DESIGN OF A FORCE BIOFEEDBACK TOOTH EXTRACTION EDUCATIONAL DEVICE

Abstract

The current jaw model used by students from the East Carolina School of Dental Medicine to practice tooth extractions does not accurately simulate the forces in a real human mouth. Originally multiple alternative designs were generated and divided into three different categories: tooth material, full or partial jaw, tooth attachment method, sensor type, and alert system. These alternatives were analyzed and the chosen ones were metal teeth for the tooth material, full jaw for the jaw type, fixed with pivot for the attachment method, strain gages on the forceps for the sensor type, and LED for the alarm system. After further analysis it was decided that the following changes would be made. Instead of having one full jaw, individual teeth were mounted on rectangular prism and cylindrical bases. Strain gages were placed on the side of the rectangular bases to determine bending moments and to the cylindrical bases to determine twisting moments applied to the teeth. The LED alarm system was used alert the user when certain moment thresholds are met. A prototype was built and tested and the design met the functional requirements of the engineering design specifications. Recommendations were provided to make the design more commercially feasible. Recommendations included assembling some of the electrical components in house, sending the models out to be manufactured by a third party, putting the LED lights closer to the model, and mounting the models in a way to better simulate a real extraction.