Patent Application
20120171635
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an assembly of a dental product and a holding system for temporarily holding of the dental product. The invention is also related to a method of improving the aesthetics of a tooth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental products such as veneers are often fragile. Between production of the dental product and final placement in a person's oral cavity these dental products often need to be transported in such a way that no damage occurs.
Dental products such as prostheses, veneers, and other dental products which need to be placed in the oral cavity of a person, are nowadays often produced at a location which is different from the location where the dentist's chair is situated. Consequently, the dental products may need to be transported from the production site to the “placement site”. Such dental products may be delicate items and could get damaged if not carefully packaged for transport.
When the dental product concerns a dental implant which more or less replaces an entire tooth, the dental product often cannot be considered as highly fragile. This means that the way of packaging is not necessarily predominantly focused on avoiding fracturing of the dental product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,230, U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,428 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,160 describe packaging and delivery systems for dental implant systems wherein often use is made of a screw for positioning the dental implant in the container that is used for transport between the production site and the “placement site”. As often a healing screw is needed anyway for placement of the dental implant in the oral cavity of the relevant person, such packaging can be very efficient. The screw for fixing the implant in the container can then be the same as the healing screw.
However, where the dental product concerns a very thin and possibly even a very fragile product, such as a thin ceramic tooth veneer, use of any form of tightening or fixing mechanism using, for example a screw, often needs to be avoided, or may be simply impossible.
It is an object of certain embodiments to provide an assembly of a dental product and a holding system for temporarily holding the dental product, wherein the dental product can be a fragile dental product, such as a thin ceramic tooth veneer.
The disclosure provides an assembly of a dental product and a holding system for temporarily holding the dental product, wherein the holding system comprises a first and a second part for sandwiching the dental product thereinbetween. The first part is provided with a shape for fittingly matching one side of the dental product. Such a shape for fittingly matching one side of the dental product may be a shape that is complementary to one side of the dental product, e.g. an individualized shape of a dental veneer. The shape for fittingly matching may have the shape of at least a portion of a tooth of a patient to receive the dental product. The second part is arranged for releasably bonding another side of the dental product against the second part. By providing a fitting match between the first part of the holding system and one side of the dental product, it is possible to hold the dental product “form-fit” against the first part, providing the possibility of offering stability to the positional relationship between the dental product and the first part. By releasably bonding another side of the dental product against the second part it is possible to obtain a fixed positional relationship between the dental product and the second part. Hence, a releasable bond may be formed between the dental product and the second part.
In certain embodiments, the first part and the second part are releasably securable to each other when the assembly is in the assembled condition. The dental product can then indeed be held in a very stable position as sandwiched between the first and second part. This allows for suitable transport of the dental product.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the first part comprises a model of at least a tooth part of a person's set of teeth. This part of the model ideally corresponds to a tooth part as present when the dental product is placed in the oral cavity onto that tooth part. In certain embodiments, as the dental product will have been designed to fittingly match that tooth part of a person's set of teeth, this tooth part will provide the optimal fitting match with one side of the dental product, and as such provide optimal stability when the dental product is accordingly held against that tooth part.
Furthermore, for certain embodiments, this way of delivering the dental product to the dentist or other skilled practitioner will avoid misunderstanding as to where the dental product needs to be placed.
Additionally, in certain embodiments, providing the model as part of the first part of the assembly will help at the production side of the dental product, checking the quality of the dental product, in terms of its match with the tooth part for which the dental product has been designed and produced. In certain embodiments, it is also an efficient way of providing an assembly of a dental product and a holding system for holding the dental product, as such a model will often have to be made anyway for fit check and finalization of finishing layers, such as coloring and/or glazing layers.
