The present invention includes apparatuses and methods for making a final hybrid prosthesis to be attached to one or more dental implants. One preferred method includes the step of making a temporary hybrid prosthesis and at about the same time also making a duplicate temporary hybrid prosthesis. The duplicate temporary hybrid prosthesis permits the final hybrid prosthesis to be made with fewer visits to a restorative dentist and with less dental laboratory time than is currently needed when making a final hybrid prosthesis.

Dental implants including radiopaque markers provided therein or thereon. The implant may also include customizable length characteristics. For example, a kit may include implants with different diameters (e.g., 3 diameters), where all of the implants are of a single (e.g., long) length. The appropriate diameter implant may be selected from the kit by the practitioner, and the long length implant may be cut (e.g., with a dental drill) to the appropriate length needed. The implants include radiopaque markers on or within the implant. For example, three series of markers may be provided on different faces of the implant, so that the three series of markers serve as reference points when scanning, allowing triangulation of the exact position of the implant in relation to the surrounding hard and soft oral tissues.

Casting jigs, methods, and kits that may be used in manufacture of anatomical healing caps. A casting jig may include a body having one or more wells within the body, each well being open at a proximal end thereof and having a negative shape corresponding to an anatomical healing cuff body of a given tooth position. The casting jig includes an opening through the bottom surface through which an elongate handle may be inserted, allowing a temporary abutment to be coupled into the distal end of the elongate handle, so that the abutment is disposed in the well, held in place by the handle, as it is used as a core about which the anatomical healing cuff body is formed. A crown forming jig for forming an inexpensive, chair-side prepared bis-acrylic temporary crown that may be easily and quickly installed over the anatomical healing cuff body is also disclosed.

Casting jigs, methods, and kits that may be used in manufacture of anatomical healing caps. A casting jig may include a body having one or more wells within the body, each well being open at a proximal end thereof and having a negative shape corresponding to an anatomical healing cuff body of a given tooth position. Each respective anatomical healing cuff body negative shape includes an asymmetrical cross-section and an irregular surface so that an anatomical healing cuff body having said shape is configured to provide substantially custom filling of at least an emergence portion of a void where a natural tooth once emerged or should have emerged from the void (e.g., in the case of a congenitally missing tooth). The casting jig may further include a socket at a distal end of each well that is configured to receive therein a dental implant or dental implant analog.

An approach is disclosed that involves creating an updated master dental model of a patient's mouth after an implant surgery by aligning new postoperative oral scan data to pre-existing preoperative oral scan data that is more comprehensive (e.g., it includes bite registration). Before surgery a multi-piece stackable surgical guide set is created using the preoperative oral scan data. The surgical guide set is used to facilitate the surgery. After the surgery at least one piece of the surgical guide set is placed back in a patient's mouth and may act as a reference marker because it was created using the preoperative oral scan data, but is also part of the postoperative mouth configuration since it was used to facilitate the surgery. The affected portion of the mouth may then be digitally scanned directly or indirectly by way of a physical impression with the reference marker in place to determine the new characteristics resulting from the surgery such as new implant installation locations and orientations. The new postoperative oral scan data may be combined with the pre-existing preoperative oral scan data by way of the reference marker (since it is a constant between the two sets of scan data) without having to do such things as take a new bite registration, on which a new implant restoration can be easily created.

A dental article includes a shell defining a volume, the shell including a circumferential base and an incisal/occlusal region distal from the circumferential base. A hardenable dental composition is located within the volume of the shell, and an isolation film is located at the circumferential base of the shell.

A dental prosthesis having a guide hole formed therein. The guide hole is configured to guide a drilling for a screw, and configured to receive the screw, holding the prosthesis in place when screwed into the bone of a patient.

Disclosed is a method for scanning an edentulous patent who has a denture, where an impression material arranged at the gum-facing surfaces of the dentures is shaped by the patient's gums and both the teeth side and the gum-facing surface of the denture is scanned and the obtained digital 3D representations are used to determine the relative arrangement of the patient's edentulous jaws in a bite determined by the dentures.

A method for forming and setting a denture has the following steps: using a stereoscopic scanner to capture a patient's maxillary, mandibular gum shapes to generate stereoscopic maxillary, mandibular gum data and an occlusion record of a patient's maxilla and mandible; using a computer tomography scanner to scan patient's maxilla, mandible shapes to generate tomographic maxilla, mandible data; using a 3D processing device to consolidate the stereoscopic maxillary, mandibular gum data, occlusion record of a patient's maxilla and mandible, tomographic maxilla, mandible data to generate 3D full-tooth data; planning detailed positions and sizes of a upper (lower) prosthesis adapted to set on the patient maxilla (mandible) side, a plurality of upper (lower) fixing elements for fixing the upper (lower) prosthesis through the 3D full-tooth data; and making the upper, lower prostheses, and using each upper (lower) fixing element to implant the upper (lower) prosthesis into the patient's maxilla (mandible).

Casting jigs, methods, and kits that may be used in manufacture of anatomical healing caps. A casting jig may include a body having one or more wells within the body, each well being open at a proximal end thereof and having a negative shape corresponding to an anatomical healing cuff body of a given tooth position. The casting jig includes an opening through the bottom surface through which an elongate handle may be inserted, allowing a temporary abutment to be coupled into the distal end of the elongate handle, so that the abutment is disposed in the well, held in place by the handle, as it is used as a core about which the anatomical healing cuff body is formed. A crown forming jig for forming an inexpensive, chair-side prepared bis-acrylic temporary crown that may be easily and quickly installed over the anatomical healing cuff body is also disclosed.