BENDABLE CASTABLE ABUTMENT FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A DENTAL PROSTHESIS FRAMEWORK

Abstract

A castable abutment that includes a fixing base provided with a through hole intended for placing a fixing screw of the castable abutment to the dental implant or to the dental implant analogue; a hollow tubular wall made of castable material and connected to the fixing base, including a hollow tubular joint made up of a succession of first and second asymmetrical frustoconical rings joined in succession forming an accordion section, made of a material and thickness selected to be elastically deformable, the geometry of which enables the tubular joint to be held in an inclined position.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A bendable castable abutment for the manufacture of a dental prosthesis framework, said castable abutment comprising: a fixing base provided with a first complementary coupling configuration with part of a dental implant or of a dental implant analogue intended for coupling the fixing base to the dental implant or to the dental implant analogue, and provided with a through hole intended for placing a fixing screw of the castable abutment to the dental implant or to the dental implant analogue; a hollow tubular wall made of castable material and connected to the fixing base, said tubular wall comprising a hollow tubular joint, adjacent to the fixing base, made up of a succession of pairs of frustoconical rings joined in succession forming an accordion section, each pair of rings being made up of a first frustoconical ring with a base and a truncated cusp and a second frustoconical ring, each first frustoconical ring being joined at the base thereof to the base of a second frustoconical ring, defining in said joining an annular hinge, and being joined at the truncated cusp thereof to the truncated cusp of another second frustoconical ring, defining in said joining another annular hinge, wherein the first and second frustoconical rings are made of a material and thickness selected to be elastically deformable, capable of recovering a stable position in the absence of external forces; and the first frustoconical ring and the second frustoconical ring are asymmetrical, so that the elastic force exerted by the stable positions of the first frustoconical rings is different from that exerted by the stable positions of the second frustoconical rings, making the first frustoconical ring in a stable position hold the second frustoconical ring in a non-stable position wherein the pair of frustoconical rings is collapsed only in one side of the accordion section which defines the tubular joint causing the inclination thereof toward one side, and keeping the tubular joint in a stable inclined position.

17. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the constituent material of the tubular joint has a thickness, at the joinings between the first and second frustoconical rings, lower than the thickness of the constituent material of the tubular joint in the first frustoconical ring and in the second frustoconical ring.

18. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein each first and second frustoconical ring is tensioned, subjected to prestress in an annular direction.

19. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the tubular wall and the fixing base form a monolithic integral assembly made of a single piece of castable material.

20. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the fixing base includes a second coupling configuration complementary to one end of the tubular wall intended for joining the tubular wall to said fixing base.

21. The castable abutment according to claim 20, wherein the second coupling configuration includes an annular projection that can be inserted in an annular groove that provides an adjustment by means of pressure between the tubular wall and the fixing base allowing a rotational movement and/or a removable fixing between the tubular wall and the fixing base.

22. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the fixing base is made of a non-castable or metal material and is joined to the tubular wall made of castable material.

23. The castable abutment according to claim 22, wherein the metal material is selected from titanium, gold, palladium, chromium-cobalt alloy or chromium-nickel alloy.

24. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the tubular wall portion where the frustoconical rings are defined is equal to or less than 1 mm, or equal to or less than 0.5 mm.

25. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the thickness of the tubular wall portion where the frustoconical rings are defined is equal to or greater than 0.05 mm.

26. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the tubular joint is located less than 3 mm from the fixing base.

27. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the portion of the tubular wall having first and second frustoconical rings occupies at least one fifth of the length of the tubular wall.

28. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the entire length of the tubular wall is configured as a tubular joint.

29. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the castable material is a plastic or polypropylene material.

30. The castable abutment according to claim 16, wherein the base of the first frustoconical rings and of the second frustoconical rings is of the same diameter and the truncated cusp of the first frustoconical rings and of the second frustoconical rings is of the same diameter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0059] The foregoing and other advantages and features will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the attached drawings, which should be taken by way of illustration and not limitation, wherein:

[0060] FIG. 1 shows a side elevational and plan view of the proposed castable abutment, the straight castable abutment being unbent;

[0061] FIG. 2 shows a side elevational and plan view of the proposed castable abutment, the castable abutment being bent;

[0062] FIG. 3 shows an exploded section view of the castable abutment, the dental implant or dental implant analogue and the fixation screw according to an embodiment in which the entire fixing base is part of the same castable block with the rest of the castable abutment;

[0063] FIG. 4 shows the same view as FIG. 3 but of an embodiment in which the fixing base is independent of the rest of the castable abutment, both elements being joined by means of a second pressure coupling configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0064] The attached figures show exemplary embodiments, by way of illustration and not limitation, of the present invention.

[0065] FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 correspond to a first embodiment of the proposed castable abutment 10.

[0066] According to this embodiment, the castable abutment 10 consists of a fixing base 11 and a tubular wall 13 connected through a tubular joint 12, the entire assembly constituting a one-piece integral body made of castable material.