In an assembly according to certain embodiments, the second part has grasp holders for manually holding the second part during placement of the dental product against a tooth. This has the advantage in certain embodiments, that no other tool is required for holding the dental product when the dental product is positioned in the person's oral cavity.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the second part comprises a foil. This ensures in certain embodiments, that the second part will adopt its shape to the dental product, rather than require a deformative response of the dental product on bonding against the second part. The properties of a foil, particularly its sheet-like behavior, flexibility, thickness, and strength in the plane of a sheet, ensure that it is possible to secure the dental product onto the first part without providing any undesired strain onto the dental product.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the second part is transparent. This has the advantage that the dental product as well as much of the first part remains visible even without removing the second part. It furthermore will allow for transport of the dental product from the holding system to the oral cavity of the relevant person, and even for accurate placement of the dental product onto the intended tooth part of that person's set of teeth, by manipulating the second part, possibly even without the need of any other tools. This is because, in certain embodiments, the dental product will always be visible, if the transparent second part is also used as a transfer tool and placement tool. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the direct surrounding of the dental product in the person's oral cavity will always be visible during placement of the dental product, further facilitating accurate and swift placement of the dental product.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the foil is a tape. A property of tape is that it has on at least one side an adhesive. In certain embodiments, this will facilitate on the one hand bonding the foil onto the dental product, and on the other hand sticking of the foil onto the first part, facilitating securing together of the first and second part.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the foil is made to hold the dental product onto the model by electrostatic holding. This avoids, in certain embodiments, the need for use of any additional compound such as a glue.
It is also possible that the foil is made to hold the dental product onto the model, in addition or as an alternative to electrostatic bonding, by light-hardening bonding and/or by vacuum bonding the foil.
Where in an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the foil is made to hold the dental product onto the model, such as by light-hardening bonding or vacuum bonding the foil, also the foil is individualized in that it is made to fittingly match the first part which is itself in a fittingly matching positional relationship with the dental product. As such, the dental product is on more than one side fittingly matched by the first and second parts of the holding system, optimizing the design of the cavity so formed for transport of this fragile dental product. The sandwiching is perfected in certain embodiments, as the dental product is effectively held in a tailor-made envelope. Furthermore, such a foil can be used for placement of the dental product in the oral cavity of the person by placing the foil onto the matching part of the set of teeth. In certain embodiments, it is preferred that the foil has grasp holders for placing onto and/or for removing the foil from the dental product and/or the first part. This further optimizes the handling of the foil and the dental product.
In an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments, the model is associated with a support for supporting the model. The support and the model are positionally fixed or fixable relative to each other. In some such embodiments, the assembly further comprises a container. The support has dimensions which for holding the model stable in the container. This ensures in some embodiments, that neither the model nor the dental product needs to be put in contact with such a container for ensuring that the model and dental product remain stable. All further fixing of the model and the dental product can be carried out by ensuring that the support is held in a fixed position.
The disclosure is also directed to a method of improving the aesthetics of a tooth, wherein the method comprises placing a dental product onto a tooth by re-placing the dental product from such an assembly directly onto the tooth, wherein a part of the assembly is used as a tool for placing the dental product onto the tooth.
Certain embodiments will further be explained with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1—shows a first part of an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 2—shows a first part and a dental product of an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 3—shows a first part, a dental product, and a second part of an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 4—shows an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 5—shows an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 6—shows a use of an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 7—shows schematically and in cross section an assembly in accordance with certain embodiments; and
FIG. 8—shows schematically a top view of the assembly shown in
Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.
Each of the Figures shows a complete assembly, or a part of such an assembly, of a dental product and a holding system for temporarily holding the dental product. Advantages of an assembly according to certain embodiments are most pronounced in assemblies where the dental product concerns a fragile product. An example of such a fragile dental product is a veneer. Such a veneer may also be referred to as a laminate. In the following, reference will be made only to a veneer, which should not be construed as limiting. A laminate is also embraced by the term veneer.
