Patent Application
20240122683
This application relates to restoration of implant fixtures including systems, components and methods for their restoration.
The present application discloses, through a plurality of device and method innovations, a Universal Aligning Adaptor System and novel developments in implant restorative dentistry. The present application further establishes unique methods for coordinated physical and/or virtual alignment, referencing and synchronization of prosthetic dental devices across all stages of the restorative process, from surgical planning to dental prosthesis fabrication. Through a revolutionary structure of relational geometry, the present application affords a quantifiable associative linkage of prosthetic dental devices to an underlying implant and to each other, such that the prosthetic dental devices can be positioned and situated to a high degree of aesthetic and clinical satisfaction using an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol.
Implant misalignment can result from inherent perturbations in the process of drilling osteotomy sites and the subsequent surgical insertion of the implant fixtures into the bone. This misalignment can now be overcome via the present application's innovations, including, but not limited to, the use of a plurality of predetermined horizontal rotational reference points. These reference points include an index for the demarcation of the specific angular relationships between an implant and its restorative elements. These reference points can be used alone or in combination with Universal Aligning Adaptors to couple the indices of co-operable, referencing, interim and/or final prosthetic dental components for interconnection with each other in relation to the underlying implant index to obtain a registration of the realigned mutual geometry of the componentry referenced to the implant. Accordingly, the application allows for a precise aesthetic and clinically ideal alignment and positioning of the final dental prosthesis via synchronization of the indices.
The present application provides significant improvements over conventional approaches, including those established in, and covered under, this inventor's previous devices and methods, “Implant Collar and Post System” U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,195,395; 5,238,405; and 5,350,302; and “Method of Forming an Abutment Post” U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,439,380 and 5,564,921. In particular, the linkage and use of the indices provides a coordinating structure to facilitate the alignment and situation of prosthetic dental devices over the jaw in a precise, repeatable and clinically ideal manner. The present application obviates the need for a collar-type device requiring “fit-and-test” horizontal rotations for dental prosthesis alignment, that process being subject to the limitations of practitioner accuracy and expertise. As such, the present application is designed to eliminate practitioner error when, for example, either impressions or intraoral, bench, CT, or other imaging/sensing scans are taken and models are made and/or digital data is collated, as the restorative componentry can only be connected and inserted in a set manner as dictated by the alignment, referencing and synchronization mechanism afforded by the indices.
This application relates to the prosthodontic restoration of previously placed dental implant fixtures that have been surgically implanted in the edentulous area(s) of the alveolar bone, and are ready for restoration with a crown, set of crowns, or a bridge or any type of screw borne prosthesis using one or more universal aligning adaptors, prosthetic components with co-operable indices, and a predetermined clinical and/or digital protocol. The universal aligning adaptor system aligns and synchronizes all prosthodontic restoration componentry. Thus, using referencing devices that include an array of impression posts, intraoral or bench scanning posts, or CT scan posts one can register the newly established, preferred position and/or gingival architecture of an abutment and/or the preferred screw access hole locations for the fabrication of one of the prostheses listed above.
“Surgical error” is inherent to the drilling of the osteotomy sites and the subsequent insertion of the implant fixtures, and, more often than not, results in implants being placed at a less than an ideal vertical angle or horizontal position. Some of the causes of the vertical angulation/position issue include tilting a hand piece by even just a few degrees, which can result in the head of the implant being misdirected several or more millimeters away from its intended position; drilling osteotomy sites without using a surgical guide, which can result in random implant fixture placement; and compensating for existing natural bony undercuts by angling the drill during site preparation. Any one of these errors can dramatically alter the implant's position away from its intended ideal location.
However, while vertical angulation can be an impediment to easy fabrication of implant abutments and/or prostheses with natural anatomic form, the most insidious and compounding problem is the misalignment of the implants' indexes. This misalignment results from arbitrary insertion of the implants by a surgeon, as the surgeon's first priority is properly securing the implants to the bone. In securing an implant to the bone, the surgeon is solely concerned with either sufficiently tightening the implant without over-tightening and thereby potentially stripping the bone during the tightening procedure, or with placing the implant at the crest of bone or below it as a first priority. An implant that has been over-tightened or under-tightened is at risk of failure. Because proper securement of the implant is the primary, if not only, consideration of the surgeon, the surgeon cannot guarantee that the implants' indexes are situated so that their axes bisect the ridge in the sagittal plane at their center points. In fact, this frequent misalignment of the indexes magnifies vertical angle and positional issues, especially as the number of sides of the implant index decrease, which severely limits the rotational options to increasingly coarse increments. For example, a dodecagon with twelve sides has a 30° rotation, an octagon with eight sides exhibits a 45° rotation, a hexagon with six sides turns with a 60° rotation, and a tripod with three sides has a 120° rotation which, at a minimum, requires altered six sided abutments just to achieve a 60° rotation (see
To varying degrees, even experienced practitioners can find it challenging to fabricate restorations that are not too bulky or that have access holes in locations that are not too difficult to manipulate (see
The universal system of the present application resolves these angulation/misalignment problems for all implants by rotating the abutments and/or prosthetic components in 15° increments or less, regardless of whether the implant's index is a dodecagon (23), octagon (24), hexagon (22), nonagon (25), quadragon (not shown) or even a trichannel (21) (see
In certain embodiments, the abutment/adaptor assembly achieves an optimal positioning within a maximal 7.5° deviation from the ideal direction when rotating in 15° increments. Along with this repositioning capability, the universal system can realign the implant indexes such that the abutments, healing caps, impression posts, scanning posts, and screw access holes are situated and aligned by the newly reestablished relationship of the primary and secondary indicia of the universal aligning adaptor and its prosthetic components having co-operable indices.
The innovative devices and methods to be used in conjunction with the universal aligning adaptor to realign, situate, and standardize abutment placement; to synchronize all prosthetic components, and to reference them is described below.
The Universal System dramatically redefines the way dental implants are restored. It provides a unique combination of universal aligning adaptors and prosthetic componentry having co-operable indices with a universal preconfigured clinical and/or digital protocol to align, synchronize, and reference these components around the implant's central axis of rotation, which eliminates the outsized negative influence that implant index misalignment has had on implant restoration up until now. Prosthetic components, devices and prostheses no longer have less than ideal emergence profiles and positions, and those that are screw retained are no longer encumbered with screw access holes exiting in awkward locations. When the prosthetic components' co-operable indices include primary and secondary indicia, they are rotatable about their individual adaptors to position them in preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined positions, and they are then synchronized to the primary indicia of the adaptors in their new positions. Once aligned and synchronized, they are easily registered by impression, intraoral or bench scan or cone beam CT scan (CBCT) posts and techniques, which are situated in relation to the primary indicia of the adaptors, and, thereby, allows for the systematic fabrication of prosthetic devices and prostheses, regardless of any particular implant's index configuration or misalignment. The Universal System has been developed to serve every skill level of practitioner, every member of the implant team, every circumstance, and every type of implant restoration that is seated on any implant, regardless of the index configuration or misalignment. The Universal Aligning Adaptor system can be used with either a two stage insertion/restoration process or with a single stage, immediate load procedure.
The innovations described in this application and summarized below (the Universal Aligning Adaptor System, the Universal Contour Abutment System, the Universal Multifunction Abutment System, the Universal Impression, 3D Imaging and Milling System, Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, Referencing and Forming a Set of Universal Abutments, and Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, 3D Imaging, and Milling Prosthetic Components and Devices) comprise a complete system for restoring any previously placed dental implant fixtures, which is referred to as the Universal System. The Universal Aligning Implant System provides an ideal implant index for inserting implants in a predictable, consistent manner or for making precise horizontal angle corrections, in 5° increments when necessary.
Irrespective of the available multitude of applied dental devices and techniques, the discipline of implant restorative dentistry has a common goal: produce an aesthetically pleasing restoration by situating prosthetic dental componentry within the mouth in a clinically ideal manner. Ironically, a major challenge to achieving a successful outcome arises from one of the very first steps in the restorative process, specifically, anchoring the underlying implant device to the jaw. When surgically inserted, the positioning of the implant screw is subject to a number of complicating factors, including, but not limited to: physiology of the anchoring bone structures, precision of the surgical guides and templates, and accuracy and skill of the practitioner. The result is that the central axis of the implant, the line of reference extending along the body of the implant device, from the screw point outwards through the implant head at the jaw surface, is almost never coincident with the desired central axis of rotation, the target line of reference established by the coaxial configuration of the planned topmost prosthetic component as it is situated over the implant's ideal device location. As such, a clinically ideal restoration can only be achieved by employing a coordinated system to correct such inherent misalignment, in effect transforming the otherwise immutable central axis of the implant into a workable central axis of rotation. To wit, when an underlying implant is misaligned such that an abutment engaging the implant is not coincident with the desired central axis of rotation, there now exists a unique two- or three-space rotational transformation enabling mechanical or virtual repositioning of the abutment to allow it to become so aligned. This transformation is established by a universal referencing device, comprised of a universal aligning adaptor having a primary indicium reference point and an overlaying prosthetic insert having co-operable primary and secondary indicia. The predetermined rotation of the adaptor about the prosthetic insert via the re-established central axis of rotation situates the insert in a generally desired horizontal and vertical position, thus identifying the alignment and synchronization points for all other co-operable componentry. The location of the adaptor's primary indicium in relation to the implant's index is the reference point for registering the necessary transformation, which, in turn, determines the seating of the interim preferred abutment or healing cap, prior to fabricating final prosthetic components and/or devices with the same alignment by an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol.
The registration of the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor by an impression, a scan, or both identifies the desired central axis of rotation for the fabrication of a custom cast or pressable abutment or a milled abutment, or any other abutment fabricated by any means.
When an abutment is created from a digital file after the repositioning of the clinical abutment, the data for this desired central axis of rotation is translated to a software program's device methods and controls to perform an automated virtual realignment of the corresponding virtual abutment in the program prior to milling the actual abutment. As such, when the implant's index alignment is captured by an intraoral or bench scan or CBCT scan taken directly on the implant, the rotation of the adaptor and the referencing device can be performed in the software program according to the automated and/or interactive digital protocol, which establishes the preferred position.
Since the scan post is seated in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor, wherein the co-operable indices include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of any prosthetic insert, it thus provides a predictable, reproducible intraoral, bench, CBCT (or other tomographic) scan. When taking a CBCT scan of the scan post in relation to the hard structures of the jaw (including bone, teeth, and implants), its location is defined in absolute, three dimensional terms, as directed by the unique design of the scan post, in combination with the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and digital protocol.
Both the intraoral or bench scan and the CBCT scan posts can have identical primary and secondary indicia, which have been set in relation to the primary indicium reference point of the adaptor. Final prosthetic devices can be fabricated from an intraoral, bench, or CBCT scan, but their images can also be merged by overlaying their respective primary indicia. The data for the implant position, the contour and angulation of the bone, and the gingival contours are now incorporated into a single image, along with the position, geometry, and angulation of the ideal abutment at that particular implant site. From this point, a final abutment or set of abutments can be fabricated, along with their overlying prosthetic devices in appropriate cases using an automated protocol.
The Universal System provides the automated clinical and/or digital protocol for the fabrication of final abutments, including prostheses with or without impressions having been taken. In one method, this protocol begins with the sculpting of the gingival tissue by the surgeon or restorative dentist, using the universal interim healing cap or interim abutment as a surgical stent as the interim component is inserted so that the tissue conforms to its architecture. Taking this method one step further, when an impression or scan post is seated on an indexed healing cap having the identical gingival architecture as the interim healing cap or abutment, and when the final abutment is developed using that same matching gingival configuration, the process becomes fully automated. Merging the subgingival device configurations data with the surface topography data allows the cast, pressed or milled abutment to be fabricated such that they replicate the ideal emergence profile. From the beginning, the gingiva has been effectively molded to the architecture of the abutment, rather than the abutment being molded to accommodate the gingiva after it has been fabricated, which can be quite time consuming and less accurate.
Furthermore, if the restorative process is accomplished via the combination of an intraoral scan and a CBCT scan without any impression having been taken, the abutments and their overlaying copings and/or frameworks can be simultaneously fabricated, since the positions of co-operable components are absolute as determined by the CBCT scan, thus the universal clinical and digital protocol is fully automated.
The restorative process begins with the surgeon or restorative dentist first rotating the interim healing cap or interim abutment having a base with any preferred subgingival architecture to an ideal position and sculpting the tissue over the implant until the interim device is fully seated. Once the tissue has molded to the interim device, in a preferred embodiment, it is removed and a matching indexed healing cap is inserted in the same position with the scan post seated on the indexed healing cap in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor. The scan post can also be seated directly on the adaptor such that their primary indicia are coincident (without an interfacing indexed healing cap). In either example, the intraoral or bench scan and/or the CBCT scan are taken and, if their images are to be taken together, their images can be merged via their primary and secondary indicia, such that these reference points overlay one other. The merged data now incorporates the following: the absolute position of the preferred abutment relative to the hard structures of the jaw (bone, teeth and implants); either the configuration of the healing cap or interim abutment, since it is an identified part from a library of healing caps or interim abutments, or the scan of the healing cap developed sulcus; and the surface topography around that implant. This data can then be input via the Universal Scan Code into the milling devices codes of the milling software program and the virtual abutment can then be auto-rotated in the program into the previously established, preferred clinical position of the healing cap or interim abutment, which, in turn, has been set according to the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor (position a, b, c, etc.). The configuration of the preformed gingival base used in the interim healing cap or interim abutment can then be incorporated into the data for the abutment (for example a particular maxillary central incisor). Since all of the components are linked via the primary indicium of the adaptor, the final abutments and copings and overlaying prosthesis can be fabricated. The same principals apply when fabricating a castable or pressable abutment in the laboratory. The technician merely uses the castable or pressable gingival base having the same configuration as the interim one, and, therefore, he does not have to make any adjustments to the gingival contours.
When the implants are ready for restoration, Universal Aligning Adaptors with mating indexes for their respective implants can be connected to a Universal Contour or Universal Multifunction Abutment. The Universal Aligning Adaptors can be rotated to ideal positions according to a set of primary and/or secondary indicia that define the rotation and its aligning mechanism. The combined adaptor/abutment assemblies can then be rotated as needed and connected to the implants. In another technique, the Universal Aligning Adaptor can be first rotated to a predetermined, ideal position on the implant, with the abutment then being seated to its ideal position. Once the newly established position is registered, one of the overlying restorations is created, which, in turn, is seated on the adaptor/abutment assemblies. The process can be completed either clinically with physical components or virtually within a software program. The components and methods for registering and creating the aligned and synchronized prosthetic components, devices and prostheses are covered, in detail in the Universal Impression, 3D Imaging, and Milling System, Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, Referencing and Forming a Set of Universal Abutments, and Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, 3D Imaging, and Milling Prosthetic Components and Devices sections of this application. The specific prostheses that are directly connected to the adaptor are covered in the Universal Contour Abutment System and the Universal Multifunction Abutment System sections of this application. Cast, pressable, and milled abutments of the universal system can also be fabricated such that they are directly connected to the implant without any adaptor, after the preferred positions of the abutments have been established, synchronized, and referenced as described below.
The Universal Aligning Adaptor is a translational, integrating device that aligns and synchronizes all componentry seated on its shoulder according to a preconfigured clinical and/or digital protocol wherein the primary indicium on its top end (abutment engaging index on its top surface) is positioned in relation to a primary or secondary indicium of its overlying abutment, regardless of the index or configuration of the underlying implant upon which it is being seated (see
The primary indicium of the adaptor and the primary and secondary indicia of its prosthetic components that have co-operable indices can be any type of mark or identifying polyhedron. In certain embodiments, the mark or identifying polyhedron is a protrusion. In other embodiments, the mark or identifying polyhedron is painted or etched onto the surface of the adaptor. In one embodiment, the primary indicium of the adaptor is a sphere or other protruding polyhedron, which, in certain embodiments, may be spring loaded with the primary and secondary indicia of the prosthetic devices having a matching recess at each of its secondary indicia such that the adaptor engages the secondary indium with a “positive feel” to ensure its proper seating during the rotation (see
In some embodiments, the predetermined rotation of the adaptor's primary indicium around the prosthetic component's primary and secondary indicia and the adaptor/prosthetic component assembly around the implant defines the alignment of the adaptor and its overlying componentry, wherein these definitive increments of rotation ensure a more exact alignment and establish a reference point in relation to the implant's rotational position for synchronization of all other prosthetic componentry. In certain embodiments, the universal aligning adaptor has a top end stud on its top surface configured to receive a prosthetic component and is comprised of any polygon having “n” equal sides that is dissimilar to the polygon at its bottom surface that engages the implant index, and has a randomly chosen primary indicium on one of the “n” sides. When the adaptor is rotated according to the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, the primary indicium on its top end will rotate in finite increments that are 150 or less, when the top end polygon is an octagon and the bottom end polygon engages an implant with either a trichannel, hexagon, dodecagon, or any other index whose “n” sides is a multiple of 3, and will rotate in 10° increments when the polygon at the top end is a nonagon and the one at the bottom end is a quadragon. When the top end polygon of the adaptor is a hexagon and the bottom end polygon is an octagon, its primary indicium will also rotate in the same 15° increments. In either case, this translates to a rotation of an abutment or healing cap or other prosthetic component, device, or prosthesis around the implant with a maximal 7.5° deviation from the ideal direction, being at most ½ turn between rotational increments, such that any further turn is nothing more than a mirror image rotation of the previous one. With this dramatic reduction in rotation to 15° increments for a trichannel (vs. 120° rotation), hexagon (vs. 60° rotation), dodecagon (vs. 30° rotation), or octagon (vs. 45° rotation), or with the reduction in rotation to 10° increments for a quadragon (when the abutment engaging index is a nonagon) vs. (90° rotation), any of these implants having their indexes misaligned during placement by the surgeon can be more effectively restored by precisely positioning the appropriate vertical angle correcting abutment such that the abutment's, prosthetic device's, or prosthesis's proper emergence profile and anatomic form are ideally situated, and/or have a screw access channel that is relocated closer to the central axis of the replacement tooth used to restore that implant than is presently available. In addition, it opens the door for including anterior screw down crowns because of the precisely positioned lingual crown fixation screw. Furthermore, with the primary indicium of the adaptor being rotated in relation to a primary or secondary indicium of the overlying abutment as described above, the rotation can be predetermined and automated.
The universal automated, interactive clinical and/or digital protocol that is applied to the universal aligning adaptor having prosthetic componentry with co-operable indices can allow for the rotation of the prosthetic components to ideal positions using predetermined reference points to effect the rotation. With this protocol, predetermined primary and secondary referencing rotation points can be provided for an automated rotation of the universal aligning adaptor with varying degrees of rotation. These referencing rotation points are different for each implant having a different index. For example, a predetermined counter clockwise rotation of the adaptor to a predetermined position “a” around the abutment for the hexagon indexed implant, will result in a needed 150 horizontal rotation of the abutment to a preferred position after the adaptor/abutment assembly is subsequently rotated such that the abutment's primary indicium is substantially perpendicular to the ridge of the jaw at that preferred position (see Tables 1-5, infra). However, in order to achieve the rotation of the adaptor around the abutment and the adaptor/abutment assembly around the implant for a trichannel indexed implant, the predetermined rotation position of the adaptor around the abutment is a clockwise rotation to position “B,” a second rotation stop, which will result in the abutment being situated in the preferred position after the rotation of the abutment/adaptor assembly. The universal automated clinical and digital protocol has sets of rotation points for creating predetermined horizontal rotations that are specific for each different implant index. These rotations are achieved either clinically, digitally within a software program, or on a working model.
Incorporating the scan code and the milling device codes of the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and digital protocol into any software program for milling abutments and/or prostheses ideally situates virtual abutments prior to milling them, which improves their anatomic form. When “dialing in” the primary indicium reference point in relation to the primary or secondary indicium of the abutment, the virtual abutment can be automatically rotated into position. In certain embodiments, the virtual abutment can be directly rotated to negotiate the preferred position or can be used to adjust the auto rotated virtual abutment's position. Of course, the rotation of the virtual or the preformed abutment is contingent on translating the interim abutment's or healing caps' position as it is referenced by using the above protocol, or, via the interactive aspect of the protocol, the technician can modify the rotation into a more preferred location (see
Once alignment is completed, synchronization of the referencing devices (universal impression posts, intraoral or bench scanning posts and CT scan imaging posts) occurs as they are seated such that their primary or secondary indicia are situated in relation to the same primary indicium of the adaptor. The devices and methods of registering the location of the primary indicium and the chosen primary or secondary indicia of the abutment or healing cap are covered in detail in the Universal Impression, 3D Imaging, and Milling System, Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, Referencing and Forming a Set of Universal Abutments, and Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, 3D Imaging, and Milling Prosthetic Components and Devices sections of this application.
The universal aligning analog (see
The universal aligning analog is particularly useful for prepositioning abutments in a CT scan generated model prior to the conversion of a full denture to a screw retained transitional prosthesis after the insertion and immediate load of four or more implants. Abutments can be repositioned by rotating the analog such that its primary indicium is located under one of the primary or secondary indicia of a chosen abutment, which is then relocated to a more ideal situation on the model. The screw access holes are then precisely drilled in the denture in a more centered location. The denture is then seated over the abutments and their adaptors such that they are positioned as they were on the model, which will align them within the previously drilled access holes.
By providing alignment and synchronization of all components, and referencing devices along with the protocol for registering the adaptor position all of which correct for abutment misalignment, the Universal Aligning Adaptor System breaks open the door for extensive innovation in all areas of implant restoration including new advances in intraoral and bench scanning and CBCT scanning. The system can even facilitate the merging of the images obtained from both the intraoral or bench scan and the cone beam CT scan.
