Patent Application
20090162809
Applicant claims priority based on Provisional application Ser. No. 06/855,593, By the above name inventor and Filed on Oct. 31, 2006. Titled: Apparatus for Leveling Dental Impression Molds, and incorporates above described Provisional Application herein by reference.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a tool for aligning dental impression molds relative to the vertical median of a patients face utilizing projected light onto the patient's face as a marking and guide means.
2. Description of Related Art
Current art is best described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,931 by John C. Kois DDS. A impression cup carrying dental impression compound is mounted to a flat carrier also having a 6 to 8 inch vertical post a few inches outwardly from the cup. The cup is placed in the patients mouth as usual. The dentist then sights beyond the post, aligning the post's image with the patients forehead and center of the nose, lips, etc. The patient then gently bites down into the impression compound, leaving a mold of his teeth. Or at minimum, an impression of the distal ends of the teeth in the arch. From these, the dentist can measure the relative position and protrusion of each tooth for setting new teeth into the same vertical alignment as the natural teeth. And to calibrate and align the mechanical jaw dentists use to “try out” a set of artificial teeth before installing them in the patients mouth. The prior art suffers from a parallax problem creating uncertainty with the perceived alignment of the post and face. It also shows no horizontal alignment.
3. Objects of the invention
It is an object of the invention to project alignment markings onto the face of a dental patient for the purpose of making “as built” measurements of the natural teeth, mandible, and upper jaw alignments.
It is another object of the invention to have the projected markings visible in the brightly fit dental operating theater.
A dental impression alignment guide comprising a frame which holds a conventional dental impression compound tray on one end and a projector of a columnated light beam on the other end. The beam, usually from a laser diode is split by a prismatic lens into two orthogonal fan shaped beams that project vertical and horizontal lines on the face of a patient. Alternatively, two columnated beams can each be spread into a fan shaped beam by a prism. The lines projected by the two fan shaped beams are then set in orthogonal relationship and draw the same orthogonal pair of lines as the double prism does with a single columnated beam. The lines are fixedly coupled to an impression compound tray, thus indicate the tray's position in the patient's mouth.
The use of the alignment measuring tool facilitates the alignment of subsequent dentures in the articulated artificial jaw dentists use to verify fit and occlusion before moving dentures, appliances, or surgical procedures to the patient.
Referring to
The attaching means for the mold tray (Also see
The back edge of tang 20 and slot 21, holds compound holder tray 22 precisely in a standardized position, ready to be aligned with the patient's face 42 and ready to take the impression.
Holes 23 are for precisely mounting the dental impression compound tray.
Referring to
The optics housing 3 contains the optical elements and necessary associated parts such as batteries and current regulating electronics 35, on-off switch 36, and beam orifice 9.
The figures and foregoing text describe a single columnated beam being prismatically split into two orthogonal fans to project two orthogonal lines on the patient's face. The same results can be accomplished by using two columnated beams and 2 dimensional prisms set at 90 degrees apart. Prisms adapted to produce a single fan shaped beam and subsequent projected line should be more readily available and lower cost than the more complex double prism. The beam projecting diodes and prism sets can be set alongside each other or one above the other as long as together they can be adjusted to project the described orthogonal lines on the face. The preferred arrangement for the projectors is to have the horizontal projector set in vertical alignment just over the vertical projector.
Frame 2 could be made of transparent material to permit the beam to pass through, However, the index of refraction, and any scratches would distort the beam some, and would also produce a reflection possibly causing a multiple set of lines on the upper portion of the patients face. These minor drawbacks probably would not be not enough to render the invention inoperative. When slot 4 is not used in the frame, beam projector 3 has side clamps to adjust and secure it to frame 2.
There is no requirement for the beam to be coherent light or that it be any particular color. Red laser diodes are small size, use low voltages and low power, and are suitable and readily available.
The light source and prism used at present is removed from a Bushnell framing and leveling square. Both should be readily available from their respective OEM supply sources.
It is possible to eliminate the prism(s) by mounting the diodes on pivots then swinging them back and forth and up and down so the projected dots traverse the orthogonal courses. The beams can be moved manually with measurements taken at the various critical positions. Orthogonal pivots on a single laser diode will also work. Obviously such pivots will have to be interlocked so only one axis swings at a time to avoid tracing a circle or oval.
However, in order to project a line as before, the diodes should be moved rapidly, at least 14 cycles per second on each axis, which will be perceived as a line or lines.
Pivot able projectors are capable of tracing a grid or scaled “tick marks” on the primary XY lines.
The patient is fitted with protective eye wear, either filters, or opaque goggles for protection against the unlikely prospect of being “flashed” with bright light from the laser.
The impression compound is put into a standard mouth mold and mounted on the mold tray. The tray is attached to the frame and put into the patient's mouth. The beam is projected onto the patient's face vertically, and horizontally approximately at the lip line. When the dentist is satisfied with the positioning of the alignment lines, an impression taken of as much of the tooth arch as is needed.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims which follow.
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property right or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
