Dentistry – Prosthodontics – Holding or positioning denture in mouth
Patent
1994-06-01
1996-10-15
Wilson, John J.
Dentistry
Prosthodontics
Holding or positioning denture in mouth
A61C 800
Patent
active
055649220
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is concerned with a universal joint by which a dental abutment member, usually in the form of a post, can be coupled to a support member which, in use, is adapted to be implanted into the jaw of a patient.
It is well known in dental surgery to implant abutment posts into the jaw bone to provide anchor points for the location of individual artificial teeth, or sets of teeth, dental bridges and the like. In many situations, the dental surgeon wishes, for clinical reasons, to dispose the post in an attitude which is incompatible with the optimum implant direction within the jaw. For example, the optimum implant direction might be perpendicular to the jaw bone while the ideal attitude for the post, as far as a dental bridge to be supported thereby is concerned, is at some angle to the perpendicular.
It is already known in principle that this problem can be overcome by the use of a universal type joint arranged between the post and a separate, implanted body.
A known universal joint for this purpose is illustrated in FIG. 17 of the accompanying drawings and comprises a support member 10 which is adapted to be implanted into the jaw by a dental surgeon in a conventional manner. Screwed into the top of the support member 10 is a screw-threaded spigot 12 which has a ball portion 14 formed at that end which projects from the support member 10. The ball portion 14 of the spigot 12 is received within the hollow interior of an abutment post 16 and is forced against a reduced diameter, bevelled mouth 18 of the post 16 by means of a grub-screw 20 which engages a screw-thread 22 formed on the interior surface of the post 16. Initially, the grub-screw is removed from the post 16 and the ball portion 14 is therefore loose within the post. To assemble the joint in its operational position, the screw-threaded portion of the spigot 12 is first screwed into the support member 10, for example by means of a tool passed along the post 16. The grub-screw 20 is then inserted and partially tightened against the ball portion 14. With the components in this condition, the angle and attitude of the post 16 relative to the axis of the spigot 12 and support member 10 can be adjusted to comply with that required by the dental surgeon for correct fitting of the eventual denture to be mounted on that post. The grub-screw can then be further turned so as to force the ball portion 14 into abutment with the narrowed mouth portion 18 of the post 16 and thereby fix the components in that attitude. A mass 24 of suitable filler can later be added to fill up any space above the grub-screw 20, as shown in FIG. 17.
An important problem in practical use of the above described known joint is that a significant annular undercut area X is formed around the stem of the spigot 12, between the lower end of the post 16 (as viewed in FIG. 1) and the upper end of the support member 10. This annular area X provides a location where food debris, plaque and the like can collect and be very difficult to access and remove. These problems arise, inter alia, because (a) the ball 14 is rigidly fixed on the implanted support member 10, (b) the joint between the ball 14 and post 16 lies above the whole of the implant body, (c) the universality depends on the abutment post 16 rotating around the fixed ball, (d) the ball and abutment post are separate pieces, and (e) in all positions of the abutment post, undercuts are created which compromise oral hygiene. The result can thus be poor oral hygiene and, in some cases, severe gingival irritation which may lead to peri-implantitis and eventually even lead to the loss of the implant.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a universal joint structure which substantially eliminates this and other problems of the above described known device.
In accordance with the present invention in its broadest aspect, there is provided an assembly comprising a support body which is adapted to be received within an implant body, an abutment post fixed rigidly to a ball and a securing means which em
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Rosa Michael F.
Young Malcolm P. J.
Casella Anthony J.
Hespos Gerald E.
Wilson John J.
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