CLIN IC A L
REPO RTS
Design of a practical dental chair made of corrugated cardboard
Charles M. Goldstein, DDS, MPH,
Los Angeles
Cardboard dental chairs in use for dental care in elem entary school auditorium.
This lightweight, sturdy dental ch a ir is easy to assem ble and should b e useful in m obile dental clinics and community dentistry program s.
O n e item of equipm ent that has b een valuable in the developm ent and expansion of the U niversity of Southern C alifornia M obile Dental C lin ic Program is a dental ch air made of corrugated cardboard.1-3 This ch air was developed by a student of industrial d esign sp ecifically for our clin ic to rep lace the cum bersom e, uncom fortable Army field chairs we w ere using. Previous to the acq u isi tion of the Arm y field chairs, w e had used folding chairs that w ere pre cariou sly tipped back on two legs to perm it positioning of the p atien t’s head on the operator’s lap. T h e original cardboard chair was designed in 1973 and was used su c cessfu lly by the M obile Clinip for two years. In 1975, the ch air was rede signed by a m em ber of the Synanon Foundation w ho was working on de signs for cardboard furniture. The current cardboard chair is easier to construct than the original chair, as it requires no glue and the d esign is sim pler. C urrently, the M obile C linic uses 27 cardboard chairs at each clin ic; 16 are in use for operative procedures, ten for oral hygiene practices, and one for exam inations. Each chair w eighs approxim ately 7 lb and w ill support a 250-lb adult. The seven 996 ■ JADA, Vol. 97, December 1978
parts lie flat w hen disassem bled, and it takes approxim ately a m inute to reassem ble a chair. T hirty chairs can be stored in an area 6 ft w ide by 3 ft deep by 4 ft high. S in ce the developm ent of the chair, m any organizations and per sons have requested the chair or plans of the chair. It has been used for dental screening by dental societies and state h ealth departm ents, for dental ep id em iolog ical studies by the N ational Institute of Dental R e search and by a dental hygiene school for perform ing prophylaxis. T h e ch air is not adjustable; this m akes it ex ce lle n t for dental exam i nations for epid em iological studies as the p osition of the head to the light source rem ains alm ost constant. In providing operative dentistry for child ren, we often reverse the po sition of the ch air foot-to-head for w orking on the m axillary arch. This w ould probably be uncom fortable for an adult patient.
Chair fabrication The designers of these chairs w ant them to be available to the dental pro fession; therefore, in this article the design and d irections for fabrication are given. If anyone can further per fect the design, these changes should be m ade available to the profession. The parts for the cardboard dental chair can be cut from sheets of cardboard w ith a serrated kitchen knife in approxim ately 45 m inutes. U sing a saber saw w ith a sm ooth blade, it is p ossible to cut as m any as four id en tical pieces at one tim e. The chairs can be m anufactured by a m anufacturer of cardboard boxes, but usually a m inim um order is 100 chairs, w h ich currently costs $ 1 ,9 0 0 plus shipping and packaging. T h e ch air con sists of seven pieces (one is duplicated): center lon g itu d i nal support (Fig 1); cross support, headrest section (Fig 2); cross sup port, footrest section (Fig 3); two lat
a 3 'x f b # f» f c 12'* f
Fig 1 ■ Center longitudinal support.
C L IN IC A L
Fig 2 a Cross support, headrest section.
NOTCHES: a 2 f x f b 3"x js c 3x ÿ
REPO RTS
Fig 5 ■ Headrest section.
Fig 3 ■ Cross support, footrest section.
