Dental prosthesis and method of its production utilizing standardized framework keys and matching premanufactured teeth
AssigneeGlobal Dental Sciences, LLC
InventorsThomas J. Balshi, Stephen F. Balshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system including a method and associated structures creates efficiencies in the manufacture of prosthetic tooth support frameworks. Pre-manufactured teeth with matching internal keys are used in the setup of a patient prototype. Each key includes a shaft, a cervical platform, a retention knob and preferably at least one channel for the expulsion of excess adhesive fluid. The cervical platforms are shaped to provide intimate contact with a base of their respective tooth. The same tooth/key pairs are then used to make a framework pattern from the setup positioning. The pattern can be cast or scanned for direct machining to produce the finished framework.
Claims15
A free-standing one-piece key utilized in forming a pattern for a prosthetic framework strut that may be affixed upon one or more implants or implant abutments within a prosthetic tooth, the key comprising:
- a shaft having a coronal aspect at a coronal end of the shaft for placing the prosthetic tooth;
- a retention knob at an opposite end of the coronal end, the retention knob having a spheroid shape and a diameter greater than that of the shaft;
- and
- a cervical platform between the retention knob and the coronal end, and comprising a supporting base of the key.
A vertical strut component to be disposed between a prosthetic framework model and a socket of a prosthetic tooth, the strut comprising:
- an elongate shaft having a coronal aspect at a first end of the shaft for placing the prosthetic tooth;
- a retentive element having a spheroid shape at a second end of the shaft, wherein the retentive element having a diameter greater than that of the shaft;
- and the coronal aspect being configured to lock within an axial internal keyway of a socket of the tooth,
- a cervical platform between the first and second end being configured to support a cervical aspect of the prosthetic tooth;
- and
- an elongate channel extending along a surface of the shaft to the cervical platform for an expulsion of excess adhesive fluid, wherein said channel is an axial groove that forms a release opening at a margin between the tooth and the cervical platform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.