As a result of the alignment, synchronization, and referencing possible when using either a physical or a virtual aligning adaptor, the prosthetic component, device, or prosthesis can be ideally positioned. As stated, the universal aligning adaptor is a translational, integrating device that aligns, synchronizes, and references all of the other componentry. All of the examples described below are only just that, examples. They are not introduced as evidence that this is the only embodiment being claimed in each case. In short, in most cases, only one embodiment out of many is being presented to provide an overview of the technology.
The Universal Contour Abutment System (see
The Universal Multifunction Abutment System (see
The Universal Impression, 3D Imaging, and Milling System (see
The external configuration of the impression post is structured to be easily impressed and seated inside of the resulting impression. In certain embodiments, it can have an external flat overlying the internal flat which, in turn, is over the primary indicium such that it facilitates the seating of the impression post on the adaptor or the universal aligning post inside of it when it is in the impression. As an alternative, the operator may choose to use a registration coping, which has an internal and external primary indicium which guides it into place and provides an absolute seat for the analog as its primary indicium is aligned with that of the registration coping, which prevents operator error. Multiple registration copings can be connected with bonding rods for additional stability.
The external configurations of the intraoral and bench scan post and the CT scan imaging post are designed to facilitate the 3D imaging performed in each case. When possible, the external configurations of the scanning and the CT scan imaging posts are the same so that the images can be merged. In one embodiment, the external configurations have one or more polyhedrons that can be easily identified in the scans/imaging process. The scanning post is composed of a material that can easily be picked up by the scanner, while the scan imaging post is composed of any type of material that will avoid X-ray scatter. The identifying polyhedrons can be enhanced in each version.
Because the scan post for the intraoral or bench scan and the scan post for the CBCT scan are both registering the primary indicium of the universal aligning adaptor, and because their own primary indicia are in identical relative positions, their scan images can be merged. This allows the images of the implant adaptor to soft tissue and the implant adaptor to hard tissue (bone, implant, and teeth) to be combined. As a result, the final abutment and prosthetic devices can be fabricated from these scans. The Universal System can facilitate the milling of abutments and overlying prosthetic devices by including its scan code of the automated and/or interactive clinical and digital protocol scan code into the milling device codes and controls of the milling software program. Specifically, the protocol by either manual rotation or by autorotation realigns a virtual abutment into an ideal position. The prepositioned milled abutment can then be fabricated off of the data from such rotation, thereby reducing the need for additional milling of non-parallel side, which preserves the emergence profile.
The Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, Referencing, and Forming a Set of Universal Abutments discloses multiple methods for restoring implants using the universal aligning adaptor in combination with an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol to realign and synchronize abutments into preferred positions utilizing their primary and secondary indicia. The following descriptions summarize the methods that are described. The first technique encompasses a unique indexed healing cap that registers the adaptor/implant indexing, its preformed gingival architecture, and the gingival contours overlying the implant. It has an external or internal index on its top end, which is a replica of the underlying index of the adaptor such that its primary indicium is situated at the center point of the healing cap, when it has been situated in a preferred, predetermined position. In another embodiment, the indexed healing cap is connected to the implant and has an external or internal index, which, in this case, replicates the implant's index. An impression can also be taken directly on a multifunction abutment after it has been rotated into a preferred position such that the primary indicium of the abutment and, therefore, the impression post is in its preferred position. Secondly, a preformed abutment that has a primary indicium at its center point is rotated such that it is aligned when it is ideally situated, synchronized, and referenced to identify and register its preferred position. Third, the methods of using the universal aligning adaptor in combination with preformed healing caps having specific gingival contours at the exposure of the implant for tissue training, which is followed by an impression that registers that geometry, and then a final abutment whose base is a replica of the original healing cap. Fourth, a method of facilitating the immediate load of four or more implants after their insertion, wherein the universal aligning adaptor, in combination with the multifunction abutment, simplifies the process due to the finite increments of rotation that are 150 or less for all implants and the use of the universal aligning analog to compensate for any further horizontal angle correction. Fifth, the method of converting any preexisting abutment to a universal aligning abutment, by adding primary and secondary indicia increments to the abutment, along with an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol. Finally, the use of the ideal implant having a primary indicium that is referenced for its restoration and the use of the nonagon implant index within that context that has a specific vertex as its primary indicium.
Method of Aligning, Synchronizing, 3D Imaging, and Milling Prosthetic Components and Devices describes various methods of translating the automated and/or interactive clinical protocol to a digital protocol such that a virtual adaptor can be rotated in a software program by using the scan code of the automated and/or interactive clinical and digital protocol, which is incorporated into the milling device codes and controls of the milling software program. The second method describes the creation of milled abutments for a screw borne prosthesis as the preferred abutments instead of preformed ones. The next method describes the creation of milled abutments as crown and bridge abutments such that they have an ideal anatomic form regardless of the implant's index misalignment, as they are being rotated before being milled. The fourth method shows how the virtual universal aligning adaptor, in combination with the automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, can be used in a CT scan software program to create a milled abutment or set of abutments with ideal anatomic form and function, along with a milled coping or framework. The next method discloses how the universal system merges intraoral or bench scan images with those of a CT scan. Finally, the last method demonstrates how to translate the data from a previously rotated, preformed abutment to a virtual milled abutment prior to milling the physical one.
The Universal Aligning, Synchronizing Implant discloses an implant having an internal or external index with “n” regular sides and a primary indicium reference point from which all of its prosthetic componentry having co-operable indices are synchronized. Its co-operable componentry can also be rotated in combination with an adaptor using an automated and/or interactive clinical and digital protocol to ideally position them in finite increments, when the implant has not been inserted such that its primary indicium is bisecting the ridge of the jaw at a 90≅ angle where the center point of the projected abutment will be located.
At least one embodiment provides a nonagon implant having an internal or external index that is a regular 9 sided polygon having 9 equal sides and 9 vertexes with 9 lines of symmetry each of which extend from a particular vertex 180° to an opposing side, with only one of the 9 vertexes having a symmetry line that bisects its opposing side, and, therefore, serves as the index's primary indicium reference point for the ideal insertion of the implant and for aligning and synchronizing all prosthetic componentry having co-operable indices.
While each inventions disclosed enhances the universal system, many of them are to be considered on their own merits as stand-alone products, as well, since they can be used on any implant without a universal aligning adaptor. They are not limited to the preferred embodiments presented in these patent applications. While most of the innovations are based upon the universal aligning adaptor described in this patent application, several of them are applicable to any type of adaptor seated on a dental implant or to an implant without an interfacing adaptor, such as the indexed healing cap described above.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art(s) to make and use the invention.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters identify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.
For convenience, the description numbers have been grouped according to the part to which they are affixed, but have also been organized according to their function. For example, 121 is a primary indicium on the adaptor, whereas the primary indicia on other components also end in 21 (321, abutment; 421, healing cap; 521, multifunction abutment; 621, impression post; 721, scanning post; 921, nonagon implant). The categories are as follows: 10 implant; 100 adaptor; 200 fixation screw; 300 crown and bridge abutment; 400 healing cap; 500 multifunction abutment; 600 impression post; 700 scanning post; 800 auxiliary componentry; and 900 the nonagon implant. The reader can determine from the first digit, which type of component he or she is observing. At the end of this section, the reader will find a complete catalogue of the labels used in these drawings, along with a brief description.
It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
The embodiments described in the following “detailed description of the drawings” covers all aspects of clinical and digital implant restoration, since the prosthetic components are available as mechanical and “virtual” components with the latter utilized in a software program for fabricating final abutments and/or devices. For example a universal aligning adaptor can be used according to an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol to be rotated around an implant to a predetermined, preferred position, and the virtual version of the adaptor (a digital adaptor facsimile) can be used in a software program to effect that very same rotation.
It is understood that the section headings used in the present application are merely intended to orient the reader to various aspects of the disclosed Adaptor System. The section headings are not intended to limit the disclosed and claimed inventions. Similarly, the section headings are not intended to suggest that materials, features, aspects, methods, or procedures described in one section do not apply in another section. Therefore, descriptions of materials, features, aspects, methods or procedures described in one section are intended to apply to other sections as it would be understood to those skilled in the art.
In
With an implant having an octagon index (24, not shown here), the adaptor could have a hexagon protrusion (112, not shown here). These are not the only implant configurations that may be restored via the universal aligning adaptor, which may have many other means of varying dimensions and of such a nature as to fit into several different types of manufactured implants having various indexes, internal configurations, dimensions and internal thread diameters.
The abutment can have gingival contours, such as standard gingival contour (330), scalloped collar gingival contour (331), anterior shaped gingival collar, medium posterior gingival shaped collar, large posterior shaped gingival collar, maxillary contour shaped gingival collar, mandibular contour shaped gingival collar, or cylindrical collar (337). It is understood that the shape of the gingival contour depends on the intended position of the adaptor/prosthesis. The gingival collar also can have a depth extension (338) depending again on the intended position of the adaptor/prosthesis. Indeed, it is understood that gingival depth can vary from one patient to the next and also from one tooth position to the next within a given patient. Therefore, it is contemplated that one can design custom gingival collar depths and shapes to respond to these differences in gingival depths and shapes.
In the clinical version of the system, the alignment of the primary indicia of the adaptor relative to the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment is considered to be “automated” in that these relative positions instantly direct the operator towards rotating the abutment to its ultimate orientation for ideal position within the dental prosthesis. The indicia are also “interactive” in that the operator may elect to override the predetermined orientation by further rotating the adaptor about the abutment. In addition, the automated and interactivity features of the present system can be used with a milling software program such that the program utilizes the indicia information to autorotate the abutments to predetermined positions or to modify those positions. In the clinical version of the system, the surgeon or restorative dentist would have access to a kit or library of existing components which would allow him or her to complete the “loading” of the implant using the components and procedures of the present application. In the digital version of the system, it is contemplated that, the indicia information of the universal scan post/adaptor/abutment would be incorporated into a milling software program such that the orientation information provided by the indicia could be used to better enhance the functionality of abutment and prosthesis fabrication by a computer-driven milling program, in contrast to the present state of the art. The technician would have access to that library of components.
Throughout the present application, reference is made the making of prosthetic components, such as abutments and the like, and final restorative components by “milling”. It is understood herein that the milling refers to any computer-driven process for making prosthetic components or devices. Such methods include 3D printing techniques, milling, etc.
In at least certain embodiments, the primary indicium of the universal aligning adaptor is a sphere of appropriate shape and size to intimately contact one of the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment post, which are recessed spheres for a “snap” fit. In at least certain embodiments, the snap fit between the sphere of the adaptor and the recess of the abutment post can be released for disengagement. Although the snap fit is exemplified through a sphere and a corresponding recess, it is understood that the snap fit can be formed through any shaped protrusion and corresponding recess. Additionally, although the snap fit is exemplified as the male component residing on the adaptor and the female component residing on the abutment, the snap fit embodiments can also be configured such that the male component is on the abutment and the female component is on the adaptor.
Once realignment is completed, the assembly can be affixed to the implant (10) by a fixation screw (200), which, in this example, extends through the octagon stud (111) at the top at the screw access channel (151) and the tripod external post (141) at the bottom, which interfaces with the trichannel (21) passage of the implant.
The rotation shown in
The adaptor has many embodiments below its flange or collar (130), which, at its top end, can be the same size as the head of the implant or can be one of a different size such as when the surgeon or restorative dentist creates platform switching by choosing an adaptor having a base diameter that is smaller or larger than the interfacing implant head. It is composed of any suitable restorative material such as but not limited to titanium, titanium alloy, either one of those materials coated with nitrile or any other material for esthetics or function, zirconia, a ceramic, or other suitable material.
With the embodiment shown in
In at least certain embodiments, the stud (111) of the adaptor allows a precise interdigitation with the abutment along with the ability for them to be rotated about each other when not connected to the implant (10). In certain embodiments, the stud and abutment can be rotated about each other until the primary indicium of the adaptor (120) is aligned via a predetermined rotation under one of the primary (321) and secondary (325) indicia of the abutment, after which, they are combined with the implant. In certain embodiments, the adaptor/abutment assembly can be rotated in 15° or 7.5° increments, which results in a maximal 7.5° or 3.75° deviation from the ideal position, depending upon whether the internal interfacing index of the abutment is an octagon (361) as shown in
It is understood that the selected primary or secondary indicia can vary by rotational direction (clockwise vs. counter clockwise) and by stop number (e.g., a, b, c or A, B, C) and can be different for each implant index (hexagon vs. trichannel vs. octagon, etc.) to establish the finite increments of rotation. These indicia increments (122) are ideally correlated to the underlying implant index and/or adaptor index. Therefore, to the extent that an adaptor/implant combination is designed to achieve 15° increments of rotation, each indicia increment on the adaptor visually represents that increment of rotation to the surgeon, restorative dentist, or technician. Other embodiments described herein are capable of achieving 7.5° increments or rotation and even smaller increments of rotation. It is understood that the indicia increments (122) for such embodiment would reflect such degrees of rotation.
Tables 1-4, below, show one method of using a set of predetermined rotation points as a part of the Universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, wherein an adaptor is rotated about an abutment prior to the two being combined into an assembly, and said assembly is then rotated about, and seated onto, an underlying implant. The table could also be used to first rotate the adaptor to a set position over the implant, followed by the post being rotated and inserted over the adaptor. The table columns describe the prosthesis orientations achievable by rotating an adaptor about an abutment to the indicia settings stated in the topmost row (e.g. 0, A, B, C, 180, c, b, a in Table 1), while the table rows describe the prosthesis orientations achievable by rotating the adaptor/abutment assembly about the underlying implant and seating said assembly at the implant stop angles stated in the leftmost column (e.g. 0°, 120°, 240° in Table 1). Thus, the tables describe, for the particular mutual geometry of an adaptor and overlying implant device, the set of all possible prosthesis orientations achievable for given combinations of adaptor/abutment indicia settings and assembly rotations. For example, Table 1, below, illustrates how the Universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can be used to correct for misalignment of an underlying Tri-channel-index (three-sided) implant. By itself, the trichannel index implant yields just three possible final prosthesis orientations: 0°, 120°, and 240°, corresponding to the three physical implant stop angles provided by the device. The introduction of the Universal Aligning Adaptor with an upper index having a different polygonal configuration than the implant's index, however, gives rise to twenty-four possible final prosthesis orientations when the upper index is an octagon, each obtained by a different combination of adaptor/abutment indicia setting and assembly rotation. For instance, when the adaptor is rotated about the abutment to indicia setting “C”, and the combined assembly is then rotated 240° and seated onto the underlying implant, the net result is a 15° correction of the final prosthesis orientation towards the buccal. Likewise, the selections of indicia setting “c” and a 120° combined assembly rotation also produces a net 15° correction of the final prosthesis orientation, but towards the lingual.
The various combinations are not arbitrary—they are well defined given the mutual geometry of the adaptor and underlying implant—and cover a full 360° in 15° increments, however, as seen in the tables, they are not monotonic. Nonetheless, there is little or no work to be done to determine the optimal pairing: by employing the Universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, the practitioner need only look up the desired final prosthesis orientation in the appropriate table, configure the adaptor/abutment assembly at the designated indicia setting, and then rotate the combined assembly to the designated implant stop angle. The result is an automatic correction for the misalignment of the underlying implant, and positioning of the final prosthesis at an optimal orientation. Of course, after fitting, the practitioner is free to choose a different pairing for overriding aesthetic and/or clinical concerns, wherein the combined assembly is simply removed, the adaptor/abutment assembly is reconfigured (for example, to indicia setting “b” instead of “C”), and finally recombined and re-rotated to the indicated implant stop angle (here, achieving a net 30° rotation to the buccal). In essence, the Universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol enables optimal positioning of a final prosthesis, irrespective of the alignment of the underlying implant's index, in a simple, three-step process: analyze how far off the implant is from the surgical planning (preferred location); look up the preferred, predetermined rotation point; and rotate the physical or virtual components. Moreover, it achieves 15° or smaller increments of correction, such that the final prosthesis orientation will be no more than 7.5° away from any target reference angle. In the case of the Tri-channel-index implant, the benefit is quite clear: using just the implant index for rotation, a prosthesis with an intended orientation of, for example, 85°, can only be positioned at 120°, producing an unacceptable 35° angular misalignment. With a Universal adaptor configured at indicia setting “B” and implant stop angle 0°, however, the prosthesis becomes oriented at 90°, yielding a mere 5° angular misalignment. This 85% reduction in angular misalignment is clearly superior with regard to clinical stability and aesthetic acceptance.
Tables 2-5, below, show the achievable orientations for different adaptor/abutment/implant geometric configurations. As previously mentioned, the adaptor has independent upper and lower indexes with different geometrical shapes, the lower index matching that of the implant so that the adaptor can be seated upon it. Here, the mutual geometries afford multiple settings which all achieve the same desired prosthesis orientation. Table 2, below, shows four 15° rotation points (two buccal, two lingual) for the Hexagon implant, Table 3 indicates eight 15° rotation points (four buccal, four lingual) for the Dodecagon implant, Table 4 depicts four 15° rotation points (two buccal, two lingual) for the Octagon implant with a Hexagon upper-index adaptor. Table 5, below, shows the superiority of the nonagon implant that rotates in 5° increments, as opposed to the 15° increments of rotation for the other implants of Tables 1-4. Therefore, although the other embodiments of Tables 1-4 are far superior to existing implant technologies in that the surgeon or restorative dentist can have several positions to correct to 15° or less, the nonagon can routinely allow the surgeon or restorative dentist to be within 5° of the preferred, aesthetic position and increases the number of possible positions that allow for even 0° of misalignment. The practitioner is free to use any of the available settings to achieve an aesthetically correct alignment of the abutment or other prosthetic component over the underlying implant.
Not to belabor the point, but to make clear the power of the present invention, the conventional implants presently available only allow for the coarse increments of rotation dictated by their indices and their indices alone. Therefore, the trichannel only allows for 120° of rotation. Likewise, the hexagon implant only allows for 60° of rotation.
The present invention establishes very fine increments of rotation in 15° rotation or less and even 5° of rotation or less for the nonagon implant.
In summary, these tables illustrate the use of a set of predetermined reference points as a part of the Universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, employing a Universal Aligning Adaptor for implants of any index to achieve reproducible increments of rotation of 15° or less. While the rotation point for the primary indicium of the adaptor is different for each, the protocols are the same, and yield optimally oriented final prosthesis positioning in any clinical situation.
The fixation screw (200) is configured to thread into the internal screw threads of the implant (12). The shoulder of the screw head (240) is configured to engage an internal shoulder of the abutment (367) and thereby tighten the abutment to the adaptor by tightening the universal aligning adaptor (100)/abutment (300) assembly to the implant via the fixation screw. The fixation of the adaptor and abutment to the implant are not limited to any one screw or internal abutment configuration. After the adaptor and abutment are either first connected to each other or after the adaptor is inserted into the implant in a predetermined position, and the abutment is then inserted on the adaptor with its primary indicium situated in an ideal position, the fixation screw can be used to secure the abutment/adaptor complex to the implant.
The collar of the abutment tapers from the bottom end (369) at the flange to a larger, standardized size in order to more naturally represent the size and shape of a natural tooth abutment at the top end. As shown in
The rotation of the adaptor/abutment assembly with a nonagon (9 sided) indexed implant can occur in 5° increments, when the adaptor stud is an octagon, which is shown and described, in detail, in
The head of the abutment (300) has an internal cylindrical passage (365) to receive a fixation screw (200). The fixation screw, itself, has a shank (210) and it can have an internal hex hole (230) to receive a driver. The threads (220) engage the internal threads (12) of the implant, while the head of the screw engages the internal shoulder (367) of the post. Although exemplified as having threads (220) to secure the screw to the implant, it is understood that other mechanisms, such as a snap fit mechanism, can be used to secure the screw (200) to the implant (12).
In at least certain embodiments, the adaptor, itself, has internal threads (152) beginning above its collar that engage the fixation screw threads (220) prior to seating the assembly on the implant. This can make it easier to carry the assembly to the implant and prevents screw droppage during the surgical procedure. The adaptor is not limited to having this internal thread. Additionally, the universal adaptor can come in different shapes, sizes, configurations and contours than the ones exemplified in the present figures. Because of the large variety of different adaptors, only a few of them are presented in the figures here.
This system provides the missing capability to routinely screwing down crowns rather than cementing them. It provides two or more methods of engaging that fixation screw. One such method is machined threads in the milled post. Another such method involves tubes with threads in the patterns that become the cast pressable or other abutments made from a pattern.
At least one embodiment provides an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics a contour abutment intended for receiving a screw retained crown (
For areas where the interocclusal distance is shorter than desired,
As shown throughout these patent application drawings, the adaptor and its prosthetic components have co-operable primary and secondary indices that indicate predetermined positions, which can then dictate the placement of follow-on components in relation to the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor. This can begin with the interim abutment or healing cap insertion, after it is rotated on the adaptor off of the implant using the primary indicium of the adaptor (121) in combination with the primary (321) or secondary (322 and others) indicia of the abutment and the assembly is, in turn, rotated on the implant
Additionally, the adaptor can be used on multiple implant indexes as shown in
As shown in
In another method, the adaptor can be first rotated over the implant to a predetermined position with the abutment then inserted over the adaptor in its preferred position.
