Second-year three-week school group project: My first experience working with a real life client. A dental retractor is what the orthodontists use to pull the lips back when applying braces. The patients are mostly young teens that find this hour-long procedure frightening and painful to the lips, some even bleed from the strain.
Design brief: “How can our retractors be re-designed in a way that creates a new and better user experience (patient & doctor), achieves a dry field in the oral cavity and sets a new design standard for the dental industry?»
Credit: Trygve Restan, Amalie Albert & Gard Hagen
Left: Photo of original product from the clients website. Right: The improved solution
With the existing solution, the orthodontist has a separate suction hose for saliva that is often in the way when working in such a narrow gap as the mouth. The solution focuses on solving the tearing issue and uses shape, and the materials own attributes for flex where needed. The cost of producing is lowered with less material and the ability of injection moulding the retractor in only one shot. the tool line is placed outside oral reach to avoid sharp edges. It also features mounts for adding a silicone suction hose.
