bionator

[labdude]

first step

[labdude]

more to come, have to go and adjust the rest of the pics to fit.

[labdude]

more

[labdude]

more later

[labdude]

It's a start to finish clear bionator to open and expand the bite.

[RetainerDesigner]

This is awesome! I have never done a bionater before, never been asked to do one. Its great so see the construction of one. Thank You Labdude, can wait to see the finished product.

Stupid question, it the clear resin looking stuff, holding the palatal wire on, a triad gel?

Cade

[trisha]

I have not worked with an articulator before. I have never contructed a Bionator either.
trisha

[labdude]

Cade,
The clear material holding the wire is hot glue. I use a hot glue gun for placing of wires on retainers before acrylic lay up as well. I find that hot melt glue from "Stanley" products to work best. Other hot melts are o.k. but don't set as hard. Removal is easy.

Trisha,
I will get all pics up of the Bionator. It is made using a fixator. I bought a couple of them years ago, treated well, they don't wear out. I took the GL course on Bionators when they were in Calif.(long time ago) The most help I got to perfect the process came from hiring a couple emplyees now and again form GL in Ca. As well as people from PAR, Pro, and other small labs as well.
You could do one of these, they are easy, just follow the pics.
I will post wire sizes and variations on the Bionator later.
Got a busy week again...again...again....
More pics to follow on the complete Bionator. The lucky kid is already using this one, some where in the bay area. All pics are of the same appliance.

[labdude]

Cade,
You make a twin block don't you???
I have never.
How about some pics of that???

edit: My work bench is due for a new top. Made of melamean material. Easy to replace every few years.

[RetainerDesigner]

Labdude, The hot glue is genius I will have to try that. Do you use it on splints also? to contain the acrylic?

As far a Twin Blocks I have made about 10 or so they seem to come in clusters. I go about 3-6 mo. without doing one, then bam! 3 are due with in 3 weeks of each other.
I may already have some pictures of twin blocks I will have to search my hard drive.
Here is my resource for twin block construction. for a refresher
Twin Block
We learned all about Bionators in Lab School but never made them. If I remember correctly is their one for Class III, one for Class II, one for Class I (open bite and closed bite)? We also learned about Frankles, but never made them either. You ever make a Frankel?

Cade

**edit: I dont know if you can tell or not in the pictures of my lab....but at the wire-bending station there is a thin marble slab that my friends dad made for me (when my friend and I were into racing R/C cars) it has 4 recessed wells that you could keep screws in, now I keep my short pieces of wire.Great for soldering on too.

[trisha]

I would love to see the whole process of the fabrication of the bionator. Thanks for keeping us posted, look forward to more photos.
Twin block another mystery, would like photos if possible.
Another one I have not tackled is a Frankel? Have gotten only 3 requests in 8 years for any of the above and they have had to send it to a large commercial lab, don't like to have to defer them somewhere else, not good business.
I use the orange sticky wax to set wires, have you ever used that? or do you really like the glue gun? Glue gun sounds maybe a little less mess????
trisha

[labdude]

Trisha,
I will get the whole thing posted. Time is a problem till later in the week.
Like anything else you learned, first one is done for 10 cents an hour if your lucky.
Your abilities are honed enough to take on a bionator. While they aren't asked for a lot, they are a fun variation on the work and they do pay well in the end.
You can use a simple articulator instead of a fixator. Fool around with some old models and make one, that will help to make it all come together.

I used to use orange sticky wax as well for setting up wires. I tried a glue gun once fiddling around, never went back. Cleaner than wax. Just be sure to use hot melt glue, low temp is a pain to get off the wires. Stanley makes the best hot melt.

[labdude]

Cade,
Thanks for the info.
Using a glue gun is so much easier than wax. And for sure, use it to block out areas for no acrylic flow. Not good for simple undercuts, just use pink wax.
It makes an excellent dam for a splint or functional appliance. I use it to dam up for labial acrylic on labial bow as well, especially on sring aligners.

This is it for today. Heavy day.

[trisha]

Labdude,
I am going to try the stanley glue gun, I spoke with my husband and he has one. I will let ya know how it works for me.
It is fun to learn (Bionator) something new and since I know the basics it will probably take me a long time on my first few tries. But I would love to offer it to my docs.
Take your time on the photos I am in no hurry, don't work to hard.

trisha

[labdude]

Trisha,
Glue gun may feel strange at first, large and clumsy. It will in the long runsave time on each case.
Saving a little here and a little there is what makes you faster with no loss in quality.
Might just be 1 minute or less, but, it adds up.

