A dental restoration apparatus that eliminates time-consuming, labor-intensive steps conventionally needed to fabricate molds, and thereby facilitates dental restorations in a shorter time, while reducing the discomfort and embarrassment sometimes associated with provisional restorations, which includes an additive manufacturing apparatus (e.g., a 3-D printer) having a tool head (e.g., a print head) and a fixture for controlling the position of the tool head relative to the teeth of a patient, allowing fabrication of a planned dental structure directly on an existing dental structure.

The present application describes a method for designing and manufacturing a denture device for a patient. A method is described for designing a virtual denture and manufacturing a functional fitting replica denture from the virtual denture. An apparatus comprising a functional fitting replica denture is prepared having denture teeth having a fit substantially similar to the final denture. The methods and apparatus described herein reduce the number of visits required to manufacture the final denture.

An apparatus comprises a universal fit, boil-and-bite denture that may be sold over-the-counter. The apparatus includes a first portion comprising a tooth and a second portion attached to the first portion, the second portion comprising heat moldable material. The second portion may be configured to be formed in a mouth of a user when the user bites down on the heat moldable material. A multilayered (e.g., three layered) denture includes an expandable palate. While a palate portion expands, deforms, or otherwise adjusts, a dental occlusion of the denture is maintained. The denture may be manufactured using injection molding or other layered manufacturing techniques.

A universal fit, boil-and-bite denture may be sold over-the-counter. The denture includes a first portion that includes a tooth and a second portion attached to the first portion, the second portion comprising heat moldable material. The second portion may be configured to be formed in a mouth of a user when the user bites down on the heat moldable material. A multilayered (e.g., three layered) denture includes an expandable palate. When a palate portion expands, deforms or otherwise adjusts, a dental occlusion of the denture is maintained. The denture may be manufactured using injection molding or other layered manufacturing techniques.

In order to improve the reliability of a dental restoration, the present invention provides a method of implanting the dental restoration. The method includes a first operation in which a three-dimensional planning image is generated in which a scanning image overlaps and matches to a computed tomography (CT) image, a plurality of pieces of implantation information of implants are set along a dental arch in the three-dimensional planning image, and an implanting guide device is designed and manufactured, a second operation in which an alveolar bone is flattened by being guided by the implanting guide device, the implants are implanted, and a holder device including a holder abutment and a fixing bar is fixed to an upper side of the implant, a third operation in which a temporary denture is corrected to be occluded between upper and lower jaws to form a temporary mounting portion in which the holder device is inserted into an inner surface portion thereof, a fourth operation in which a corrected scanning image corrected to expose three-dimensional exterior information of the temporary mounting portion to the outside is obtained from a scanning image of the temporary denture, and the three-dimensional exterior information of the temporary mounting portion is replaced and swapped with a virtual holder device, and a fifth operation in which a mount part is formed in an inner surface portion on the basis of the virtual holder device, and an artificial tooth part is fixed to an artificial gum part to which a clip engaged with the fixing bar is fixed so as to manufacture a final dental restoration.

A dental implant having a central longitudinal axis at a bone-entry portion thereof is provided. The dental implant includes a threaded elongate fixture, at the bone-entry portion of the dental implant, shaped and sized for insertion into a bone of a subject, and a non-threaded emergence collar coronal to the fixture and smoother than the fixture. The emergence collar has a non-circular cross-section at least in a plane that is at least 1 millimeter coronal to the fixture and that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the emergence collar and the fixture being formed of, and adjacently disposed along, a single piece of metal. Other applications are also described.

An appliance fabricated to improve the appearance of a patient's smile includes a plurality of simulated teeth. The interior surfaces of each of the teeth closely fits and conforms to the surface of a patient's real teeth while the outer surfaces of each of the simulated teeth has an ideal surface configuration. The dental appliance provides the patient with the appearance of a perfect set of teeth and an ideal smile without a need to alter the dental structure of the patient's teeth.

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. 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 acts 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 is digitally scanned 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 present invention to a method of denture manufacture that incorporates CAM-formed occlusal inserts, crowns, or overlays made of zirconia, resulting in a natural fit, feel, and wear essentially equivalent to the wear properties of natural teeth.

The present invention relates to a connection assembly for attaching a dental component to a dental implant, a dental component for the connection assembly and a method to use the connection assembly. The connection assembly (100; 1100; 2100; 3100) is removably attachable to the dental implant (10; 1010; 2010; 3010), preferably with the dental component (20; 1020; 2020; 3020) attached to the connection assembly, and a dental component is attachable to the connection assembly in a pre-fastened state or a fastened state. The pre-fastened state, when the connection assembly is attached to the dental implant, the connection assembly allows for adjustment of a relative position and/or orientation between the dental component and the dental implant. In the fastened state, the relative position and/or orientation between the dental component and the connection assembly is fixed, while the connection assembly is in particular detachable from the dental implant with the dental component attached to the connection assembly in the fastened state.