[0067] The tubular wall 13 has a hollow interior with an end adjacent to the fixing base 11 closed by a bottom wall that includes in the centre thereof a through hole 16 that crosses the bottom wall.

[0068] The size of said through hole 16 will be smaller than the size of the hollow interior of the tubular wall 13, so it will entail a narrowing and define an inner annular seat 14 around it, on a face of the bottom wall accessible from the hollow interior of the tubular wall 13.

[0069] The fixing base 11 will also include a first coupling configuration 15, accessible from the outside of the tubular wall 13, said first coupling configuration 15 being arranged around the through hole 16.

[0070] In the example shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the fixing base 11 has a flat inner annular seating surface 14 in the form of a disk around the through hole 16, and a first coupling configuration 15 in the form of a cylindrical bore or in the form of a prismatic bore, for example, with a square, hexagonal or octagonal base.

[0071] In this example, the head of the dental implant 20 or of the dental implant analogue 20 will have a cylindrical or prismatic shape that can be inserted in the bore defined by the first coupling configuration 15.

[0072] On the contrary, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the fixing base 11 has a first cylindrical or prismatic protruding coupling configuration, for example with a square, hexagonal or octagonal base, while the head of the dental implant 20 or of the dental implant analogue 20 has a cylindrical bore or a prismatic bore, for example, with a square, hexagonal or octagonal base.

[0073] A fixing screw 21 inserted through the hollow interior of the tubular wall 13 may be inserted through the through hole 16 and fixed to, for example, a dental implant analogue 20, so that a head of said fixing screw will remain inside the hollow interior of the tubular wall 13, supported on the inner annular seating surface 14, clamping the first coupling configuration 15 of the fixing base 11 against the head of the dental implant analogue 20. In this way, a firm fixation of the castable abutment to the dental implant analogue 20 is achieved.

[0074] In the example shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the entire tubular wall assembly 13, with the respective tubular joint 12, as well as the fixing base 11, constitutes a one-piece solid made of castable material, preferably plastic such as polypropylene.

[0075] Alternatively, it is proposed that only the tubular body 13 and the tubular joint 12 constitute a one-piece solid made of castable material, the fixing base 11 being an independent element and therefore can be made of the same or another material. Therefore, the fixing base 11 may be made of castable material, or of non-castable material. In any case, the tubular body 13 will be joined to the fixing base 11. To achieve said joining, including a second coupling configuration 17 to the fixing base 11 is proposed, said second coupling configuration 17 being complementary to the lower end of the tubular body 13, achieving tight joining between both bodies.

[0076] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the fixing base 11 includes, as a second coupling configuration 17, an annular groove which is complementary to an annular projection defined in the base of the tubular body 13, enabling said annular projection to be inserted into the annular groove under pressure, achieving retention of the tubular body 13 joined to the fixing base 11.

[0077] It is proposed, for example, that the fixing base 11 be made of a metal so that when the framework is manufactured replacing the castable material with molten metal, that part will not be calcined and will be integrated into the rest of the framework, thus ensuring greater dimensional accuracy in the first coupling configuration 15.

[0078] In any case, all embodiments propose that at least the portion of the tubular wall 13 adjacent to the fixing base 11 includes a tubular joint 12 which enables the orientation of the tubular wall 13 to be modified with respect to the fixing base 11.

[0079] Said tubular joint 12 consists of a succession of pairs of frustoconical rings joined at the bases thereof forming an accordion section capable of being collapsed or extended asymmetrically, enabling the tubular wall 13 to be oriented with respect to the fixing base 11 and maintaining said orientation.

[0080] Each pair of rings consists of a first frustoconical ring and a second frustoconical ring, both with identical diameter at the base thereof and at the cusp thereof, but having a different height, therefore being non-symmetrical. Each first frustoconical ring is joined at the base thereof to the base of a second frustoconical ring, defining in said joining an annular hinge. The pairs of rings follow each other along the portion of the tubular body 13 that defines the tubular joint 12, the truncated cusp of each first frustoconical ring remaining joined to the truncated cusp of a second frustoconical ring by means of another annular hinge. The result of said succession of frustoconical rings is a succession of first and second alternate frustoconical rings that define an accordion section.

[0081] It is proposed that the tubular joint 12 be made of a defined material and thickness so that the frustoconical rings are elastically deformable, i.e., they can be elastically deformed under an external force, but that they recover the original shape thereof when said external force ceases.

[0082] In this example, it is proposed that the material be plastic, for example polypropylene, and that the walls of the first and second truncated frustoconical rings have a thickness between 1 mm and 0.05 mm, the preferred thickness being between 0.5 mm and 0.1 mm.

[0083] Optionally, it is contemplated that not only a part, but the entire length of the tubular wall 13 includes the aforementioned accordion frustoconical rings, so that the tubular joint 12 covers the entire length of the tubular wall 13.

[0084] It will be understood that the different parts constituting the invention described in one embodiment may be freely combined with the parts described in other different embodiments even if said combination has not been explicitly described, provided there is no harm in the combination.