Dental implant and tool and method for effecting a dental restoration using the same
A novel dental implant comprising an implant fixture assembly for attachment to a jaw bone at a first end thereof, the fixture assembly having a longitudinal axis; an abutment for mounting on a second end of the fixture assembly, the abutment having a longitudinal axis; and a fastener for connecting the abutment to the second end of the implant fixture assembly such that the abutment is movable on the second end of the implant fixture assembly and, upon disposition of the abutment axis at a selected angle to the implant fixture assembly axis, for connecting the abutment to the second end of the implant fixture assembly such that the abutment is fixed on the implant fixture assembly at the selected angle. A novel tool for deploying the novel dental implant is also disclosed. And a novel method for effecting a dental restoration is also disclosed.
This invention relates to dental apparatus and procedures in general, and more particularly to dental implants and tools and methods for effecting dental restorations using the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn many individuals, disease and/or injury may result in the loss of one or more natural teeth. As a result, various techniques have been developed to replace such lost natural teeth with prosthetic appliances.
For example, where sufficient natural teeth remain adjacent to the location where a prosthetic tooth is to be positioned, a bridge may be fabricated.
Alternatively, if insufficient natural teeth remain to support and stabilize a bridge, a denture may be fabricated, with the denture seating against the patient's gingiva.
In still other situations, a dental implant may be used. With such a dental implant, a hole is generally first made in the upper or lower jaw bone, as appropriate, and then the distal end of the implant is fixed in the recipient bone, e.g., by screwing the implant into the bone. The dental implant is generally sized and positioned so that the proximal end of the implant protrudes at least partially into the space where the prosthetic tooth is to be positioned. Then the prosthetic tooth is fixed to the proximal end of the implant, such that the prosthetic tooth generally occupies the space of the lost tooth.
While such dental implants can be effective, they also tend to suffer from a number of problems. Among other things, with current dental implants, the longitudinal axis of the prosthetic tooth must generally follow the longitudinal axis of the implant which is seated in the bone. Unfortunately, the optimal axial alignment for the implant seated in the bone may not necessarily be the same as the optimal axial alignment for the prosthetic tooth extending into the mouth. In particular, it has been found that the optimal axial alignment for the implant tends to be dictated by the specific anatomy of the patient's recipient jaw bone, while the optimal axial alignment of the prosthetic tooth tends to be dictated by the geometry of the patient's bite, lip support, phonetics and aesthetics. Thus, with current dental implants, the dental practitioner typically faces a choice of optimizing the orientation of the restoration for either (1) the implant seated in the bone, or (2) the prosthetic tooth extending into the mouth, or (3) some compromise in between. In any case, the result is generally a compromise of some sort.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a novel dental implant which avoids the problems associated with the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel tool for use in deploying the novel dental implant of the present invention.
And another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for effecting a dental restoration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThese and other objects are addressed by the present invention, which comprises a novel dental implant, a novel tool for deploying the same, and a novel method for effecting a dental restoration.
The novel dental implant comprises an implant fixture assembly adapted for attachment to a jaw bone at a first end thereof, the implant fixture assembly having a longitudinal axis; an abutment for mounting on a second end of the implant fixture assembly, the abutment having a longitudinal axis; and a fastener for connecting the abutment to the second end of the implant fixture assembly such that the abutment is adjustably movable on the second end of the implant fixture assembly and, upon disposition of the abutment axis at a selected angle to the implant fixture assembly axis, for fixedly connecting the abutment to the second end of the implant fixture assembly such that the abutment is fixed on the implant fixture assembly at the selected angle.
In one form of the invention, a novel tool is provided for setting the abutment on the second end of the implant fixture assembly by way of a screw interconnecting the abutment and the implant fixture assembly, the tool comprising a first elongated handle having a first hole therethrough; a first driver fixed proximate a distal end of the first handle, the first driver having a hole extending centrally therethrough and in alignment with the first handle hole; a second elongated handle; a second driver fixed proximate a distal end of the second handle and extendible through the first handle hole and the first driver hole and distally beyond the first driver; the first driver being engageable with an interior portion of the abutment and the second driver being engageable with an interior portion of a head portion of the screw.
