Patent Application
20230241486
This invention relates to mouthguards, and particularly relates to mouthguards that can be produced by additive manufacturing techniques such as stereolithography that incorporate 3D lattice structures to aid in shock absorption, breathability, and/or saliva drainage.
Mouthguards are widely used in sports including boxing, hockey, rugby, American football, soccer, and others to protect the teeth of participants from impact injury. In addition, mouthguards have medical and dental uses, including protecting the teeth of a wearer during seizures, and protecting teeth from grinding (bruxism) during sleep (mouthguards for the latter sometimes referred to as night guards).
Adell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,393 (Sep. 11, 1990) describes a preformed mouthguard suitable for mass production. The mouthguard has upper and lower troughs that generally conform to the upper and lower dental arches of a wearer. Liners of impression material are disposed in the troughs to aid in conforming the preformed mouthguards to the teeth of an individual wearer. In addition, the body portion has spaced-apart saliva ducts formed therein, extending in an inner to outer-facing direction (i.e., lingual to facial/buccal) to aid in draining saliva to enhance the comfort of the mouthguard for a wearer. Inclusion of channels in mouthguards to aid in breathing is also known (see, e.g., Turkbas, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0015726 (Jan. 17, 2019).
Akervall et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,517,400 and 10,945,874) describe preformed, thermoplastic, polymer mouthguards that can be custom-fitted to a wearer by heating. The mouthguards include perforations to aid in fitting, and to aid in air and saliva flow (see also Sisu Mouthguard Fitting Instructions (2020)).
Currently available mouthguards all have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, depending on the materials from which they are made, the shapes in which they are formed, and the processes by which they are produced. There remains a need for new mouthguard designs, and new ways of effectively producing such mouthguards.
A polymer mouthguard for protecting the teeth of a wearer is described herein. The mouthguard includes a lingual portion, a facial portion, and an occlusal portion connected with one another in the shape of an arch and together defining a trough for receiving the upper (maxillary) or lower (mandibular) teeth of a wearer. At least one, or both, of the facial portion and the occlusal portion have a shock absorbing lattice formed therein.
In some embodiments, the lingual portion can have a smooth comfort surface (e.g., an uninterrupted solid surface) formed thereon.
In some embodiments, the mouthguard can be produced as a single object by the process of additive manufacturing (e.g., stereolithography).
In some embodiments, each shock absorbing lattice can include repeating unit cells (e.g., forming a strut lattice of interconnected struts and nodes, forming a triply periodic surface lattice, or a combination thereof).
In some embodiments, both the facial portion and the occlusal portion can have a shock-absorbing lattice formed therein.
In some embodiments, the shock-absorbing lattice of the facial portion, and/or the shock absorbing lattice of the occlusal portion, can include a conformal lattice.
In some embodiments, the mouthguard can include edge and corner portions. At least some, or all, of the edge and corner portions can be radiused (e.g., to enhance the comfort, and/or reduce trapping of saliva, food particles, etc.).
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion and the shock absorbing lattice of the occlusal portion can differ from one another (e.g., in lattice unit cell type, lattice strut diameter, lattice strut length, or a combination thereof), to thereby impart different shock-absorbing properties to the occlusal portion and the facial portion.
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion can have a stiffness gradient formed therein (e.g., the lattice increases in stiffness in the facial to lingual direction).
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion, and/or the shock absorbing lattice of the occlusal portion, can include at least two different energy attenuation regions (e.g., regions differing in impact absorption in the facial to lingual direction, in the anterior to posterior direction, or a combination thereof).
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion, and/or the shock absorbing lattice of the occlusal portion, can be configured to promote the flow of air therethrough during breathing by the wearer.
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion, and/or the shock absorbing lattice of the occlusal portion, can be configured to promote the drainage of saliva therethrough by a wearer.
In some embodiments, the lingual portion, facial portion, and occlusal portion can further define an opposite trough for receiving the opposite (maxillary or mandibular) teeth of a wearer.
In some embodiments, at least one of the facial portion and the lingual portion can include a conforming lattice (that is, by matching the shape of the wearer's dental arch, by applying securing pressure to the dental arch of the wearer, or a combination thereof) facing the upper and/or lower trough, the conforming lattice configured to aid in fitting the mouthguard to an individual wearer, and/or to aid in retaining the mouthguard on the dental arch of the wearer during a sport or athletic activity.
In some embodiments, the mouthguard can consist essentially of a flexible or elastic polymer.