Within the dentistry world, a veneer is a thin layer of restorative material placed over a tooth surface, to improve the aesthetics of the tooth. Where the improvement only concerns an improvement of the color of a predetermined tooth, the veneer can be very thin. In some embodiments, the veneer may be made of a glass ceramic. Particularly, such a thin veneer will be very fragile and difficult to handle without breaking it. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the veneer or laminate is a non-framework dental product, i.e. the veneer or laminate is placed directly on to a tooth surface without any intermediate framework to strengthen the laminate or veneer. Other dental prostheses, such as a dental crown or bridge may include a veneering layer on top of a framework, such as a coping or bridge framework, wherein the veneering layer is applied in several layers on top of the framework or coping and subsequently sintered. However, such a veneer on top of a framework does not suffer from strength issues and is not particularly fragile to handle.
a) shows a frontal view of the first part 1.
It will be clear that in certain embodiments, a model 2 of the tooth 3 for which the veneer 4 has been designed and produced will most suitably provide a first part 1 with a shape for fittingly matching one side of the veneer 4. However, it is also possible that the first part 1 is provided with a shape for fittingly matching one side of the dental product 4 in a way different from providing a tooth part for which the dental product 4 has been designed and produced. For instance, in situations wherein one side of the dental product 4 has a well-defined geometry, as for instance described by a simple mathematical formula, the first part 1 may be provided with a shape for fittingly matching that shape of the dental product 4 by straightaway producing that side on the basis of the very same simple mathematical formula. In those situations there is no need to rely on the model 2 of a person's set of teeth 3, or a part thereof. A shape for fittingly matching one side of the dental product may be a shape that is complementary to one side of the dental product, e.g. an individualized shape of a dental veneer. The shape for fittingly matching may have the shape of at least a portion of a tooth of a patient to receive the dental product.
Preferably, in certain embodiments, the second part 5 is transparent, so that the dental product 4, in this example the veneer 4, can be seen through the second part 5 and, importantly, also its positional relationship relative to other parts of the model 2 can be seen. This allows for quality control, i.e. whether the veneer 4 fits correctly to the frontal set of teeth 3, for instance, in terms of position and/or color.
Although the second part 5 is so far by way of example described as a foil, possibly provided with an adhesive, the foil may also by other means be made to hold the at least one dental product 4 onto the first part 1. As examples we mention vacuum bonding and/or electrostatic bonding, both methods known per se. For example, vacuum bonding can be provided by a thermo-forming unit, wherein a deformable blank is pre-heated, positioned on top of the first part 1 with the veneer 4 in-between and then deformed by activating a vacuum pump, whereby the blank releasably bonds to the veneer 4, which is supported by the first part 1. Then, the deformed blank can be trimmed to a desired shape. Such vacuum forming apparatus is available e.g., from Dreve, Germany, under the tradenames Vacformat U, Vacformat 2000 and Druformat Scan. Bonding films, such as electrostatic foils or films, films with adhesives, both resin based and light curing based, etc. are available, e.g., from 3M, USA.
Although the dental product so far has been described as a single-part product, it is very well possible that the dental product comprises multiple parts. As shown in
The thickness of the veneer 4 is a mean thickness in certain embodiments. At various portions the veneer 4 may be thinner or thicker. For example, the veneer 4 may comprise various structures to look more natural, such as grooves or furrows. Additionally or alternatively, the tooth veneer 4 may comprise a texture at the front surface for a more natural look of the veneer 4 or to recreate a lost feature of a person's dentition, e.g. due to abrasion. It is also thinner at the border of the veneer 4. Hence, providing data for producing the veneer may comprise providing such structure or texture data. Texture or structure data may e.g. be provided automatically or designed using the user interface wherein pre-defined and/or user defined structures or textures are generated.
The ceramic material may be a glass ceramic material, such as a Li-disilicate glass ceramic. Li-disilicate glass ceramic has a high strength, which provides for improved possibilities to handle the fragile product. Such glass-ceramic is e.g. available under the tradename IPS e.max from Ivoclar Vivadent, Lichtenstein. Alternatively, the ceramic material may comprise a microwave sintered aluminum oxide.