Even though the examples shown in
At least one embodiment provides an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics comprising a preexisting abutment that is converted to an aligning, contour abutment comprised of an adaptor and the abutment, wherein co-operable indicia are added to the preexisting abutment which is rotated at about and combined the adaptor that also has co-operable indicia means (
Certain embodiments provide a method of converting any preformed abutment of any type, size, or configuration to an aligning, rotatable abutment composed of an adaptor in association with the abutment that are rotatable around each other via co-operable indicia that are incorporated into the abutment, which, when combined with an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol reposition the abutment to a predetermined, preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position. Rotating the adaptor and the abutment can be performed such that the abutment is ideally situated. Then one can either create a milled, cast, or pressed abutment with the parameters of the rotated abutment such that it either engages the index of the adaptor with the assembly then being seated on the implant or directly engages the index of the implant and is seated on the implant without the adaptor or using a preformed abutment as the final abutment seated on an adaptor.
The following descriptions provide the details of each drawing. In the embodiment in
In certain embodiments, the polygonal structure at top end of the adaptor is an octagon stud and the bottom end of the adaptor is a hexagon, tripod, dodecagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides of the implant engaging polyhedron is a multiple of 3 and the contour or multifunction abutment have an octagon or hexadecagon receptacle that engages the octagon stud of the adaptor such that the relative angular position of the adaptor to the contour or multifunction abutment followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is an octagon or results in net 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is a hexadecagon.
In other embodiments, the polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor is a hexagon stud and the bottom end of the adaptor is an octagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides is a multiple of 8 and the contour or multifunction abutment have a hexagon or dodecagon receptacle that engages the hexagon stud of the adaptor such that the relative angular position of the adaptor to the contour or multifunction abutment followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° or 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is an octagon or results in net 7.5° or 3.75° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is a hexadecagon.
The polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor can also be a nonagon stud and the bottom end of the adaptor a quadragon. In such embodiments, the prosthetic component has an nonagon receptacle that engages the nonagon stud of the adaptor such that the relative angular position of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 10° increments of horizontal rotation when engaging the receptacle of the prosthetic component.
When these rotations are performed to align the adaptor's primary indicium in relation to a specific primary or secondary indicium of the abutment such that the abutment's primary indicium is ideally situated, and when the registration devices are synchronized to the adaptor's or indexed healing cap's primary indicia, then the impression or intraoral, bench, or cone beam (CBCT) scan techniques are simplified and consistent. In addition, when this technique is performed prior to the impression or scan, then the milled, pressed, and/or cast abutment will have a more natural emergence profile and ideal positioning, regardless of the coarseness of the implant's rotation increments (trichannel at 120° vs. a hexagon at 60°), etc., and the degree of misalignment. Once the abutment has been ideally positioned, the pertinent data such as location of the adaptor's primary indicium in the vertical axis of rotation, the type of abutment at that “tooth” position, the desired vertical angle correction of the abutment, the identification of the primary or secondary indicium that was chosen to ideally situate the abutment, the desired gingival architecture, and other pertinent data are conveyed to the milling program's milling device codes to create an improved abutment. Of course, with the Universal System's scan code being conveyed to milling device codes of the program, the milling process becomes automated, but it can also be interactive in that the technician can manually manipulate the virtual components. Of course, a cast or pressed abutment is fabricated in the same manner by realigning and preparing an abutment pattern.
In
The Universal Contour Abutment System illustrated in
As used herein, an “ideally situated” contour abutment refers to the specific alignment which yields a tooth preparation as straight up and parallel to other abutments as possible, for proper aesthetics and function. An “ideally situated” multifunction abutment, however, is one in which the fixation mechanisms are positioned as close as possible to the center of the occlusal table of the replacement tooth overlaying the implant, which, in certain embodiments, focuses on the alignment and positioning of screw access holes for proper aesthetics and function. Although the present application uses the same “ideal alignment”, “ideal situation” and/or “ideally situated” terms when discussing both contour and multifunction abutments, it is understood that, based on the distinct underlying purposes of the abutment types, these terms have different meanings with respect to the definition of “ideal” as it relates to criteria for preferred positioning. A surgeon or restorative dentist would necessarily understand the difference in usage of this terminology, as it applies to the classes of abutment componentry.
All types of abutments can be rotated into position over a universal aligning adaptor such that the abutment is situated in an ideal position in relation to the implant's index as needed. From this ideal position, an impression or scan can be performed with a crown or other prosthetic device then being fabricated to fit on it.
All abutments can be fabricated out of a variety of restorative materials and techniques. In at least certain embodiments, a castable abutment is rotated into position over a universal aligning adaptor such that the abutment is situated in an ideal position in relation to the implant's index and is prepared as needed such that a final cast abutment for engaging the adaptor's index is fabricated. The assembly can then be inserted on the implant with its primary indicium in the same preferred position, which can then receive a crown or other prosthetic device.
In certain embodiments, a titanium, zirconia, or other preformed, prepable abutment can be rotated over an adaptor and prepped with the combined adaptor/abutment assembly then being affixed to the implant.
In certain embodiments, a castable abutment composed of a castable material suitable for casting abutments is rotated into position over a cast-to adaptor which is also composed of a suitable castable material such that the abutment is rotated to an ideal position in relation to the implant's index. In this position, the abutment can be affixed to the cast-to adaptor. The abutment and adaptor can then be cast as a single piece, final abutment for engaging the implant's index without an interfacing adaptor, and is then inserted on the implant. A crown or other prosthetic device is seated on this abutment.
In certain embodiments, a zirconia abutment is rotated into position over a universal aligning zirconia adaptor, affixed to the adaptor, prepared as needed as a final abutment with the analog being directly inserted on the implant which then receives a crown or other prosthetic device. The zirconia abutment and the zirconia can be fused together to become a single abutment.
In certain embodiments, a pressable abutment composed of a ceramic or other pressable material suitable for pressing abutments is rotated into position over an adaptor which is also composed of a ceramic, Zirconia or other suitable pressable material such that the abutment is rotated to an ideal position in relation to the implant's index. In this position, the abutment can be affixed to the pressable adaptor. The abutment can then be pressed as a single piece, final abutment for engaging the implant's index without an interfacing adaptor, and is then inserted on the implant. A crown or other prosthetic device is seated on this abutment. The abutment could also be pressed to an adaptor composed of a dissimilar material that would accept the pressable porcelain or other suitable material without distorting.
A milled abutment comprised of any suitable restorative material can be virtually rotated into an ideal position over an adaptor using the universal aligning system's automated and interactive clinical protocol in a milling software program to eliminate mesial-distal misalignment prior to milling the abutment and then milled either as a single piece, final abutment for insertion on the implant as it engages its index without an interfacing adaptor or is milled to be receivable on the adaptor with the assembly then being inserted on the implant with a crown or other prosthetic device being seated upon it. In an alternate aspect of the invention, the abutment can be manufactured from an additive manufacturing process, such as stereolithography or 3D printing.
All abutments are decoupled from their implant indexes and are recoupled to adaptors, and, therefore, have the ability to be rotated as needed in 15° or less increments. In certain embodiments, the adaptor and the abutment can have dissimilar polygonal structures and co-operable indicia such that the rotation of the adaptor and abutment results in increments of horizontal rotational adjustment over the implant to a predetermined position. The polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor can be an octagon stud and the end of the adaptor can be a hexagon, tripod, dodecagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides is a multiple of 3 and the abutment has an octagon or hexadecagon receptacle that engages the octagon stud of the adaptor such that adjusting the relative angular position of the adaptor to the abutment followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is an octagon or results in net 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is a hexadecagon.
In other embodiments, the polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor is a hexagon stud and the end of the adaptor is an octagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides is a multiple of 8 and the abutment has a hexagon or dodecagon receptacle that engages the hexagon stud of the adaptor such that adjusting the relative angular position of the adaptor to the abutment followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is an octagon or results in net 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the abutment is a hexadecagon.
In other embodiments, the polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor is a nonagon stud and the bottom end of the adaptor is a quadragon and the prosthetic component has an nonagon receptacle that engages the nonagon stud of the adaptor such that adjusting the relative angular position of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 10° increments of horizontal rotation when engaging the receptacle of the prosthetic component.
In certain embodiments, the co-operable indicia include graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points.
In certain embodiments, the co-operable indicia include graduations for indicating the degree of rotation of the abutment and the adaptor relative to each other. The co-operable indicia can also include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary or secondary indicium of the contour or multifunction abutment as it is rotated to its desired predetermined position such that its primary indicium is ideally situated. In this way, the primary indicium of the abutment can determine the position of the contour or multifunction abutment post/adaptor assembly as it is rotated into its preferred position.
The primary indicium of the adaptor can be an engaging polyhedral fixture. In such embodiments, the engaging polyhedral fixture provides a positive seat when engaging the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment possessing a mating reciprocal polyhedral fixture.
The Multifunction Abutment can also have a polyhedron on its top surface that is shaped to receive another polyhedron with a matching engaging configuration that is inserted over it, engages it, and is, in turn, connected to the prosthetic device via a chemically cured, light cured, or other combination method to create the screw retained prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, that polyhedron on the abutment can be a cone whose primary indicium is approximately 180° from the midpoint of the vertical angle correction point on the abutment and the engaging polyhedron is a cylinder. The cone can also have a flat at its primary indicium which provides a positive seat at its primary indicium of the connecting cylinder during the assembly phase, which also prevents natural rotational forces associated with a cylinder on a cone from dislodging it.
The Universal Contour Abutment can be one of a plurality of devices including but not limited to temporary abutment posts, final preformed abutment posts, cast abutment posts, pressed abutment posts, or milled abutment posts, or other posts fabricated by another suitable means that receive implant crowns, set of crowns, bridges, and other prostheses for restoring dental implants that can either be cemented or screw retained.
Specifically, in certain embodiments, the base of the abutment has a preformed symmetrical configuration such as a cylinder, conical shaped cylinder, or other appropriate configuration to support the gingiva. Once the abutment has been rotated to ideally situate it, its base can also have a preformed asymmetrical configuration to support the gingiva with an emergence profile that is similar to a natural tooth that would be in that implant fixture's position. Additionally, interim abutments or healing caps, and impression, scanning, or imaging posts or other tissue engineering prosthetic devices can share the same preformed symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration as the base of the abutment to develop a custom emergence profile.
In certain embodiments, the abutment has standardized preformed anterior and posterior tooth abutment preparations over custom contour gingival bases. Ideally, the abutment can also have preformed tooth abutment preparations of maxillary or mandibular incisors, canines, premolars, or molars over custom contour gingival bases.
Further provided is an assembly for initiating tissue training comprising, in combination, a polyhedron device to be received in a dental implant and a guided tissue punch having an internal configuration to match to the configuration of the polyhedron device with a preferred diameter for the tissue opening over an implant, wherein the tissue punch is rotated over the polyhedron which centers the tissue punch such that it creates the exact opening over the implant as it is rotated over the polyhedron until it excises the tissue along the central axis of the implant, regardless of its vertical angulation (
In an alternate aspect of the invention, a hand piece drill including a drill bit can also be used to excise the tissue along the central axis of the implant. The drill bit can be rotated over the guiding screw or other polyhedron which centers the drill bit such that it creates the exact opening over the implant as it is rotated over the polyhedron.
Also provided is an automated, simplified crown and bridge implant restoration, wherein an adaptor to be received and seated on a dental implant in a predetermined position relative to the implant, which, in turn, receives a preformed, unprepared abutment having an asymmetric configuration upon which an interim coping and a referencing coping are individually seated, all of which have cooperable indicia for aligning, synchronizing, and referencing the interim abutment to create the final abutment, comprising the steps of rotating the adaptor and abutment relative to each other such that the abutment is in a predetermined, preferred position that is then noted, aligning and seating an interim preformed coping composed of acrylic or another suitable temporary restorative material for molding a temporary crown to it such that it is automatically in the preferred position, removing the interim coping/temporary crown assembly, seating a referencing coping with the same alignment as the interim coping to identify and register the position of the adaptor and the abutment, and fabricating a final crown to seat on the abutment or another final abutment having the same preferred horizontal and vertical position as the interim abutment.
The co-operable indicia can include graduations for indicating the degree of rotation of the abutment and adaptor relative to each other. The co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary or secondary indicium of the abutment as it is rotated to its desired predetermined position.
The acrylic coping can be seated on the abutment such that its primary indicium is aligned with the primary indicium of the abutment prior to relining a previously fabricated or molded temporary crown. The referencing coping can be seated on the abutment to identify and reference its primary indicium that is aligned with the primary indicium of the abutment along with registering the primary and secondary rotation points of the abutment in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor that were previously noted.
The referencing coping can be an impression coping that is removed within the impression and serves as a referencing and seating device for an abutment replica with the same geometry as the interim abutment with the model being poured and the final abutment being cast, pressed, or milled or fabricated by some other type of method such that it has the same relationship to the implant's index as the interim abutment or healing cap, which is followed by the fabrication of the overlying prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, the prosthesis is fabricated, and then seated on the interim abutment after the removal of the temporary crown or prosthesis, which, as a result, becomes the final abutment.
In certain embodiments, the referencing coping is a scanning coping with a geometric configuration that is ideal for an intraoral or bench scan to register the position and configuration of the interim abutment to create a milled abutment. The referencing coping can also be an imaging coping with a geometric configuration that is ideal for a CBCT scan to register the position and configuration of the interim abutment which is the matrix for creating the milled crown and/or abutment. In a preferred embodiment, the abutment's primary indicium itself is easily identifiable by a scanner.
The preformed abutment can have either a symmetric or asymmetric base with a preferred geometry of appropriate configuration and depth to vertically position the base in relation to the gingival architecture, because it is always in a preferred position.
The Universal Healing Cap and Interim Abutment with Preformed Gingival Architecture
The Universal System provides preformed custom gingival contours, regardless of the degree of asymmetry of its healing caps or misalignment of implant index. An adaptor to be received and seated on a dental implant is rotated about in a predetermined position relative to the implant. The adaptor and the healing cap have co-operable indicia to direct the rotation of the healing cap to a generally desired horizontal predetermined position, when the adaptor is seated on the implant with the healing cap's primary indicium situated such that an abutment in that position would have its primary indicium in that ideal position.
In one aspect of the invention, the healing cap having a symmetric configuration is a cylindrical healing cap. In a further aspect of the invention, the healing cap having an asymmetric configuration is a non-cylindrical polyhedron. The asymmetric healing cap more naturally simulates a natural tooth, and can, therefore, facilitate soft tissue healing better than the symmetric healing cap.
The adaptor can also be first rotated over the implant to a predetermined position with the healing cap then being inserted over the adaptor in its preferred position. With either rotation, the co-operable indicia can include graduations for indicating the degree of rotation of the healing cap and the adaptor relative to each other. The co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary or secondary indicium of the healing cap as it is rotated to its desired predetermined position.
Certain embodiments provide a method of restoring dental implants by using indexed healing caps or similar tissue supporting interim devices that are also referencing devices which have co-operable indicia for identifying and referencing adaptor and abutment positions without having to be removed from the implant. This thereby simplifies the fabrication of abutments and/or prosthetic devices for restoring dental implants. In certain embodiments, rotating the healing caps over their adaptors and the adaptor/healing cap assemblies over their implants according to an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol are performed such that they are situated in preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined positions over their implants. The referencing posts such as impression posts, or the scanning posts can be inserted over an index on each healing cap such that the primary indicium of the referencing post is aligned in relation to the primary indicium on the healing cap's index with an impression, intraoral or bench scan, or a CBCT scan being taken of the healing cap/referencing post assembly such that it registers the adaptor's position in relation to the implant index, the indexed healing cap position in relation to the adaptor, the referencing post in relation to the indexed healing cap along with the other anatomic structures in the jaw. A cast, milled, or other abutments to those preferred positions, can be fabricated by following the implant prostheses.
The co-operable indicia can include graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of the indexed healing cap as defined by the desired predetermined position of the healing cap.
The automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol includes choosing the appropriate indexed healing cap or similar prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for the tissue over the implant, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the healing cap and is set in relation to the index of the implant such that its gingival contours are ideally situated in a preferred, predetermined position over the implant.
In certain embodiments, the primary indicium of the healing cap is located at the center point of the healing cap as it bisects the ridge at a 90° angle in the sagittal plane or another preferred position, which, therein, identifies the location for seating the impression or scanning post.
In certain embodiments, the primary indicium of the impression post, or scanning post overlay the primary indicium of the healing cap. The index of the healing cap can have a polyhedron adjacent to the primary indicium of the healing cap such that the polygon of the polyhedron is bisected at that point. The primary indicium on the polygon of the healing cap receives the impression or scanning post such that the primary indicia overlay each other and, thereby, capture the primary indicium at its center point.
In certain embodiments, the polygon is an index that is an exact replica of the abutment engaging index on the open end of the adaptor. The adaptors and healing caps can be appropriately positioned on a model fabricated from a fixture level impression with implant analogs in order to seat scanning posts for a bench scan.
The multiple indexed healing caps can be used in an impression, an intraoral scan, a bench scan, or a cone beam CT scan to create a set of abutments, along with either a screw borne prosthesis or a crown's bridge prosthesis over tooth abutment preparations. In certain embodiments, multiple indexed healing caps can be used to create a full arch splint over crown and bridge abutments or over screw receiving abutments to receive a screw-retained prosthesis.
The primary indicia of the adaptor determines the seating of the impression, scanning, or imaging post in relation to the healing cap's position via the primary indicia of the healing cap, therein, determining the preferred position of the final abutment whose primary indicia is similarly situated.
The primary indicium of the adaptor can be an engaging polyhedral fixture to provide a positive seat when engaging the primary or secondary indicia of the healing cap possessing a mating reciprocal polyhedral fixture.
The assembly can include a single screw for securing the healing cap onto the adaptor and the adaptor onto the implant in their predetermined positions.
The healing cap can be one of a plurality of symmetrical and asymmetrical devices of varying configurations that are seated on adaptors. The plurality of devices include gingivo-adaptors which are healing caps and adaptors that are combined into one-piece assemblies for connection to the implant (
The healing cap can be composed from a plurality of materials including titanium, titanium alloy, zirconia, porcelain, or other suitable materials and can be coated by anodizing or some other method. The primary indicia of the healing cap can determine the position of the abutment post when it is to be rotated such that its primary indicium and that of the abutment are in the same preferred position.
The impression posts, scanning or imaging posts or other prosthetic devices can have preformed symmetrical configuration that match the configuration of the healing cap's base.
The healing cap can have an index on its open or top end with a primary indicium for situating a registering device such as an impression post or a scanning or imaging post for impression taking or intraoral or bench scanning or CBCT scan imaging after the healing cap has been rotated into a preferred position. The index is not limited to any one polyhedron and can be protruding or recessed. The index can have the same configuration as the underlying adaptor stud, and has the same geometry and position of its polyhedrons.
In one aspect of the invention, a kit can contain a library of healing caps including at least one of each of the maxillary central incisor (441), maxillary lateral incisor (442), maxillary canine (443), maxillary premolar (444), maxillary molar (445), mandibular central incisor (446), mandibular canine (447), mandibular first premolar (448), mandibular second premolar (449), and mandibular molar (450).
Recessed engaging polyhedrons (405) for receiving impression posts or scanning posts (shown here) are located on the top surface of these and other healing caps and are described in detail in
It is also possible to make horizontal angle corrections with the devices and methods of the present invention. Therefore, for example, with 351 it is possible to achieve a 15° horizontal angle correction. It is further contemplated that the devices and methods of the present invention can achieve 7.5° horizontal angle correction (by doubling the number of internal engaging flats of the abutment).
All of the abutments and healing caps in
These primary and secondary indicia of the healing cap and their relationship to the primary indicium of the adaptor help define the predetermined increments of rotation for repositioning, aligning, synchronizing, and referencing all other co-operable abutments and other prosthetic components according to an automated and/or integrated clinical and/or digital protocol. Once again, the prosthetic components, therein, are decoupled from dependence upon the coarse rotations around the implant's index, which is substituted by the much more refined increments of rotation of the adaptor system, such that the surgeon or restorative dentist can precisely position the healing caps or abutments and, therein, establish the most natural gingival contours of the gingiva over each implant. It is important to note that the techniques for ideally situating the gingival contours of the healing caps are applicable to the universal contour abutments, as well. Furthermore, it is understood that the surgeon or restorative dentist may elect to use an interim abutment having the same gingival architecture instead of the matching healing cap.
As an example,
The Contour Abutment System applies a systematized tissue engineering protocol wherein abutments are created to match to gingival contours that are established when the implants are ready for tissue loading or occlusal loading. Rather than adjusting the gingival contours of the final abutments to match to the gingiva, the gingiva is sculpted to blend with the preformed gingival contours of the healing caps or interim abutments. Due to the unique rotations of the contour abutment system components in 15° or less increments along with their synchronization to the Universal Aligning Adaptor, even asymmetrical gingival contours can be created, registered, and translated in exact form to the gingival architecture of the final abutments.
Tissue engineering can begin with the use of a guided tissue punch having an internal configuration to match to the configuration of a polyhedron device that is first inserted in an implant, followed by the tissue punch being rotated over the polyhedron. This centers the tissue punch, regardless of its vertical angulation, such that it creates an exact opening over the implant as it is rotated over the polyhedron until it excises the tissue along its central axis of the implant. The polyhedron can be a surgical guiding screw with a long cylindrical shank, which is first threaded in the dental implant and is followed by the rotation of the guided tissue punch having an internal configuration to match to the shank of the screw until it excises the tissue over the implant. The Guided Tissue Punch excision is an optional procedure prior to creating the custom gingival contour, below.
