Expanding dental implant and method for its use

An expandable dental implant which may be secured within a bore formed into bone of a patient's jaw that is adapted for receiving and supporting a dental prosthesis, said expandable dental implant comprising:

• an elongated, hollow, tubular barrel having both an attachment end, to which a dental prosthesis may be attached, and an insertion end, which enters furthest into a bore formed into bone of a patient's jaw;
• said barrel having both an interior surface and an exterior surface which respectively extend from the attachment end of said barrel to the insertion end;
• said barrel having threads formed both on the interior surface and on the exterior surface of said barrel;
• the threads formed on the exterior surface of said barrel permitting said barrel to be screwed into a bore formed into bone of a patient's jaw;
• said barrel being pierced about the insertion end thereof by a plurality of radial slits spaced circumferentially around said barrel;
• the slits passing completely through said barrel from the exterior surface to the interior surface, and extending a distance along said barrel from the insertion end toward the attachment end;
• the interior surface of said barrel at the insertion end having a smaller diameter than that of the interior surface of said barrel at the attachment end;
• and
• an expander screw adapted for insertion into said barrel through the attachment end thereof;
• said expander screw having an outer surface that is shaped to engage and mate with the threads formed on the interior surface of said barrel;
• said expander screw having an end surface, which upon advancement of said expander screw along said barrel from the attachment end toward the insertion end thereof, collides with the interior surface of said barrel near the insertion end thereof;
• the end surface of said expander screw and the interior surface of said barrel near the insertion end thereof each constituting a colliding surface respectively of said expander screw and of said barrel;
• one of the colliding surfaces being formed with a frustro-conical shape;
• whereby, after said barrel has been screwed into a bore formed into bone of a patient's jaw, advancement of the expander screw from the attachment end toward the insertion end of said barrel causes the insertion end of said barrel to expand outward into and to penetrate the surrounding bone, and causes the expander screw to substantially fill a void resulting from expansion of the insertion end of the barrel into the surrounding bone.