Oral appliance for delivery of medicaments and/or other substances
Inventors
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12207984-B2
Publication Date
2025-01-28
Expiration Date
Abstract
An oral appliance is provided for delivering a medicament to at least a portion of teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside a mouth. The oral appliance contains an interior surface having a medicament disposed in or on at least a portion of and/or the entire interior surface of the oral appliance. The interior surface of the oral cavity is formed to fit contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity and is configured for holding the medicament in contact with at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity to deliver the medicament to strategic areas in need of treatment. In some embodiments, computer, network and computer readable storage media are provided.
Core Innovation
The invention is directed to an oral appliance for delivering a medicament to at least a portion of teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside an oral cavity. The oral appliance comprises an interior surface having a medicament disposed in or on at least a portion of and/or all of the interior surface, and the interior surface is formed to fit contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas and is configured for holding the medicament in contact with at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity to deliver the medicament thereto.
The oral appliance is described as being in a layered and monolithic form, having a medicament layered in at least a portion and/or all of the interior surface. The layered medicament is customized to at least a portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas via 3D printing of the oral appliance such that the layered medicament in or on the interior surface fits and contacts contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity.
The document further describes a computer implemented workflow for creating a treatment model for 3D printing, including a base image plus an additive platform overlay and subtractive treatment segmentation merged into a final treatment model. The appliance is described as being formed with 3D printing, including stereolithography with multiple print heads, with optional printing of different polymer/medicament formulations without adhesives.
Claims Coverage
The partial claim set includes three independent claims. Across these claims, the inventive coverage is centered on a layered and monolithic oral appliance with a contoured interior surface that holds medicament in contact, where the layered medicament is customized to tooth and/or soft tissue contours via 3D printing.
Contoured interior surface with medicament disposed for contact delivery
An oral appliance for delivering a medicament to at least a portion of teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside an oral cavity, comprising an interior surface having a medicament disposed in or on at least a portion of and/or all of the interior surface, wherein the interior surface is formed to fit contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity and is configured for holding the medicament in contact with at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity to deliver the medicament thereto.
Layered and monolithic form with 3D-printed customized layered medicament
The oral appliance is in a layered and monolithic form having a medicament layered in at least a portion and/or all of the interior surface, wherein the layered medicament is customized to at least a portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas of the oral cavity via 3D printing of the oral appliance such that the layered medicament in or on the interior surface fits and contacts contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity.
Method of delivering medicament using the contoured layered monolithic oral appliance
A method of delivering a medicament to the teeth and soft tissues inside the oral cavity, comprising providing an oral appliance comprising an interior surface having a medicament disposed in or on at least a portion of and/or all of the interior surface, wherein the interior surface is formed to fit contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity and is configured for supporting and holding the medicament in contact with at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity to deliver the medicament.
Computer implemented layer-by-layer making with 3D-printed customized layered medicament
An oral appliance for delivering a medicament to at least a portion of teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside an oral cavity, wherein the oral appliance is made by a computer implemented method by layering each layer of the oral appliance and layering the medicament in at least a portion and/or all of the interior surface of the oral appliance, wherein the layered medicament is customized to at least a portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas of the oral cavity via 3D printing of the oral appliance such that the layered medicament in or on the interior surface fits and contacts contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity.
Across the independent claims, the core claim coverage requires an oral appliance with an interior surface contoured to oral teeth and/or soft tissue areas, having medicament disposed in or on the interior surface and configured to maintain medicament contact for delivery. The appliance is further characterized as layered and monolithic, with the layered medicament customized to the oral contours via 3D printing, and one claim requires a computer implemented layer-by-layer making approach.
Stated Advantages
Sustained 3D contact of the medicament with the contoured interior surfaces.
Reduced leakage and reduced saliva dilution compared with reservoir-based and other approaches.
Lower medicament dosage compared with higher-dose approaches described in the document.
Improved efficacy compared with prior approaches described in the document.
Documented Applications
Dental whitening, caries prevention, and periodontal treatment.
Diagnosis via absorptive hydrogels, including absorptive sampling of gingival crevicular fluid and saliva.
Surgical uses including cleft palate plug and graft fabrication.
Halitosis treatment and oral fungal infection treatment using a textured palatal scouring pad.
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