Custom tissue engineering at the time of implant loading is provided by an adaptor and a set of tissue engineering components having co-operable indicia, including a healing cap, interim abutment or other prosthetic component whose preferred, preformed gingival contours serve as a template to develop the gingival architecture over an implant, a referencing device such as an impression, scan, or imaging post, whose base is a replica of the interim component such that it has the same gingival contours, and a final abutment whose base is also a replica of the interim component. In this embodiment, the tissue over the implant is initially opened. Then an adaptor and a chosen interim component is rotated relative to each other and their assembly relative to the implant via their co-operable indicia such that the desired gingival contours of the interim abutment are ideally situated over the implant to most naturally support the tissue with the proper emergence profile. The gingival tissue is sculpted as the adaptor/interim prosthetic component assembly is seated on the adaptor so that the tissue conforms to the architecture of the interim component. The interim component is removed from the adaptor and the appropriate referencing device is seated with the same relationship to the primary indicium of the adaptor. In this manner, it is possible to identify and register the component's gingival contours when they are ideally positioned.
The preformed abutment can have a symmetric or asymmetric base with a preferred geometry of appropriate configuration and depth to vertically position the base in relation to the gingival architecture.
Once ideally positioned, the final abutment can be fabricated such that its base mimics the subgingival contours of the interim abutment, and removing the adaptor and the interim abutment and replacing it with a final abutment which also has co-operable indicia for precisely positioning its gingival contours with its gingival architecture having the identical gingival architecture over the implant
In another embodiment, one can expose the cover screw to locate its index. A guided tissue punch (804) with a polyhedron configured to mate with the polyhedron of the cover screw can be inserted such that it is seated. The cutting edge (802) of the tissue punch has an outer diameter of about the same outer diameter as the top of the implant. The guided tissue punch can then be rotated until the tissue is removed over the implant.
To summarize, the Universal System provides automated tissue engineering from implant exposure to creation of the final abutment and its insertion. First, a precise cut over the implant establishes the initial opening, as described above. Then a preformed universal contour healing cap or interim abutment (
It is also possible to design a particular multifunction abutment making a 0° vertical angle correction (553).
Although
Illustrated in
Certain embodiments provide an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics comprising, in combination, an adaptor to be received and seated on a dental implant in a predetermined position relative to the implant and a multifunction abutment seated on the adaptor's end. The adaptor's end is configured to receive the multifunction abutment which is first rotatable about the adaptor followed by the adaptor/abutment assembly around the implant until the abutment's screw access hole is realigned to a generally desired vertical and horizontal predetermined position to approximate the center of the occlusal table of the tooth replica for that particular implant that has been fabricated on the screw borne prosthesis. The adaptor and the abutment have co-operable indicia for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the abutment, wherein the co-operable indicia permits the adaptor and the abutment to be rotated relative to each other into a predetermined position of the abutment while the adaptor is detached from the implant. The primary indicia of the cone on the multifunction abutment can determine the seating of an impression post, a scanning post, or CBCT scan imaging post, each of which can also have co-operable indicia such that they reference the realignment of the abutment to its predetermined, preferred position that ideally situates the screw access hole when fabricating the final abutment and/or the prosthesis that is seated on it.
The abutment can be one of a plurality of devices including but not limited to preformed temporary abutment posts, preformed final abutment posts, cast abutment posts, pressed abutment posts, or milled abutment posts, or other fabricated posts wherein they receive the prosthesis that is screw retained to them when restoring the implants.
The prosthesis can be one of a plurality of devices including but not limited to an overdenture bar for receiving a snap on denture, a snap on denture that is connected to retaining devices seated directly on the adaptors or implant abutments seated on adaptors without a connecting bar, a transitional hybrid prosthesis that has been converted from a denture to a fixed, screw retained prosthesis during the insertion of a set of implants in an immediate load procedure, a screw retained denture or similar prosthesis with flanges, a screw retained crown, set of crowns or bridge with or without flanges.
The prosthesis can have a preformed, cast or milled framework or other suitable framework incorporated within it, or can be seated on copings or other interfacing prosthetic devices, that are, in turn, seated on implant abutments.
The multifunction abutment and an adaptor can both be composed of the same suitable restorative material.
In certain embodiments, the multifunction abutment and adaptor are rotated around each other followed by the rotation of their assembly around the implant such that the abutment is ideally situated. The abutment is prepared, if desired, and the abutment and the adaptor are combined by an appropriate method to create a single piece abutment/adaptor assembly that is directly connected to the implant without a separate adaptor interface, which then receives the screw borne prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, a milled multifunction abutment comprised of any suitable restorative material is fabricated by first rotating a virtual multifunction abutment into a preferred position over a virtual adaptor using the universal aligning system's automated and interactive clinical protocol in a milling software program to define the synchronized axis of rotation and, thereby, eliminate the mesial-distal misalignment prior to milling the abutment, followed by milling the abutment according to the parameters established by the rotation such that either a single piece, final abutment for insertion on the implant which engages its index without an interfacing adaptor or a final abutment to be receivable on the adaptor with the assembly then being inserted on the implant is milled with the prosthetic device then being milled and affixed to it.
In certain embodiments, the multifunction abutments are virtually rotated to the same positions as the ones that were registered during an impression or 3D imaging procedure, but the framework or overlying coping or set of copings is milled to fit on the previously seated intraoral abutments. In certain embodiments, the framework is fabricated after the autorotation with the abutments being milled first followed by the framework, or with the framework only being milled such that it will be inserted over clinically placed abutments.
In certain embodiments, the abutments can be virtually auto rotated in a software program into their appropriate positions according to the automated and/or interactive digital protocol scan code, which uses the location of each abutment's primary or secondary indicia in relation to the adaptor's primary indicium along with a library of abutment digital data to mill the abutments to either be seated on the adaptors or to be seated directly on the implants.
In certain embodiments, the abutments can be virtually autorotated in a software program, after an intraoral, impression or scan, bench scan, or a CBCT scan that registers the alignment of the implant's index in either the sagittal, coronal, or axial plane, wherein the automated and/or interactive digital protocol is translated to the program.
In certain embodiments, the adaptor and the multifunction abutment have dissimilar polygonal structures and co-operable indicia such that the rotation of the adaptor and the abutment results in increments of horizontal rotational adjustment over the implant to a predetermined position.
In certain embodiments, a healing cap can be removed from the cone on multifunction abutment and an impression post or an intraoral or bench scanning post or a CBCT scan imaging post is seated over the cone such that its primary indicium is situated over the primary indicium of the abutment to register the abutment position, rotation, angle correction, gingival contours in relationship to the abutment, and the relationship to adjacent anatomic structures.
In certain embodiments, the abutment can have a 0° score line opposite the midpoint of the vertical angle correction to show the orientation of the multifunction abutment. The abutment can also have additional score lines, for additional rotational stops to show the number of rotation stops to achieve the desired horizontal correction of abutment angulation to quickly reproduce the rotation.
In certain embodiments, a bonding sleeve can be seated over a cylinder or other polyhedron for securing a hybrid screw down denture, a screw down crown or fixed bridge, or other prosthetic device that is seated on a receiving polyhedron on the abutment, which has, in turn, been seated either directly on to an implant or indirectly on the implant via first being seated on an interfacing adaptor chosen to be compatible to and receivable on an associated implant and having a first portion dimensioned to extend above an associated implant, and the bonding sleeve can be connected to the overlying implant prosthesis. The bonding sleeve can be inserted over the cylinder or other polyhedron and bonded to it with an adhesive prior to or after seating the cylinder on to the abutment. The adhesive can be a biocompatible adhesive. The adhesive can be a composite, dual cure composite, acrylic, or other suitable bonding material.
The cylinder or other polyhedron can be seated on the abutment and appropriately torqued and the bonding sleeve can then be inserted over the cylinder with an adhesive.
The bonding sleeve can be used as a vertical stop for taking the bite prior to or after connecting the bonding sleeve to the prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, a customizable reinforcing bar of a suitable material can be connected to multiple bonding sleeves to provide resistance to fracture of the screw borne prosthesis. A reinforcing ring with a receptacle to receive the reinforcing bar which has been sized to fit between implants can also be seated on the bonding sleeve.
Certain embodiments provide a method of immediately restoring dental implants at the time of their insertion with an immediate load transitional screw retained prosthesis by first using a set of aligning multifunction abutments and universal adaptors having co-operable indicia wherein they are rotated and situated in finite increments such that the screw access holes of the abutments receiving the prosthesis are ideally located regardless of the type of implant indexes or their misalignment. In certain embodiments, the rotation of the adaptor and the abutment having the co-operable indicia around each other are performed. Following rotation of the adaptor and abutment, the assembly can be rotated around the implant according to an automatic and interactive clinical protocol with the abutment now being in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position when it is seated on the previously inserted implant such that the screw access hole is as close to the center of the occlusal table of the replacement tooth as possible. The denture can be placed over the abutments and the holes where they seat over the abutments. A connecting cylinder can then be placed over each abutment until it engages its receiving polyhedron. The prosthesis can be affixed by connecting the cylinders to the denture therein creating the transitional screw retained prosthesis.
The automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can include choosing the appropriate multifunction vertical angle correcting abutment or equivalent prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for that type of restoration over the implant, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment and is set in relation to the index of the implant when the multifunction abutment is being positioned in a preferred, predetermined horizontal and vertical location over the implant such that the screw access hole approximates the center of the occlusal table of the replacement teeth.
The primary indicium of the multifunction abutment is ideally situated in relation to the sagittal plane as it bisects the ridge when it is at a 90° angle to ridge and the abutment is in its ideal position.
In certain embodiments, a preop CT scan can be used to preplan the placement of the implants and abutments prior to the surgery such that the primary indicia of the abutments are ideally situated. The implant can be inserted in the bone according to its position in the CT scan.
The adaptor can be rotated around the abutment and the assembly can be rotated over the implant such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is aligned with a specific primary or secondary indicium of the abutment when it reestablishes the preplanned, preferred position of the multifunction abutment to compensate for implant index misalignment.
In certain embodiments, the restorative dentist seats the abutments and adaptors on the implants according to their position in the CT scan generated model, reassesses their positions, and rotates them with rotatable, universal aligning analogs until they are ideally situated in the CT scan generated model. Once ideally situated, the prosthetic device can be seated over the abutments on the model and be prepared to receive them. The restorative dentist then seats them on their implants using those rotation points as a guide.
In certain embodiments, cylinders that are antirotational having an internal flat that matches to the configuration of the cone or other projection on the multifunction abutment are placed over the projections that have a flat at their primary indicium to provide resistance to dislodgement such that the primary indicium of the cylinder overlays the primary indicium of the cone. This technique is not limited to cylinders with an asymmetric internal configuration.
In certain embodiments, a bonding sleeve that adheres to acrylic or other restorative material can be used in the conversion of the denture is seated over the cylinder with an adhesive and is connected to the denture with an appropriate acrylic or composite to create a one-piece screw retained transitional prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, a transitional appliance is replaced with a final appliance by first removing the transitional appliance from the multifunction abutment and seating an impression post or scanning post over the abutment post such that their primary indicia are aligned, and, either an impression or an intraoral or a bench scan is taken to identify and register the location of the abutment's primary indicium and the adaptor's primary indicium in relation to the primary indicium of the abutment and the implant's index, wherein either an analog is placed in the impression such that its primary indicium is positioned at the same reference points as established by the adaptor's primary indicium, or the data is conveyed to the scan code of a milling software program with the virtual abutments being rotated to the same positions or to new, preferred positions with the final prosthesis being fabricated and seated on the abutments.
In certain embodiments, the transitional, preformed multifunction abutments are replaced with milled ones that provide preferred contours, refined changes in position, gingival architecture, and other improvements when inserting the final screw retained prosthesis. In other situations, milled, Universal Multifunction Abutments can be replaced with milled Universal Contour Abutments at the restorative dentist's option, since they are interchangeable by virtue of the Universal Automated and/or Interactive Clinical and/or Digital Protocol. It does not matter whether they are seated on an adaptor or an implant or whether the crowns are cemented or screw retained.
A steriolithograph or other CT scan software generated model can be used with a removable, rotatable aligning analog that is used in combination with the overlaying abutment or other prosthetic component to reposition the abutment such that its primary indicium is repositioned in the mouth as it is on the universal aligning analog, using the adaptor's primary indicium to direct that repositioning.
There are at least six possible methods for taking impressions or intraoral scans with the universal impression system or scanning system, and
The registration coping (672) is seated on the impression post, and is included in each drawing for demonstration purposes only of a preferred embodiment, since the impression can be taken without using it (see
The techniques described in
In certain embodiments in the process of dental restoration, an impression post assembly can be used. For example, a Universal Aligning Adaptor can be seated on an implant that, at its bottom end, engages the implant index, and on its top end has a polyhedron to engage an impression post. The adaptor and the impression post can have co-operable indicia for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the adaptor the steps comprising a rotation of the adaptor and a prosthetic component also having co-operable indicia such that the prosthetic component establishes a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. The prosthetic component can then be removed from the adaptor and an impression post seated on the adaptor such that the cooperable indicia of the adaptor and the impression post register the newly established position of the adaptor. An impression can be taken to form a model for fabrication of a final prosthetic component.
The primary indicium of the adaptor can be an engaging polyhedron which provides a positive seat when engaging the primary indicium of the impression post possessing a mating polyhedron. The polyhedron at the primary indicium of the adaptor can be a protruding sphere and the polyhedron at the primary and secondary indicia of the impression post can be a reciprocal, concave sphere.
The impression post can have an external polygonal configuration that is set in relation to its primary indicium and defines its insertion in the impression after its removal from the mouth, such that the adaptor analog is connected to the impression post as defined by the relationship of their primary indicia and the assembly is inserted inside the impression, which references the position of the primary indicium of the adaptor.
An impression coping having a primary indicium and an internal configuration that matches to the external configuration of the impression post can be seated on the impression post such that their primary indicia are synchronized prior to taking the impression, which references the primary indicium of the adaptor when it is incorporated into the impression after the impression is taken. The impression coping inside the impression can receive the impression post after it has been connected to an adaptor analog with their primary indicia overlying each other with the assembly then being poured as part of a working model. In certain embodiments, the impression coping can protrude through the tray for use in an indirect impression technique.
In certain embodiments, connecting rods can be affixed to impression copings prior to taking an impression of the universal aligning adaptors seated on multiple implants in order to better stabilize them during model fabrication. The impression post/base assembly being connected to the universal aligning analog translates the gingival contours and configurations established during tissue training by the inserted healing cap or temporary abutment to the pattern used for the final cast abutment or to the software program whose milling device codes and controls create the milled abutment or other prosthetic device.
The final abutments can be fabricated from preferred castable or pressable patterns when they are cast or pressed using a suitable casting metal or pressable material, identical preformed abutments that are inserted on the working model when simplicity is desired, or fabricated from the data conveyed to a milling program from a bench scan of the working model when milled abutments are preferred.
In certain embodiments, an interim prosthetic device can be used to determine the ideal, predetermined position of a future final prosthetic device that is seated on an adaptor's top end. An impression post having co-operable indicia for identifying and registering that predetermined position of the interim prosthetic device can be used. The impression post can be situated in relation to the position of the interim abutment over the implant.
In certain embodiments, rotation of the adaptor and the interim prosthetic device via their co-operable indicia can be performed such that the interim prosthetic device is positioned in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. Afterward, an impression post can be seated on a polyhedron on the top end of the prosthetic device which has been configured to synchronize with the primary indicia of the adaptor and, thereby, register the adaptor's newly established position.
The primary indicium of the prosthetic device can be located on the polyhedron of the indexed prosthetic device which is in line with the primary indicium of the healing cap. In this configuration, the aligned indicium identify the preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position.
The primary indicium on the polygonal structure can be an engaging polygonal structure which provides a positive seat for engaging the impression post with a reciprocal polygonal structure that aligns their respective primary indicia. In certain embodiments, the polyhedron on the bottom end of the prosthetic device is an index with the same polygonal configuration as the index of the underlying adaptor such that their polygonal sides are aligned. For example, the polyhedron on the bottom end of the prosthetic device is an octagon when the adaptor's top end is also an octagon, or is a hexagon when the open end of the adaptor is also a hexagon.
The prosthetic device can be a gingivo-adaptor which is a prosthetic device comprising a one-piece assembly of an adaptor stud on its open end and the configuration of an implant engaging stud on its free end such that the open end index receives the impression post.
In one aspect of taking an impression of a multifunction abutment, an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics can include an adaptor, a multifunction abutment seated on the adaptor's open end which will, in turn, receive a screw borne prosthesis on its own open end and an impression post having co-operable indicia for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the multifunction abutment, which has been situated in relation to the cooperable indicia of the adaptor. The operable steps include rotation of the adaptor and the multifunction abutment, also having co-operable indicia, such that the multifunction abutment is situated in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. Next, an impression post can be seated on a screw bearing polyhedron on the open end of the abutment that receives the screw borne prosthesis such that the cooperable indicia on the screw bearing polyhedron and those on the impression post together register the newly established position of the multifunction abutment, which, in turn, has been set in relation to the adaptor's cooperable indicia. Next, an impression can be taken to form a model for the fabrication of a final prosthetic device.
In certain embodiments, co-operable indicia includes primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicia of the multifunction abutment, which is set in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor and the primary indicium of the impression post, determine the proper seating of the impression post. The primary indicium of the multifunction abutment and impression post can overlie each other.
In certain embodiments, a screw bearing polyhedron can be used with the multifunction abutment. In such an embodiment, an engaging polygonal structure provides a positive seat for engaging the impression post with a mating polygonal structure that aligns their respective primary indicia.
The impression post can have an external polygonal configuration that is set in relation to its primary indicium and to that of the multifunction abutment. The external polygonal configuration can define the insertion of the impression post in the impression such that the multifunction abutment analog is inserted inside of it in the same manner as the abutment, which references the position of the primary indicium of the multifunction abutment, and, thereby, the adaptor, as well.
An impression coping having an internal configuration that matches to the external configuration of the impression post can be seated on the impression post on the previously inserted multifunction abutment prior to taking the impression such that the coping's primary indicium overlies the primary indicium of the impression post, which, in turn, is superimposed over the primary indicium of the abutment such that it is then incorporated in the impression when the impression tray is removed from the mouth.
The impression coping seated in the impression can receive the impression post after it has been connected to a multifunction abutment analog such that its primary indicium is in its preferred position and the primary indicium of the analog is located at the same secondary indicium position as the corresponding adaptor when seated on the implant, and the assembly is incorporated in the working model when it is poured.
In another aspect of taking an impression of a preformed, unprepared contour abutment with a predetermined tooth preparation and a desired gingival configuration at its bottom end, an impression coping having co-operable indicia for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the contour abutment is used to register the abutment after it has been set in relation to the cooperable indicia of an adaptor can be used. The adaptor and the contour abutment can be rotated via their co-operable indicia such that the contour abutment is situated in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. An impression coping can then be seated on the abutment such that the cooperable indicia on the impression coping and the abutment post register the newly established position of the contour abutment, which has been set in relation to the adaptor's cooperable indicia. An impression can then be taken to form a model for fabrication of a final prosthetic device to fit on the preformed abutment.
In certain embodiments, another preformed abutment post can be directly inserted in the impression or inside the impression coping and the final prosthesis fabricated, when the abutment is satisfactory as is and has not been prepared.
The impression coping can be fabricated of a suitable restorative material and can be used after the model is poured to serve as a crown or other prosthetic device coping and, thereby receive the appropriate veneering material.
The Universal System is capable of digitally registering an implant via an intraoral or bench scan or a CBCT scan. The terms, “imaging” or “3D Imaging”, are used when referring to all three scans. Each of the three scans has a scan post that is either seated on an adaptor or on an indexed healing cap prior to taking the scan.
In certain embodiments, the indexed contour healing cap (401) has a primary indicium on its collar (411) and on its top surface (421), and has one on the index (428) which is in line with them.
In certain embodiments, all scanning posts for taking an intraoral, CBCT, or bench scan have the same configuration, although they will have varying compositions, depending upon the type of scan being taken. Given the fact that the scan post polyhedrons shown in the examples above are either primary (713) and (714) or secondary indicia (715) and given the fact that they are positioned either directly over the primary indicia of the aligning adaptor (120, 121), or the primary indicia of the indexed healing cap (428), which has been set in relation to the primary indicia of the aligning adaptor (120, 121), the merging of the intraoral or bench scan images with the CBCT scan image is automatable as the polyhedrons can automatically stitched together by combining the multiple reference points, once the location of the adaptor primary indicium, implant angulation, position in the jaw, and other appropriate data are input into via the Universal System scan code into the program.
For the purposes of discussion in this application, the terms “milled abutments” or “milling” connote any computer generated method for fabricating prosthetic components and devices to fit over implants, including, but not limited to, CNC milled components, stereolithography generated components, and other components.
In certain embodiments, an imaging post assembly can be used for fabricating milled abutments and prosthetic devices. The imaging post assembly can comprise an adaptor seated on an implant such that the adaptor index at its bottom end engages the implant's index. The imaging post can be seated on a polyhedron on the top end of the adaptor such that the adaptor and the imaging post have co-operable indicia for digitally identifying and registering the predetermined position of the adaptor. For example, a prior rotation of the adaptor and a prosthetic component also having co-operable indicia can be performed such that the prosthetic component establishes the preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. The prosthetic component can then be removed from the adaptor and the imaging post can be seated on the adaptor such that the cooperable indicia of the adaptor and the imaging post register the newly established position of the adaptor when taking an intraoral scan or similar scan. From this digital data, an abutment configuration can be rendered and conveyed to the milling program for abutment fabrication. Co-operable primary and secondary indicia can be used such that the primary indicia of the adaptor and imaging post determine the proper seating of the imaging post. The primary indicium of the adaptor and the imaging post can overlie each other.