[labdude]

More bio.

[labdude]

last part, added more pictures on 10/27/08. Red bionator. To show more detail on how to cut channels for teeth in Bionator to open bite. Maxillary teeth channels are cut with a slight deviation toward the posterior, lower channels are cut with a slight deviation towards the anterior. This allows for eruption of U & L teeth to be guided in eruption in the proper direction. First cut is made with a 3" inch white stone. Channels are cut with a handpiece bur, tappered with a round tip.

[labdude]

Brief...sort of.

You will not always get a bite for mounting. Mount models incisal edges lined up, mid lines lined up. Open between incisors at least 2 mm. Posterior opening will be larger.
If using an articulator, it must have a stop postin either the front or back to maintain the model relation open.

Coffin spring in upper is .045. Upper lingual wire( behind incisors) is .036. It should contact all anteriors on the lingual. It is then covered with wax. Wax is level with incisal edge and extends posterior as shown. Keep wax off the bicuspids.

Labial wire is .036. It does not need to make contact like a retainer does. Just touch a tooth or miss a tooth, it needs to be a basis uniform curve acroos the labial.

All wires held in place with HOT glue. NOT LOW TEMP STUFF. You use low temp and it is difficult to remove from the wire. Not impossible, just a pain.
Use hot glue as a dam to keep acrylic contained. Especially on the lower incisal cap. (note pictures of this area)
Not all Bionators require an expansion screw, check with the doctor.
Note the pictures for trim of the expansion screw plastic. It must be cut to clear the upper wax area. (note pictures) If it does not clear, it will move when you place the models together during acrylic phase, thereby screwing up the works.

The acrylic is placed on the upper first. A small layer over the wax area as well. (note pictures) Acrylic in posterior region must be high enough to reach the lower posterior region on the occlusal surfaces. (note pictures) Basicly, just build it up high enough so that when you put the 2 parts together, the acrylic meets. IMPORTANT, after layering acrylic on upper first, then lower, wet the occusal surfaces with monomer before placing together, this will avoid porosity in that area. (note acrylic lay up pictures)

After placing models in position, if using a fixator, don't forget to tighten the top screw. If you don't, upper and lower will be out of alignment resulting in a cluster f@#%.

Fill in the interior to thicken enough to allow for later grinding. This area if not filled in some can wind up to thin and need to be added to after curing, and requireing more curing time. Also, important, check incisal cap on lower anteriors to make sure there is enough acrylic there as well.(note pictures)

Remove carefully from models and remove glue.

Grind areas with a 3 inch white stone for basic shape. (note pictures) Next use same stone to grind 1/2 way into posterior block between teeth. (pictures)
Next use a 1/2 inch bur to thin down toungue area of appliance. CAUTION in the anterior area,lingual. Bur can grab acrylic in the anterior if pushed through a place that is either tight or to small for it. These areas need to be worked carefully.
A bur grabbing the lingual anterior area can total an appliance and your fingers as it spins merrilly around at 3000 plus rpms.
If ever the appliance is grabbed by the bur, LET GO OF IT ALL, then pray for mercy and check for damage.
The channels for the teeth to erupt are cut to guide the lowers in an anterior eruption direction. The upper channels are cut to guide the teeth to the posterior. (pictures all the time...refer a lot tothe pictures)Areas that were tough to reach can be smoothed with the handpiece bur as well at this time.

To cut out the expansion screw, now is the time, not any earlier than now as it is to well imbedded. Cut with a thin disc as much as you can without hitting wires or the screw. Next use a sharp knife to cut away the plastic screw material as best as possible from the lingual side. Expose a hole in the srew enough so that you can get a key in there and open the screw. Open it about 6 to 8 turns. Doing this will fracture the rest of the small area of acrylic you can't get to with the disc. If done right, it will fracture at exactly the right place. Not as tough as it sounds. (with time and practice)Then remove the rest of the soft exp. screw plastic.

Pumice the interior of the appliance using a 1 inch muslin wheel. It will jam onto your pumice lathe and fit nicely into the area for pumicing. Pumice the reast as usual. High shine the same way.

Note, in craving out the channels for eruption. They are cut leaving the lingual areas intact. Remove only to the occlusal edge, maybe even leave a little (1/4 mm) of the occlusal surface. A perfect removal is best.
(once again...look carfully at the pictures!!)

I may not have covered everything here. Just shoot me a PM, try not to ask questions here as the thread will get to large and tough to follow.

Party on!