Patent Application
20210153983
The invention is comprised in the field of dental implants.
The dental implants to which the invention is applied comprise a dental implant body which is implanted in the bone of a patient by means of a surgical operation, and a dental prosthesis which is fixed to this dental implant body by means of screwing, using a screw which is threaded into a threaded hole provided for such purpose in the dental implant body. The dental prosthesis can also be fixed to an analog during the phase of constructing said prosthesis in the laboratory. An analog is a support which has a geometry similar to that of the connection of the dental implant body and in which the dental implant structure is fixed so that it can be worked on in the laboratory.
This dental prosthesis which is fixed to the dental implant body by means of a screw is a complex element that is custom made in a laboratory and comprises a prosthesis element, such as for example, a castable body or a prosthetic tooth body, and an interface part which is interposed between said prosthesis element and the dental implant body. This interface part protects the dental implant body from abrasion caused by the ceramic material forming the dental prosthesis, and also facilitates fitting the dental prosthesis on the dental implant body.
The invention relates to this interface part intended for being interposed between the prosthesis element and the dental implant body.
More specifically, the invention consists of an assembly which allows providing an interface part with variable height.
The invention relates to interface parts having a tubular shape, with a base end intended for seating the interface part on a dental implant body, an abutment for integrally attaching a prosthesis element (for example, a castable body or a prosthetic tooth body) to the interface part, and an inner conduit going through the interface part forming a passage for a set screw, said inner conduit being provided with an inner rib which forms a seating for the head of the set screw. The base end can have different shapes, each of them adapted to a corresponding shape of the dental implant body. The abutment can have a cylindrical shape, frustoconical shape, or another type depending on the type of dental prosthesis to be constructed.
In the known state of the art, the interface parts are supplied with an abutment having a fixed height. This height of the abutment is not always the most suitable according to the type and dimensions of the dental prosthesis to be constructed. Document ES1182233U discloses a solution for a dental prosthesis technician to modify the height of the abutment of the interface part. This solution consists of providing markings along the abutment to indicate to the dental prosthesis technician several possible positions for cutting the abutment and thereby reducing its height. The dental prosthesis technician uses their own machining implements for cutting the abutment at one of the heights indicated by the markings. Performing a precise cutting operation is not an easy task, taking into account that an interface part has very small dimensions and that the dental prosthesis technician must choose one of the markings present in the interface part itself and make a cut at the height indicated by the chosen marking. Moreover, to enable the dental prosthesis technician to distinguish the markings, they must be arranged in a cleared area of the abutment wall, which in many cases requires modifying the abutment to provide it with these cleared areas. In particular, these cleared areas must be devoid of retaining grooves that are usually formed on the outer surface of the abutment, which can weaken the retention of the prosthesis element on the surface of the abutment.
Moreover, there is a need to provide interface parts having a notch at the free end of the abutment for certain applications. This is particularly the case for interface parts intended for making angled dental prostheses in which the notch of the interface part allows introducing the set screw a with an inclination with respect to the central axis, and likewise allows introducing a screwing tool also with an inclination.
The purpose of the invention is to provide an assembly for forming an interface part for dental implants with variable height, which assembly allows a dental prosthesis technician to reduce the height of the abutment in an easier manner and with greater precision, and without having to modify the abutment to provide it with special markings.
This purpose is achieved by means of an assembly for forming an interface part for dental implants with variable height, characterized in that it comprises:
The assembly according to the invention does not require modifying the interface part to provide it with markings indicating cutting heights. In contrast, the invention is based on associating, with the interface part, an auxiliary part having a specific shape for being coupled to the interface part, such that when both parts are coupled to one another the auxiliary part provides a planar face precisely defining a cutting plane for cutting the abutment at a specific height which is predetermined by the actual dimensions of the auxiliary part. In other words, instead of supplying the dental prosthesis technician with an interface part with markings that the technician must cut using their own means following said markings, an assembly formed by the interface part and the auxiliary part is supplied thereto. Therefore, the technician does not have to identify a marking in an interface part which has very small dimensions, nor do they have to align a cutting system with the marking in the interface part. The technician only has to choose the auxiliary part, couple it to the interface part, and cut the abutment along the plane defined by the planar face at the upper end of the auxiliary part. To make the cut, the technician can use a conventional cutting tool, such as a drill or a cutting disc, for example, and guide said cutting tool using the planar face of the auxiliary part as a support. Good cutting precision is thereby achieved and the need for each dental prosthesis technician to implement a particular cutting system which can give different results depending on the technician's skills is prevented. Once cutting has been performed, the technician removes the auxiliary part as it can be detached from its coupling with the interface part.