The primary indicium of the adaptor can be an engaging polyhedron which provides a positive seat when engaging the primary indicium of the imaging post having a mating polyhedron.
The primary indicium position of the adaptor can be translated to a chosen milling program for creating a milled abutment, other prosthetic device, and/or prosthesis framework. The milling program uses the primary indicium position as part of the milling code for the manufacturing of the milled abutment, other prosthetic device, and/or prosthesis framework. For example, the primary indicium position informs the milling code how to control the milling process to thereby properly orient the manufactured item when seated on the adaptor or directly to the implant such that the manufactured item is properly, aesthetically, aligned.
In addition to the adaptor's primary indicium, the primary and secondary indicia of the abutment can be translated to the milling code of a milling software program. In such a manner, an ideally positioned virtual abutment or prosthetic device can be rendered first in the software and then integrated with the milling device codes and controls of a software program for the manufacture of a physical abutment or prosthetic device.
In certain embodiments, the abutment or prosthetic device can be manually rotated with the adaptor within the program by a user to a preferred position on the adaptor. In other embodiments, the software is programmed to automatically rotate the abutment or prosthetic device when the data input indicate the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor in relation to the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment or prosthetic device. In other instances, the universal automated and/or interactive digital protocol is translated to a milling software program, after taking an intraoral, bench, or CBCT scan that identifies the index align
In certain embodiments, the imaging post has one or more markings or polyhedrons that are identifiable by the scan code of the program fabricating the milled abutment. For example, the markings or polyhedrons are enhanced by a substance that is readily visualized by the intraoral or bench scanner such as titanium dioxide or other suitable material, and may be enhanced by using barium or other suitable material for the CBCT X-ray scanner. In other embodiments, the imaging post has similar or dissimilar scanner identifiable polyhedrons which are located in an X-Y-Z plane to facilitate the virtual positioning of the implant abutment and the adaptor via the program's scan code. For example, the imaging post can have dissimilar scanner identifiable polyhedrons in the X-Y-Z plane such that the polyhedron in the “Z” location is 180° and a set distance from the “X” polyhedron as partially determined by the thickness of the imaging post and the “Y” polyhedron is a set 90° vertical distance from the “X” polyhedron that facilitates the scan process and accuracy. In at least certain embodiments, the imaging post's “Z” and “Y” scanner identifiable polyhedrons are the same distance from the “X” polyhedron which defines a precise isosceles triangle.
The indexed healing cap can be used to register the adaptor's reference indicium as well as the preferred gingival architecture that was developed by the geometry of the previously inserted healing cap.
In certain embodiments, an indexed healing cap or other referencing prosthetic component can be used to determine the ideal, predetermined position of a future final abutment or other prosthetic component that is seated on an adaptor's top end, and an imaging post having co-operable indicia for digitally identifying and registering that predetermined position of the healing cap or other prosthetic component, after rotation to the preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. This can involve the rotation of an adaptor and the healing cap or other prosthetic component via their co-operable indicia such that the healing cap or other prosthetic component is positioned in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. Then an imaging post is seated on a polyhedron on the top end of the healing cap which has been configured to synchronize with the primary indicia of the adaptor, which registers the adaptor's newly established position.
The co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicia of the healing cap, which is set in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor, and the primary indicium of the imaging post, determine the proper seating of the imaging post. The primary indicium of the indexed healing cap can be identified by its preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position and designates the insertion point of the imaging post.
The primary indicium of the indexed healing cap can be located on the polyhedron of the indexed base unit of the referencing device which is in line with the primary indicium that is identifying its preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position. The primary indicium on the polygonal structure can engage a polygonal structure which provides a positive seat for engaging the imaging post with a reciprocal polygonal structure that aligns their respective primary indicia. The polyhedron on the end of the prosthetic device can be an index with the same polygonal configuration as the index of the underlying adaptor such that their polygonal sides are aligned. The polyhedron on the end of the prosthetic device can, for example, be an octagon when the adaptor's open end is also an octagon, or is a hexagon when the open of the adaptor is also a hexagon.
The indexed healing cap can have either symmetrical or asymmetrical contours such as cylinders, conical cylinders, or custom contours that extend from its free end to its open end as it emerges from the implant through the gingiva to the free gingival margin over the implant. The indexed healing cap has been previously situated in combination with an adaptor over an implant such that the restorative dentist can register the position of the adaptor via an intraoral, bench, or CBCT scan without removing the healing cap from the implant. The prosthetic device can also be gingivo-adaptor which is a prosthetic device comprising a one-piece assembly of an adaptor stud on its end and the configuration of an implant engaging stud on its end such that the end index receives the impression post.
The primary indicium of the indexed healing cap can therein be conveyed to the milling device codes and controls to the chosen milling program for creating a milled abutment or other prosthetic device and prosthesis framework. The abutment or prosthetic device can be milled such that the scan code incorporates the location of the primary and secondary indicia of the ideally positioned virtual abutment and integrates it with the milling device codes and controls of a software program.
As previously explained, the abutment or prosthetic device is either manually rotated with the adaptor within the program to ideally position it or automatically rotated when the data input indicate the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor in relation to the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment or prosthetic device. The imaging post can have one or more markings or polyhedrons that are identifiable by the scan code of the program fabricating the milled abutment.
The indexed healing cap can have the same gingival contours as the interim healing cap or temporary abutment, which are also identifiable by the universal scan code from a library, and translates that information towards either choosing the correct base for the castable or pressable abutment or inserting the data in the scan code's milling device codes and controls of a software program used when creating the milled abutment.
Further embodiments provide an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics comprising an adaptor, a preformed, unprepared contour abutment with a predetermined tooth preparation and a desired gingival configuration at its end, and a coping having co-operable indicia for digitally identifying and registering the predetermined position of the contour abutment, which has been set in relation to the cooperable indicia of the adaptor. This procedure can involve the rotation of the adaptor and the contour abutment also having co-operable indicia such that the contour abutment is situated in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. An imaging coping can be seated on the abutment such that the cooperable indicia on the imaging coping and the scan post register the newly established position of the contour abutment, which has been set in relation to the adaptor's cooperable indicia. In this position, a scan can be taken for fabrication of a final prosthetic device to fit on the preformed abutment.
In certain embodiments, the scan coping has the appropriate data for milling the abutment which has a matching configuration to its internal configuration. The scan data can include the configurations of the temporary abutment that holds the scan coping.
The abutment or prosthetic device can then be milled from the scan code incorporating the location of the primary and secondary indicia of the ideally positioned scanned abutment.
Further embodiments provide an assembly for use in the process of dental restoration relevant to dental implant prosthetics that can include an adaptor, a multifunction abutment seated on the adaptor's end and a imaging post having co-operable indicia for digitally identifying and registering the predetermined position of the multifunction abutment, which has been set in relation to the cooperable indicia of the adaptor. The multifunction abutment can receive a screw borne prosthesis on one end. In certain embodiments, the adaptor and the multifunction abutment, also having co-operable indicia, can be rotated such that the multifunction abutment is situated in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position over the implant. Once properly situated, an imaging post can be seated on the end of the abutment that receives the screw borne prosthesis such that the cooperable indicia on the screw bearing polyhedron and those on the imaging post together register the newly established position of the multifunction abutment, which has been set in relation to the adaptor's cooperable indicia. In this position, it is possible to take a scan for the fabrication of a final prosthetic device.
In one aspect, the co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicia of the multifunction abutment, which is set in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor and the primary indicium of the imaging post, determine the proper seating of the imaging post. The primary indicium of the multifunction abutment and imaging post can overlie each other.
In a further aspect of the invention, the primary indicium on the screw bearing polyhedron of the multifunction abutment can have an engaging polygonal structure which provides a positive seat for engaging the imaging post with a mating polygonal structure that aligns their respective primary indicia.
The primary indicium of the adaptor can be conveyed by its scan code's milling device codes and controls to the chosen milling program for creating a milled abutment or other prosthetic device and prosthesis framework. The abutment or prosthetic device can be milled from the scan code incorporating the location of the primary and secondary indicia of the ideally positioned virtual abutment are integrated with milling device codes and controls of a software program. The abutment or prosthetic device can be either manually rotated with the adaptor within the program to ideally position it or it can be automatically rotated when the data input indicate the location of the primary indicium of the adaptor in relation to the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment or prosthetic device.
The scan post can have one or more markings or polyhedrons that are identifiable by the scan code of the program used to fabricate the milled abutment. The markings or polyhedrons can be enhanced by a substance that is readily visualized by the scanner such as titanium dioxide or other suitable material. The scan post can have similar or dissimilar scanner identifiable polyhedrons which are located in an X-Y-Z plane to facilitate the virtual positioning of the implant abutment and adaptor via the program's scan code. In certain embodiments, the scan post has dissimilar scanner identifiable polyhedrons in the X-Y-Z plane such that the polyhedron in the “Z” location is 180° and a set distance from the “X” polyhedron as partially determined by the thickness of the scan post and the “Y” polyhedron is a set 90° vertical distance from the “X” polyhedron that facilitates the scan process and accuracy. The scan post's “Z” and “Y” scanner identifiable polyhedrons can be the same distance from the “X” polyhedron, which defines a precise isosceles triangle.
In addition to an intraoral scan, a CBCT scan can be performed in the same manner, although the CBCT scan post is composed of a nonmetallic material to prevent X-ray scatter. In a preferred technique, the CBCT and the intraoral scans can be merged by overlaying their referencing polyhedrons, etc.
In certain embodiments, an impression is first taken of the implant using the impression post of the company supplying the implant and a model is poured using an implant replica. A bench scan is then taken, by seating a universal scan post on an implant replica such that it captures the implant's index relationship, which is translated to a software program having the universal automated and/or interactive digital protocol within the universal scan code which virtually rotates an abutment into a preferred position. In another embodiment, an adaptor is first seated on the implant replica with a referencing post then being used to determine the ideal position of an abutment on the model prior to removing the referencing post and placing the scan post such that its primary indicium is set in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor. A bench scan is then performed with the data translated to the milling software program for the fabrication of the milled prosthetic components. In another embodiment, a CBCT scan can be taken and the bench scan polyhedrons can be merged with those of the CBCT scan, thereby eliminating any error resulting from any inaccurate impression. The CBCT scan registers the absolute position of the universal aligning adaptor's primary indicium (and, therefore, the implant's index alignment).
The Universal Automated and/or Interactive Clinical and/or Digital Protocol:
The Universal Automated and/or Interactive clinical and/or digital protocol is a translational, integrating treatment protocol and makes use of cooperable componentry to synchronize them to a primary reference point.
One embodiment provides a method of restoring an implant having any index configuration and alignment by realigning, synchronizing, and referencing all restorative prosthetic components to set reference points wherein an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol is used to realign and synchronize an implant prosthetic insert and a prosthetic component via their co-operable indicia such that the prosthetic component is situated in a preferred, predetermined position, which ideally situates its subgingival and supergingival configurations. The surgeon can select the desired vertical angle correcting prosthetic component having the appropriate geometric shape for restoring the implant. The prosthetic component can be rotated over the prosthetic insert via their co-operable indicia in relation to each other such that the prosthetic component is ideally situated. Once ideally situated, the co-operable indicia at that position can be identified and referenced. The identified, reference positions serve as reference points for fabricating the final prosthetic components and devices.
In certain embodiments, the co-operable indicia include graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points.
The implant prosthetic insert can be an adaptor whose primary indicium is one of the reference points that define the synchronization of all other prosthetic components as well as their relationship to the implant's index.
In certain embodiments, all other componentry are synchronized to the primary indicium of the adaptor, to the specific primary or secondary indicium of the prosthetic device that overlays the primary indicium of the adaptor, and to the primary indicium of the prosthetic component which defines its preferred horizontal and vertical position.
The adaptor and the prosthetic component can be rotated about each other such that the primary indicium of the prosthetic component is aligned with a particular primary or secondary indicium of the prosthetic component when it is situated in a predetermined, preferred horizontal and vertical position. The adaptor and the prosthetic component can be positioned such that the primary indicia of the adaptor and the abutment overlay each other when no rotation was performed, and a specific secondary indicium of the abutment overlays the primary indicium of the adaptor as determined by the degree of horizontal rotation that was necessary.
The rotation of an abutment or other prosthetic component to its preferred position synchronizes its primary and secondary indicia in relation to the primary indicia of the adaptors, thereby, the indexes of the implants, including the referencing devices such as an impression post or a scanning or imaging post or CT scan post, which automates impression taking or 3D imaging.
In certain embodiments, identifying the rotation and synchronization points prior to taking an impression for a bench scan, automatically identifies and references them during the bench scan, and, thereby, lessens the effects of any distortion that can occur from expansion and contraction of materials, when taking an impression for fabricating a model.
One embodiment provides a method of restoring any implant with any index configuration and/or misalignment which is positioned at any vertical angulation, wherein an aligning, synchronizing, referencing device defines the preferred, predetermined position of an interim or final prosthetic component or device such that it is ideally situated. In such an embodiment, an aligning, synchronizing, referencing device can be used in combination with an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol to realign the referencing device to an ideal position, wherein the device is composed of an adaptor and an abutment having co-operable indicia that permits them to be rotated relative to each other to identify the abutment's preferred position. All other co-operable componentry can be synchronized to the newly repositioned cooperable indicia. The synchronized indicia can be used to register that position. Using the registered position information, the final prosthetic components and devices can be fabricated according to those reference points.
The co-operable indicia can include graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of the abutment as defined by the desired predetermined position. The automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can include a plurality of realigning and synchronizing prosthetic components and/or establishing or refining the gingival contours of interim or final prosthetic components, such that they are ideally situated, for replicating the tissue contours established by interim prosthetic components during the tissue engineering phase.
The chosen prosthetic component is rotated in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction over an adaptor such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium of the prosthetic component, with the primary indicia of both components now being situated in relation to the index of the implant.
The realignment of the abutment or other prosthetic component or prosthesis can be preformed clinically in the treatment room or on the laboratory bench or is done virtually within a software program.
The aligning, synchronizing, referencing device can also serve as an interim abutment, healing cap or other interim prosthetic component. The abutment can be preformed, cast, milled or fabricated by another prosthetic means and is used for restoring a crown, bridge, or set of crowns with a preferred emergence profile, angulation, tooth preparation form, gingival architecture or other aspects for creating a preferred crown, set of crowns, bridge or similar prosthesis.
The abutment can also be preformed, cast, pressed, milled or fabricated by another prosthetic method and is used to restore an implant with a screw down prosthesis, wherein the repositioning of the abutment ideally positions the screw access channel for receiving the prosthesis anchoring screw.
The final aligning, synchronizing, referencing device can also be used to ideally position an implant during insertion. It is seated in the implant prior to its final torqueing during its insertion to assess the alignment of the index so that it can be ideally situated as the implant is tightened.
The universal aligning analog can be used interchangeably with the universal contour abutment system and the universal multifunction abutment system, and can be cross transferred from a model of implant replicas so that universal system components can be used to fabricate the restorations.
The co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the secondary indicium of the abutment as defined by the desired predetermined position and the location of the abutment's primary indicium determines the location of the fixation screw threads.
The adaptor can be rotated around the abutment and the assembly is rotated over the implant such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is aligned with a specific primary or secondary indicium of the abutment when it reestablishes the preplanned, preferred position of the multifunction abutment to compensate for implant index misalignment, and the screw thread is positioned approximately 180° from the primary indicium.
In another method, the adaptor can be first rotated over the implant to a predetermined position with the abutment then inserted over the adaptor in its preferred position.
One embodiment provides an assembly for restoring an edentulous site with a nonagon aligning, synchronizing implant fixture composed of a regular 9 sided polygon having 9 equal sides and 9 vertexes with 9 lines of symmetry each of which extend from a particular vertex 180° to an opposing side, wherein only one of the 9 vertexes had a symmetry line that bisects its opposing side, and, therefore, serves as the index's primary indicium reference point for the ideal insertion of the implant such that a sagittal plane drawn at that reference point bisects the ridge at a 90° angle when the implant is ideally situated with its axis of rotation and synchronization being in a preferred horizontal and vertical predetermined location in the bone and a set of prosthetic componentry for restoring the implant that are synchronized to the implant's primary indicium and to each other via their co-operable indicia are, therefore, also situated in a preferred horizontal and vertical predetermined location for creating the ideal restoration when their primary indicia overlay each other.
The nonagon implant can either have an internal or an external index. The co-operable indicia can include graduations for indicating the degree of rotation of the prosthetic componentry relative to the implant's primary indicium reference point. The co-operable indicia can include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary and secondary indicia of the prosthetic componentry are rotatable in relation to the primary indicium of the implant as they are rotated to a desired predetermined position. The primary indicium of the nonagon implant determines the positioning of the prosthetic componentry into their preferred positions as they are rotated with their primary and secondary indicia in a set position relative to the implant's primary indicium.
The bisecting vertex can serve as a primary indicium. In one such embodiment, the bisecting vertex has a different shape to distinguish it from the other vertexes.
In one embodiment, the nonagon implant and prosthetic components can be ideally situated. An abutment, impression post, scanning post, healing cap, similar prosthetic component or prosthetic device for restoring the implant to be received can be seated on the nonagon implant with its primary indicium overlaying the implant's primary indicium with the final prosthetic component, device or restoration being fabricated from that reference point, when the implant has been positioned in its preferred, preplanned position.
When the nonagon implant has not been ideally situated and the prosthetic components correct for index misalignment, an aligning adaptor to be received and seated on the nonagon can be used to align and synchronize an abutment in a predetermined position relative to the implant's primary indicium. An abutment post or healing cap, prosthetic device or similar prosthetic component for restoring the implant can be received on and rotated about the adaptor to reposition the prosthetic component in a generally desired vertical and horizontal predetermined position when the adaptor/prosthetic component assembly is seated on the implant, wherein the adaptor and the prosthetic component have co-operable indicia for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the prosthetic component.
The co-operable indicia include primary and secondary indicia such that the primary and secondary indicia of the prosthetic componentry are rotatable in relation to the primary indicium of the implant as they are turned into a desired predetermined position.
The polygonal structure at the top end of the adaptor can be an octagon stud and the bottom end of the adaptor that interfaces with the implant is a nonagon with the prosthetic component having an octagon or hexadecagon receptacle that engages the octagon stud of the adaptor. The means for adjusting the relative angular position of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the prosthetic component is an octagon or results in net 2.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of the prosthetic component is a hexadecagon.
In the methods described, below, it is understood that the Universal System rotates all abutments and other prosthetic components in 15° increments, or less, for the trichannel, quadragon, hexagon, octagon, and dodecagon implants. In these discussions, when a scan post is seated for an intraoral scan, it is assumed that an impression post can first be inserted followed by a bench scan.
Automated Technique Via Integrated Componentry in Combination with a Specific Clinical and Digital Protocol:
The Universal System is a comprehensive system for restoring any type of implant restoration using either clinical prosthetic components or virtual components in a software program, or both. It provides a method of restoring an implant having any index configuration and/or alignment by realigning, synchronizing, and referencing all restorative prosthetic components to set reference points. In certain embodiments, an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can be used to realign and synchronize a physical or virtual implant prosthetic insert and a prosthetic component via their co-operable indicia. In this manner, the prosthetic component can be situated in a preferred, predetermined position, which ideally situates its subgingival and supergingival configurations and provides the ideal position for the restoration.
One embodiment involves choosing the desired vertical angle correcting prosthetic component having the appropriate geometric shape for restoring the implant. The prosthetic insert can be rotated about the abutment via their co-operable indices in relation to each other such that the prosthetic component is ideally situated over the implant. The co-operable indices can then be identified and referenced at that position, which are the reference points for fabricating the final prosthetic components and devices.
In a preferred, but by no means the only, embodiment, the cooperable componentry have graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points, and the prosthetic insert is a universal aligning adaptor that has a specific primary reference indicium to which all other cooperable componentry are synchronized. It is the synchronization of all of the componentry that contributes to automating the restorative procedures with a dramatic reduction in operator error.
In addition, the system transforms the rotation of abutments from being around the central axis of the implant to a redefined central axis of rotation that has been developed using a series of predefined points of rotation with the result being that all interim and final abutments and healing caps are ideally situated after being rotated in 15° increments or less. As such, this is accomplished by rotating the universal aligning adaptor in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction about an abutment or healing cap, wherein its primary indicium is positioned under a predetermined primary or secondary indicium of the prosthetic component to achieve the desired rotation.
The rotation by primary and secondary indicia of the co-operable adaptor and its overlying prosthetic component is facilitated by dissimilar polygonal structures at the free end and open end of the adaptor such that the rotation of the adaptor and prosthetic component results in increments of horizontal rotational adjustment over the implant.
In certain embodiments, the polygonal structure at the open end of the adaptor is an octagon stud and the free end of said adaptor is a hexagon, tripod, dodecagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides is a multiple of 3 and said prosthetic component has an octagon or hexadecagon receptacle that engages the octagon stud of the adaptor. This configuration allows for adjustment of the relative angular position of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of said prosthetic component is an octagon. One can achieve net 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of said prosthetic component is a hexadecagon. When the polygonal structure at the open end of said adaptor is a hexagon stud and the free end of said adaptor is an octagon or other configuration wherein the number of polygonal sides is a multiple of 8 and the prosthetic component has an hexagon or dodecagon receptacle that engages the hexagon stud of the adaptor such that the means for adjusting the relative angular position of the adaptor to said prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant also results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of said prosthetic component is an octagon. One can achieve net 7.5° increments of horizontal rotation when the engaging receptacle of said prosthetic component is a dodecagon.