eral longitu d inal supports (Fig 4); headrest sectio n (Fig 5); and foot rest sectio n (Fig 6). A ll parts are m ade of 60 0 -lb tested double-w all corrugated cardboard. Corrugations on the first four pieces should be v ertical to the floor for in creased strength. Corrugations on the
b 3xi: d 124 -x -Ï
headrest and footrest sections should be across the sections rather than lengthwise for easy creasing where indicated. Creases are indicated by dotted lines in the figures. Assembly is simple if done care
fu lly (Fig 7). Part 1 (the cen ter lo n gitud inal support) is h eld w ith the slots facin g up. Parts 2 and 3 (the cross supports, headrest and footrest sections) are inserted crossw ise into slo ts in part 1. (Be carefu l not to re verse parts 2 and 3.) N ext, in sert lateral lon gitu d inal supports (slots facing down). Lastly, in sert foot and head sections. A lw ays in sert these sectio n s at each end of the ch air first and th en in sert them into the cen ter of th e top o f the chair (Fig 8). M ost dam age to chairs occurs w hen assem bling, d isassem bling, and storing. If care is used, they shou ld last for 50 to 1 0 0 days of use. M ost ch a irs used on our M obile C lin ic are not handled w ith care, as volu nteers assem ble th em and are often not fam iliar w ith the proper se q uence of assem bly. E ven so, they have lasted for m ore than two years, w h ich is approxim ately 6 0 fu ll days of use. If a ch air starts to sag after extended use, on ly a sectio n or two
Goldstein : DESIGN OF CARDBOARD DENTAL CHAIR ■ 997
C LIN IC A L
REPO RTS
has to be replaced. W hen ordering cardboard, have the su p p lier cut the cardboard into rectangu lar section s equal to the longest longitu d inal d im ensions of each part, if possible.
Summary D irections for the con stru ction of a corrugated cardboard dental chair, useful for m obile clin ic s and com m unity d entistry program s, are pre sented. T h e designers of the cardboard dental ch air and I hope that it w ill be as useful to other m em bers of our pro fession as it has been to the U SC M obile Dental C linic.
1. News o f Dentistry. JADA 91(l):7 6 -7 7 , 1975. 2. Goldstein, C.M., and Matosian, G. U SC’s dental ambassadors: a voluntary student proj ect. J Calif Dent Assoc 4(1):35, 1976. 3. Goldstein, C.M., and Enriquez, F. USC, M obile Dental Clinic and the dental assistant. J Southern Calif Dent Assis Assoc 3 5 (3 ):7 ,1975.
THE AUTHOR
GOLDSTEIN Dr. Goldstein is associate professor of community dentistry, University of Southern California School of Dentistry, 925 W 34th St, Los Angeles, 90007. Ad dress requests for reprints to the author. Fig 8 ■ Completed assembled chair.
998 ■ JADA, Vol. 97, December 1978
REPO RTS
Design of a practical dental chair made of corrugated cardboard
Charles M. Goldstein, DDS, MPH,
Los Angeles
Cardboard dental chairs in use for dental care in elem entary school auditorium.
This lightweight, sturdy dental ch a ir is easy to assem ble and should b e useful in m obile dental clinics and community dentistry program s.
O n e item of equipm ent that has b een valuable in the developm ent and expansion of the U niversity of Southern C alifornia M obile Dental C lin ic Program is a dental ch air made of corrugated cardboard.1-3 This ch air was developed by a student of industrial d esign sp ecifically for our clin ic to rep lace the cum bersom e, uncom fortable Army field chairs we w ere using. Previous to the acq u isi tion of the Arm y field chairs, w e had used folding chairs that w ere pre cariou sly tipped back on two legs to perm it positioning of the p atien t’s head on the operator’s lap. T h e original cardboard chair was designed in 1973 and was used su c cessfu lly by the M obile Clinip for two years. In 1975, the ch air was rede signed by a m em ber of the Synanon Foundation w ho was working on de signs for cardboard furniture. The current cardboard chair is easier to construct than the original chair, as it requires no glue and the d esign is sim pler. C urrently, the M obile C linic uses 27 cardboard chairs at each clin ic; 16 are in use for operative procedures, ten for oral hygiene practices, and one for exam inations. Each chair w eighs approxim ately 7 lb and w ill support a 250-lb adult. The seven 996 ■ JADA, Vol. 97, December 1978
parts lie flat w hen disassem bled, and it takes approxim ately a m inute to reassem ble a chair. T hirty chairs can be stored in an area 6 ft w ide by 3 ft deep by 4 ft high. S in ce the developm ent of the chair, m any organizations and per sons have requested the chair or plans of the chair. It has been used for dental screening by dental societies and state h ealth departm ents, for dental ep id em iolog ical studies by the N ational Institute of Dental R e search and by a dental hygiene school for perform ing prophylaxis. T h e ch air is not adjustable; this m akes it ex ce lle n t for dental exam i nations for epid em iological studies as the p osition of the head to the light source rem ains alm ost constant. In providing operative dentistry for child ren, we often reverse the po sition of the ch air foot-to-head for w orking on the m axillary arch. This w ould probably be uncom fortable for an adult patient.