In preferred embodiments, the auxiliary part has an annular shape with an axial passage, said axial passage going through said auxiliary part from a lower end to the upper end forming the peripheral surface. The peripheral surface is therefore an annular surface around said axial passage. The auxiliary part is formed such that the abutment enters the axial passage of the auxiliary part through the lower end and moves freely in a direction parallel to the central axis to the coupled position. In said coupled position, the interface part is integrally attached to the auxiliary part by shape complementarity between said interface part and said auxiliary part, in any radial direction with respect to the central axis. This configuration allows the dental prosthesis technician to readily couple the two parts in a detachable manner and likewise cut the abutment in a particularly reliable manner.
Preferably, in these last embodiments the auxiliary part has a cylindrical-shaped outer surface provided with grooves distributed along the circular perimeter of said cylindrical shape. This outer surface can be used like a grip, so that the dental prosthesis technician can hold the auxiliary part with their hand or with a tool.
Preferably, the assembly according to the invention comprises a plurality of said auxiliary parts, each of them being sized such that, in the coupled position, the plane of the planar face intersects with the final segment of the abutment and the central axis at a different height along said central axis. As a result, the dental prosthesis technician no longer has to distinguish between different markings in the interface part, but rather simply choose, from among the different auxiliary parts of the assembly, the one which corresponds to the desired cutting height. Each auxiliary part can have an indication, such as an alphanumerical text or a color code, for example, indicating its cutting height. This indication can be placed on the outer surface of the auxiliary part, whereby it can be large enough for the dental prosthesis technician to recognize same with the naked eye.
In preferred embodiments, the base end of the interface part comprises a rim protruding from the outer surface of the abutment in a radial direction with respect to the central axis, and the abutment extends from said rim to the free end. In the coupled position, the auxiliary part is supported with its lower end abutting with said rim in the direction of the central axis. In this configuration of the interface part which is the most common in the state of the art, the rim is intended for being supported on the body of the dental implant. The particularity of these embodiments of the invention consists of advantageously using this rim as a stop for the auxiliary part.
Preferably, the abutment of the interface part comprises a non-circular outer surface with respect to the central axis, and the auxiliary part comprises a non-circular inner surface with respect to said central axis, said non-circular inner surface having a shape complementary to the shape of said non-circular outer surface, such that in the coupled position, the interface part is integrally attached in rotation to the auxiliary part with respect to said central axis by shape complementarity between said outer surface and said inner surface. Relative rotation between the two parts during the abutment cutting operation which, in some cases, may damage the interface part, is thereby prevented.
In some embodiments, the abutment comprises, in a lower segment of said abutment adjacent to the base end, at least one protuberance forming the non-circular outer surface of the abutment, and the inner surface of the auxiliary part comprises at least one sinkage which forms the non-circular inner surface of said auxiliary part and in which said protuberance is introduced in the coupled position. This solution has the advantage of leaving the entire upper segment of the abutment, which is preferably provided with retaining grooves and intended for integrally attaching the prosthesis element to the interface part, free.
Preferably, said protuberances are at least three in number and distributed around the central axis. This allows the dental prosthesis technician to more readily couple the auxiliary part to the interface part.
In other embodiments, the outer surface of the abutment comprises at least one recess forming the non-circular outer surface of the abutment, and the inner surface of the auxiliary part comprises at least one rib which forms the non-circular inner surface of said auxiliary part and is introduced in said recess in the coupled position. This shape of the abutment allows rotatably coupling a prosthesis element to said abutment.
