PROSTHETIC TOOTH

Abstract

A prosthetic tooth for a denture comprises a lingual or palatal surface, an opposing vestibular surface, opposing proximal surfaces, an incisal or occlusal surface and an opposing apical surface, wherein a pocket or slot is defined in the apical surface. The pocket or slot makes it easier to determine whether the tooth is positioned correctly when the tooth is aligned with a denture plate and assists with determining whether the tooth has twisted or tilted.

Claims

1. A prosthetic tooth for a denture wherein the tooth comprises a lingual or palatal surface, an opposing vesibular surface, opposing proximal surfaces, an incisal or occlusal surface and an opposing apical surface, wherein a pocket or slot is defined in the apical surface.

2. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the apical surface is curved.

3. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the tooth has proximal surfaces at opposing sides of the tooth and the pocket or slot is positioned substantially equally between the proximal surfaces of the tooth.

4. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot has an open end facing the apical surface of the tooth and/or an opposing planar end defined in the tooth.

5. The tooth according to claim 4, wherein the end of the pocket or slot defined in the tooth is substantially parallel with the incisal or occlusal surface of the tooth.

6. The tooth according to claim 4, wherein the end of the pocket or slot defined in the tooth is substantially rectangular or trapezoid.

7. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot has a width equal to about one third of the distance between the proximal surfaces of the tooth.

8. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot has a length substantially perpendicular to its width and the length of the slot is greater than its width.

9. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot has a longitudinal axis parallel to its length extending from adjacent the vestibular surface of the tooth to adjacent the lingual or palatal surface.

10. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot is defined in only the apical surface of the tooth.

11. The tooth according to claim 1, wherein the pocket or slot extends through the lingual or palatal surface of the tooth.

12. A set of teeth comprising a plurality of teeth according to according to claim 1.

13. The set of teeth according to claim 12, wherein the set of teeth comprises upper and/or lower teeth.

14. The set of teeth according to claim 12, wherein the set of teeth comprises one or more of central, lateral, cuspid, first bicuspid, second bicuspid, first molar and second molar teeth.

15. A method for manufacturing a tooth according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the step of moulding a tooth having a pocket or slot defined therein or three dimensionally printing a tooth having a pocket or slot defined therein, or milling a tooth having a pocket or slot defined therein, or the steps of moulding or three dimensionally printing a tooth and milling a pocket or slot into the tooth.

16. A denture comprising a denture plate and one or more teeth according to claim 1.

17. A method for correctly positioning teeth in a denture which comprises providing one or more teeth according to claim 1 and a denture plate and aligning the teeth with the denture plate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0042] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a rear view of a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is an anterior tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface and the lingual or palatal surface.

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is an anterior tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface,

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a rear view of a first alternative embodiment of a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a pre-molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface, the lingual or palatal surface, and the occlusal surface.

[0046] FIG. 4 shows an alternative view of a first alternative embodiment a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a pre-molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface, and the lingual or palatal surface.

[0047] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a first alternative embodiment a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a pre-molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a second alternative embodiment a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface, and the lingual or palatal surface.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows an alternative view of a second alternative embodiment a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface, and the lingual or palatal surface.

[0050] FIG. 8 shows a plan view of a second alternative embodiment a tooth of the invention having a pocket or slot defined therein. The tooth is a molar tooth and the pocket or slot is seen together with the apical surface.

[0051] FIG. 9 shows a set of teeth according to the invention. The set of teeth includes anterior teeth.

[0052] FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a set of teeth according to the invention. The set of teeth includes posterior teeth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0053] The following definitions shall apply throughout the specification and the appended claims.

[0054] The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0055] Within the context of the present specification, the term “comprises” is taken to mean “includes” or “contains”, i.e. other integers or features may be present, whereas the term “consists of” is taken to mean “consists exclusively of”.

[0056] Within the present specification, the term “about” means plus or minus 20%; more preferably plus or minus 10%; even more preferably plus or minus 5%; most preferably plus or minus 2%.

[0057] Within the present specification, the term “denture” means a prosthetic device constructed to replace missing teeth; a denture consists of a denture plate that is supported by the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity, and artificial denture teeth that restore aesthetics and function for a patient.

[0058] Within the present specification, the term “slot” means a depression, indent or groove defined in a tooth. A slot is a depression with a uniform cross-section along its length and generally longer than it is wide or deep. A “pocket” is a depression, indent or groove that does not meet the criteria to be considered a slot.

[0059] Within the present specification, the term “apical” refers to the direction towards the root(s) or apex(es) of a tooth (the apices), as opposed to coronal, which refers to the direction towards the crown of a tooth.

