Flexible dentures
OwnerEdwin Ebelinginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Dentures are formed having a spring steel frame with a curved base and on one side of which pairs of diverging flanges extend at missing tooth positions. Barbed pins extend through the base at the missing tooth positions, and the frame is encased in a resilient, flexible plastic which is molded and colored to resemble the gums of a wearer. Artificial teeth are impaled on the barbed pins. The denture is a generally horseshoe shaped structure which provides a flexible support for the artificial teeth. The diverging flanges of the frame are resiliently deformed so as to grip the gums of a wearer when the dentures are worn. The upper denture requires no stabilizing structure extending across the roof of the mouth of a wearer.
Claims10
A denture comprising a frame formed from flat spring steel stock and having a curved base from one side of which pairs of diverging flanges extend at each tooth position, pins secured to said base and extending therethrough to the opposite side thereof at each missing tooth position through configured apertures in said base which prevent said pins from rotating relative to said base, each pin having at least one barb thereon, a soft, resilient, flexible plastic coating encasing said spring steel frame, and an artificial tooth mounted on each of said pins whereby the artificial teeth are held on said pins by said barbs.
A method of constructing dentures comprising:
- constructing spring steel frames to conform to the gums of an intended denture wearer by die cutting said frames from spring steel stock so that said frames each have a curved base with pairs of flanges extending laterally outwardly therefrom at positions corresponding to the tooth positions of an intended wearer,
- defining apertures in said flanges and defining non-circular apertures in said base at positions corresponding to missing tooth positions,
- inelastically bending said flanges to diverge on one side of said base at angles conforming to the gum configuration of the intended wearer,
- constructing pins with shanks having barbs thereon and having heads configured to fit into said non-circular apertures in said base so as to be immobilized from rotation relative to said base,
- securing artificial teeth in a viscous, preheated state onto said pins and curing said teeth so that said barbs hold said artificial teeth fast,
- inserting said pin heads into said base at said non-circular apertures corresponding to missing tooth positions so that said artificial teeth reside at positions corresponding to the missing tooth positions of an intended wearer and in spaced separation from said frame base,
- molding a plastic material to form a resilient coating on said spring steel frames, which coating penetrates said apertures in said flanges and the interstices between said artificial teeth and said frame base, so that the exterior of said coating resembles the gums of the intended wearer, and
- bending said flanges within said coating as required to conform to the mouth of an intended wearer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.