Chair fabrication The designers of these chairs w ant them to be available to the dental pro fession; therefore, in this article the design and d irections for fabrication are given. If anyone can further per fect the design, these changes should be m ade available to the profession. The parts for the cardboard dental chair can be cut from sheets of cardboard w ith a serrated kitchen knife in approxim ately 45 m inutes. U sing a saber saw w ith a sm ooth blade, it is p ossible to cut as m any as four id en tical pieces at one tim e. The chairs can be m anufactured by a m anufacturer of cardboard boxes, but usually a m inim um order is 100 chairs, w h ich currently costs $ 1 ,9 0 0 plus shipping and packaging. T h e ch air con sists of seven pieces (one is duplicated): center lon g itu d i nal support (Fig 1); cross support, headrest section (Fig 2); cross sup port, footrest section (Fig 3); two lat
a 3 'x f b # f» f c 12'* f
Fig 1 ■ Center longitudinal support.
C L IN IC A L
Fig 2 a Cross support, headrest section.
NOTCHES: a 2 f x f b 3"x js c 3x ÿ
REPO RTS
Fig 5 ■ Headrest section.
Fig 3 ■ Cross support, footrest section.
eral longitu d inal supports (Fig 4); headrest sectio n (Fig 5); and foot rest sectio n (Fig 6). A ll parts are m ade of 60 0 -lb tested double-w all corrugated cardboard. Corrugations on the first four pieces should be v ertical to the floor for in creased strength. Corrugations on the
b 3xi: d 124 -x -Ï
headrest and footrest sections should be across the sections rather than lengthwise for easy creasing where indicated. Creases are indicated by dotted lines in the figures. Assembly is simple if done care
fu lly (Fig 7). Part 1 (the cen ter lo n gitud inal support) is h eld w ith the slots facin g up. Parts 2 and 3 (the cross supports, headrest and footrest sections) are inserted crossw ise into slo ts in part 1. (Be carefu l not to re verse parts 2 and 3.) N ext, in sert lateral lon gitu d inal supports (slots facing down). Lastly, in sert foot and head sections. A lw ays in sert these sectio n s at each end of the ch air first and th en in sert them into the cen ter of th e top o f the chair (Fig 8). M ost dam age to chairs occurs w hen assem bling, d isassem bling, and storing. If care is used, they shou ld last for 50 to 1 0 0 days of use. M ost ch a irs used on our M obile C lin ic are not handled w ith care, as volu nteers assem ble th em and are often not fam iliar w ith the proper se q uence of assem bly. E ven so, they have lasted for m ore than two years, w h ich is approxim ately 6 0 fu ll days of use. If a ch air starts to sag after extended use, on ly a sectio n or two
Goldstein : DESIGN OF CARDBOARD DENTAL CHAIR ■ 997
C LIN IC A L
REPO RTS
has to be replaced. W hen ordering cardboard, have the su p p lier cut the cardboard into rectangu lar section s equal to the longest longitu d inal d im ensions of each part, if possible.
Summary D irections for the con stru ction of a corrugated cardboard dental chair, useful for m obile clin ic s and com m unity d entistry program s, are pre sented. T h e designers of the cardboard dental ch air and I hope that it w ill be as useful to other m em bers of our pro fession as it has been to the U SC M obile Dental C linic.
1. News o f Dentistry. JADA 91(l):7 6 -7 7 , 1975. 2. Goldstein, C.M., and Matosian, G. U SC’s dental ambassadors: a voluntary student proj ect. J Calif Dent Assoc 4(1):35, 1976. 3. Goldstein, C.M., and Enriquez, F. USC, M obile Dental Clinic and the dental assistant. J Southern Calif Dent Assis Assoc 3 5 (3 ):7 ,1975.
THE AUTHOR
GOLDSTEIN Dr. Goldstein is associate professor of community dentistry, University of Southern California School of Dentistry, 925 W 34th St, Los Angeles, 90007. Ad dress requests for reprints to the author. Fig 8 ■ Completed assembled chair.
998 ■ JADA, Vol. 97, December 1978