Preferably, said recesses are at least three in number and distributed around the central axis. Like in the preceding case, this allows the dental prosthesis technician to more readily couple the auxiliary part to the interface part.
Preferably, in these last embodiments the outer surface of the abutment has a frustoconical shape with a diameter decreasing towards the free end.
Optionally, the assembly according to the invention comprises a tool for integrally attaching the auxiliary part to the interface part, in the coupled position, in the direction of the central axis, said tool comprising a rod which moves in a through hole of said auxiliary part and presses, with its end, the outer surface of said interface part. As a result of this solution, the technician does not have to maintain the coupled position of the two parts during the dental prosthesis cutting operation, so the abutment cutting operation is made even easier.
Preferably, the rod is provided with a thread and the through hole is provided with a corresponding thread, such that said rod is screwed into said through hole so that it moves along same until pressing, with its end, the outer surface of the interface part, and the tool comprises a handle integral with said rod. This configuration allows integrally attaching the parts in a particularly easy and robust manner.
In some embodiments having the purpose of forming an interface part that has a variable height and is suitable for angled prostheses in which the abutment has a notch at its free end, the assembly according to the invention is characterized in that the peripheral surface of the interface part comprises a first planar face in a first plane which intersects with the final segment of the abutment and the central axis, and a second face that does not belong to said first plane and continuously prolongs said first planar face in said peripheral surface.
In addition to the aforementioned advantages of the assembly according to the invention, these embodiments allow the technician to make a notch at the end of the abutment very easily. To that end, the technician only has to complete the cutting of the abutment by following the second face of the peripheral surface with a cutting implement.
To make the cut, the technician can use a conventional cutting tool, such as a drill or a cutting disc, for example, and guide said cutting tool using the first planar face and the second face of the auxiliary part as a support. Good cutting precision is thereby achieved and the need for each dental prosthesis technician to implement a particular cutting system which can give different results depending on the technician's skills is prevented. Once cutting has been performed, the technician removes the auxiliary part as it can be detached from its coupling with the interface part.
Preferably, the first plane is perpendicular to the central axis. The abutment obtained after cutting therefore has an end face in a plane perpendicular to the central axis and a notch adjacent to this plane.
The second face can have any shape, depending on the geometry of the notch that must be made at the free end of the abutment of the interface part. For example, it can be a planar face in a plane other than the plane of the first face, it can have the shape of a right angle bracket with one of its sides parallel to the central axis, or it can have other complex shapes such as a curved shape or a combination of successive planar and/or curved shapes, for example. In preferred embodiments, the second face comprises an upper segment in a second plane parallel to the central axis, and a lower segment in a third plane, said second plane and third planes intersecting with the final segment of the abutment, and said third plane forming with said second plane an angle equal to or greater than 90°. Preferably, said angle formed by the third plane and the second plane is an obtuse angle, and more preferably comprised between 110° and 130°. A notch in the form of an obtuse angle is therefore made in the abutment which provides better attachment of the prosthesis element on said abutment compared to a notch in the shape of a right angle bracket, as a result of the increase in the surface of the outer face of the abutment that must be attached to the prosthesis element.
Preferably, the second face comprises a concave curved intermediate segment joining said upper segment and said lower segment. As a result of this configuration, the notch in the form of an obtuse angle made in the abutment does not have an edge in the center of the obtuse angle which weakens the resistance of the interface part to fatigue.
Optionally, the assembly according to the invention comprises a tool for integrally attaching the auxiliary part to the interface part, in the coupled position, in the direction of the central axis, said tool comprising a rod which moves in a through hole of said auxiliary part and presses, with its end, the outer surface of said interface part. As a result of this solution, the technician does not have to maintain the coupled position of the two parts during the dental prosthesis cutting operation, so the abutment cutting operation is made even easier.
