US 6,152,730 A · Bite registration tracing appliance with movable lower wing

Abstract

A bite registration appliance includes an upper base plate and a two-piece lower plate, one carrying a tracing stylus and the other carrying a tracing plate, for making a Gothic arch tracing in a patient having natural dentition without interfering with the patient's bite. One embodiment is arranged to fit within the arches, engaging undercut areas of the lingual sides of the arches, the lower plate being formed by two members that are movable laterally about a slot to engage extension wings against the inner sides of the mandible. In the second embodiment, both the maxillary and mandibular plates are two-piece units, each having a pair of arcuate extension arms that clamp around the lingual side of the patient's dental arches. The extension wings or arms in both embodiments fit loosely against a typical patient's archform and then custom fitted to the patient by trimming and molding a self-curing acrylic to the extension wings or arms. The plates are fixed to the lingual or labial sides of the patient's maxillary and mandibular arches and locked in place to make a tracing using locking screws or nuts, and then removed.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A bite registration method for determining a centric relationship of a patient's mandibular and maxillary arches, each arch including natural teeth protruding from the patient's gumline in a generally U-shape arrangement, the method comprising:

fitting a first base plate to the patient's maxillary arch, the first base plate including a Gothic-arch tracing table;
forming a two-part second base plate to fit the patient's mandibular arch, the second base plate comprising first and second movably-interconnected members and a Gothic-arch tracing stylus;
shaping the first and second members of the second base plate to fit into undercut areas adjoining a junction of the natural teeth and the gumline of the mandible;
positioning the first and second members of the second base plate laterally to engage within the undercut areas on opposite sides of the patient's mandibular arch, thereby securing the second base plate to the mandibular arch while leaving occlusal surfaces of the patient's natural teeth exposed;
moving the patient's mandible relative to the maxilla to effect relative movement of the base plates and the Gothic-arch tracing table and stylus carried by the base plates to make a Gothic arch tracing which locates the centric relationship of the patient's mandible and maxilla.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Bite registration tracing appliance with movable lower wing

Life of this patent

Bite registration tracing appliance with movable lower wing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21