the side walls are marked with the reference lines.

6. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 5, wherein the evaluation base is a cuboid with a length of 5-80 mm, a width of 5-30 mm, and a height of 13-40 mm; there are the connecting grooves on the top surface and the side walls bilateral to the connecting grooves with heights of 7-15 mm.

7. The bracket bonding accuracy evaluation method of claim 5, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the root-shaped connector corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of each of the virtual teeth at ±1 mm from the CEJ along the tooth long axis, and the length of the root-shaped connector is 10-15 mm along the tooth long axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of the virtual tooth in example 1, wherein the virtual tooth represents the human tooth 23, wherein the dotted straight line denotes the long axis of the virtual tooth.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of the virtual tooth in example 1, wherein the virtual tooth represents the human tooth 23, wherein the dotted bordered rectangle denotes the standard bonding region (SBR), the solid point in the rectangle denotes the SBR center.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates the cross-section of the root-shaped connector on the virtual tooth in example 1, wherein the shape of the cross-section is in accordance with that of the virtual tooth at 1 mm apically from the cement-enamel junction (CEJ) along the tooth long axis, wherein the cross-section is hollow.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of the evaluation base in example 1.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the evaluation base in example 1.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed in example 1, wherein the dotted bordered rectangles denote the SBRs, and the solid points within the rectangles denote the SBR centers. The intersections of the reference lines on the evaluation base and the extended lines of the tooth long axis (TA) reference lines overlap with the corresponding SBR center.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed in example 1, wherein the brackets have been bonded on the virtual teeth in standard positions. Obviously, the vertical slots of the brackets overlap with the corresponding extended lines of the TA reference lines.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates the three-dimensional structure of the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed to it in example 1. Obviously, the reference lines on the side walls of the evaluation base can be used to evaluate the position of bracket bonding.

(9) FIG. 9 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed to it in example 2.

(10) FIG. 10 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed to it in example 3.

(11) FIG. 11 illustrates the transparent plate in example 3.

(12) FIG. 12 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed to it and the transparent plate in example 3.

(13) FIG. 13 illustrates the evaluation base with the virtual teeth fixed to it in example 4.

(14) 1 virtual tooth, 1-1 virtual crown, 1-2 root-shaped connector, 1-3 hollow structure, 2 evaluation base, 3 connecting groove, 4 side wall, 5-1 horizontal reference line, 5-2 vertical reference line, 5-3 tooth long axis (TA) reference line, 6 standard bonding region (SBR), 6-1 SBR center, 7 tooth long axis, 8 calibration mark, 9 QR code label, 10 bracket, 11 transparent plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(15) The present invention will be further described below through examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the examples provided should not be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention, and some non-essential improvements and adjustments made to the present invention by those skilled in the art based on the content of the present invention should still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Example 1

(16) This example includes the following device and the supporting evaluation method in training:

(17) FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 illustrate a training device for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets, including virtual teeth 1 with root-shaped connectors and an evaluation base 2 to fix the virtual teeth;

(18) the virtual tooth 1 with the root-shaped connector includes a virtual crown 1-1 and a root-shaped connector 1-2;

(19) the six virtual crowns 1-1 have the same shape with teeth 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, respectively; each virtual crown is cut at 1 mm apically from the cement-enamel junction (CEJ) along the tooth long axis, and the root-shaped connector 1-2 is merged at the cross-section;

(20) the cross-sectional shape of the root-shaped connector 1-2 is in accordance with that of the virtual crown 1-1 and is 10 mm apically from the cross-section of the virtual crown; the root-shaped connector is hollow and has a wall of 1.5-mm thickness, with an opening on the apical side of the connector;

(21) the evaluation base 2 includes connecting grooves 3 to fix the virtual teeth and reference lines for evaluation;

(22) the evaluation base 2 is a cuboid with a length of 6.5 cm, a width of 2.0 cm, and a height of 1.5 cm; there are connecting grooves 3 on the top surface and side walls 4 bilateral to the connecting grooves with a height of 1.5 cm; one rectangular surface of the evaluation base is set as the frontal surface and is to the front view of evaluation;

(23) the connecting grooves 3 are horizontally arranged and are in accordance with the root-shaped connectors 1-2, respectively; frictions exist when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the connecting grooves 3 but do not impede the removal of the virtual tooth;

(24) the six connecting grooves 3 are in accordance with root-shaped connectors 1-2 of the virtual teeth, respectively; the angles between the central lines of the connecting grooves 3 and the vertical line were 6°, 5°, 2°, 2°, 5°, and 6°, respectively, i.e., the left three virtual teeth mirror the right three with angels with same values but opposite directions; in this way, when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the evaluation base, the crown surfaces for bracket bonding are in the same direction of the frontal surface of the evaluation base.

