Components for permanent removable and adjustable dentures and bridges
OwnerBernard Weissmaninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dental prosthesis foundation capable of being finished or adjusted or repaired and which may be assembled and adjusted to variable jaw ridge sizes, and formed with self-curing hardened resins. The foundation supports prosthetic teeth and is permanently but removably secured to the jaw by implants embedded in hard dental tissue, such as tooth stubs or bones. The dentures can be readily repaired or adjusted for changes in the jaw of the patient, by chairside techniques available to dentists. The foundation can also be adjusted to changes in size and shape of ridges in the jawbones for more comfortable use of the dentures secured on such prostheses.
Claims21
A method of forming in situ a resiliently lined foundation for a rigid prosthetic denture, the foundation having a concave support undersurface and being of the type removably secured to permanently implanted dental support posts embedded into a patient's jaw, wherein the support posts each include a shank secured to the patient's jaw and a support portion extending outwardly longitudinally and laterally from the shank and beyond the patients jaw surface, and where the concave support undersurface of the denture has substantial space for additional support material to mate with the support portions, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming indexing sockets, through the concave support undersurface of the denture foundation, for a series of implanted indexing guide posts, at locations intended to mate with the guide posts when the denture is properly secured in the mouth, the indexing guide posts each having an exposed indexing portion extending beyond the jaw of the patient, each of the indexing sockets having a shape wherein the portions distal from the jaw have smaller cross-sections than the portion adjacent the jaw, but of sufficient size and shape to permit smooth and easy insertion into, and removal from, an indexing socket of at least the outermost exposed indexing portion;
- placing portions of curable dental resin material into the concave support undersurface portion of the denture and placing the denture foundation onto a form selected from the group consisting of the patient's jaw bone ridge and a model of the patient's jaw bone ridge, including the dental support posts and indexing posts, to mold the curable resin so that the resin cures to form a tight fit around the jawbone ridge and support posts, and where the cured resin is sufficiently resilient to permit easy manual removal and reinsertion by the patient of the dental prosthesis by mating with the indexing portions;
- the dental prosthesis thus being capable of being readily relined with the resilient resin, if needed, by chair side techniques by a dentist, without loss of proper fit and placement.
A rigid prosthetic denture foundation, of the type removably securable to permanently implanted dental support posts embedded into a patient's jaw, where the support posts each include a shank secured to the patient's jaw and a support portion extending outwardly longitudinally and laterally from the shank and beyond the patients jaw surface, the denture foundation having a concave support undersurface, the improvement comprising:
- a plurality of indexing sockets formed through the denture foundation for holding indexing implants, each socket having a smaller cross-section distally outwardly from the support undersurface, placed at locations intended to mate with implanted indexing posts, when the denture is properly placed in the mouth, the indexing posts having exposed indexing portions extending outwardly from the jaw;
- a resilient foundation liner formed in situ of a resilient resin within the concave portion, the resilient liner defining at least one support socket sized and shaped to firmly grip the support portion of each support post and to have opposing longitudinal edges intended to rest upon the gum ridge in the patient's jaw;
- the denture foundation thereby being readily relined by chair side techniques by a dentist, without loss of proper fit and placement.
A dental support implant for being implanted into the jawbone comprising:
- a shaft having a first threaded end portion adapted to anchor the shaft into rigid dental material selected from the group consisting of tooth stubs and bone matrix;
- a prosthesis engaging member portion for engaging a dental prosthesis after the shaft is anchored into the rigid dental material, the prosthesis engaging member comprising a flattened spheroidal portion, having a major spherical diameter transverse to the axis of the implant, the spheroidal portion also defining a slot for connecting to a driving tool for driving the screw end into the rigid dental material, the slot extending parallel to the minor diameter of the spheroidal portion, substantially parallel to the axis of the shaft of the implant;
- a flange member extending transversely from the proximal end of the shaft, and having a substantially smooth and circular circumference and a substantially flat surface facing towards the spheroidal portion;
- and
- a neck portion, located intermediate the flange and the spheroidal portion, having a diameter smaller than each of the major spherical diameter of the spheroidal portion and the diameter of the flange.
A method of forming in situ a resiliently lined foundation for a rigid prosthetic denture, the foundation having a concave support undersurface and being of the type removably secured to permanently implanted dental support posts embedded into a patient's jaw, wherein the support posts each include a shank secured to the patient's jaw and a support portion extending outwardly longitudinally and laterally from the shank and beyond the patients jaw surface, and where the concave support undersurface of the denture has substantial space for additional support material to mate with the support portions, the method comprising the steps of:
- placing portions of auto-curing dental resin material into the concave support undersurface portion of the denture and placing the auto-curing resin-containing denture foundation onto a form selected from the group consisting of the patient's jaw bone ridge and a model of the patient's jaw bone ridge, including the dental support posts and indexing posts, to mold the curable resin so that the resin cures to form a tight fit around the jawbone ridge and support posts, and where the cured resin is sufficiently resilient to permit easy manual removal and reinsertion by the patient of the dental prosthesis;
- and
- further comprising placing a resilient silicone jacket covering the support portion of each support post prior to placing the auto-curing resin-containing denture foundation onto the form, and allowing the resin to cure, such that the auto-cured resin does not adhere to the support posts and the silicone jackets are held within the cured resin material;
- the dental prosthesis thus being readily relined if needed, by chair side techniques by a dentist, without loss of proper fit and placement.
A resiliently lined foundation for a rigid prosthetic denture, the foundation having a concave support undersurface and being of the type removably securable to permanently implanted dental support posts embedded into a patient's jaw, wherein the support posts each include a shank secured to the patient's jaw and a support portion extending outwardly longitudinally and laterally from the shank and beyond the patients jaw surface, and where the concave support undersurface of the denture has substantial space for additional support material to mate with the support portions, the foundation comprising:
- an auto-cured resin-containing denture foundation formed in situ over a form selected from the group consisting of the patient's jaw bone ridge and a model of the patient's jaw bone ridge, including the dental support posts, so that the auto-cured resin forms a tight fit around the jawbone ridge and support posts, and where the cured resin is sufficiently resilient to permit easy manual removal and reinsertion by the patient of the dental prosthesis;
- the auto-cured resin further comprising, opposed longitudinal edges, wherein the longitudinal edges of the foundation are intended to be in close contact with the sides of the jawbone ridge, and
- further comprising resilient silicone jackets held within the resilient in situ cured material and intended to fit over the support portion of each support post to provide further durability when removing and reattaching the denture to the jaw ridge;
- the dental prosthesis thus being more durable as well as more readily relined if needed, by chair side techniques by a dentist, without loss of proper fit and placement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.