In another form of the invention, a novel tool is provided for setting the abutment on the second end of the implant fixture assembly, the implant fixture assembly being fixed at the first end thereof in a jaw bone, and the abutment being adapted to receive and retain a prosthetic tooth, the abutment having an axial cavity therein and extending therethrough, and the implant fixture assembly having a recess in the second end thereof in communication with a threaded bore in the implant fixture assembly, the abutment's axial cavity being shaped to receive the head portion of a screw and a first shank portion of that screw, and the implant fixture assembly being adapted to receive a second shank portion of the screw, the tool comprising a first elongated handle and a driver fixed on an end of the first handle, the driver and the first handle having a hole extending therethrough centrally of the driver, the driver being engageable with the abutment's axial cavity so as to hold the abutment in a non-rotative manner, and a second elongated handle and a second driver fixed on an end of the second handle, the second driver being extendible in the hole through the first handle and through the first driver so as to engage an internal recess in the head portion of the screw, wherein movement of the two handles together serves to tilt the abutment on the implant fixture assembly to a desired position, and holding the first handle stationary while rotating the second handle serves to advance the screw in the implant fixture assembly so as to lock the abutment in the desired position on the implant fixture assembly.
The novel method for effecting a dental restoration comprises the steps of attaching an implant fixture assembly to a jaw bone; attaching an abutment to the implant fixture assembly by a retaining screw so as to permit tilting movement of the abutment on the implant fixture assembly; tilting the abutment on the implant fixture assembly so as to place a longitudinal axis of the abutment at a selected angle relative to a longitudinal axis of the implant fixture assembly; and fixing the abutment on the implant fixture assembly at the selected angle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThese and other objects and features of the present invention will be more fully disclosed or rendered obvious by the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which is to be considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Looking first at
Implant fixture assembly 100 is adapted to be mounted to the patient's jaw bone. Implant fixture assembly 100 generally comprises a housing 105 (
Housing 105 (
Proximal end 130 comprises a generally semi-spherical geometry (
The interior of housing 105 is formed so that a passageway 150 (
Thus it will be seen that hexagonal chamber 155 and inclined surface 160 connect the housing's interior passageway 150 with proximal opening 135 (
Floating nut 110 (
Plug 115 (
Implant fixture assembly 100 is intended to be assembled by first loading floating nut 110 into the open distal end 125 (
It is to be appreciated that when floating nut 110 is movably captured in this position, the nut's threaded bore 180 will communicate with the opening 135 (
It is also to be appreciated that, due to the corresponding geometries of hexagonal chamber 155 and nut wall 165, floating nut 110 can pivot in hexagonal chamber 155 about the longitudinal axis of the nut's threaded bore 180 (i.e., clockwise and counterclockwise, as viewed in
It should be appreciated that it is important to set the degree of pivot permitted floating nut 110 about the longitudinal axis of its threaded bore 180 (i.e., clockwise and counterclockwise, as viewed in
Abutment 200 (FIGS. 1, 13-17 and 22-25) comprises a body 205 (
Abutment 200 is sized so that its distal end 210 can fit over proximal end 130 of implant fixture assembly 100 (
A fixation screw 300 (
Dental implant 5 is intended to be used as follows.
First, an opening is formed in the patient's gingiva 400 (
Next, distal end 210 (
Once the proper orientation of abutment 200 has been established, fixation screw 300 is tightened (or torqued) with the proper torque all the way down (
Thereafter, after the deployment of dental implant 5 has been finalized, a prosthetic tooth 500 (
It is to be appreciated that with the dental implant 5 described above, fixation screw 300 follows the orientation of the abutment's multi-stage bore 220 (
If desired, a tool 600 (
It should be appreciated that, by virtue of the fact that abutment 200 is held against rotation while fixation screw 300 is turned down into, or withdrawn from, engagement with floating nut 110, high torque forces are not applied directly to implant fixture assembly 100. As a result, abutment 200 may be tightened to implant fixture assembly 100 with the highest possible torque forces, without fear of undermining the osseo-integration of implant fixture assembly 100 to bone 410.
It should also be appreciated that, inasmuch as tool 600 comprises two interoperative elements 605 and 610, with element 605 engaging abutment 200 and element 610 engaging fixation screw 300, movement of the two elements 605 and 610 together can be used to tilt abutment 200 on implant fixture assembly 100 to the desired position, and movement of second element 610 relative to first element 605 can be used to move fixation screw 300 towards and away from floating nut 110.
In some circumstances it may be desirable to permit a period of healing to occur between placement of implant fixture assembly 100 in jaw bone 410 and the subsequent attachment of abutment 200 to implant fixture assembly 100. In this case, it is generally desirable to temporarily cap off opening 135 of implant fixture assembly 100.