In some embodiments, the veneer 4 comprises a single layer of glass-ceramic having uniform composition. Optionally, non-ceramic coloring and/or glazing layers may be added at least on one side of the veneer 4.
In some embodiments, the tooth veneer is pre-treated with a bonding material before application onto a predetermined tooth of a person and possibly even before delivery to the dental practitioner applying the tooth veneer 4. Using conventional veneers, the bonding material is typically applied to the tooth onto which the veneer is to be applied, the veneer 4 is then placed on that tooth, and the bonding material cured, such as by light curing. According to some embodiments, the bonding material is at least partly applied to the tooth veneer 4, such as 25-75% of the total bonding material to be used for bonding the tooth veneer 4. The pre-treatment can be carried out at the production facility of the tooth veneer 4 or by a dental technician. The pre-treatment of at least one side of the tooth veneer 4, such as the backside facing the tooth, may comprise at least one of the following steps: cleaning of the tooth veneer 4; application of etching gel for preparing a chemical and/or mechanical connection surface; providing etched surface prepared for sealing with silane as transport protection; applying a silanization process for obtaining a silanized surface; application of at least one layer of bonding material on top of the silanized surface; application of coloring material, such as for cervical and/or incisal colorings, before, on top of, or mixed in the bonding material; applying the bonding material to the veneer 4; and light curing the bonding material for delivery to the dental practitioner.
Certain embodiments may also comprise pre-treatment by the practitioner of the tooth to receive the tooth veneer 4. The pre-treatment by the practitioner may comprise at least one of the following steps: cleaning the non-prepared (i.e. substantially non-ground front surface) surface of the tooth, such as with isopropanol; etching of the tooth surface, such as with etching gel, e.g. fluoride etching gel, fluoride hydrogen etching gel etc.; silanization of the etched tooth surface; and application of the remainder of the binding material, such as 25-75% if 25-75% was applied to the tooth veneer 4 and to end up with a total of 100%, onto the tooth surface. The bonding material applied to the tooth surface may have a neutral color, such as transparent or white, whereby appearance provided by the coloring added to the veneer 4 is substantially not affected.
Some embodiments may also comprise at least one of the following steps for a veneering procedure: providing pre-treated veneer 4 with hardened bonding material; applying the tooth veneer 4 onto the tooth surface comprising bonding material; adjusting the veneer 4; and curing, such as by light curing, the connection between the surfaces with bonding material.
As shown in
It is further possible, as shown, that the assembly is associated with a packaging 11 for a postal delivery of the assembly in an assembled condition. In certain embodiments, the packaging 11 is provided with damping material for tightly surrounding the assembly in the assembled condition. Such a clamping mechanism may concern material provided with air cushions (not shown), as known in the art. In this way the dental products, particularly when it concerns a fragile veneer, can be transported from, for instance one end of the world to another end of the world, with very little chance, if at all, that any damage occurs to the dental product.
The first part 1 may be provided by taking an impression of at least a portion of a person's oral cavity containing the tooth surface, scanning the impression or a model cast using the impression, and processing the scan data to obtain a virtual model of the person's dentition. The virtual model may then be used to plan production data both for the veneer 4 and the first part 1. Then, the first part is produced, such as by a CAM procedure, such as rapid prototyping and/or milling. Hence, in certain embodiments, the first part 1 and the veneer 4 will have surfaces with complementary shapes, possibly with room for the bonding material in-between.
The disclosure is not limited to the embodiments discussed above. Many modifications and different embodiments are possible. Each of these are understood to fall within the framework of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09008947.5 | Jul 2009 | EP | regional |
This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2010/004168, filed on Jul. 8, 2010, which published in English as WO 2011/003609 A1 on Jan. 13, 2011 and which claims priority benefit of European Patent Application No. 09008947.5, filed on Jul. 9, 2009, the entire contents of which applications and publication are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2010/004168 | 7/8/2010 | WO | 00 | 3/22/2012 |