(25) the evaluation reference lines include the horizontal reference lines 5-1, vertical reference lines 5-2, and the tooth long axis (TA) reference lines 5-3;

(26) on the side walls 4, the evaluation reference lines include the horizontal reference lines 5-1 on the frontal surface of the side walls and the vertical reference lines 5-2 on the top surface of the side walls;

(27) the TA reference lines 5-3 are on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2, directly anterior to the connecting grooves 3;

(28) the standard bonding region (SBR) is defined as a rectangular area designated by 2 mm up, down, left, and right from the center point of the labial or buccal surface of the virtual tooth; the SBRs of six virtual teeth are horizontally arranged when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the evaluation base 2; the extended lines of the reference lines pass through the SBR center 6-1, and the extended lines of the TA reference lines overlap with the corresponding tooth long axes 7 from the front view; the point of intersection of the horizontal reference lines and the extended lines of the TA reference lines define the evaluation points, and the evaluation points overlap with the corresponding SBR centers 6-1 of the virtual teeth from the front view;

(29) in the present example, the reference lines for evaluation are the thin linear grooves on the evaluation base;

(30) calibration mark 8 is set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2 with the shape of “#” constituted by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines;

(31) QR code 9 is also set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2.

(32) The evaluation method using the devices in this example includes the following steps:

(33) (1) fix the virtual teeth 1 to the matching dental base;

(34) (2) bond the brackets on the fixed virtual teeth 1 from step (1);

(35) (3) remove virtual teeth 1 bonded with brackets 10 from the dental base, and fix them to the corresponding connecting grooves 3 on the evaluation base 2;

(36) (4) determine the center points of the bonded brackets 10 on the fixed virtual teeth 1, wherein the translation is defined by the distance between the center point of the bonded bracket 10 and the evaluation point from the front view, and the rotation is defined by the angle between the vertical bracket slot and the TA reference line from the front view;

(37) (5) evaluate bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and the rotation.

(38) The bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the translation of the bonded bracket from the evaluation point is below 1.0 mm and unqualified otherwise; the bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the rotation of the bonded bracket from the vertical line is below 5° and unqualified otherwise.

Example 2

(39) This example includes the following device and the supporting evaluation method in training:

(40) FIG. 9 illustrates a training device for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets, including virtual teeth 1 with root-shaped connectors and an evaluation base 2 to fix the virtual teeth;

(41) the virtual tooth 1 with the root-shaped connector includes a virtual crown 1-1 and root-shaped connectors 1-2;

(42) the three virtual crowns have the same shapes with teeth 21, 22, 23, respectively; each virtual crown is cut at the cement-enamel junction (CEJ), and the root-shaped connector is merged at the cross-section;

(43) the cross-sectional shape of root-shaped connector is in accordance with that of the virtual crown and is 10 mm apically from the cross-section of the virtual crown; the root-shaped connector is hollow and has a wall of 1.5-mm thickness, with an opening on the apical side of the connector;

(44) the evaluation base 2 includes connecting grooves to fix the virtual teeth and reference lines for evaluation;

(45) the evaluation base 2 is a cuboid with a length of 3.5 cm, a width of 2.0 cm, and a height of 1.5 cm; there are connecting grooves on the top surface and side walls 4 bilateral to the connecting grooves with a height of 1.5 cm; one rectangular surface of the evaluation base is set as the frontal surface and is to the front view of evaluation;

(46) the connecting grooves are horizontally arranged and are in accordance with the corresponding root-shaped connectors; frictions exist when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the connecting grooves 3 but do not impede the removal of the virtual tooth;

(47) the three connecting grooves are in accordance with three root-shaped connectors of the virtual teeth, respectively; the angles between the central lines of the connecting grooves and the vertical lines are 6°, 5°, and 2°, respectively; in this way, when the virtual teeth are fixed to the evaluation base, the crown surfaces for bracket bonding are in the same direction of the frontal surface of the evaluation base.

