Owen Sebastian, Rosnani Ginting, Aulia Ishak

User-Centered Redesign of Dental Cheek Retractor Using Quality Function Deployment

Introduction

User-centered redesign of dental cheek retractor using quality function deployment. Redesigning dental cheek retractors for improved patient comfort and clinical efficiency using Quality Function Deployment (QFD). New PC/ABS design reduces tissue trauma and offers adjustable fitting.

Abstract

This study aims to redesign the cheek retractor to enhance patient comfort and clinical efficiency, reducing soft-tissue trauma caused by poor fitting and material rigidity in conventional devices. A two-phase Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approach was applied involving ten dentists to identify user needs. Phase I (House of Quality) translated these needs into technical characteristics, while Phase II mapped the prioritized characteristics to critical components for design improvement. The results showed that QFD Phase I prioritized technical specifications such as product weight and mechanical strength, whereas Phase II prioritized the structural material and the width adjustment mechanism. The improved design utilizes durable PC/ABS material capable of repeated sterilization, effectively reducing tissue trauma, increasing comfort, and providing adjustable fitting for various oral anatomies. Overall, this study offers an innovative, QFD-based framework that directly links the voice of the dentist to engineering specifications to develop ergonomic and user-centered medical instruments.

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