Dental articulator

An articulator comprising an upper frame and a lower frame,

• said upper frame being swingably supported on said lower frame to swing about a horizontal axis about pivot means,
• said lower frame comprising a laterally extending lower beam,
• spaced upwardly extending first condyle post and second condyle post supported on said laterally extending lower beam,
• a lower arm supported on said lower beam and extending forwardly and generally perpendicular thereto,
• said upper frame comprising an upper beam,
• said upper beam having a first end and a second end,
• an upper arm,
• a laterally adjustable support means laterally slidably supporting said upper arm on said upper beam,
• a vertically adjustable first condyle support assembly supporting said first end of said upper beam on said first condyle post for adjusting each said end of said upper beam vertically relative to said first condyle post and said second condyle post,
• a vertically adjustable second condyle support assembly supporting said second end of said upper beam on said second condyle post,
• said upper beam comprises a dovetail flange integrally attached to the top of said upper beam extending generally from end to end thereof,
• said laterally adjustable support means on said upper beam comprises a block,
• said block having a dovetail shaped slot slidably receiving said dovetail flange,
• a locking means on said block to lock said upper arm in a laterally adjusted position on said upper beam.

An articulator comprising a first frame and a second frame,

• a first pivot means and a second pivot means spaced from said first pivot means connecting said first frame to said second frame,
• said first frame comprising a forwardly extending upper beam,
• first denture support means supported on said forwardly extending beam,
• second denture support means supported on said second frame,
• a first motor means connected to said first frame and to said second frame to swing said forwardly extending beam on said pivot means in a vertical plane relative to said first frame whereby said first denture support means and said second denture support means are swung in a vertical plane relative to one another,
• a second motor means connected to said first frame and to said second frame adapted to swing said first frame and said second frame relative to one another in a horizontal plane whereby said first denture support means is rotated in a horizontal plane relative to said second denture support means,
• a third motor means connected to said first frame and said second frame to swing said first frame about said first pivot means and said second pivot means,
• a fourth motor means connected to said forwardly extending beam and to said first frame to move said forwardly extending beam laterally relative to said said second frame.

A method of articulating dental models providing an articulator comprising a first frame and a second frame,

• pivot means comprising condyle means connecting said first frame to said second frame whereby said first frame will swing about a horizontal axis relative to said second frame,
• first denture support means on said first frame,
• second denture support means on said second frame,
• (a) determining by clinical examination, radiographic evaluation including a transcranial radiograph and past history whether the patient requires condylar repositioning or decompression,
• (b) determining a corrected condylar position by superimposing a second condylar tracing in a position to give the desired displacement,
• (c) determining the difference in position of the two points and converting them to vertical and horizontal components,
• (d) providing a computer program capable of generating vectors which represent said differences in position of said two points from a typical jaw whereby said vectors represent the dysfunction of said jaw,
• (e) providing an articulator for supporting said denture relative to one another with means to rotate said dentures relative to one another in a horizontal plane, in a vertical plane to move said dentures relative to one another laterally and longitudinally and to swing said dentures relative to one another and,
• (f) connecting transducers electronics and software to said articulator articulating said articulator and articulating said dentures,
• (g) repositioning the styluses vertically and horizontally to obtain the same relationship between the upper and lower beams of the instrument whereby the models previously mounted on the articulator are positioned to a corrected therapeutic position which reflects the clinical and radiographically determined position,
• (h) adjusting the threaded styluses to provide a horizontal adjustment in cases where a midline correction is required.

An articulator comprising an upper frame and a lower frame,

• said upper frame being swingably supported on said lower frame to swing about a horizontal axis about pivot means,
• said lower frame comprising a laterally extending lower beam,
• spaced upwardly extending first condyle post and second condyle post supported on said laterally extending lower beam,
• a lower arm supported on said lower beam and extending forwardly and generally perpendicular thereto,
• said upper frame comprising an upper beam,
• said upper beam having a first end and a second end,
• an upper arm,
• a laterally adjustable support means laterally slidably supporting said upper arm on said upper beam,
• a vertically adjustable first condyle support assembly supporting said first end of said upper beam on said first condyle post for adjusting each said end of said upper beam vertically relative to said first condyle post and said second condyle post,
• a vertically adjustable second condyle support assembly supporting said second end of said upper beam on said second condyle post,
• said first condyle post and said second condyle post are horizontally slidable on said lower beam,
• a first motor means is supported on said lower beam,
• a driver means connected to said first motor means and to a second motor means for adjusting said first condyle post and said second condyle post horizontally on said lower beam.