SCAN POSTS SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a scan posts system with a plurality of scan posts. Each scan post includes a scan post core and a scan post body surrounding the pillar of the core and resting in the shoulder of the core, wherein at least part of the scan post body is intended to be in contact with healing tissue. The scan post body of each scan post belongs to a group of scan post bodies comprising at least a combination of two different shapes with three different sizes and at least one height. Each scan post body includes at least one scan mark, the scan mark being suitable for providing information about the shape, size and height of the scan post to a scanning device, this information being useful for designing a dental implant prosthesis. The present disclosure also provides a method of manufacturing a dental implant prosthesis using such a scan post system.

Claims

1.-20. (canceled)

21. A scan post system for being used in designing a dental implant prosthesis, the scan post system comprising a plurality of scan posts, each scan post comprising: a scan post core comprising a prosthetic connection, a pillar defining a pillar axis and a protruding shoulder between the pillar and the prosthetic connection; and a scan post body surrounding the pillar and resting in the shoulder, the scan post body defining a body axis, wherein at least part of the scan post body is intended to be in contact with healing tissue; wherein the scan post body of each scan post is different and belongs to a group of scan post bodies comprising at least a combination of two different shapes with three different sizes and at least one height, thus resulting at least six different scan post bodies, wherein each scan post body comprises at least one scan mark, the scan marks being suitable for providing information about the shape, size and height of the scan post to a scanning device, this information being useful for designing a dental implant prosthesis, wherein the scan post body of at least one of the scan posts has two recesses and the scan post core of the same scan post has one protrusion, so that when the protrusion is received by one of the recesses, the scan post body and the scan post core are engaged in a first position with no rotation allowed and when the protrusion is received in the other recess, the scan post body and the scan post core are engaged in a second position with no rotation allowed, wherein the shape of the scan body of each scan post is defined by a cross section in a plane perpendicular to the pillar axis which crosses the scan post at its maximum equivalent diameter, wherein the equivalent diameter is the maximum distance between two points belonging to said cross section, and wherein this cross section is, for each scan post, one of a triangle with rounded edges, a square with rounded edges, a parallelogram with rounded edges or an ovoid.

22. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the scan post body of each scan post belongs to a group of scan post bodies comprising at least a combination of three different shapes with three different sizes and more than one height; and wherein each scan post body comprises scan marks.

23. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein at least part of the scan post body and the shoulder of the scan post core form a continuous and derivable surface.

24. The scan post system according to claim 23, wherein the scan post body and the scan post core are part of the same piece.

25. The scan post system according to claim 23, wherein the continuous and derivable surface formed by the shoulder and at least part of the scan post body comprises a convex portion and a concave portion, the concave portion being closer to the prosthetic connection than the convex portion.

26. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the body axis is off-set in relation to the pillar axis.

27. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the scan post body and the scan post core have attaching means configured to be attached between themselves in more than one position, so that the pillar axis and the body axis form different angles.

28. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the at least one scan mark is configured to provide information about at least one of the shape, size and height of the scan post body and orientation and location information.

29. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the shape of the scan body is non-circular and the scan body contains only one scan mark.

30. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the height of the scan body of each scan post is defined by the distance between a plane comprising the cross section of the scan post with minimum equivalent diameter and a plane comprising the cross section of the scan post with maximum equivalent diameter, wherein the equivalent diameter is the maximum distance between two points belonging to said cross section.

31. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the size of the scan body of each scan post is defined by the equivalent diameter of the cross section of the in a plane perpendicular to the pillar axis which crosses the scan post at its maximum equivalent diameter, wherein the equivalent diameter is the maximum distance between two points belonging to said cross section, this size being classified into at least three categories, a first category involving a size comprised between 4.5 and 6 mm, a second category involving a size comprised between 6.5 and 8 mm and a third category involving a size comprised between 8 and 12 mm.

32. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein at least two scan post bodies have different shapes at different cross sections perpendicular to the pillar axis, and wherein the scan marks comprise information about these different shapes and the distance of the perpendicular planes from the top of the scan post body.

33. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein at least two scan post bodies have a circular cross section in a plane perpendicular to the pillar axis which crosses the scan post body at its minimum equivalent diameter, wherein the equivalent diameter is the maximum distance between two points belonging to said cross section; and wherein the scan mark is configured to provide information about the size and height of the circular cross section.

34. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein each scan post further comprises a securing screw which is configured to securely attach the scan post core to an implant.

35. The scan post system according to claim 21, wherein the scan post bodies comprise a regular surface.

36. The scan post system according to claim 35, wherein the regular surface is expressed by a polynomic, exponential or logarithmic mathematical formula, or a combination thereof, with a mean roughness Ra lower than 10 μm.

37. A method of manufacturing dental implants prostheses, the method comprising: attaching a scan post selected from the scan post system of claim 21 to a dental implant present in an edentulous space; waiting for healing tissue to grow around a scan post body of the scan post; scanning a scan post scan mark on the scan post body to obtain scan data comprising a position of the scan post, an orientation of the scan post and a map of the healing tissue around the scan post body; and manufacturing a dental implant prosthesis using the scan data, wherein at least part of the dental implant prosthesis is a replicate of the scan post body.

