Submergible screw-type dental implant and method of utilization

An oral implant having an implant portion adapted to be fitted in an opening in a bone of a patient in the vicinity of the occlusal plane and on a support for an artificial tooth structure attached to the implant portion, characterized in that the support comprises:

• a member on which an artificial tooth may be mounted, said member having a bore extending completely through it, one end of the bore opening into a recess which is in the shape of half an oval;
• a collar having a central opening aligned with the bore of the member, one end of the opening being expanded into a recess which is in the shape of half an oval in cross section, the collar being positioned relative to the member such that the recesses are adjacent each other and form an oval cavity;
• a flexible elastic washer having a hole through the middle and aligned with the opening when seated in the cavity, said washer keeping said member and collar resiliently separated from each other;
• and
• a screw having a head secured in said member and a shaft extending through the bore of the member, the hole of the washer and the central opening of the collar being urged into threaded engagement with the rest of the implant.

An oral implant for supporting an artificial tooth structure comprising:

• an implant portion adapted to be fitted in an opening in a bone of a patient in the vicinity of the occlusal plane, which bone has been exposed by an incision in the covering of fibromucosal tissue;
• a support for an artificial tooth structure;
• a threaded member connectable at one end to an outer end of said implant portion which is directed away from the opening in the bone when the implant portion is installed therein, the other end of the member being at a preselected angle to the one end connected to the implant portion and being adapted for threaded engagement with said support;
• and
• a beveled transition collar connected to the threaded member between the upper end of the implant portion and the support, the collar having one end surface generally parallel to the upper end of the implant portion and the other end surface being at an angle with respect to the one end surface said collar having the same preselected angle as said threaded member has at the shaft portion.