[0060] Within the present specification, the term “lingual” refers to the side of a tooth which in situ would be adjacent to (or the direction towards) the tongue, as opposed to vestibular which refers to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the cheek or lips.

[0061] Within the present specification, the term “palatal” refers to the side of a tooth which in situ would be adjacent to (or the direction towards) the palate, as opposed to vestibular which refers to the side of a tooth adjacent to the inside of the cheek or lips.

[0062] Within the present specification, the term “vestibular” refers to the side of a tooth which in situ would be adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the cheeks or lips, as opposed to lingual or palatal, which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the tongue or palate, respectively.

[0063] Within the present specification, the term “proximal” refers to the surfaces of teeth that which in situ would be adjacent to another tooth.

[0064] Within the present specification, the term “incisal surface” refers to the biting surface of the anterior teeth ie the teeth toward the front of the mouth.

[0065] Within the present specification, the term “occlusal surface” refers to biting surfaces of the posterior teeth ie the teeth towards the back of the mouth.

[0066] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0067] Embodiments have been described herein in a concise way. It should be appreciated that features of these embodiments may be variously separated or combined within the invention.

[0068] In a method for production of a denture, the teeth of the denture are inserted into a previously manufactured denture plate so that they may be positioned as a block into pre-milled or three dimensionally printed spaces in the denture plate thus avoiding the problem of individual teeth twisting or rotating within the spaces. However, this is difficult to achieve.

[0069] To assist in positioning the teeth correctly, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8, the invention provides a prosthetic tooth (1) wherein the tooth comprises a lingual or palatal surface (2), an opposing vesibular surface (3), opposing proximal surfaces (4,5), an incisal or occlusal surface (6) and an opposing apical surface (7), wherein a pocket or slot (8) is defined in the apical surface (7). The pocket or slot (8) makes it easier to determine whether the tooth (1) is positioned correctly when the tooth (1) is aligned with a denture plate and assists with determining whether the tooth (1) has twisted or tilted.

[0070] The tooth (1) has proximal surfaces (4,5) at opposing sides of the tooth (1) and the pocket or slot (8) is positioned substantially equally between the proximal surfaces (4,5) of the tooth (1).

[0071] The pocket or slot (8) has an open end (9) facing a curved apical surface (7) of the tooth (1) and an opposing planar end (10) defined in the tooth (1) which is substantially rectangular or trapezoid. The end (10) of the pocket or slot (8) defined in the tooth (1) is substantially parallel with the incisal or occlusal surface (6) of the tooth (1).

[0072] The pocket or slot (8) has a width equal to about one third of the distance between the proximal surfaces (4,5) of the tooth (1) and a length substantially perpendicular to its width, wherein in one embodiment, the length of the slot (8) is greater than its width.

[0073] The pocket or slot (8) has a longitudinal axis parallel to its length extending from adjacent the vestibular surface (3) of the tooth (1) to adjacent the lingual or palatal surface (2) (i.e. from front to back of the tooth (1)).

[0074] In a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pocket or slot (8) is defined in the apical surface (7) of the tooth (1) and extends through the lingual or palatal surface (2) of the tooth (1) too.

[0075] In second and third embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the pocket or slot (8) is defined in only the apical (7) surface of the tooth (1).

[0076] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a set of teeth (1) of the invention comprises anterior teeth (1) and posterior teeth (1). In one embodiment, the set of teeth comprises anterior teeth (11). In an alternative embodiment the set of teeth comprises posterior teeth (12). In an alternative embodiment the set of teeth comprises anterior teeth (11) and posterior teeth (12). In another embodiment, it comprises anterior, pre-molar and molar teeth (1). In another embodiment, it comprises central, lateral, cuspid, first bicuspid, second bicuspid, first molar and second molar teeth (1).

[0077] A denture of the invention comprises a denture plate and one or more teeth (1) of the invention.

[0078] The tooth (1) of the invention is manufactured by a method which includes the step of moulding the tooth (1) and a pocket or slot (7) is defined therein. Alternatively, the method comprises the steps of moulding a tooth (1) and milling a pocket or slot (7) into the moulded tooth (1). Alternatively, the method comprises the steps of three dimensional printing a tooth (1) having a pocket or slot (7) defined therein, or three dimensional printing a tooth (1) and milling a pocket or slot (7) in the tooth. Alternatively, the method comprises the steps of milling a tooth (1) having a pocket or slot (7) defined therein.

[0079] Although the present invention has been described with respect to a presently preferred embodiment, the present invention should not be limited to the embodiment, and it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.