Dentistry – Apparatus – Tooth selection guide
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-29
2004-07-06
Wilson, John J. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Apparatus
Tooth selection guide
C206S083000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06758670
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dental set plate.
Dental set plates have long been known such as, for example, the dental set plate described in DE-GM 7 411 122. The dental set plate described in that publication retains as a dental set six or seven front teeth or side teeth in a row in readiness for a dentist or a dental technician. The dentist makes use of drawers with inserts in an index or classification structure which permit the arrangement of a plurality of such dental sets in one over another or side-by-side relationship. In this manner, a quick pre-selection can be undertaken of the color and form of a replacement tooth which is to be made available. The support body includes a receiving channel for receiving therein a wax-like mass into which the replacement teeth can be pressed. At the same time, adequate writing space above and below the receiving channel is available, whereby the tooth color and form, the tooth fabricator, and further individual details can be recorded in abbreviated form.
Dental sets of such teeth are supplied in finished condition in the dental set plates. In this regard, special transport containers have been designed which support the dental set plates for transport in one over another and side-by-side relationship to one another. The cases serving as these transport containers are opened by the dentist or the dental office staff and sorted out into the drawers. This process is a determinedly time consuming logistical process as the placement and removal of the dental set plates must each be noted.
It continually occurs in the transport of the transport cases that individual teeth come loose and cannot thereafter be restored to the correct dental set plate without considerable effort. This evidently occurs in particular if the dental set plates have been transported during particularly cool conditions. The lowering of the transport temperature results in a hardening of the deformable mass into which the teeth have been pressed, as in most instances the deformable mass is comprised of wax or a wax derivative, whereupon the retention capability of the mass is substantially reduced.
To improve the retention capability of the mass, it is known to use a binder wax which exhibits a good retention capability even at significantly lower temperatures. The use of a binder wax permits transport and storage down to minus 10° C. without dislodgment of the transported teeth. However, the binder wax has the undesirable property that it has a distinctly viscous-sticky characteristic at room temperature. In practice, it is difficult if not impossible to remove the remnants of the binder wax from the teeth; at the same time, the danger exists that the binder wax remnants detract from the restoration result.
There is a further problem with conventional dental set plates with regard to the color variations of different batches even from the same fabricator. Differences in color and light transmissivity occur in different batches even with respect to teeth of the same color and light transmissivity properties. In order to obtain the greatest possible uniformity in the restoration result, it is desirable to use only those teeth fabricated from the same batch so that color and light transmissivity uniformity can be achieved. With conventional dental set plates, however, it is not possible to regularly establish the batch origin of the teeth.
It would further be desirable to be able to ascertain, in connection with the never ending warranty events or damage to teeth, individual information concerning the transport of the dental set plates. At the same time, it is currently unsatisfactory that the stockage must be individually manually controlled. Such control is decidedly resource demanding in that those assigned to the task must very precisely grasp the dental set plates on hand and then perform the corresponding inventory control. An error in the manual inventory control easily leads to delivery bottlenecks so that, in the event, a poorly suited tooth replacement may have to be used if, due to inadvertence, a more suitable replacement tooth has not been re-ordered. Moreover, the manual inventory control is labor intensive and is thus not desirable from a cost control perspective.
It has been proposed to provide bar codes on the underside of the dental set plates to thereby enable automatic data gathering. However, the affixation of such bar codes on the underside of the dental set plates would require removal and turning movement of the underside to effect a reading of the bar code by a bar code reader during a data gathering step.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention offers a dental set plate as a solution to the challenge of providing a dental set plate which permits an optimally reduced color variation between the replacement teeth and the teeth to be replaced while at the same time improving the storage and transport dispositions without having to forego the already on hand storage location for such dental set plates with its index or classification arrangement.
In accordance with the present invention, it is particularly advantageous if the hood offers the possibility of protecting the teeth during their transport so that the danger of individual teeth getting lost, and thus rendering the dental set basically useless, is foreclosed, as well as also offering the possibility to provide identification of the dental set so that, at the least, the individual sorting out of the dental sets is facilitated. The dental set plate of the present invention unexpectedly provides the possibility of configuring the deformable wax-like mass with a less sticky consistency without the danger of loss of the retained dental items. If the replacement teeth are maintained in inventory by the dentist or the dental technical personnel, the dental set plates are typically at room temperature whereupon the wax-like mass, in any event, better retains the replacement teeth within the dental set plate. At the same time, the shaking experienced by the dental set plates in their stocked dispositions within drawers is less than the shaking which can occur during the transport of the dental set plates. The transport of the dental set plates also brings forth the danger that the dental set plates will be turned around. The see through hood of the dental set plate of the present invention also aids in preventing such turning around of the dental set plates during their transport. As a consequence of the ability to provide a retaining mass having relatively less stickiness, the risk is reduced that remnants of the retaining mass will adhere to the teeth which are removed from their retained dispositions on the mass and thereby lead to unclean dental conditions.
In accordance with the present invention, it is, in addition, particularly advantageous if the dental set plates are stackable and can thereby be automatically transported and stocked.
It is especially advantageous, in accordance with the present invention, if the hood of the dental set plate remains with the on hand index or classification structure for stocking the dental set plates. In this connection, it is provided that the dimensions of the support body are, at least in the region thereof into which the walls of the hood extend, configured at a smaller dimension and, in fact, configured in correspondence with the wall strength of the hood. In one embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, the hood is disposed under the support body on a step or offset so that a certain sealing mechanism is formed thereat. This embodiment of the dental set plate is particularly advantageous if it is sought to also provide protection of the replacement teeth against unclean or unhygienic elements.
The drawers of a dental teeth sample cabinet are typically constructed so as to offer a certain sealing off against the entry of dust and dirt deposition. Nonetheless, conventional dental set plates stocked in such cabinets must undergo a cleaning from time to time which proves itself to be decidedl
Ivoclar Vivadent AG
Korman Alan S.
Thompson John C.
Wilson John J.
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