When the polygonal structure at the open end of said adaptor is a nonagon stud and the free end of the adaptor is a quadragon and the prosthetic component has an nonagon receptacle that engages the nonagon stud of the adaptor such that the adjustment of the relative angular position of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by the rotation of their assembly to the implant results in net 10° increments of horizontal rotation. Finally, the ideal adaptor/implant rotation occurs in 5° increments of rotation, when the open end of the adaptor is an octagon and the free end is a nonagon that engages the unique nonagon implant index.
These finite increments of rotation in stark contrast to the coarse increments of rotation provided by the indexes of the implants such that the contour abutments, healing caps and prosthetic devices are ideally situated, or even “centered” in the sagittal plane, allows the operator to restore implants with asymmetric healing caps and abutments which fosters a more natural emergence profile. As a result of those finite increments of rotation, the securing device of the multifunction abutment aligns the screw access hole as close as possible to the center of the occlusal table of the replacement tooth overlaying the implant.
The Universal System, as such, allows the restoration of any implant type, regardless of its index misalignment with any implant restoration, whether they are well customized with milled, pressed, or cast abutments or are more simplistic with preformed, unprepared abutments that allow a “plug and play” operative routine.
In short, the prosthetic components are of a plurality of devices including but not limited to healing caps, referencing abutment posts and healing caps, indexed healing caps, abutment posts, temporary abutment posts, milled abutment posts, cast abutment posts, pressed abutment posts, zirconia abutment posts, impression posts, scanning posts, implant crowns, bridges, dentures, over dentures, screw down crowns, hybrid dentures, and other prostheses for restoring dental implants. They can have asymmetrical or symmetrical contours at their bases.
As stated, the prosthetic components and devices can be fabricated clinically using physical devices and methods or can be constructed in a software program to create milled, stereolithograph generated, or other computer generated components.
A method of fabricating anatomic abutments by inserting an adaptor on a dental implant in a predetermined position relative to the implant is also disclosed. A preformed abutment having an asymmetric configuration can be seated on the adaptor's open end. The open end is configured to, in turn, receive a crown, bridge, set of crowns or other similar prosthesis. The crown, bridge, set of crowns or similar prosthesis can be first rotated about the adaptor followed by the adaptor/abutment assembly around the implant until the abutment is in a generally desired vertical and horizontal predetermined position when the adaptor is seated on the implant. This realigns the abutment such that its asymmetric configuration is properly situated to reestablish ideal form, function and esthetics even when the implant index is misaligned and sets them off angle, wherein the adaptor and abutment have co-operable indices for identifying and registering the predetermined position of the abutment. The co-operable indicia also permits the adaptor and abutment to be rotated relative to each other into the predetermined position of the abutment while the adaptor is detached from the implant. The abutment has now been set to a specific position in relation to the primary reference indicium of the adaptor. From this point on, the primary reference indicium of the adaptor dictates the restoration of the final abutment and overlying prosthetic device.
With this in mind, primary indicium of the adaptor then determines the seating of an impression post, an intraoral or bench scanning post, or a CBCT scan post also having co-operable indices such that they reference the abutment's predetermined, preferred position for fabricating the final abutment and/or the prosthesis that is seated on it.
The abutment is of a plurality of devices including but not limited to temporary abutment posts, final preformed abutment posts, castable abutment posts, pressable posts, or milled abutment posts, or other posts fabricated by another suitable means that receive implant crowns, set of crowns, bridges, and other prostheses for restoring dental implants that are either cemented or screw retained.
There are many ways to fabricate crown and bridge restorations that are seated over implants, some of which are specifically described herein for exemplification purposes, but are not intended to be inclusive of all abutments: the preformed, unprepared crown and bridge abutment that is intended to be used for the simplest technique; the preformed, customizable abutment pattern that is intended to be rotated and aligned and then customized prior to being converted to a cast or pressed ceramic abutment via a burnout of the pattern in the “lost wax” technique. The castable or pressable abutments can be fabricated to be received on an adaptor or can be “cast-to” or “pressed-to” an adaptor of a complimentary material, and can, therefore, be created such that it engages the index of the implant without any interfacing adaptor. The Universal System's versatility allows the creation of either type of implant connection—with or without a titanium connector, depending upon the preference of the operator.
When choosing the abutment, the operator can also elect to have a standard symmetrical base for the abutment or can choose a more custom, preformed asymmetrical configuration to support the gingiva with an emergence profile that is similar to a natural tooth in that implant fixture's position, after it has been rotated to ideally situate that gingival contour. When contours are already incorporated in the interim abutments or healing caps, and impression, scanning, or imaging posts or other prosthetic devices that share the same preformed symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration as the base of the abutment, the process becomes automated while being customized, as well. Even if the impression or scan is taken of the adaptor (without an indexed base or healing cap), the preferred gingival contour base or healing cap can be “dialed-in” to the virtual abutment to establish the preferred emergence profile. When the abutment is inserted, the tissue can be scalloped to accommodate it.
Because of the unique centering of the abutment's primary indicium such that the component is ideally situated, the Universal Contour Abutment can consistently have all of its abutments with internal lingual threads to receive screw retained crowns. The internal thread for the crown fixation screw is placed in the esthetic zone, which is predictably 180° from the buccal aspect of the abutment. Practitioners have been seeking a retrievable crown as an alternative to permanently cemented crowns over implants.
A method for restoring a dental implant wherein the operator is seeking a simplified, basic technique using standardized componentry and a single process. An adaptor is seated on a dental implant in a predetermined position relative to the implant, which, in turn, receives a preformed, unprepared abutment having an asymmetric configuration upon which an interim coping and a referencing coping are seated. All of them have cooperable indices for aligning, synchronizing, and referencing the interim abutment to create the final abutment. This method can comprise the steps of rotating the adaptor and abutment relative to each other such that the abutment is in a predetermined, preferred position that is noted. An interim preformed coping composed of acrylic or another suitable temporary restorative material for molding a temporary crown to it can be aligned and seated such that it is automatically in the preferred position. One can then remove the interim coping/temporary crown assembly and seat a reference coping with the same alignment as the interim coping to identify and register the position of the adaptor and the abutment. One can then fabricate a final abutment having the same preferred horizontal and vertical position as the interim abutment.
The process begins with the seating of the acrylic coping on the ideally positioned abutment such that its primary indicium is aligned with the primary indicium of the abutment prior to relining a previously fabricated or molded temporary crown. In most instances, the temporary crown has been prefabricated by the laboratory.
When ready to fabricate the final abutment and crown, the referencing impression coping is seated on the abutment to identify and reference its primary indicium that is aligned with the primary indicium of the abutment, along with registering the primary and secondary rotation points of the abutment in relation to the primary reference indicium of the adaptor that were previously noted. The impression coping is lifted in the impression and serves as a referencing and seating device for an abutment replica with the same geometry as the interim abutment with the model being poured and the final abutment being cast, pressed, or milled or fabricated by some other type of method such that it has the same relationship to the implant's index as the interim abutment or healing cap. Following the step, one can fabricate the overlying prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, the referencing coping is a scanning coping with a geometric configuration that is ideal for an intraoral or bench scan and/or CBCT scan to register the position and configuration of the interim abutment to create a milled abutment.
The final abutment is either a replica of the interim abutment, or, if the operator so choses, can be fabricated by one of the methods outlined above. The preformed abutment can have a symmetric or asymmetric base with a preferred geometry of appropriate configuration and depth to vertically position the base in relation to the gingival architecture. In certain embodiments, the crown is fabricated to fit the interim abutment, which, therein, becomes the final abutment.
This method describes the predictable fabrication of screw retained crowns via a contour abutment seated an adaptor having co-operable indices wherein the abutment has the geometry of a natural tooth preparation and has internal screw threads that are positioned in the esthetic zone approximately 180° from the primary indicium of the abutment after it has first been ideally situated such that a crown, set of crowns, or bridge are receivable on the abutment and are retained by the fixation screws that engage the abutment fixation screw threads. In certain embodiments, the method involves rotating an abutment to a preferred horizontal and vertical position. From this position, one can create the screw threads by milling them, setting internally threaded tubes, die tapping, or by another appropriate method at that location such that the threads are ideally positioned in the esthetic zone and at the most ideal pitch for receiving a driver that is carrying the screw. The proper esthetic zone and ideal pitch would be known for the dental surgeon. One can then create the overlying prosthetic component with a stop for securing the prosthetic component on the abutment and affix it with a fixation screw that engages the internal threads.
In certain embodiments, the method makes use of co-operable indicia that includes primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of said adaptor is rotatable in relation to the secondary indicium of the abutment as defined by the desired predetermined position and the location of the abutment's primary indicium determines the location of the fixation screw threads.
In certain embodiments, the adaptor is rotated around the abutment and the assembly is rotated over the implant such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is aligned with a specific primary or secondary indicium of the abutment when it reestablishes the preplanned, preferred position of the multifunction abutment to compensate for implant index misalignment, and the screw thread is positioned approximately 180° from the primary indicium.
This method discloses the creation of preferred gingival architecture over an implant using a contoured healing cap that is seated on an adaptor, with the adaptor/healing cap assembly being seated on a dental implant in a predetermined position. The preformed, contoured healing cap has a specific symmetric or asymmetric configuration that is suitable for protecting the adaptor and maintaining a desired gingival opening over an implant. It is receivable on and rotatable about said adaptor, wherein the adaptor and the healing cap have co-operable indices to position said healing cap in a generally desired horizontal predetermined position when said adaptor is seated on the implant with the healing cap's primary indicium situated such that a replacement abutment also has its primary indicium in an ideal position with said adaptor and healing cap whose co-operable indices permit said adaptor and healing cap to be rotated relative to each other into the predetermined position of said healing cap while said adaptor is detached from the implant.
The healing cap is of a plurality of devices including gingivo-adaptors which are healing caps and adaptors that are combined into one-piece assemblies for connection to the implant, wherein the open end of the devices have the preferred configuration and/or index of the chosen adaptors and the free end has the configuration and/or index of the particular implants. The healing cap is composed from a plurality of materials including titanium, titanium alloy, zirconia, or other suitable materials and can be coated by anodizing or some other method.
The primary indicia of the healing cap determines the positioning of the abutment post when it is to be rotated such that its primary indicium and that of the healing cap are in the same preferred position.
The contour healing cap can have a gingival geometry that is appropriate for that implant at that site for that type of tooth abutment that would be located there, because of the realignment that occurs independently of the implant's index.
Tissue Engineering from A to Z
Also provided is a method of tissue engineering over a dental implant wherein a particular gingival architecture is developed using an adaptor in combination with an interim healing cap, abutment, or other interim component having co-operable indices for repositioning the adaptor/interim prosthetic component assembly to a predetermined, preferred position wherein its gingival contours are used as a template by the surgeon to shape the tissue over the implant. In certain embodiments, it is possible to open the tissue over the implant and rotate an adaptor and a chosen interim component relative to each other and the assembly relative to the implant via their co-operable indices such that the desired gingival contours are ideally situated over the implant to most naturally support the tissue with the proper emergence profile. Gingival tissue can then be sculpted as the adaptor/interim prosthetic component assembly is seated. In this manner it is possible to mold the tissue to the architecture of the interim component, rather than molding the abutment to match the tissue with inconsistent results. The interim component can be removed from the adaptor and an impression or scanning post or other registering device can be seated in relation to the primary indicium of the adaptor. Once seated, it is possible to register and identify the ideal position and type of final abutment or prosthesis to be inserted over the implant. A final abutment can then be fabricated such that it mimics the subgingival contours of the interim abutment and integrated with the image of the surface topography. In certain embodiments, the adaptor and the interim abutment can be removed and replaced with a final abutment which has co-operable indices for precisely positioning its gingival contours with the same relationship as the interim component.
The co-operable indices can include a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of said adaptor is rotatable in relation to the secondary indicium of the abutment as defined by the desired predetermined position. The rotation of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 15° increments of horizontal rotation when the open end of the adaptor is an octagon and the free end that engages the implant is a tripod, hexagon, or dodecagon or the open end of the adaptor is a hexagon and the free end that engages the implant is an octagon. In addition, the rotation of the adaptor to the prosthetic component followed by their assembly to the implant results in net 10° increments of horizontal rotation when the open end of the adaptor is a nonagon and the free end that engages the implant is a quadragon.
The interim healing caps and abutments have a plurality of preferred gingival contours and serve as surgical and design templates for the tissue training around the interim abutment and the fabrication of the final abutments when they are in their preferred positions. The final abutments can be cast, pressed, milled, or preformed, and can be fabricated such that they either interface with an adaptor to the implant or interface directly with the implant without an adaptor.
In certain embodiments, the tissue architecture is first analyzed in a CT scan wherein the prosthesis is also scanned to capture the tissue architecture, prior to the surgery as a part of choosing the preferred interim healing cap, abutment or other prosthetic component. In certain embodiments, a virtual adaptor can be chosen and the preferred virtual prosthetic component, having co-operable indices, can be rotated over the virtual adaptor in a CT scan program to a predefined position as delineated by the primary indicia of the adaptor in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of the prosthetic component. In the rotated position, one can measure the depth from the bone to the location where the virtual prosthetic component exits the gingiva at predetermined points on the healing cap. The preferred clinical prosthetic component to be used during the surgery according to the desired gingival architecture and its depth can then be selected and, when applicable, the vertical angle correction also made.
The initial tissue opening can be precisely created by a universal guided tissue punch comprising the steps of locating the open end of the implant and removing the cover screw, inserting a surgical guiding screw with an extra-long shank and threading it into the implant's internal thread, followed by the rotation of a universal guided tissue punch having an internal polyhedron to receive the guiding screw and having the exact outside diameter as the implant such that the guiding screw precisely guides the tissue punch as it excises the tissue over the implant. In certain embodiments, a guiding polyhedron is inserted into the index of the cover screw of the implant with the guided tissue punch, having a matching internal configuration, being rotated over the implant until the tissue is excised, as described above. The universal guided tissue punch can also demarcate when the tissue should not be excised because of implant angle in relation to the attached gingival tissue, but, rather, should be repositioned to prevent its loss over the implant.
The universal guided tissue punch can be used with any implant at any angle and can be used to excise the tissue removal as directed by any polyhedron seated on the implant or its cover screw that is in line with its long axis.
Finally, the repositioned prosthetic component can be registered via impression or scan of the adaptor or overlying indexed healing cap such that its gingival architecture in its preferred position is translated to the final abutment and/or prosthesis, which is then inserted over the implant with the same gingival contour in the same position.
One embodiment provides a method of restoring dental implants by using indexed healing caps or similar tissue supporting interim devices that are also referencing devices which have co-operable indices for identifying and referencing adaptor and abutment positions without having to be removed from the implant. This can, thereby, simplify the fabrication of abutments and/or prosthetic devices for restoring dental implants. In certain embodiments, the healing caps can be rotated over their adaptors and the adaptor/healing cap assemblies over their implants according to an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol such that they are situated in preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined positions over their implants. Once rotated, the referencing posts such as impression posts, the scanning posts, or imaging posts can be inserted on each healing cap such that the primary indicium of the referencing post is aligned in relation to the primary indicium on the healing cap's index with an impression, intraoral or bench scan, or a CBCT scan being taken of the healing cap/referencing post assembly such that it registers the adaptor's position in relation to the implant index, the indexed healing cap's position in relation to the adaptor, the referencing post in relation to the indexed healing cap along with the other anatomic structures in the jaw. It is then possible to fabricate cast, pressed, milled, or other abutments to those preferred positions, followed by the fabrication of the implant prostheses.
The co-operable indices include graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of the indexed healing cap as defined by the desired predetermined position of the healing cap.
The automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can include choosing the appropriate indexed healing cap or similar prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for the tissue over the implant, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the healing cap, and is, in turn, set in relation to the index of the implant such that its gingival contours are ideally situated in a preferred, predetermined position over the implant. The indexed healing cap can also be used as a template for sculpting the gingiva.
The primary indicium of the healing cap is located at the center point of the healing cap as it bisects the ridge at a 90° angle in the sagittal plane or another preferred position, which, therein, identifies the location for seating the impression or scanning post. In certain embodiments, the primary indicium of the impression post, scanning post, or imaging post overlay the primary indicium of the healing cap. The index of the healing cap can have a polyhedron adjacent to the primary indicium of the healing cap such that the polygon of the polyhedron is bisected at that point. The primary indicium on the polygon of the healing cap receives the impression or scanning post such that the primary indicia overlay each other and, thereby, capture the primary indicium at its center point. The polygon can be an index that is an exact replica of abutment engaging index on the open end of the adaptor.
The multifunction abutments can be used for restoring any screw borne prosthesis such that its screw access holes are realigned into preferred positions is disclosed. The multifunction abutments are seated on and rotatable about universal aligning adaptors followed by the adaptor/abutment assemblies around the implants until said abutments' screw access holes are realigned to generally desired vertical and horizontal predetermined positions, which approximate the center of the occlusal tables of the tooth replicas for those implants being restored with the screw borne prosthesis. Said adaptors and said abutments have co-operable indices for identifying and registering the predetermined position of said abutments, after permitting the adaptors and the abutments to be rotated relative to each other such that the abutments are in ideal positions.
Said co-operable indices include graduations for indicating the degree of rotation of said abutment and said adaptor relative to each other, which can include primary and secondary indicia, wherein the primary indicium of said adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary or secondary indicium of the multifunction abutment as it is rotated to its desired predetermined position such that its primary indicium is ideally situated.
The multifunction abutment has a polyhedron that is shaped to receive another polyhedron over it, which has a matching engaging configuration that engages it, and is, in turn, connected to the prosthetic device via a chemically cured, light cured, or other combination method to create the screw retained prosthesis. In a preferred embodiment the abutment polyhedron is a cone with an asymmetrical flat at its primary indicium which is located approximately 180° from the midpoint of the vertical angle correction of the abutment and the engaging polyhedron is inside a connecting cylinder. The flat provides a positive seat at its primary indicium and prevents rotation of the connecting cylinder during the assembly phase along with preventing natural rotational forces associated with a cylinder on a cone from dislodging it.
The primary indicia of the cone on the multifunction abutment determines the seating of an impression post, an intraoral or bench scanning post, or CBCT scan post also having co-operable indices such that they reference the realignment of the abutment at its predetermined, preferred position that ideally situates the screw access hole when fabricating the final abutment and/or the prosthesis that is seated on it.
The multifunction abutment is of a plurality of devices including but not limited to preformed temporary abutment posts, preformed final abutment posts, castable posts, pressable abutment posts, or milled abutment posts, or other posts fabricated by another suitable means wherein they receive the prosthesis that is screw retained to them when restoring the implants.
The prosthesis that is seated on the multifunction abutment is of a plurality of devices including but not limited to an overdenture bar for receiving a snap on denture, a snap on denture that is connected to retaining devices seated directly on the adaptors or implant abutments seated on adaptors without a connecting bar, a transitional hybrid prosthesis that has been converted from a denture to a fixed, screw retained prosthesis during the insertion of a set of implants during an immediate load procedure, a screw retained denture or similar prosthesis with flanges, a screw retained crown, set of crowns or bridge with or without flanges.
The multifunction abutment can be milled out of any suitable restorative material and is fabricated by first rotating a virtual multifunction abutment into a preferred position over a virtual adaptor using the universal aligning system's automated and interactive clinical protocol in a milling software program to define the synchronized axis of rotation and, thereby, eliminate the mesial-distal abutment misalignment prior to milling it, followed by milling the abutment according to the parameters established by the rotation such that either a single piece, final abutment for insertion on the implant which engages its index without an interfacing adaptor or a final abutment to be receivable on the adaptor with the assembly then being inserted on the implant is milled with the prosthetic device then being milled and affixed to it.
A method of immediately restoring dental implants at the time of their insertion with an immediate load transitional screw retained prosthesis by first using a set of aligning multifunction abutments and universal adaptors having co-operable indices wherein they are rotated and situated in finite increments such that the screw access holes of the abutments receiving the prosthesis are ideally located regardless of the type of implant indexes or their misalignment, the steps comprising the rotation of the adaptor and the abutment having the co-operable indices around each other, followed by the assembly around the implant according to an automatic and interactive clinical protocol with the abutment now being in a preferred vertical and horizontal predetermined position when it is seated on the previously inserted implant such that the screw access hole is as close to the center of the occlusal table of the replacement tooth as possible, trying in the denture or other prosthesis over the abutments and adjusting the holes where they seat over the abutments, placing a connecting cylinder over each abutment until it engages its receiving polyhedron, affixing it to the abutment, connecting the cylinders to the denture therein creating the transitional screw retained prosthesis, and removing, finishing, and reinserting the transitional screw retained prosthesis.
In certain embodiments, in order to provide additional strength to the appliance, a bonding sleeve that adheres to acrylic or other restorative material used in the conversion of the denture is seated over the cylinder with an adhesive and is connected to the denture with an appropriate acrylic or composite to create a one-piece screw retained transitional prosthesis.
The co-operable indices includes a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia such that the primary indicium of said adaptor is rotatable in relation to the primary and secondary indicia of the prosthetic component as defined by its desired predetermined position.
The automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol includes choosing the appropriate multifunction vertical angle correcting abutment or equivalent prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for that type of restoration over the implant, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment and is set in relation to the index of the implant when the multifunction abutment is being positioned in a preferred, predetermined horizontal and vertical location over the implant such that the screw access holes approximate the center of the occlusal tables of the replacement teeth. In certain embodiments, the primary indicium of the multifunction abutment is centered in the sagittal plane as it bisects the ridge when it is at a 90° angle to the ridge and the abutment is in its ideal position.
