Cool, that's an idea I'd had in the back of my head for some time too. Good to see someone's gone ahead and done it, and proven the concept. :D
I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
101–110 of 141 posts
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#102Not to be a downer, but was any thought given to the safety of the plastic(s) used? This is something that's in your mouth a lot and constantly exposed to saliva. The Dimension 1200es mentioned doesn't appear to be specific to medical applications.[0] The product page lists the only compatible thermoplastic being ABSplus-P430 . The MSDS for that basically says the stuff is dangerous in molten form, and beyond that th…
I used Keystone PROFORM .030" Retainer Material. Keystone is a dental supplier, so I trust the plastic is biologically inert.
Taulman Nylon 680 FDA would probably be suitable too, for anyone using a more generic 3D printer. :)
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know us Brits always harp on about the National Health Service, but if you can find a dentist with NHS spaces available locally then you're in good hands. But they're not without their commercial incentives either. And the waiting times can go into weeks for non-urgent work. Still, the costs are negligible in comparison. We perhaps pay in other ways...
I'm in the US. I've always waited weeks for non-urgent work.
I'm in Norway, I never have to wait more than a few days unless I ask for an appointment at a specific time of day.
Last time I went to my dentist it was because of a cracked filling (old amalgam), not in any pain, just a bit sensitive so not urgent, waited about four days.
Dentist declared that a crown was necessary but they didn't have a slot just then so would it be alright if I came back after lunch to have it fitted. The crown is manufactured on site using three d imaging and a fancy milling machine.
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#104This is cool but I can't say I agree with actually doing it. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should , particularly in matters of health. If you don't have the requisite experience and knowledge and training, it seems risky to go about something like this on your own.
No more risky than changing your car's brake fluid (risk of death if you do it wrong). A lot of services that we have been conditioned into thinking need to be administered by specialized professionals with N years of expensive schooling, can probably be DYI'ed with access to the right equipment / tools.
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to wonder why people avoided dentists, but recently I cracked a molar and had to go to see a dentist. I was recommended a dentist in town, I showed up to a nice office full of nice people, they looked at my tooth and said they might be able to save it. So far, it was a pretty good experience. Then it got weird. They took me to a room with a business person who would discuss my "payment options and treatment pl…
My experience with "dentists these days" matches yours. I go in for a checkup, and instead I'm getting sales pitches for mouth guards and alignment thinggys, and electric toothbrushes and all sorts of obviously high-margin dental accessories. And then there's the "well we usually recommend quarterly visits, but will accept twice a year" when I explicitly tell them my insurance only allows one visit a year. I basicall…
There are some dentists out there that are still like this.
Last fall I finally went in for a cleaning after several years of putting it off. At one point I asked the dentist about teeth whitening and he told me that they can do it, but the over-the-counter whitening strips work fine and I should save my money.
Refreshing to hear an answer like that.
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#106Awesome work! The animation definitely seems the most difficult (and subjective), but also the most cool! Body hacking via computed geometry! Invisalign (align technology) uses almost the same workflow. Market cap $5.89B. If you could move the workflow over to something based on WebGL / three.js - you could make this accessible to dentists in developing countries. Could be an awesome open source project. I think "all…
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Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#107It is smart that you designed the retainers based on maximum tolerance of tooth movement quoting from a textbook. I suggest you take X ray to make sure no root resorption have occurred. Also for those who want to imitate, measure the length of teeth and compare with the arch length to make sure the teeth can actually "fit" into the arch. I am a dental student.
By "length of teeth", do you mean their width measured along the arch of teeth, or vertically?
In this case: the width. aka the "mesial-distal" length.
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, the usual place to stereotype as having crooked teeth is the UK, which is firmly in the "developed" group of countries. To answer your question, no, "crooked teeth" isn't in the usual list of stereotypes people have about Eastern Europeans.
IMHO in the UK teeth straighting is perceived as extremely vain. So in the UK straighting teeth is more a taboo than not.
Huh? Orthodontics are free in the UK up til 19, and it's very normal to have braces.
Maybe amongst an older generation who'd have to go out their way to pay for straightening.
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#109Awesome work! The animation definitely seems the most difficult (and subjective), but also the most cool! Body hacking via computed geometry! Invisalign (align technology) uses almost the same workflow. Market cap $5.89B. If you could move the workflow over to something based on WebGL / three.js - you could make this accessible to dentists in developing countries. Could be an awesome open source project. I think "all…
Invisalign seems to be mostly used for cosmetic fixes. That doesn't seem too compelling for a dentist in a developing country.
I'm about 2/3 done with using Invisalign for fixing some pretty severe bite issues. Had I not had anything done, my jaw joint would have continued deteriorating, likely to the point of needing surgery; I was also at higher risk of having teeth break from the added stress (very few of my teeth actually were making proper contact with each other).
The first step of the process was actually removing two of my bottom teeth; the rest of my teeth have then been adjusted to fill the gaps. It's been a long process (almost two years in), and I'm sick of having these stupid plastic things in my mouth all of the time. But it's definitely been more useful than just for cosmetics (though that's a nice side benefit).
Re: I made my own clear plastic tooth aligners and they worked
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
IMHO in the UK teeth straighting is perceived as extremely vain. So in the UK straighting teeth is more a taboo than not.
Huh? Orthodontics are free in the UK up til 19, and it's very normal to have braces. Maybe amongst an older generation who'd have to go out their way to pay for straightening.
Again I show I have been away from home to long.