A computer-implemented method of making a mouthguard is also described herein. The method includes inputting into a computer a dental arch data file, the data file produced by the process of scanning at least one, or both, dental arches of the intended wearer; generating in the computer a mouthguard data file from the dental arch data file; and then additively manufacturing the mouthguard from the data file.
In some embodiments, the method can further include inputting user preference data for the intended wearer into the computer, and then modifying the generating step and/or the additively manufacturing step based on the user preference data.
In some embodiments, the user preference data can include at least one, two, or three different mouthguard characteristics.
In some embodiments, the different mouthguard characteristics can be selected from: stiffness, weight, impact absorption, ease of air flow (breathability), degree of saliva drainage, surface texture, size, and/or mouthguard color.
In some embodiments, the user preference data can include at least two different characteristics. The characteristics can be prioritized, and the modifying and/or generating steps can be carried out based on the prioritized characteristics, with a characteristic having a lesser priority being de-emphasized or deleted during the modifying and/or generating steps when they are incompatible with a characteristic having a greater priority.
Angelini et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0282639 (Sep. 10, 2020) describes methods of making mouthguards by additive manufacturing/3D printing, but does not suggest incorporating a shock absorbing lattice therein.
The foregoing and other objects and aspects of the present invention are explained in greater detail in the drawings herein and the specification set forth below. The disclosures of all United. States patent references cited herein are to be incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is now described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, as well as the lack of combinations when interpreted in the alternative (“or”).
A non-limiting example of a mouthguard as described herein is illustrated in
As noted above, at least one, or both, of the facial portion (12) and the occlusal portion (15) have a shock absorbing lattice (12a, 15a) formed therein. In the illustrated embodiment, both the facial and occlusal portions have a shock absorbing lattice (12a, 15a) formed therein. In addition, the lingual portion (11) optionally, but preferably, has a smooth comfort surface (11a) (e.g., an uninterrupted solid surface) formed thereon, better adapated for a comfortable surface against the tongue of the wearer. And, again, while a solid surface is shown, in some embodiments, the comfort surface can have openings therein as well, with the openings preferably radiused or smoothly transitioning to again provide a comfortable (rather than rough) surface against the tongue of the wearer.
As discussed further below, the shock absorbing lattices (12a, 15a) typically comprise repeating unit cells. The unit cells may be in the form of a strut lattice of interconnected struts and nodes, may be in the form of a triply periodic surface lattice, or a combination thereof. Unit cells of a lattice may be all of one type, or may transition from one type to another in the lattice, as is known in the art. The lattices are preferably “conformal lattices” where unit cells are shaped to fit within the overall contours or boundaries of the object, as is also known in the art.
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice (12a) of the facial portion (12) and the shock absorbing lattice (15a) of the occlusal portion (15) differ from one another (e.g., in lattice unit cell type, lattice strut diameter, lattice strut length, or a combination thereof), to thereby impart different shock-absorbing properties to the occlusal portion (15) and the facial portion (12). Again, specific choices will depend upon the specific sport or activity for which the mouthguard is intended (a representative variety of sports and activities being set forth above).
As shown in
In some embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice of the facial portion (12) has a stiffness gradient formed therein such as exemplified by the two different shock absorbing zones (12a, 12b) in
In some preferred embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice (12a) of the facial portion (12), and/or the shock absorbing lattice (15a) of the occlusal portion (15), are configured to promote the flow of air therethrough during breathing by the wearer. And in some preferred embodiments, the shock absorbing lattice (12a) of the facial portion (12), and/or the shock absorbing lattice (15a) of the occlusal portion (15), are configured to promote the drainage of saliva therethrough by a wearer. These functions are achieved by the mouthguard shown in the illustrative embodiments, but numerous variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, if a mouthguard adapted for a particular activity requires a denser (and hence more flow or drainage restrictive) lattice, for shock absorbing purposes in some regions, a more open (and hence less restrictive) lattice can be provided in other regions.
The mouthguard may be for a single arch (used singly, or in matched pairs) or may be for both arches as also shown in
The illustrated embodiment is provided to emphasize the lattice structures. For many preferred uses, it will be noted that the mouthguard includes edge and corner portions, and at least some, or all, of these edge and corner portions are preferably radiused as shown by dashed lines (23) in
The specific configuration of the shock absorbing lattices, including multi-zone shock absorbing lattices and shock absorbing lattices having adjacent conforming lattices, can be generated by any suitable technique, depending on factors such as the intended user, and the purpose or activity for which the mouthguard will be worn. Example techniques include but are not limited to those set forth in Kabaria and Kurtz, U.S. Pat. No. 10,882,255, Mass customization in additive manufacturing (Jan. 5, 2021); Kabaria and Kurtz, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0246959, Lattice transitioning structures in additively manufactured products (Aug. 12, 2021); Bologna et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0215415, Football helmet with components additively manufactured to manage impact forces (Jul. 9, 2020); Kabaria, Kurtz, Sage, Burgess, and Chen, PCT Publication No. WO2021/046376, Cushions containing shock absorbing triply periodic lattice and related methods (Mar. 11, 2021).