Preferably, the rod is provided with a thread and the through hole is provided with a corresponding thread, such that said rod is screwed into said through hole so that it moves along same until pressing, with its end, the outer surface of the interface part, and the tool comprises a handle integral with said rod. This configuration allows integrally attaching the parts in a particularly easy and robust manner.
The invention also comprises other detailed features shown in the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention and in the attached drawings.
The advantages and features of the invention will become apparent in the following description in which preferred embodiments of the invention are described in a non-limiting manner with respect to the scope of the main claim in reference to the drawings.
The assembly is formed by an interface part 1A for dental implants and three auxiliary parts 8A. In the embodiment that is shown, the three auxiliary parts 8A have the same shape but not the same height: each of them has a different height to enable cutting the abutment of the same interface part 1A at a different height.
The interface part 1A is a one-piece metallic part made of biocompatible material, such as grade 5 titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V alloy), a Cr—Co alloy, or a Ni—Cr—Mo—Ti alloy, for example. As can be seen in
The auxiliary part 8A is a one-piece part made of any strong and rigid material. For example, it can be a metallic part or a part molded from a polymer material with fillers. As can be seen in
The auxiliary part 8A is formed for being coupled in a detachable manner to the interface part 1A, such that the abutment 3 enters the axial passage 9 of the auxiliary part 8A through the lower end 10 and moves freely in the direction of the central axis Z to a coupled position in which the auxiliary part 8A is supported abutting with interface part 1A. The assembly of the two parts 1A and 8A in this coupled position is shown in
As can be seen in particular in
To cut the abutment 3, a dental prosthesis technician works in the following manner. First, the technician chooses the auxiliary part 8A which corresponds to the desired cutting height from among the different auxiliary parts 8A available, for example from among the three parts shown in
To cut the abutment 3 at a different height, the technician performs the same operation using another auxiliary part 8A. Each of the auxiliary parts 8A is sized such that, when it is coupled to the same interface part 1A and in the coupled position, the plane P of the planar face 13 intersects with the final segment 14 of the abutment 3 and the central axis Z at a different height along the central axis Z. In the depicted embodiment, this is achieved simply as a result of the auxiliary parts 8A having the same shape but a different height between the lower end 10 and the upper end 11.
The auxiliary part 8A has a cylindrical-shaped outer surface provided with grooves 20 distributed along the circular perimeter of said cylindrical shape. The outer surface of the auxiliary part 8A thereby forms a grip which the technician can use to hold said auxiliary part 8A and keep it in the coupled position while the cut is being made.
The interface part 1B is depicted in
The auxiliary part 8B is depicted in
The auxiliary part 8A′ is a one-piece part made of any strong and rigid material. For example, it can be a metallic part or a part molded from a polymer material with fillers. As can be seen in
The auxiliary part 8A′ is formed for being coupled in a detachable manner to the interface part 1A, such that the abutment 3 enters the axial passage 9 of the auxiliary part 8A′ through the lower end 10 and moves freely in the direction of the central axis Z to a coupled position in which the auxiliary part 8A′ is supported abutting with the interface part 1A. The assembly of the two parts 1A and 8A′ in this coupled position is shown in
As can be seen in particular in
To cut the abutment 3, a dental prosthesis technician works in the following manner. First, the technician couples the auxiliary part 8A′ to the interface part 1A, introducing the abutment 3 through the axial passage 9 and moving the auxiliary part 8A′ with respect to the interface part 1A along the central axis Z until reaching the coupled position shown in
Finally, the technician removes the auxiliary part 8A′, and thereby obtains the interface part 1A with the abutment 3 cut to the desired height and provided with the notch 29, as shown in the image on the right hand side of
As shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P201830537 | Jun 2018 | ES | national |
| P201830679 | Jul 2018 | ES | national |
This application is a national phase application of International Application No. PCT/ES2019/070357 filed May 29, 2019, which claims priority to application number P201830537 filed Jun. 4, 2018 and application number P201830679 filed Jul. 6, 2018. The entireties of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/ES2019/070357 | 5/29/2019 | WO | 00 |