38. The method according to claim 37 wherein, after scanning the scan post mark and before manufacturing a dental implant prosthesis, the method further comprises: providing the scan data to a cad station comprising an available digital library that comprises design information of the scan post; and designing the dental implant prosthesis so that at least part of the dental implant prosthesis to be located at and/or below a free margin of the healing tissue is a replicate of a corresponding portion of the scan post in shape and dimensions.

39. The method according to claim 37, wherein the scan post is selected from the scan post system after measuring a distance between the dental implant and a cervical margin location in the edentulous space.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0079] To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the invention, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate an embodiment of the invention, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the invention, but just as an example of how the invention can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following figures:

[0080] FIG. 1 shows a generic view of a scan posts system according to the invention.

[0081] FIG. 2 shows a vertical section view of a particular embodiment of a scan post belonging to a scan posts system according to the invention.

[0082] FIGS. 3a and 3b show different cross sections of a scan body of a scan post of a scan post system according to the invention.

[0083] FIG. 4 shows a detail of a scan post of a scan post system according to the invention.

[0084] FIG. 5 shows a step of a method according to the invention.

[0085] FIG. 6 shows another step of a method according to the invention.

[0086] FIG. 7 shows a scan post which belongs to a scan post system according to the invention.

[0087] FIGS. 8a and 8b show two examples of scan posts belonging to a scan post system according to the invention.

[0088] FIGS. 9a to 9d show different engagement actions between a scan post core and a scan post body in scan posts belonging to a scan post system according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0089] The example embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to embody and implement the systems and processes herein described. It is important to understand that embodiments can be provided in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.

[0090] Accordingly, while embodiment can be modified in various ways and take on various alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and described in detail below as examples. There is no intent to limit to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims should be included. Elements of the example embodiments are consistently denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings and detailed description where appropriate.

[0091] FIG. 1 shows a generic view of a scan posts system 100 according to the invention. This scan post system is suitable for being used in designing a dental implant prosthesis.

[0092] As will be shown below, each scan post belonging to the scan posts system comprises a scan post core and a scan post body. The scan post body is different for each scan post, while the scan post core is substantially the same for each scan post.

[0093] This system 100 comprises 36 scan posts 10, which responds to the combination between four different shapes (rectangular with round edges, triangular with round edges, ovoid and square with round edges), three different sizes (small, medium and large) and three different heights (short, medium and long).

[0094] Every scan post 10 comprises several scan marks 4, one of them containing information about the shape, the size and the height of the scan post 10, which may be easily read and interpreted by a scanning tool. Further, other scan marks will be also useful for the scanning tool to provide position and orientation information of the scan post 10.

[0095] FIG. 2 shows a vertical section view of a particular embodiment of a scan post 10 belonging to a scan posts system according to the invention.

[0096] This scan post 10 comprises a scan post core 1 and a scan post body 2. The scan post core 1 comprises a prosthetic connection 11, a pillar 12 defining a pillar axis 12a and a protruding shoulder 13 between the pillar 12 and the prosthetic connection 11. The scan post body 2 in turn surrounds the pillar 12 and rests in the shoulder 13. This scan post body 2, or at least part of it, is intended to be in contact with healing tissue. The scan post 10 further comprises a retention screw 3 which is configured to provide a secure attachment between the scan post body 2 and the scan post core 1.

[0097] The lateral surface of the scan post body and the shoulder form a continuous and derivable surface. This surface comprises a convex portion 51 and a concave portion 52, the concave portion 52 is closer to the prosthetic connection 11 than the convex portion 51.

[0098] The height h of the scan body of this scan post is defined as the distance between the plane with minimum diameter and the plane with maximum diameter. In this figure, these planes are seen as lines 53, 54, since they are perpendicular to the pillar axis 12a.

[0099] FIGS. 3a and 3b show different cross sections of this scan body 10, the two of them being according to these aforementioned planes of maximum and minimum equivalent diameter. The cross section shown in FIG. 3a is made according to the plane 53 where the equivalent diameter is the maximum one, and in this case corresponds to the top portion of the scan post body. The cross section shown in FIG. 3b is made according to the plane 54 where the equivalent diameter is the minimum one, and in this case corresponds to the bottom portion of the scan post body.

[0100] The equivalent diameter is considered as the maximum distance between two points belonging to said cross section.

[0101] FIG. 3a shows the cross section of a particular example of a scan post where the shape in this maximum equivalent diameter section is an ovoid with rounded edges.

[0102] FIG. 3b shows in turn the cross section of the same scan post wherein the shape in this minimum equivalent diameter section is a circle.

[0103] The size of the scan body of each scan post is defined by the equivalent diameter of the cross section of the in a plane perpendicular to the pillar axis which crosses the scan post at its maximum equivalent diameter. As a consequence, in this case, this scan post would be considered as an ovoid scan post. However, the rounded cylindrical shape in the bottom portion is advantageous, since maximum tissue thickness is desired in this zone and a circular cylindrical shape is advantageous to provide the least diameter circumferentially in comparison to other shapes.