The mouthguards described herein can be made in a variety of stock sizes (e.g., extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, etc.) adapted for a particular sport. In the alternative, the mouthguards can be custom-fit to a specific wearer.
As schematically shown in
In some embodiments, the method can further include the steps of inputting into the computer user preference data (52) for the intended wearer, and then modifying the generating step and/or the additively manufacturing step based on the user preference data.
The user preference data may comprise one, two, or three or more different mouthguard characteristics, such as: stiffness, weight, impact absorption, ease of air flow (breathability), degree of saliva drainage, surface texture, size, and/or mouthguard color. Note also that, when the user preference data comprises at least two different characteristics, the characteristics can be prioritized (e.g., ranked in priority by the user), and the modifying and/or generating steps can be carried out based on the prioritized characteristics, with a characteristic having a lesser priority being de-emphasized or deleted during the modifying and/or generating steps when they are incompatible with a characteristic having a greater priority.
Mouthguards as described above are preferably produced as a single object by the process of additive manufacturing. In this way, the mouthguard may consist entirely or essentially of a flexible or elastic polymer (in some cases, an additional coating such as an antibacterial coating may be applied).
Techniques for additive manufacturing are known. Suitable techniques include, but are not limited to, techniques such as selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), material jetting including three-dimensional printing (3DP), and multijet modeling (MJM) (MJM including Multi-Jet Fusion such as available from Hewlett Packard), and others. See, e.g., H. Bikas et al., Additive manufacturing methods and modelling approaches: a critical review, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 83, 389-405 (2016).
SLA methods and apparatus, including bottom-up and top-down versions thereof, are known and described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,637 to Hull, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,391,072 and 5,529,473 to Lawton, U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,846 to John, U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,474 to Shkolnik, U.S. Pat. No. 8,110,135 to El-Siblani, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0292862 to Joyce, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0295212 to Chen et al. The disclosures of these patents and applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
In some embodiments, the additive manufacturing step is carried out by one of the family of methods sometimes referred to as as continuous liquid interface production (CLIP). CLIP is known and described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,211,678; 9,205,601; 9,216,546; and others; J. Tumbleston et al., Continuous liquid interface production of 3D Objects, Science 347, 1349-1352 (2015); and R. Janusziewcz et al., Layerless fabrication with continuous liquid interface production, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 113, 11703-11708 (Oct. 18, 2016). Other examples of methods and apparatus for carrying out particular embodiments of CLIP include, but are not limited to: Batchelder et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0129169 (May 11, 2017); Sun and Lichkus, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0288376 (Oct. 6, 2016); Willis et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0360419 (Dec. 17, 2015); Lin et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0331402 (Nov. 19, 2015); D. Castanon, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0129167 (May 11, 2017). B. Feller, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0243976 (published Aug. 30, 2018); M. Panzer and J. Tumbleston, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0126630 (published May 10, 2018); K. Willis and B. Adzima, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0290374 (Oct. 11, 2018) L. Robeson et al., PCT Publication No. WO2019/164234 (see also U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,259,171 and 10,434,706); and C. Mirkin et al., PCT Publication No. WO2017/210298 (see also U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0160733).
Any suitable build material or resin can be used (depending upon the specific additive manufacturing process used) including but not limited to dual cure resins, Such resins are known and described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,676,963, 9,453,142 and 9,598,606 to Rolland et al. Particular examples of suitable dual cure resins include, but are not limited to, Carbon Inc. medical polyurethane, elastomeric polyurethane, rigid polyurethane, flexible polyurethane, and silicone dual cure resins, all available from Carbon, Inc., 1089 Mills Way, Redwood City, Calif. 94063 USA.
After the object is formed, it is typically cleaned (e.g., by washing, centrifgual separation, wiping/blowing, etc., including combinations thereof), and in some embodiments then further cured, such as by baking (although further curing may in some embodiments be concurrent with the first cure, or may be by different mechanisms such as by contacting to water, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,453,142 to Rolland et al.).
The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention, and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.
The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/050,229, filed Oct. 27, 2022 which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/264,512, filed Nov. 24, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63264512 | Nov 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18050229 | Oct 2022 | US |
| Child | 18296489 | US |