(48) the evaluation reference lines include the horizontal reference lines 5-1, vertical reference lines 5-2, and the tooth long axis (TA) reference lines 5-3;

(49) on the side walls 4, the evaluation reference lines include the horizontal reference lines 5-1 on the frontal surface of the side walls and the vertical reference lines 5-2 on the top surface of the side walls;

(50) the TA reference lines 5-3 are on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2, directly anterior to the connecting grooves 3;

(51) in the present example, the reference lines for evaluation are the thin linear grooves on the evaluation base;

(52) the standard bonding region (SBR) is defined as a rectangular area designated by 2 mm up, down, left, and right from the center point of the labial or buccal surface of the virtual tooth; the SBRs of three virtual teeth are horizontally arranged when the virtual teeth are fixed to the evaluation base; the extended lines of the reference lines pass through the SBR center, and the extended line of the TA reference line overlaps with the corresponding tooth long axis from the front view; the point of intersection of the horizontal reference line and the extended line of the TA reference line defines the evaluation point, and the evaluation point overlaps with the SBR center of the virtual tooth from the front view;

(53) calibration mark 8 is set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2 with the shape of “#” constituted by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines;

(54) QR code 9 is also set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2.

(55) The evaluation method using the devices in this example includes the following steps:

(56) (1) fix the virtual teeth 1 to the corresponding grooves on the evaluation base;

(57) (2) bond the bracket on the fixed virtual teeth 1 from step (1);

(58) (3) determine the center points of the bonded brackets 10 on the fixed virtual teeth 1, wherein the translation is defined by the distance between the center point of the bonded bracket 10 and the evaluation point from the front view, and the rotation is defined by the angle between the vertical bracket slot and the TA reference line from the front view;

(59) (4) evaluate bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and the rotation.

(60) The bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the translation of the bonded bracket from the evaluation point is below 1.0 mm and unqualified otherwise; the bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the rotation of the bonded bracket from the vertical line is below 5° and unqualified otherwise.

Example 3

(61) This example includes the following device and the supporting evaluation method in training:

(62) FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 illustrate a training device for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets, including virtual teeth 1 with root-shaped connectors and an evaluation base 2 to fix the virtual teeth;

(63) the virtual tooth 1 with the root-shaped connector includes a virtual crown and root-shaped connectors;

(64) the three virtual crowns have the same shape with teeth 21, 22, and 23, respectively; each virtual crown is cut at the cement-enamel junction (CEJ), and the root-shaped connector is merged at the cross-section;

(65) the cross-sectional shape of the root-shaped connector 1-2 is in accordance with that of the virtual crowns and is 10 mm apically from the cross-section of the virtual crown; the root-shaped connector is hollow and has a wall of 1.5-mm thickness, with an opening on the apical side of the connector;

(66) the evaluation base 2 includes connecting grooves to fix the virtual teeth and reference lines for evaluation;

(67) the evaluation base 2 is a cuboid with a length of 3.5 cm, a width of 2.0 cm, and a height of 1.5 cm; there are connecting grooves on the top surface; one rectangular surface of the evaluation base is set as the frontal surface and is to the front view of evaluation;

(68) the connecting grooves 3 are horizontally arranged and are in accordance with the root-shaped connectors 1-2, respectively; frictions exist when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the connecting grooves 3 but do not impede the removal of the virtual tooth;

(69) the six connecting grooves 3 are in accordance with root-shaped connectors 1-2 of the virtual teeth, respectively; the angles between the central lines of the connecting grooves 3 and the vertical line were 6°, 5°, and 2°, respectively; in this way, when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the evaluation base, the crown surfaces for bracket bonding are in the same direction of the frontal surface of the evaluation base.

(70) the TA reference lines 5-3 are on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2, directly anterior to the connecting grooves;

(71) in the present example, the TA reference lines are the thin linear grooves on the evaluation base 2;

(72) the evaluation base also includes a transparent plate with a length of 3.5 cm and a width of 3 cm; horizontal reference lines 5-1 and vertical reference lines 5-3 are set on the transparent plate 11; since it has the same length as the evaluation base, it can be seated on the frontal surface of the evaluation base; the accuracy of bracket bonding can be assessed by superimposing the TA reference lines 5-3 on the transparent plate with the TA reference lines on the evaluation base,

(73) the standard bonding region (SBR) is defined as a rectangular area designated by 2 mm up, down, left, and right from the center point of the labial or buccal surface of the virtual tooth; the SBRs of six virtual teeth are horizontally arranged when the virtual teeth 1 are fixed to the evaluation base 2; when the transparent plate is seated, the horizontal lines pass through the SBR center, the TA reference lines overlap with the tooth long axes on the corresponding virtual teeth from the view of evaluation; additionally, the intersections of the horizontal reference lines and the TA reference lines define the evaluation points, and the evaluation points overlaps with the corresponding SBR center of the virtual tooth from the view of evaluation;

(74) calibration mark 8 is set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2 with the shape of “#” constituted by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines;

(75) QR code 9 is also set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2.