This preferred location is created when the adaptor is rotated around the abutment and the assembly is rotated over the implant such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is aligned with a specific primary or secondary indicium of the abutment when it reestablishes the preplanned, preferred position of the multifunction abutment to compensate for implant index misalignment.
In certain embodiments, the restorative dentist can seat the abutments and adaptors on the implants according to their position in CT scan generated or other model, can then reassess their positions, and then rotates them with rotatable, universal aligning analogs until they are ideally situated in the CT scan generated or other model. He then seats the denture over the abutments on the model and prepares it to receive them, and then removes them from their analogs and seats them on their implants in the same positions, using those rotation points as a guide.
In certain embodiments, antirotational cylinders having an internal flat that matches to the configuration of the cone or other projection on the multifunction abutment are placed over these projections which have a matching flat at their primary indicium such that the primary indicium of the cylinder overlays the primary indicium of the cone. This connection provides a positive seat during manipulation and affords resistance to dislodgement.
In certain embodiments, a bonding sleeve that adheres to acrylic or other restorative material used in the conversion of the denture is seated over the cylinder with an adhesive and is connected to the denture with an appropriate acrylic or composite to create a one-piece screw retained transitional prosthesis.
To register the multifunction abutments, the transitional appliance is removed from the abutments and impression posts or scanning posts are inserted over the multifunction abutment posts such that their primary indicia are aligned, and, either an impression or an intraoral, bench, or CBCT scan is taken to identify and register the location of the abutments' primary indicia in relation to the adaptors' primary indicia. Either an analog is placed in the impression such that its primary indicium is positioned at the same reference points as established by the adaptor's primary indicium with the bench scan then being taken, or the data is directly conveyed to the scan code of a milling software program which directs the rotation of chosen virtual abutments prior to milling the final prosthesis, which is seated on the abutments or on replacement milled ones that are also being fabricated.
In certain embodiments, a Steriolithograph or other CT scan software generated model receives a removable, rotatable universal aligning analog that is used to rotate an overlaying abutment or other prosthetic component to a preferred position to ideally situate the abutment's screw access hole.
A Method of Taking an Intraoral or Bench Scan and/or a CBCT Scan Using Universal Scan Posts and the Universal Automated Protocol for Fabricating Milled Abutments
An intraoral or bench scan and/or a CT scan can be taken after implants have been inserted and are ready for restoration with final abutments and prosthetic devices created by milling or another computer generated process, as directed by an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol. The scan posts for the intraoral or bench scan and/or the CT scan have readily identifiable primary reference points that are set in relation to the adaptor's primary reference indicium, and, therefore, to the implant index's alignment in the jaw. First, any one of a number of universal aligning, synchronizing, and referencing devices is repositioned over each implant into a preferred, predetermined position. The referencing device can be composed of a healing cap, interim abutment, or other prosthetic component seated on an adaptor, both of which have co-operable indices for directing their rotation and, thereafter, serve as reference points for identifying and registering the new prosthetic component position, wherein the automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol is used to ideally position the prosthetic component of each device over its implant and to then synchronize all other components to those repositioned reference points. The adaptor is rotated about the prosthetic component, followed by the adaptor/prosthetic component assembly around the implant such that the prosthetic component is now in a preferred, predetermined vertical and horizontal predetermined position when it is seated on the previously inserted implant. The prosthetic component is removed from the adaptor, the location of the reference points in relation to each other as well as to the implant's index is identified, along with the desired vertical angle correction for each implant. A scanning post is seated on the adaptor such that its co-operable indices and those of the adaptor are aligned in some manner, and an intraoral or CT scan is taken to identify and reference the relative positions of the adaptors and the imaging posts to their implants' indexes along with their anatomical gingival architecture around each implant and the geometry of the jaw or jaw segment. In certain embodiments, an impression post is seated at the same location on the implants and an impression is taken, a model is poured, and a bench scan is taken to achieve the results.
The data is then translated, including the relational positions of the co-operable indices and other aspects of the universal aligning scan code to the milling device codes and controls of a software program for milling prosthetic components after importing the CT scan images. A virtual automated rotation or a virtual manual rotation of each preferred abutment is then performed over its virtual universal aligning adaptor for each implant site such that its co-operable indices are located in the clinically desired positions for the prosthetic component and the adaptor of the referencing device, such that the prosthetic component is ideally situated on the monitor, milling the abutment for each site according to the parameters of the virtually rotated abutment, milling the copings or framework that will be receiving any veneering material, inserting the milled abutments on their respective implants and inserting the milled copings or framework over the abutments, taking a bite relationship as needed, and fabricating the final prosthesis. In certain embodiments, the prosthetic device can be designed over the rotated virtual abutment and then milled to fit on the previously seated abutment without also milling the abutment.
In a preferred, but by no means only, embodiment, the co-operable referencing devices and other componentry have graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points, and the virtual abutment is composed of a virtual universal aligning adaptor that has a specific primary indicium to which all other cooperable componentry are synchronized. It is the synchronization of all of the componentry that contributes to automating the restorative procedures with a dramatic reduction in operator error.
The prosthetic component of the referencing device can be rotated in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction over an adaptor such that its primary indicium is ideally situated, while the primary indicium of said adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium of said prosthetic component, with the primary indicia of both components now being situated in relation to the index of the implant for that rotation. The scanning posts are synchronized to the primary reference indicium of the adaptor, and, thereby register the central axis of rotation that establishes the preferred, predetermined position of an abutment on the implant.
In another embodiment associated with the above techniques, an indexed healing cap of any configuration having primary and secondary indicia can first be rotated such that its primary indicium is centered in the sagittal plane as it bisects the ridge when it is at a 90° angle to ridge, wherein any abutment that would be exchanged for the healing cap in that position would also be ideally situated. The impression post (for the bench scan) or the scan post (for the intraoral or CBCT scan) is merely seated on the index with their primary indicia overlaying.
The automated and/or interactive digital protocol includes choosing the appropriate physical or virtual vertical angle correcting abutment, healing cap, or other prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for that type of restoration over the implant from a library, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment whose primary indicium has been ideally situated, and is, therein, set in relation to the index of the implant.
Once the scan process is completed with the data having been translated to the software program by inputting the primary or secondary rotation point that is overlaying the primary indicium of the adaptor, the virtual abutment is auto-rotated when the abutment is in its preferred position such that its primary indicium is in the established position of the clinically rotated and inserted abutment. The practitioner can also interactively manipulate the virtual abutment into a more preferred position.
In certain embodiments, the practitioner can elect to by-pass the insertion of the multifunction abutment prior to fabricating the milled prosthesis. He first rotates the interim abutments or healing caps into their preferred positions and makes note of the locations of the adaptors' primary reference indicia. The interim abutments or healing caps are removed with the appropriate impression and/or scanning posts being seated in relation to the adaptors' primary reference indicia. The steps outlined above are then followed in preparation for the milling of the prosthesis and/or abutments. The design of the scan posts, along with the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol provides a high degree of accuracy. To the extent that an impression can be avoided with the intraoral or CBCT scan. Combining the intraoral or bench scan with the CBCT scan further assures accurate results, since the CBCT scan data is absolute.
The contour or multifunction abutments are then milled according to the milling device codes of the particular milling program. The overlaying prosthetic devices are then milled to fit the abutments. In certain embodiments, the prosthetic devices are milled such that they directly engage either the adaptor index or the implant index without any interfacing abutment.
In those situations when automated tissue engineering has been instituted and established, wherein the gingival architecture of the healing cap is to be replicated, data for that particular base member and the topography of the overlying tissue are combined to create the characteristics of the developed gingival architecture, which are then incorporated into the data set.
The abutments are milled according to the program's milling device codes and controls either to fit on an implant with an interfacing adaptor or to be milled directly to the implant index, such that they are ideally positioned, regardless of the configuration of the implant index or its alignment. The final abutment are being milled with the appropriate form for that abutment type, implant site, implant angulation, gingival architecture and any other pertinent characteristics being applied to the milling.
Subsequently, the copings or the framework of the prosthesis that is to be seated on the milled abutments is milled to fit on the previously milled abutments, or on already seated preformed abutments.
In certain embodiments, a stereolithograph or other CT scan software generated model is fabricated which reproduces the adaptors' primary reference indicia in their exact positions to receive the milled abutments, and, if applicable, the framework. In another embodiment, a stereolithograph or other CT scan software generated model with reproductions of the milled abutments in their exact positions as established in the software program. In, yet, another embodiment, a stereolithograph or other CT scan software program generates a model that has a receptacle that is created at each implant site in the model to receive a universal aligning analog whose shank configuration has the same polygonal configuration as the free end of the adaptor that engages the index of the implant being restored and whose open end has the appropriate index to engage the abutment that is seated on it with the analog being removable and rotatable such that, when rotated with the abutment, the analog allows for a horizontal angle correction of the abutment in 15° increments, or less. This allows the technician the flexibility of further customizing the abutment and prosthesis.
Merging the Intraoral or Bench Scan with the CBCT Scan Using the Universal Scan Posts and the Universal Automated and/or Interactive Clinical and/or Digital Protocol for Implant Restoration:
An Intraoral and/or bench scan and a CBCT scan are taken using scan posts having co-operable indices as well as a common geometric configurations such that they can be synchronized to each other via a common reference indicium, which has either been set in relation to the alignment of the implant's index in the jaw, or, more specifically, has been oriented in relation to a well-defined primary reference points or set of points of the Universal Aligning Adaptors. The intraoral/bench scan image is merged with the CBCT scan image as they are aligned according to the shared common reference indicia that are on the prosthetic component and the co-operable adaptor. Additional common reference points may be used, as well, such as one or more polyhedrons on the scan posts. In a preferred embodiment, a universal aligning, synchronizing and referencing device having a primary reference indicium is first positioned over an implant in relation to the primary reference indicium of the adaptor that has been rotated such that its prosthetic component is in a preferred position. The prosthetic component of the referencing device can be an actual abutment. The prosthetic component is removed and the appropriate scanning post for the intraoral or bench scan or the CT scan post for the CT scan having co-operable indices are seated with their primary indicia such that they are aligned in relation to the adaptor's primary reference indicium with the scan then being taken to identify and register the location of the adaptor's primary reference indicium, which has been positioned in relation to the index of the implant.
In certain embodiments, the scan posts have one or more polyhedrons on their external surfaces that serve as their primary referencing indicia. The polyhedrons provide an additional means for merging the intraoral or bench scan images with the CT scan image. The former images provide a relationship of the implant index via the scan post to the surrounding gingiva and adjacent teeth, whereas the CBCT image provides an absolute relationship of the scan post, and, therefore, the implant index to the hard structures of the jaw (the implant, the bone and the teeth). This relationship of the implant index (via the primary referencing indicium of the adaptor) is absolute and provides a set of reference points for merging the soft tissues around and over the implant to the absolute position in the sagittal, axial, and coronal planes of the implant, as well. The Universal System allows the fabrication of final abutments and/or prosthetic devices from intraoral, bench, or CBCT scan to register the implant position, because it transforms the central axis of the implant to a preferred central axis of rotation via predetermined reference points so that the virtual abutment rotated into a preferred position. However, the process becomes even more precise when the intraoral or bench scan is merged with the CBCT scan, which, once again, establishes the absolute position. Furthermore, if the images are taken with the data of the configuration of the bases having preferred gingival architecture, the fabrication of the abutment with custom gingival contours becomes automated. To the extent that the therapists (surgeon, restorative dentist, and technician) pool their efforts by matching the final contour base to the original healing cap or interim abutment base, the process becomes further automated with greater precision and a dramatically reduced margin of error. If the scan posts are seated on indexed healing caps, the registration is even more streamlined.
In certain embodiments, the polyhedrons can be arranged in an X-Y-Z plane to facilitate their imaging and subsequent merging, since the merging of the images is accomplished by aligning three different images. In a preferred embodiment, these polyhedrons on the scan posts (and, therefore, in the images) are dissimilar and, therefore, most easily picked up by the scanner. In fact, with the appropriate programming, the intraoral or bench scanner does not even have to image the complete post, but, rather, once it has located the polyhedrons, it will fill in the images, since it has the configurations of the scan posts input into the library within the universal scan code.
The base member's geometry can also be used as a reference plane to merge the intraoral/bench scan and CBCT scan images. The base members can be an indexed healing caps that have previously been repositioned in preferred, predetermined vertical and horizontal positions, wherein the scanning posts are individually inserted over the indexes of the healing caps such that the primary indicia of the scanning posts are aligned in relation to the primary indicia on the healing caps' indexes with an intraoral or bench scan and a CBCT scan then being taken of the healing cap/scanning post assemblies such that it registers the adaptors' positions in relation to the implant indexes, the indexed healing caps' positions in relation to their adaptors, the scanning posts in relation to the indexed healing caps, along with the other anatomic structures in the jaw, in relation to the preformed gingival architecture of the healing caps.
To summarize, a preferred technique employing tissue engineering, the surgeon rotates the adaptor around the chosen healing cap and the assembly around the implant and notes the location of the adaptor's reference indicium. He sculpts the tissue as he seats the assembly so that the tissue matures and forms to its geometry, The restorative dentist either takes an impression and the laboratory performs a bench scan, or he takes an intraoral scan an adaptor, indexed healing cap, or abutment, either procedure of which captures the developed soft tissue in relation to the underlying implant in its existing alignment (via the adaptor referencing indicium location). In a preferred embodiment, an indexed healing cap is used to receive the impression or scan post. If more than one scan has been taken, the images can be merged using the universal scan posts reference points to merge the images. The technician then performs an autorotation in a milling software program as dictated by the location of the adaptor reference indicium for that implant with its specific index, and, then, “inserts” the healing cap that is a replica of the one that is seated on the implant. The contour abutment or the multifunction abutment is then milled. The contour abutment is milled with the ideal tooth preparation form, angle correction, and gingival architecture, or the multifunction abutment is milled with the screw access hole relocated to its ideal position and the coping, set of copings, or framework are milled to fit either the existing multifunction abutments that are seated on the implants or on the newly milled abutments.
The Universal System is a comprehensive system for fabricating milled abutments, other prosthetic components or devices, or dental prostheses by means of a virtualized aligning, synchronizing and referencing device operable in any milling software program, consisting of a virtual adaptor and an associated virtual abutment or other component, each rotatable about the other via their co-operable indices as directed by an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol such that the virtual abutment is situated in a preferred, predetermined vertical and horizontal position over the virtual implant prior to the milling of the physical abutment, the steps comprising rotation of the virtual adaptor and virtual abutment such that said abutment becomes ideally situated, selection of the appropriate virtual abutments for each implant site from a library of said abutments and situating them, and milling the physical abutments as determined by the virtual reference points and the resulting preferred abutment geometry for an ideally situated virtual abutment at each implant site.
In a preferred, but by no means only, embodiment, the co-operable abutments and other componentry have graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points, and the referencing device is composed of a virtual universal aligning adaptor that has a specific primary indicium to which all other cooperable componentry are synchronized. It is the synchronization of all of the componentry that contributes to automating the restorative procedures with a dramatic reduction in operator error.
The virtual prosthetic component is rotated in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction over a virtual adaptor such that the primary reference indicium of said adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium of said prosthetic component, resulting in the primary indicia of both components being situated in relation to the index of the implant. This rotation can be performed in any software program for milling or fabricating prosthetic components and devices such that the scan code for the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol is capable of being integrated with the device controls of the program.
In certain embodiments, the rotation of the virtual aligning, synchronizing and referencing device in combination with the automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can be used in any CT scan program to plan and visualize abutment type and rotation prior to surgery. As a result of this planning, the abutment can be prepackaged along with a designation of its insertion protocol including the appropriate primary or secondary rotation on the abutment for rotating the adaptor.
With this technique, the milled contour abutments or other prosthetic components can be used for restoring a crown, bridge, or set of crowns with an ideal emergence profile, angulation, tooth preparation form, gingival architecture or other aspects of an “ideal” crown and bridge abutment. In addition, the milled multifunction abutments or other prosthetic components are used to restore implants with a screw-down prosthesis, wherein the repositioning of the abutment ideally positions the screw access channels for receiving the prosthesis fixation screws, which improves contour, esthetics, and function. The system provides a versatile connection of the abutment to the implant. The milled abutment, other prosthetic component, or prosthetic device can be milled or fabricated by any other computer generated means such that it either engages the index of the adaptor with the assembly then being seated on the implant, or can directly engage the index of the implant and be seated on the implant without the adaptor.
Due to the precise positioning of all components when fabricating and inserting them via the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, the overlying coping, set of copings, or a framework for fabricating a set of splinted crowns can also be fabricated to fit on the milled abutments, when clinical conditions are appropriate. This can be performed to a high degree of certainty, when the intraoral or bench scan are merged with the CT scan via the universal protocol. The prosthetic device can also be a screw borne fixed or removable prosthesis. Both the crown and bridge prosthesis and the screw borne prosthesis can be seated on either milled or preformed abutments.
The Universal System can translate and integrate clinical contour healing caps or abutments and other componentry prior to taking an intraoral or bench scan and/or CBCT scan using universal scanning posts seated on previously rotated universal aligning adaptors. The system can also be used to translate and integrate data from an implant scan at the fixture level via its universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol in a milling software program to create milled abutments and frameworks. The former technique is presented in this section with the latter one having been presented in the previous section (The Virtual Referencing Device for Intraoral or Bench Scanning and/or CBCT Scanning). In both methods, an overlaying milled framework or coping for a crown, set of crowns, or bridge is seated on preformed or milled anatomic abutments. Adaptors are rotated about chosen angle correcting abutments, having tooth preparations and gingival contours with a variety of geometries, to predetermined positions as established by their co-operable indices and an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol such that the abutments are ideally situated in preferred, predetermined vertical and horizontal positions over their implants. Once positioned, universal scanning posts are seated on the indexes of said adaptors such that the co-operable indices of the adaptor and the scanning posts register the newly established positions of the abutments and the adaptors. The universal automated and/or interactive clinical protocol is translated as a digital protocol by integrating the universal aligning scan code with the milling device codes and controls of a software program for milling prosthetic components, whereupon, a virtual rotation of each preferred abutment over its universal aligning adaptor for each implant site as determined by either the previous clinical rotation of the abutment or its by known predetermined points of rotation per implant index to ideally situate an abutment over a misaligned implant. The abutment is then milled for each site according to the parameters of the virtually rotated abutment, and, when appropriate, the copings or framework that will be receiving a porcelain, composite, or other veneering material are milled to fit over the abutments. Once the copings and/or framework are completed, the milled abutments are positioned on their respective implants with the milled coping(s) or framework then being inserted over the abutments. It the final veneering material has not been applied, the coping(s) or framework are lifted in an impression, models are poured and mounted, and the final restoration is fabricated. These steps can also be applied. Once again, the framework and/or copings can be milled to fit preformed abutments that have already been seated or to be seated on their implants.
In a preferred, but by no means only, embodiment, the co-operable abutments and other componentry have graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points, and the virtual abutment is composed of a virtual universal aligning adaptor that has a specific primary indicium to which all other cooperable componentry are synchronized. It is the synchronization of all of the componentry that contributes to automating the restorative procedures with a dramatic reduction in operator error.
The automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol includes selecting the appropriate vertical angle correcting abutment or other prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for that type of restoration over the implant from a library, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment and is set in relation to the index of the implant when the prosthetic component is being situated in a preferred, predetermined horizontal and vertical position over the implant.
In certain embodiments, a universal aligning, synchronizing and referencing device that is used to clinically to establish the preferred position of a seated abutment along with the location of the primary and secondary indicia or other indicia means for referencing the desired position, which is followed by a virtual rotation of the appropriate abutment for a particular restoration at that implant site in a software program, prior to milling the abutment or framework.
The rotation of the abutment or the virtual aligning, synchronizing and referencing device in combination with the automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol can be performed in any milling software program having the universal aligning scan code which includes the universal automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol. With this technique, the virtual abutment is auto-rotated by inputting the primary or secondary rotation point that is overlaying the primary indicium of the adaptor when the abutment is preferentially situated, automatically positioning the virtual abutment such that its primary indicium is in the established position of the clinically rotated and inserted healing cap or abutment.
Fully anatomic abutments with specific “tooth” abutment preparations and gingival contours are then planned for each implant site, therein requiring very precise positioning of the abutments for paralleling the tooth preparations and for establishing the appropriate abutment/gingival relationships, which is accomplished either prior to impression taking or scanning and/or is performed digitally in a software program after the initial referencing. A virtual bite registration is taken as a part of the process of taking an intraoral or bench scan and/or CBCT scan, and may be repeated after the framework is fabricated.
In certain embodiments, the adaptors and healing caps have been rotated and inserted over the implants in preferred positions without the abutments, themselves, being in place, wherein the healing caps are removed, scanning posts are inserted over the repositioned adaptors such that their primary indicia overlay, and an intraoral scan and/or CBCT scan is taken and the abutments and framework are then fabricated. The abutments are either milled to the adaptor's index or directly to engage the implant index. In another embodiment, the framework, alone, is milled and seated on preformed, ideally positioned abutments having the preferred configuration and position.
