An articulator for dental use includes a first base, a second base coupled to the first base, and an occlusion pin configured to couple the first base and the second base in a closed position. The first base includes a first base body including a first groove configured to receive plaster, a first hinge portion configured to extend outwardly from one end of the first base body, and a plurality of pin holes. The second base includes a second base body including a second groove configured to receive the plaster, a second hinge portion configured to extend outwardly from one end of the second base body, and a plurality of guide pin holes. The second hinge portion is configured to couple to the first hinge portion via the occlusion pin in the closed position.

An articulator for dental use includes a first base, a second base coupled to the first base, and an occlusion pin configured to couple the first base and the second base in a closed position. The first base includes a first base body including a first groove configured to receive plaster, a first hinge portion configured to extend outwardly from one end of the first base body, and a plurality of pin holes. The second base includes a second base body including a second groove configured to receive the plaster, a second hinge portion configured to extend outwardly from one end of the second base body, and a plurality of guide pin holes. The second hinge portion is configured to couple to the first hinge portion via the occlusion pin in the closed position.

The present invention relates to a probe device for analyzing physical properties of food, having a teeth form, and more specifically, to a probe device for analyzing physical properties of food, having a teeth form, capable of objectively analyzing various physical properties felt by a person when chewing food, selecting and using a probe corresponding to a molar, a front tooth or a canine tooth, allowing a vertical motion of a press to be interlocked with a motion of the jaw joint, and allowing chewing experiments similar to real chewing of the human body to be carried out by enabling smooth occlusion of the upper jaw and the lower jaw.

The present invention relates to a probe device for analyzing physical properties of food, having a teeth form, and more specifically, to a probe device for analyzing physical properties of food, having a teeth form, capable of objectively analyzing various physical properties felt by a person when chewing food, selecting and using a probe corresponding to a molar, a front tooth or a canine tooth, allowing a vertical motion of a press to be interlocked with a motion of the jaw joint, and allowing chewing experiments similar to real chewing of the human body to be carried out by enabling smooth occlusion of the upper jaw and the lower jaw.

An anatomical articulator for modeling a temporomandibular joint includes a lower base portion comprising at least one upright support. A set of replica condyles produced from digital data representing a patient jaw structure is connected to the at least one upright support. An upper frame portion defines receptacles on either side. A set of replica mandibular fossae produced from the digital data representing a patient jaw structure is configured to connect to the upper frame portion via the receptacles. The replica condyles and the replica mandibular fossae meet to form a hinge of the articulator.

An anatomical articulator for modeling a temporomandibular joint includes a lower base portion comprising at least one upright support. A set of replica condyles produced from digital data representing a patient jaw structure is connected to the at least one upright support. An upper frame portion defines receptacles on either side. A set of replica mandibular fossae produced from the digital data representing a patient jaw structure is configured to connect to the upper frame portion via the receptacles. The replica condyles and the replica mandibular fossae meet to form a hinge of the articulator.

The invention provides a method for creating a physical teeth model. The method comprises the following steps: providing a virtual three dimensional (3D) representation of a patient's dentition that comprises at least a region of the teeth that includes a tooth stump on which a crown is to be fitted or a region on to which a bridge is to be fitted; and preparing a physical model of the jaws of a subject from a blank, based on information from said virtual 3D image.

The invention provides a method for creating a physical teeth model. The method comprises the following steps: providing a virtual three dimensional (3D) representation of a patient's dentition that comprises at least a region of the teeth that includes a tooth stump on which a crown is to be fitted or a region on to which a bridge is to be fitted; and preparing a physical model of the jaws of a subject from a blank, based on information from said virtual 3D image.

One embodiment of the apparatus and method comprises a physical recording instrument (2000) for forming a right and a left side engraved analog (150), the analogs (150) being subsequently attached to a physical articulating instrument (3000), the analogs (150) with timing controls then serving as guides for simulating the motion of mounted patient dental models (142). Another embodiment comprises a digital recording system (4000) for generating the right and left side virtual engraved analogs (150), the analogs (150) being subsequently milled or digitally formed in a CNC rapid prototyping machine, the analogs (150) then being attached to the physical articulating instrument (3000), the analogs (150) with the timing controls serving as guides for simulating the motion. Some of the foregoing embodiments facilitate production of technologist fabricated dental restorative and orthodontic treatments. Another embodiment comprises the digital recording system (4000) for generating the right and left side virtual engraved analogs (150) and a virtual articulating instrument (5000) for virtual simulating of mandibular jaw motion. Some of these digital workflow embodiments facilitate production of milled or digitally fabricated dental restorative and orthodontic treatments.

A method for setting the axis of rotation between a virtual maxillary model and a virtual mandible model to a virtual hinge axis representing the axis of rotation of the mandibular condyles includes the steps of, obtaining at least one 2D photograph of the face of a patient comprising at least one facial feature, obtaining a virtual dental model comprising the virtual maxillary model and the virtual mandible model representing at least a part of the dental situation of the patient, aligning the virtual dental model with the at least one facial feature, determining the virtual hinge axis based on the at least one 2D photograph, and setting the axis of rotation to the virtual hinge axis.