(76) The evaluation method using the devices in this example includes the following steps:

(77) (1) fix the virtual teeth 1 to the corresponding grooves on the evaluation base;

(78) (2) bond the bracket on the fixed virtual teeth 1 from step (1);

(79) (3) determine the center points of the bonded brackets 10 on the fixed virtual teeth 1, wherein the translation is defined by the distance between the center point of the bonded bracket 10 and the evaluation point from the front view, and the rotation is defined by the angle between the vertical bracket slot and the TA reference line from the front view;

(80) (4) evaluate bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and the rotation.

(81) The bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the translation of the bonded bracket

(82) The bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the translation of the bonded bracket from the evaluation point is below 1.0 mm and unqualified otherwise; the bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the rotation of the bonded bracket from the vertical line is below 5° and unqualified otherwise.

Example 4

(83) This example includes the following device and the supporting evaluation method in training:

(84) FIG. 13 illustrates a training device for evaluating the bonding accuracy of orthodontic brackets, including virtual tooth 1 with a root-shaped connector and an evaluation base 2 to fix the virtual tooth;

(85) the virtual tooth 1 with the root-shaped connector includes a virtual crown and a root-shaped connector;

(86) the virtual crown has the same shape with the tooth 44; the virtual crown is cut at the cement-enamel junction (CEJ), and the root-shaped connector is merged at the cross-section;

(87) the cross-sectional shape of root-shaped connector is in accordance with that of the virtual crown and is 10 mm apically from the cross-section of the virtual crown; the root-shaped connector is hollow and has a wall of 1.5-mm thickness, with an opening on the apical side of the connector;

(88) the evaluation base 2 includes a connecting groove to fix the virtual tooth and reference lines for evaluation;

(89) the evaluation base 2 is a cuboid with a length of 2.5 cm, a width of 1.5 cm, and a height of 1.5 cm; there is a connecting groove on the top surface and a side wall 4 lateral to the connecting groove with a height of 1.5 cm; one rectangular face of the evaluation base is set as the frontal surface and is to the front view of evaluation;

(90) the connecting groove is in accordance with the root-shaped connector; friction exists when the virtual tooth 1 is fixed to the connecting groove but does not impede the removal of the virtual tooth,

(91) the one connecting grooves is in accordance with root-shaped connector of tooth 44; the angle between the central line of the connecting groove and the vertical line is 6°; in this way, when the virtual tooth is fixed to the evaluation base, the crown surface for bracket bonding is in the same direction of the frontal surface of the evaluation base.

(92) the evaluation reference lines include the horizontal reference line 5-1, vertical reference line 5-2, and the tooth long axis (TA) reference line 5-3;

(93) on the side walls 4, the evaluation reference lines including the horizontal reference line 5-1 on the frontal surface of the side wall and the vertical reference line 5-2 on the top surface of the side wall;

(94) the TA reference line 5-3 is on the frontal surface of the evaluation base 2, directly anterior to the connecting groove;

(95) in the present example, the reference lines for evaluation are the thin linear grooves on the evaluation base;

(96) the standard bonding region (SBR) is defined as a rectangular area designated by 2 mm up, down, left, and right from the center point of the labial or buccal surface of the virtual tooth; the SBRs of the virtual tooth is horizontally arranged when the virtual tooth is fixed to the evaluation base; the extended lines of the reference lines pass through the SBR center, and the extended line of the TA reference line overlaps with the corresponding tooth long axis from the view of evaluation; the point of intersection of the horizontal reference line and the extended line of the TA reference line defines the evaluation point, and the evaluation point overlaps with the SBR center of the virtual tooth from the view of evaluation;

(97) calibration mark 8 is set on the frontal surface of the evaluation base with the shape of “14” constituted by a horizontal line and a vertical line;

(98) The evaluation method using the devices in this example includes the following steps:

(99) (1) fix the virtual tooth 1 to the groove on the evaluation base;

(100) (2) bond the bracket on the fixed virtual tooth 1 from step (1);

(101) (3) determine the center point of the bonded bracket on the fixed virtual tooth, wherein the translation is defined by the distance between the center point of the bonded bracket 10 and the evaluation point from the front view, and the rotation is defined by the angle between the vertical bracket slot and the TA reference line from the front view;

(102) (4) evaluate bracket bonding accuracy based on the translation and rotation.

(103) The bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the translation of the bonded bracket from the evaluation point is below 1.0 mm and unqualified otherwise; the bracket bonding is rated as qualified when the rotation of the bonded bracket from the vertical line is below 5° and unqualified otherwise.