In certain embodiments, the abutment has been rotated such that its primary indicium is ideally located on the buccal, and a lingual crown fixation screw thread is milled to receive a crown fixation screw which is in a range of locations on the lingual surface which is approximately 180° from the primary indicium of the abutment such that a crown fixation screw is inserted to aesthetically and retrievably secure the crown, set of crowns, or bridge. After the completion of the above steps for the cement-on or screw retained crowns, the crown veneer is fabricated by stacking porcelain or other veneering material or is milled from an appropriate restorative material
In certain embodiments, the scanning program fabricates a working model with replicas of the preformed or milled contour abutments that area seated on analogs for each implant site such that they are situated as developed in the program. As an alternative model formation, the scanning program fabricates a model with milled receptacles at each implant site to receive universal aligning analogs that are inserted by the technician to fabricate the screw borne prosthesis. The universal aligning analog has an index at the open end with the same configuration as the adaptor's abutment engaging index, configuration, and position, and its shank has the same polygonal configuration as the free end of the adaptor that engages the index of the implant being restored. The universal aligning analog and abutment can be removed, rotated about each other and then rotated as an assembly, and seated in the model to allow the abutment to be placed in a preferred position.
Forming a Set of Universal Milled Multifunction Abutments for the Screw Borne Prosthesis over Implants:
The Universal Multifunction Abutment realigns the screw access holes for any fixed or removable screw borne prosthesis. Universal System's unique automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol translates and integrates clinical multifunction abutments and other componentry prior to taking an intraoral or bench scan and/or CBCT scan using universal scanning posts seated on previously rotated universal aligning adaptors or provides said translation and integration of virtual componentry in a software program after the scan data is received prior to the fabrication of a set of milled multifunction abutments and/or prosthetic devices. A method of fabricating a set of milled abutments and/or an overlaying milled framework for a screw borne prosthesis seated on screw retaining multifunction abutments by using either a full or a segmented arch intraoral or bench scan or a CT scan, the steps comprising the rotation of adaptors and chosen angle correcting, multifunction abutments about each other to predetermined positions as established by their co-operable indices and an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol such that the abutments are ideally situated in preferred, predetermined vertical and horizontal positions over their implants, inserting universal scanning or imaging posts on the indexing polyhedrons of the multifunction abutments such that their co-operable indices and those of the scanning or imaging posts register the newly established positions of the abutments and the adaptors when the intraoral or bench scan or CT scan is taken, translating the automated and/or interactive clinical protocol to a digital protocol by integrating the universal aligning scan code with the milling device codes and controls of a software program for milling prosthetic components within the software program, performing a virtual rotation of each preferred abutment over its universal aligning adaptor for each implant site until each one is ideally situated, milling the screw retaining abutment for each site based on the parameters of the virtually rotated abutment, milling the framework to fit over the abutments that will be integrated into the prosthesis, if possible, inserting the milled abutments on their respective implants and inserting the milled framework over the abutments, and affixing the framework with impressions screws which are long enough to fit through an impression tray, taking an impression and unscrewing it such that the framework is lifted with the impression when it is removed from the mouth, fabricating the models, taking bite registrations, mounting the models, and fabricating the final restoration.
In a preferred, but by no means only, embodiment, the co-operable multifunction abutments and other componentry have graduated reference points and/or a mechanism of primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points, and the virtual abutment is composed of a virtual universal aligning adaptor that has a specific primary indicium to which all other cooperable componentry are synchronized. It is the synchronization of all of the componentry that contributes to automating the restorative procedures with a dramatic reduction in operator error.
The automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol includes selecting the appropriate vertical angle correcting multifunction abutment or other prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape from a library, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment and is set in relation to the index of the implant when the prosthetic component is being situated in a preferred, predetermined horizontal and vertical position over the implant.
The rotation of the virtual multifunction abutment, in combination with the automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, can be performed in an milling software program having the scan code for said device. In certain embodiments, the abutment can be automatically rotated in the software program by indicating which primary or secondary rotation point is overlaying the primary indicium of the adaptor, such that it automatically positions the abutment with its primary indicium in the established position of the clinically rotated and inserted multifunction abutment.
In certain embodiments, the adaptors and healing caps or interim abutments are seated on the implants after having been repositioned such that their primary indicia bisect the ridge at a 90° angle in the sagittal plane, and when said healing caps are removed, the primary or secondary indicia overlaying the primary indicia of their adaptor are identified, scanning or imaging posts are inserted over the adaptors such that their primary indicia overlay each other, and an intraoral scan is taken to reference the primary indicia of the adaptors, which, when combined with the location of the adaptor in relation to the primary or secondary indicia of the healing caps, uniquely identifies the preferred position of the healing caps. The virtual multifunction abutments are rotated such that their primary or secondary indicia overlay the primary indicia of the virtual adaptors and are milled. The multifunction abutments can be milled to fit on adaptors or to directly engage the implants' index. The framework is then milled to fit the abutments.
In certain embodiments, an impression post is seated at the same location on the implants and an impression is taken, a model is poured, and a bench scan is taken.
The framework, alone, can be milled and seated on preformed multifunction abutments that are situated with their reference points in the same locations as the virtual abutments.
In certain embodiments, a bite block is milled to fit over the framework and is returned with the milled abutments and framework such that the abutments, framework, and milled bite block are seated with a bite and aesthetic registration being taken to establish the vertical bite, smile line and other denture parameters, prior to taking a transfer impression.
In certain embodiments, the precise repositioning of the screw access holes such that they more closely approximate the occlusal tables of the replacement teeth, a full arch of screw retained crowns can be fabricated without flanges. The patient can now receive a full arch of screw retained crowns in preference to a screw retained denture having acrylic flanges, which is applicable to either the standard fabrication process after implants have integrated or to the immediate load screw retained transitional hybrid denture conversion process that is performed at the time of implant insertion. The net benefit is a significant improvement in patient hygiene, when the flanges are eliminated. Esthetics in many cases is also vastly improved.
A universal aligning analog model can be either fabricated by a dental technician in the laboratory or is fabricated by a computer software program. Both models have receptacles for receiving the universal aligning analog, which has an index at the open end with the same configuration as the adaptor's abutment engaging index, configuration, and position, and has a shank with the same polygonal configuration as the free end of the adaptor that engages the index of the implant being restored. For example, if a 15° angle correction is wanted for the hexagon implant, then the top index of the analog is an octagon and the shank is a tapered hexagon. The universal aligning analog and abutment can be rotated and reseated into the receptacle in the model to allow the abutment to be placed in a more preferred position. The universal aligning analog also has a referencing indicium that is rotated in the same manner as the adaptor such that the indicium is positioned under one of the primary or secondary indicia of the abutment being rotated.
If an abutment an abutment has been rotated to one of its alternative primary or secondary indicia on the analog, the restorative dentist merely rotates it over the adaptor seated on that particular implant.
The universal aligning adaptor is particularly useful with the immediate load transitional hybrid conversion technique for ideally positioning screw access holes.
In certain embodiments, the automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol when restoring the Universal Nonagon Implant with a primary indicium includes choosing the appropriate vertical angle correcting abutment or other prosthetic component having the desired geometric shape for that type of restoration over the implant, rotating it as necessary in either a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction such that the primary indicium of the adaptor is positioned at a particular primary or secondary indicium point of the abutment and is automatically set in relation to the index of the implant when the prosthetic component is being positioned in a preferred, predetermined horizontal and vertical situation over the implant as determined by the primary indicium (
In certain embodiments, the implant has a nonagon index which, being symmetrical, allows for abutment rotation, while one of the vertices serves as a primary indicium or vertex and reference point for all of the co-operable indicia of its componentry, since it is the only vertex that bisects the opposing flat at a 90° angle that is located 180° away from it in the sagittal plane.
In certain embodiments, the fixture mount that carries the implant to the osteotomy site and is used with an engaging tool to secure the implant in the bone has a primary indicium or vertex that indicates the location of the implant's primary indicium or vertex that assists the surgeon with placing the implant with its index ideally situated. After the fixture mount is removed, the insertion tool that engages the implant index can also have a primary indicium that guides the surgeon as he completes the insertion of the implant in order to ideally position the implant index.
In one embodiment, a method of restoring a Universal Aligning Implant having any index configuration and alignment with a referencing indicium by realigning, synchronizing, and referencing restorative prosthetic components to set reference points to realign and synchronize an implant prosthetic insert. The restorative dentist can choose the desired vertical angle correcting prosthetic component having the appropriate geometric shape for restoring the implant. The prosthetic component can be rotated over a prosthetic insert with the assembly over the implant in 5° increments via co-operable indicia on the component and prosthetic insert such that the prosthetic component is ideally situated in a position. When in the ideal position, the co-operable indicia can be identified at that position, and the reference points can be used for fabricating the final prosthetic components.
The co-operable indicia can include graduated reference points and/or primary and secondary indicia that establish the rotation and synchronization points.
All componentry can be synchronized to the primary indicium of the adaptor, to the specific primary or secondary indicium of the prosthetic device that overlays the primary indicium of the adaptor, and to the primary indicium of the prosthetic component which defines its preferred horizontal and vertical position.
In certain embodiments, identifying the rotation and synchronization points prior to taking an impression for a bench scan, automatically identifies and references them during the bench scan, and, thereby, lessens the effects of any distortion that can occur from expansion and contraction of materials, when taking an impression for fabricating a model.
At least one embodiment provides a method of restoring a dental implant having an index of “n” sides, one of which has the primary indicium, that has been inserted in the jaw with an arbitrary alignment of the index by combining a prosthetic insert whose mutual geometry at its end that extends into the implant index and at its end that receives prosthetic components having co-operable indices allows for a directed rotation of the components, such that they are first decoupled from dependence upon the coarse rotations around the implant's index, and are then aligned and synchronized according to an automated and/or interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, wherein the prosthetic components are rotated about a reestablished vertical axis of rotation which results in more refined increments of the rotation using either a predetermined counter or straight rotation to ideally situate the prosthetic components and to synchronize them to a defined reference point or set of reference points on the prosthetic insert, which is then identified and referenced for fabricating the restoration that is seated on the implant. Therefore, in at least certain embodiments, it is possible for one or more scanners and associated computers to recognize or identify this primary indicium automatically. This computer identified primary indicium enables autorotation of the virtual abutment such that it is ideally situated prior to milling the physical abutment and the overlying prosthetic device.
Certain embodiments provide a method of using a universal aligning implant for restoring an edentulous site wherein it has a primary indicium as a reference point in its index to better position it in an ideal alignment in the ridge along with a set of prosthetic componentry that are synchronized to the implant's primary reference points and to each other via their co-operable indicia when the implant is restored such that the abutment and/or overlaying prosthesis is in an ideal position or, in combination with an aligning, synchronizing, referencing device and an automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol, reestablishes the preferred abutment position. The implant can be inserted such that its primary indicium is situated in a sagittal plane that bisects the ridge at a 90° angle, inserting an impression post, scanning post, or other referencing device into the implant such that the primary indicium of the referencing device is aligned with the primary indicium of the implant. When aligned a final abutment or prosthesis can be fabricated that is seated on the implant such that its primary indicium is overlaying the implant's primary indicium, and is, therein, ideally positioned over the implant.
In certain embodiments, the fixture mount that carries the implant to the osteotomy site and is used with an engaging tool to secure the implant in the bone has a primary indicium that indicates the location of the implant's primary indicium wherein the surgeon is able to ideally align the implant index.
In certain embodiments, the insertion tool that engages the implant index has a primary indicium that guides the surgeon as he completes the insertion in order to ideally position the implant index. The set of prosthetic componentry can have co-operable primary and secondary indicia or other co-operable indicia are used in combination with the automated and interactive clinical and/or digital protocol when the primary indicium of the implant does not bisect the ridge at a 90° angle in the sagittal plane, wherein the adaptor and the prosthetic component are rotated individually and as an assembly as determined by the protocol such that their primary and secondary indicia reposition the device to an ideal position in order to compensate for the implant's misalignment.
The scanning computer 10302a may receive data from the scanner 10302b and compile and/or process the data to achieve a usable scan data. The scan data may include information about the oral geometry of a patient. If using scanning post 700, the scan data may include information indicative of the relative position of the various indicia and/or virtual indicia. The scan data may also contain information relating to a patient's oral features (e.g., the relative position of teeth, gums, and other tissue). Additionally, the scanning computer 10302a may be configured to transmit the scan data to the correction component 10316 via communication channel 10320.
The correction component 10316 may comprise a system 10304 that is configured to receive the scan data from the scanning component 10314 via communication channel 10320. System 10304 may include a communications interface 10306 suitable for communicating with various communications channels 1032010322, a memory 10308, and a controller 10310. Additionally, correction component 10316 may be operable to communicate with manufacturing component 10318 via communication channel 10322. According to various embodiments, the correction component 10316 is operable to generate appropriate manufacturing instructions for the production of a dental fixture based on the received scan data and, in particular, the scanned indicia and/or virtual indicia. For instance, if the correction component 10316 determines that one or more of the indicia (actual or virtual) indicate a misalignment, the correction component 10316 can generate appropriate manufacturing instructions that offset and account for the misalignment in the dental fixture.
Manufacturing component 10318 may comprise a manufacturing computer 10312a coupled to a production facility 10312b. The manufacturing computer 10312a may be configured to receive manufacturing instructions from the correction component 10316 via communication channel 10312. Additionally, the manufacturing computer 10312a may be configured to compile and/or parse the instructions to place them in suitable form for the production facility 10312b.
In practice, a system such as system 10400 allows for increased flexibility in receiving scan data and in producing the dental fixture. For instance, correction component 10316 can be configured to receive multiple instances of scan data relating to a single patient from multiple scanner components 10314. By way of example, scanner component 103141 may be able to only provide intraoral scan data to correction component 10316 and scanner component 103142 may only be configured to provide CBCT scan data to correction component 10316. The correction component 10316 can then merge the scan data to generate more accurate manufacturing instructions. These manufacturing instructions can, then, be sent to one of the appropriate manufacturing components 10318 for execution. The appropriate manufacturing component 10318 can be selected based on, for instance, physical proximity, workload, production facilities, etc. Thus, a system that allows a correction component 10316 to interact with a number of different scanner components 10314 and a number of different manufacturing components 10318 allows for greater flexibility.
At step 10506, the correction component 10316 can extract indicia from the scan data. For instance, if a scanning post 700 was used, the correction component 10316 can extract the primary and secondary indicia 713, 714, and 715. Alternatively, virtual indicia may be generated based on, for instance, a sidewall of the scanning post or various other features of the implant and/or the patients features.
At step 10508, the correction component 10316 can determine whether a correction is needed in the dental fixture based on the scan data. For instance, the correction component 10316 may determine that the indicia (actual or virtual) indicate a misalignment of the implant 10. Once a determination is made about whether correction is needed at step 10508, appropriate manufacturing instructions can be generated at step 10510. For instance, if the correction component 10316 determines that the indicia indicate a misalignment, the manufacturing instructions can account for the misalignment by offsetting, rotating, or otherwise cancelling out the misalignment in the manufacturing instructions. The manufacturing instructions can then be sent to the manufacturing component 10388 at step 10512 and the dental fixture can be produced by the production facility 10312b.
The method may be performed by any suitable component such as correction component 10316. According to the method 10600, scan data is received at step 10602 from, for instance, scanning component 10314. At step 10604, one or more indicia are determined from the scan data. If, for instance, a scan post is used (e.g., scan post 700), then actual indicia (e.g., primary and secondary indicia 713, 714, and 715) can be extracted from the scan data and their relative positions determined. However, according to some embodiments, the indicia may be determined by generating virtual indicia based on various features of the scan data.
At step 10606, the indicia are examined to determine whether correction is needed. For instance, the indicia can be analyzed to determine whether there will be a misalignment in the dental fixture if it is inserted into position. This can happen when the indicia are offset spatially from where they are otherwise expected in the x, y, or z directions. If, at step 10606, it is determined that a correction is needed, then an appropriate offset and/or correction is computed to adjust for the misalignment. This offset and/or correction can be used to generate appropriate manufacturing instructions at step 10610. If, on the other hand, it is determined that no correction is needed at step 10606, then the manufacturing instructions for the dental fixture can be generated without computing an offset and/or correction at step 10610. Finally, at step 10612, the instructions can be sent to the production facility so that the dental fixture can be produced.
The method may be performed by any suitable component such as correction component 10316. According to the method 10700, first scan data is received at step 10702 from, for instance, scanning component 103141 (shown in
At step 10606, one or more indicia are determined from each of the first and second scan data. If, for instance, a scan post is used (e.g., scan post 700), then actual indicia (e.g., primary and secondary indicia 713, 714, and 715) can be extracted from the scan data and their relative positions determined. However, according to some embodiments, the indicia may be determined by generating virtual indicia based on various features of the scan data.
At step 10706, the data from the first and second scan data can be merged to generate a combined set of scan data. The first and second scan data can be merged by aligning like indicia so that the relative position of the various scanned features is known. This merging of multiple kinds of scan data allows for a more complete picture of a patient's oral features. Continuing with our example where the first scan data comprises intraoral scan data and the second scan data comprises CBCT scan data, the advantage of this process can be seen; intraoral scans register soft tissue (e.g., the gum line, etc.) better and CBCT scans register bone (e.g., teeth) and metallic objects (e.g., implant 10) better. Accordingly, it is possible, by merging the two kinds of scan data to have a better view of the soft tissue in relation to the bone and metallic objects and to, therefore, generate a better correction.
At step 10710, the merged scan data is examined to determine whether correction is needed. For instance, the indicia can be analyzed to determine whether there will be a misalignment in the dental fixture if it is inserted into position. This can happen when the indicia are offset spatially from where they are otherwise expected in the x, y, or z directions. If, at step 10710, it is determined that a correction is needed, then an appropriate offset and/or correction is computed at step 10712 to adjust for the misalignment. This offset and/or correction can be used to generate appropriate manufacturing instructions at step 10714. If, on the other hand, it is determined that no correction is needed at step 10710, then the manufacturing instructions for the dental fixture can be generated without computing an offset and/or correction at step 10712. Finally, at step 10716, the instructions can be sent to the production facility so that the dental fixture can be produced.
In an embodiment, the system and components described herein are implemented using well known computers, such as computer 10800 shown in
Computer 10800 may comprise any commercially available computer capable of performing the functions described herein, such as computers available from International Business Machines, Apple, Sun, HP, Dell, Digital, Cray, etc.
Computer 10800 includes one or more processors (also called central processing units, or CPUs), such as a processor 10806. Processor 10806 may comprise one or more processors. The processor 10806 is connected to a communication bus 10804. Processors 10806 may include any conventional or special purpose processor, including, but not limited to, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), and application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
Computer 10800 includes one or more graphics processing units (also called GPUs), such as GPU 10807. GPU 10807 is a specialized processor that executes instructions and programs selected for complex graphics and mathematical operations in parallel.
Computer 10800 also includes a main or primary memory 10808, such as random access memory (RAM). The primary memory 10808 has stored therein control logic 10828A (computer software), and data.
Computer 10800 also includes one or more secondary storage devices 10810. The secondary storage devices 10810 include, for example, a hard disk drive 10812 and/or a removable storage device or drive 10814, as well as other types of storage devices, such as memory cards and memory sticks. The removable storage drive 10814 represents a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, an optical storage device, tape backup, USB Flash memory, etc.
The removable storage drive 10814 interacts with a removable storage unit 10816. The removable storage unit 10816 includes a computer useable or readable storage medium 10824 having stored therein computer software 10828B (control logic) and/or data. Removable storage unit 10816 represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, compact disk, DVD, optical storage disk, USB Flash memory, or any other computer data storage device. The removable storage drive 10814 reads from and/or writes to the removable storage unit 10816 in a well-known manner.
Computer 10800 also includes input/output/display devices 10822, such as monitors, keyboards, pointing devices, touch-screen displays, etc.
Computer 10800 further includes a communication or network interface 10818. The network interface 10818 enables the computer 10800 to communicate with remote devices. For example, the network interface 10818 allows computer 10800 to communicate over communication networks or mediums 10824B (representing a form of a computer useable or readable medium), such as LANs, WANs, the Internet, etc. The network interface 10818 may interface with remote sites or networks via wired or wireless connections.
Control logic 10828C may be transmitted to and from computer 10800 via the communication medium 10824B. More particularly, the computer 10800 may receive and transmit carrier waves (electromagnetic signals) modulated with control logic 10830 via the communication medium 10824B.
Any apparatus or manufacture comprising a computer useable or readable medium having control logic (software) stored therein is referred to herein as a computer program product or program storage device. This includes, but is not limited to, the computer 10800, the main memory 10808, the secondary storage devices 10810, the removable storage unit 10816 and the carrier waves modulated with control logic 10830. Such computer program products, having control logic stored therein that, when executed by one or more data processing devices, cause such data processing devices to operate as described herein, represent embodiments.
Although, several of the preferred embodiments of the present inventions have been shown and described above, other embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments shown and described, but, rather, is defined in the appended claims.
For the Examiner's convenience, given the complexity of the present system and the interrelationship of the various part numbers used in the present application, Applicant has provided the following parts list table. It is understood that the detailed description is controlling and that the description in this parts list is for convenience sake only. In other words, the part list does not limit the claims or the description of the system in the detailed description.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/547,883, filed Aug. 22, 2019, which is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/162,305, filed May 23, 2016, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,908 on Aug. 27, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/085,286, filed Nov. 20, 2013, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,364,299 on Jun. 14, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/796,837, filed Nov. 20, 2012. The contents of each of these applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61796837 | Nov 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16547883 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Child | 18306503 | US | |
| Parent | 15162305 | May 2016 | US |
| Child | 16547883 | US | |
| Parent | 14085286 | Nov 2013 | US |
| Child | 15162305 | US |