To this end, a “healing” cover screw 700 (
In effect, cover screw 700 forms a sort of plug for closing off the opening 135 (
In use, implant fixture assembly 100 is deployed in bone 410 in the manner previously described, cover screw 700 is used to close off opening 135 of implant fixture assembly 100, and then gingiva 400 closed. After an appropriate period of healing, during which implant fixture assembly 100 can osseo-integrate with bone 410, gingiva 400 is re-opened, cover screw 700 is removed from implant fixture assembly 100, and then abutment 200 is attached to implant fixture assembly 100 using fixation screw 300 in the manner previously described.
An alternative cover screw 720 (
Looking next at
Implant fixture assembly 800 (
Proximal end 815 comprises a generally semi-spherical geometry (
If desired, implant fixture assembly 800 can be fabricated from a single piece of material.
Alternatively, implant fixture assembly 800 can be formed out of a housing A (
Abutment 900 (
As a result of this construction, abutment 900 can be movably seated atop implant fixture assembly 800, with the abutment's hemispherically-shaped bore portion 920 riding on the implant's semi-spherically-shaped proximal end 815, and with the abutment's end rim 930 engaging selected ones of facets 835. Thus, abutment 900 can be moved about through a range of different positions atop implant fixture assembly 800 (see
It is to be understood that the first stage 910 of multi-stage passageway 905 may have any one of several shapes within the scope of the invention in its broadest aspects.
Thus, first stage 910 might be frusto-conical in shape, with its narrow end adjacent to second stage 915. This configuration will allow the longitudinal axis of the abutment to be set at a selected angle in any one of multiple planes containing the longitudinal axis of implant fixture assembly 800 in a manner analogous to that discussed above with respect to the embodiment of the invention shown in
Alternatively, the first stage 910 of the passageway 905 may be formed in the shape of a slot, as shown in
Similarly, the first stage 910 of passageway 905 might also take the form of only a portion of the slot shown in
Fixation screw 1000 (
Dental implant 10 is intended to be used in substantially the same way as the dental implant 5 described above. More particularly, an opening is first formed in the patient's gingiva, and then a hole is formed in the patient's jaw bone. In accordance with the present invention, the hole is formed in the patient's jaw bone so as to substantially optimize the safe and secure attachment of implant fixture assembly 800 to the jaw bone. Then implant fixture assembly 800 is screwed, distal end first, into the jaw bone. Next, the distal end of abutment 900 is brought into engagement with the proximal end 815 of implant fixture assembly 800, and fixation screw 1000 is used to loosely secure the two members together. More particularly, fixation screw 1000 is initially only loosely threaded into threaded bore 825 of implant fixture assembly 800, such that abutment 900 will be held to implant fixture assembly 800, yet still be capable of being moved about relative to implant fixture assembly 800. In this respect it will be appreciated that the laterally-widening first stage 910 (
It is to be appreciated that with the dental implant 10 described above, fixation screw 1000 follows the orientation of housing 805 and not (necessarily) the orientation of abutment 900, as seen in
It should also be appreciated that, if desired, tool 600 may be used to set abutment 900 on implant fixture assembly 800.
And it should be appreciated that cover screw 700, or cover screw 720, may be used in conjunction with dental implant 10, if it is desired to seal off the open proximal end of implant fixture assembly 800 during a period of healing.
In addition, it should also be appreciated that the outer surface 200A of abutment 200 (
Furthermore, dental implant 5 might have its implant fixture assembly 100 formed without screw threads 140 formed thereon. More particularly, implant fixture assembly 100 might have some other external geometry to facilitate its fixation in the patient's jaw bone 410, e.g., it might be formed with a generally cylindrical external geometry, with an external surface configured to promote osseointegration, or carrying an external surface coating adapted to promote osseointegration. Correspondingly, dental implant 10 might have its implant fixture assembly 800 similarly formed.
It is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to the particular constructions herein disclosed and/or shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A dental implant comprising:
- an elongate implant fixture assembly having a first end and a second end, said implant fixture assembly being adapted for attachment to a jaw bone at a first end thereof and having a first longitudinal axis;
- an abutment for mounting on said second end of said implant fixture assembly, said abutment having a second longitudinal axis;
- a fastener for connecting said abutment to said second end of said implant fixture assembly such that (i) said abutment is adjustably movable on said second end of said implant fixture assembly when the connection formed by said fastener is loose, and (ii) upon disposition of said second longitudinal axis of a selected angle to said first longitudinal axis, said abutment is fixedly connectable on said second end of said implant fixture assembly when the connection formed by said fastener is tight; and
- securement means for preventing movement of said abutment relative to said implant fixture assembly when the connection formed by said fastener is tight.
2. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein said fastener comprises an abutment retainer screw having a threaded shaft and an enlarged head portion, said threaded shaft being adapted to threadedly engage an interior portion of said implant fixture assembly, and said head portion being adapted to engage an interior portion of said abutment.
3. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein said abutment is adapted to receive and retain a prosthetic tooth which extends along said second longitudinal axis at said selected angle to said first longitudinal axis.
4. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein said implant fixture assembly comprises a tubular housing having external threads for said attachment to the jaw bone.
5. A dental implant according to claim 4 wherein said implant fixture assembly further comprises a floating nut captured in said housing at said second end thereof, said floating nut having internal threads for threaded engagement with said fastener.
6. A dental implant according to claim 5 wherein said implant fixture assembly further comprises a plug disposed in said tubular housing to retain said floating nut in said second end of said tubular housing.
7. A dental implant according to claim 6 wherein said tubular housing is open at said second end, and said second end of said housing is tapered inwardly to retain said floating nut therein and to provide a rounded second end.
8. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein said second end of said implant fixture assembly is rounded, said abutment is provided with a concave end shaped complementarily to said second end of said implant fixture assembly, and said fastener is adapted to connect said abutment to said second end of said implant fixture assembly such that said implant fixture assembly and said abutment are movable relative to one another when the connection formed by said fastener is loose, and is adapted to tightly connect said abutment to said implant fixture assembly when said connection formed by said fastener is tight.
9. A dental implant according to claim 8 wherein said securement means comprises a lip peripherally of said concave end of said abutment, and concentric facets on said second end of said implant fixture assembly, said facets and said lip being operative to assist in positioning of said abutment so as to dispose said second longitudinal axis at said selected angle relative to said first longitudinal axis, and to assist in holding said abutment at said selected angle on said implant fixture assembly.
10. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein said fastener comprises a screw having a distal threaded shaft portion, a proximal shaft portion and an enlarged head portion, said distal shaft portion being threadedly engageable with said implant fixture assembly, and a second shaft portion and said head portion being disposed in a recess in said abutment, said recess being configured to permit said abutment to be tilted on said implant fixture assembly, and said screw head portion being engageable with a wall of said abutment for connecting said abutment to said implant fixture assembly at said selected angle.
11. A tool for setting an abutment on a free end of an implant fixture assembly by way of a screw interconnecting said abutment and said implant fixture, said tool comprising:
- a first elongated handle having a first hole therethrough;
- a first driver fixed proximate a distal end of said first handle, said first driver having a hole extending centrally therethrough and in alignment with said first handle hole;
- a second elongated handle;
- a second driver fixed proximate a distal end of said second handle and extendible through said first handle hole and said first driver hole and distally beyond said first driver;
- said first driver being engageable with an interior portion of said abutment and said second driver being engageable with an interior portion of a head portion of said screw.
12. A tool for setting an abutment on a free end of an implant fixture assembly, the implant fixture assembly adapted to be fixed at a first end thereof in a jaw bone, and said abutment being adapted to receive and retain an artificial tooth, said abutment having an cavity therein and extending therethrough, said implant fixture assembly having a recess in said free end thereof in communication with a threaded bore in said implant fixture assembly, said abutment cavity being shaped to receive a head portion and first shank portion of a retaining screw, said implant fixture assembly being adapted to receive and engage a second shank portion of said screw, said tool comprising a first elongated handle and a driver fixed on an end of said first handle, said driver and said handle having a hole extending therethrough centrally of said driver, said driver being engageable with the cavity of said abutment to hold said abutment in a non-rotative manner, and a second elongated handle and a second driver fixed on an end of said second handle, said second driver being extendible in said hole through said first handle and through said first driver to engage an internal recess in said head portion of said screw, wherein movement of said handles together serves to tilt said abutment on said implant fixture assembly to a desired position, and holding said first handle stationary while rotating said second handle serves to advance said screw in to said implant fixture assembly so as to lock said abutment in the desired position on said fixture assembly.
