| abstract |
An off-the-shelf oral splint that is operatively secured to the maxilla and mandible to assist in reduction and provide maintenance of reduction of maxillary and mandibular fractures in the edentulous or partially edentulous patient. The oral splint is fabricated into a plurality of standardized sizes. These sizes are determined by imaging a population of jaws, measuring dimensions thereof, manipulating ( e.g. , calculating the mean) these dimensions, and generating a size that is representative of a subset of that population. This can be done for all sizes that would represent individuals in that population. The splint itself is fabricated virtually by creating "U-shapes", splitting them horizontally into halves, creating an evacuation channel, and generating a coupling mechanism to hold the halves together. The splint can then be printed or otherwise manufactured. |