Method for producing a porous prosthesis

A process for producing a porous, implantable tooth root comprising the steps of:

• (a) cleaning an extracted tooth;
• (b) producing a mold with a cavity shaped to conform to the extracted tooth root;
• (c) filling a portion of said mold cavity with relatively coarse polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where said prosthesis is intended to interface with bone tissue;
• (d) filling the remainder of said mold cavity with relatively fine polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where said prosthesis is intended to interface with soft tissue;
• (e) sintering the polymeric particles and polymerizing the hydrophilic monomer in the mold by the application of heat to form the tooth root;
• (f) allowing the mold to cool;
• (g) removing the sintered tooth root from the mold;
• and
• (h) placing the tooth root in a hot liquid to remove toxic residues.

A process for producing an implantable tooth having a porous root and a solid crown comprising the steps of:

• (a) cleaning an extracted tooth;
• (b) producing a first mold with a cavity shaped to conform to the extracted tooth root;
• (c) forming a second mold with a cavity in the shape of the crown portion of the extracted tooth protruding from said first mold;
• (d) removing the extracted tooth from the molds;
• (e) filling a portion of said first mold cavity with relatively coarse polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where the root is intended to interface with bone tissue;
• (f) filling the remainder of said first mold with relatively fine polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where the root is intended to interface with soft tissue;
• (g) sintering the polymeric particles and polymerizing the hydrophilic monomer in the first mold by the application of heat;
• (h) allowing the first mold to cool;
• (i) filling the cavity of the second mold with a polymerizable liquid;
• (j) placing the first mold over the second mold in proper alignment for the cavities to form a shape identical to the extracted tooth, and to allow a portion of said polymerizable liquid to penetrate said root;
• (k) polymerizing the liquid;
• (l) removing the tooth from the mold;
• and
• (m) placing the tooth in a hot liquid to remove toxic residue.

A process for producing a porous implantable prosthesis comprising the steps of:

• (a) filling a portion of a mold cavity of the desired shape with relatively coarse polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where said prosthesis is intended to interface with bone tissue;
• (b) filling the remainder of said mold cavity with relatively fine polymeric particles coated with a hydrophilic monomer where said prosthesis is intended to interface with soft tissue;
• (c) sintering the polymeric particles and polymerizing the hydrophilic monomer in the mold by the application of heat to form the prosthesis;
• (d) allowing the mold to cool;
• (e) removing the sintered prosthesis from the mold;
• and
• (f) placing the prosthesis in a hot liquid to remove toxic residues.