[0104] This scan post starts with a cylindrical shape and then expands laterally upwards in a concave manner till it reaches its maximum diameter and at which point comprises a generally ovoid shape with rounded edges. The vertical location of the maximum diameter and thus the location of the anatomical shape may be different in the different groups and within the same group of shapes. The inventive custom scan posts comprise marks that additionally provide this information.

[0105] This size may be classified into at least three categories, the small one being comprised between 4 and 6 mm, the medium one being comprised between 6.5 and 8.5 mm and the big one being comprised between 9 and 12 mm.

[0106] As may be shown in FIG. 4, the scan post body has a first engager and the scan post core has a second engager. The first engager comprises one protrusion 71 and the second engager comprises two recesses 72, 73 where the protrusion may be received, so that when the protrusion 71 is received by one of the recesses 72, the scan post body and the scan post core are engaged in a first position and when the protrusion 71 is received in the other recess 73, the scan post body and the scan post core are engaged in a second position.

[0107] This scan posts system may be used in a method for manufacturing dental implants prostheses as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the method comprising the steps of [0108] attaching a scan post 10 belonging to the scan posts system according to any of the preceding claims to a dental implant present in an edentulous space, [0109] letting healing tissue grow around the scan post body; [0110] scanning the scan post scan marks to obtain the position and orientation of the scan post and a map of the healing tissue around the scan post body; and [0111] manufacture a dental implant prosthesis with the information obtained in the previous step.

[0112] The scan post is chosen from the scan post system after identifying the type and size of tooth missing and thus the best corresponding shape and size of scan body and measuring the distance between the dental implant and a cervical margin location, either directly on the patient's mouth or extra-orally.

[0113] Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the chosen scan post 10 is attached to a dental implant 50 which is already present in the edentulous space of a patient. This scan post 10 comprises scan marks 4, so that it may be scanned in a subsequent step.

[0114] Once the healing tissue has been grown around the scan post, the scan post may be scanned with a scanner device 60 to obtain the position and orientation of the scan post, but also the gingival tissue profile 61 around the scan post. This map of the healing tissue is important to manufacture the final dental implant prosthesis which will be installed instead of the scan post.

[0115] FIG. 6 shows a CAD station where these data are received, and the final prosthesis is designed, taking into account the data obtained from the scan post and the healing tissue map also obtained by the scanner.

[0116] With these data, a suitable dental implant prosthesis will be manufactured. This prosthesis will adapt in an advantageous way to the edentulous space and to the gingival profile which has been sculpted by the scan post of the invention, and at least part of the prosthesis comprising its cervical profile and/or part of its subgingival portion will be a replicate of the inventive scan post.

[0117] FIG. 7 shows a scan post 10 which belongs to a scan post system according to the invention. This scan post has a scan post body 2 with a shape which is non circular and contains only one scan mark 4.

[0118] This scan post 10 comprise only one mark 4. In this case, it is located on top of the scan post body 2, but any other location would be suitable as well. This mark is capable of providing the necessary information for identifying the three dimensional position of the said scan post in the jaw, since the scan post body comprising a non-circular shape provides reference points due to its shape that, in combination with the scan mark, are enough to provide all the necessary information needed to the CAD-CAM station.

[0119] FIGS. 8a and 8b show two examples of scan posts 10 belonging to a scan post system according to the invention, which have a special alignment of the pillar axis and/or body axis.

[0120] FIG. 8a shows a scan post wherein the body axis 2a is off-set in relation to the pillar axis 12a. The pillar axis 12a is defined by the orientation of the prosthetic connection 11 and the pillar. In this case, the body axis 2a is parallel to the pillar axis 12a, but is offset with respect to it. As a consequence, the scan post body 2 is offset with respect to the position of the prosthetic connection 11, which is the piece that will be inserted in the patient's edentulous space. This type of scan posts are useful in particular geometries where the standard ones do not fit.

[0121] FIG. 8b shows a different scan post, where the body axis 2a and the pillar axis 12a form an angle, which may be comprised between 1 and 45 degrees. The prosthetic connection 11 is angled with respect to the body axis 2a. This type of scan posts are also useful in particular geometries where the standard ones do not fit.

[0122] FIGS. 9a to 9d show different engagement actions between a scan post core 1 and a scan post body 2 in scan posts 10 belonging to a scan post system according to the invention.

[0123] In all these figures, the scan post core 1 comprises a connection protrusion 81 and a connection recess 82, while the scan body 2 comprises a connection housing 83 and a connection ball 84. These elements are configured to allow the scan post body to be attached to the scan post core in two different lateral positions.

[0124] FIGS. 9a and 9b shows the coupling between a scan post core 1 and a scan post body 2. When the scan post core 1 is inserted vertically, the scan post core 1 fits in a first position with respect to the scan post body 2, and the connection protrusion 81 is coupled to the connection housing 83.

[0125] In FIGS. 9c and 9d, this coupling is different. The scan post core is inserted diagonally, so, in this case, the connection ball 84 is coupled to the connection recess 82, to achieve an angulated result.