13. A method for effecting a dental restoration, the method comprising the steps of:
- attaching an implant fixture assembly to a jaw bone;
- attaching an abutment to said fixture assembly by a retaining screw so as to permit tilting movement of said abutment on said implant fixture assembly;
- tilting said abutment on said implant fixture assembly so as to place a longitudinal axis of said abutment at a selected angle to a longitudinal axis of said implant fixture assembly; and
- tightening said retaining screw so as to secure said abutment to said implant fixture assembly at said selected angle and engage securement means for preventing movement of said abutment relative to said fixture assembly.
14. A method according to claim 13 wherein said implant fixture assembly includes a floating nut therein, and said step of attaching said abutment to said implant fixture assembly comprises advancing said threaded shank portion of said screw into said floating nut.
15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said step of tilting said abutment on said implant fixture assembly comprises moving said floating nut in said implant fixture assembly by tilting said abutment.
16. A method according to claim 13 wherein said abutment includes an axial bore through said abutment for receipt of said retaining screw, said bore being configured so as to permit said step of tilting said abutment on said implant fixture assembly and relative to said screw.
17. A method according to claim 16 wherein said bore through said abutment is provided with a wall engageable by a head portion of said retaining screw as said screw is advanced in said implant fixture assembly, and said step of tightening said retaining screw comprises advancing said screw into said implant fixture assembly until said head portion of said screw engages said abutment wall to press flattened portions of said abutment against facets located on said second end of said implant fixture assembly so as to lock said abutment at said selected angle relative to said implant fixture assembly.
18. A method according to claim 13 wherein said step of attaching said implant fixture assembly to the jaw bone includes permitting said implant fixture assembly to osseo-integrate with the bone before attaching said abutment on said implant fixture assembly.
19. A method according to claim 18 wherein said implant fixture assembly comprises an opening, and further wherein said step of attaching said implant fixture assembly to the jaw bone includes (i) positioning said implant fixture assembly in the jaw bone, (ii) closing off said opening with a cap, (iii) permitting said implant fixture assembly to osseo-integrate with the bone, and (iv) removing said cap.
20. A dental implant according to claim 5 wherein said securement means comprise an opening having a polygonal transverse cross-section at said second end of said housing and a substantially polygonal external transverse cross-section defined by said floating nut, whereby when said fastener is tightened, at least some of the sides of said external transverse cross-section of said floating nut engage at least some of the sides of said transverse cross-section of said opening at said second end of said housing.
21. A dental implant according to claim 8 wherein the movement of said second longitudinal axis of said abutment relative to said first longitudinal axis of said implant fixture assembly is restricted to a preselected range of angles on either side of said first longitudinal axis.
22. A dental implant according to claim 8 wherein the movement of said second longitudinal axis of said abutment relative to said first longitudinal axis of said implant fixture assembly is restricted to a preselected range of angles on one side of said first longitudinal axis.
23. A method according to claim 14 shown wherein said floating nut and said implant fixture assembly together define securement means comprising an opening having a polygonal transverse cross-section at said second end of said housing and a substantially polygonal external transverse cross-section defined by said floating nut, whereby when said fastener is tightened, at least some of the sides of said external transverse cross-section of said floating nut engage at least some of the sides of said transverse cross-section of said opening at said second end of said housing.
24. A dental implant according to claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said abutment is tapered.
25. A method according to claim 13 wherein said step of attaching said implant fixture assembly to the jaw bone includes permitting said implant fixture assembly to osseo-integrate with the bone after attaching said abutment on said implant fixture assembly.
26. A dental implant according to claim 24 wherein said outer surface of said abutment is tapered with a hollow ground surface providing a concave geometry.
27. A dental implant comprising:
- an elongate implant fixture assembly having a first end and a second end, said implant fixture assembly being adapted for attachment to a jaw bone at a first end thereof and having a first longitudinal axis;
- an abutment for mounting on said second end of said implant fixture assembly, said abutment having a second longitudinal axis;
- a fastener for connecting said abutment to said second end of said implant fixture assembly such that (i) said abutment is adjustably movable on said second end of said implant fixture assembly when the connection formed by said fastener is loose, and (ii) upon disposition of said second longitudinal axis of a selected angle to said first longitudinal axis, said abutment is fixedly connectable on said second end of said implant fixture assembly when the connection formed by said fastener is tight;
- said elongate implant fixture assembly comprising a floating nut captured in said housing at said second end thereof, said floating nut having internal threads for threaded engagement with said fastener.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 7, 2004
Publication Date: Feb 24, 2005
Inventors: L. Lustig (Newton, MA), Federico Castellucci (Weston, MA), Andrew Tybinkowski (Boxford, MA)
Application Number: 10/935,707