Gingival Ovate Pontic And Methods Of Using The Same
AssigneeKeystone Dental, Inc.
InventorsStephen J. Chu, Jocelyn Huiping Tan-Chu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pontic device for preserving soft tissue in a tooth-extraction site includes a generally curved apical end. The apical end has a first perimeter and is configured to rest in a tooth extraction socket and substantially conform to soft tissue of a tooth-extraction site immediately after a tooth has been extracted. The pontic device further includes an opposing, generally concave coronal end. The coronal end has a second perimeter that is configured to substantially correspond to and form a seal with gingival tissue surrounding the tooth-extraction site. The coronal end is configured to receive a tooth-shaped coronal pontic portion to form a final restoration.
Claims21
1-35. (canceled)
A pontic device for preserving soft tissue in a tooth-extraction site after a tooth has been extracted, comprising:
- a dome-shaped structure comprising a solid wall that has a generally anatomical shape, the dome-shaped structure for fitting within and preserving the soft tissue surrounding the tooth-extraction site, the dome-shaped structure being made of a unitary piece of material comprising acrylic, bisacrylic, or a combination thereof, the solid wall defining a closed apical end of the dome-shaped structure for fitting within the soft tissue, the solid wall further defining an opened coronal end of the dome-shaped structure, the opened coronal end having a curved perimeter including opposing distal and mesial peaks that are separated by opposing lingual and buccal valleys, the solid wall having an inner surface defining an internal space within the dome-shaped structure;
- and
- a protrusion located within the internal space of the dome-shaped structure, the protrusion extending from the closed apical end and beyond the curved perimeter of the opened coronal end.
A method of forming a dental restoration, comprising:
- extracting a tooth from a tooth-extraction site, the tooth-extraction site having gingival tissue surrounding the tooth, the extracting resulting in an extraction socket having soft and hard tissue positioned therein;
- selecting a gingival pontic device having a solid wall forming a curved apical end that is closed and uninterrupted, the closed apical portion substantially conforming to a shape of the extraction socket following the extraction, the solid wall further defining an opened coronal end having a perimeter substantially conforming to the gingival tissue surrounding the tooth-extraction site immediately following the extraction, the solid wall having an inner surface defining an internal space within the gingival pontic device, the gingival pontic device further including a protrusion located within the internal space and extending beyond the perimeter of the opened coronal end;
- and
- by use of the protrusion, fitting the gingival pontic device into the extraction socket such that the closed apical end of the gingival pontic device removably rests in the tooth extraction site, the gingival pontic device assisting in substantially maintaining the shape of the soft tissue within the extraction socket during healing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.