Healing components for use in taking impressions and methods for making the same
AssigneeImplant Innovations, Inc.
InventorsJohn T. Amber, Stephan S. Porter, Theodore M. Powell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a healing abutment for attachment to a dental implant with marking locations thereon. The marking locations either lack or have markers that provide a binary code system for retrieving unique information about the healing abutment and the underlying implant.
Claims31
A gingival healing abutment for attachment to a dental implant in combination with a scanning system,
- said healing abutment comprising:
- at least three marking locations at known positions relative to each other at which identifying features may be present, a sequential combination of said identifying features from said at least three marking locations defining a code for said gingival healing abutment, said code indicating at least two characteristics of said healing abutment, said identifying features include grooves for creating protrusions in impression material, said impression material for making a model having replicating grooves that substantially replicate said grooves,
- said scanning system scans said replicating grooves in said model to acquire said code.
A gingival healing abutment for attachment to a dental implant in combination with a scanning system,
- said healing abutment comprising:
- at least three marking locations at known positions relative to each other at which identifying features may be present, a sequential combination of said identifying features from said at least three marking locations defining a code for said gingival healing abutment, said code indicating at least two characteristics of said healing abutment, said identifying features include grooves for creating protrusions in impression material, said impression material for making a model having replicating grooves that substantially replicate said grooves,
- said scanning system scans protrusions in said impression material to acquire said code.
A gingival healing abutment for attachment to a dental implant in combination with a scanning system,
- said healing abutment comprising:
- at least three marking locations at known positions relative to each other at which identifying features may be present, a sequential combination of said identifying features from said at least three marking locations defining a code for said gingival healing abutment, said code indicating at least two characteristics of said healing abutment,
- said scanning system scans said healing abutment for said identifying features to acquire said code.
A set of healing abutments, each of said healing abutments having unique characteristics and a plurality of marking locations, each of said plurality of marking locations providing a binary digit, said unique characteristics of each of said healing abutments being identifiable through a binary code that includes said binary digits from said plurality of marking locations.
A method of developing a prosthetic tooth, said method comprising:
- installing a dental implant into a jawbone;
- attaching a gingival healing abutment to said dental implant, said gingival healing abutment having binary-coded markers for identifying physical characteristics of said gingival healing abutment;
- determining said binary-coded markers to gather information for manufacturing said prosthetic tooth;
- and
- developing a prosthetic tooth based on said information.
A method of collecting information useful for developing the subgingival regions of a prosthetic tooth, said method comprising:
- attaching a gingival healing abutment to a dental implant, said gingival healing abutment having binary-coded markers on an outer surface;
- taking an impression of the mouth region around said gingival healing abutment;
- and
- deriving said information from said binary-coded markers.
A healing abutment for mounting on a dental implant, said healing abutment having a bar code providing information on at least a height and a diameter of said healing abutment, said information being used to develop a prosthetic tooth, said bar code being on an exterior surface that is positioned away from said dental implant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.