DENTAL PROSTHESIS MOLDING BLOCK AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A DENTAL PROSTHESIS PART FROM THE DENTAL PROSTHESIS MOLDING BLOCK

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dental prosthesis molding block (10) for producing a dental prosthesis part. The block comprises an inner material (13) that is at least partially surrounded by an outer material (14), the hardness of which differs from the hardness of the inner material (13). The inner material (13) forms part of a first surface (11) of the dental prosthesis molding block (10). The invention further relates to a method for producing a dental prosthesis part. In said method, a dental prosthesis molding block (10) is provided, and the dental prosthesis part is produced by removing material from the dental prosthesis molding block (10) using a CAD/CAM process. In doing so, a pin having a self-tapping external screw thread is created.

Claims

1. Dental prosthesis molding block for producing a dental prosthesis part, comprising an inner material which is at least partially surrounded by an outer material, the hardness of which differs from the hardness of the inner material, wherein the inner material forms a part of a first surface of the dental prosthesis molding block wherein the dental prosthesis molding block includes an internal screw thread, which extends into the inner material from a second surface opposite to the first surface.

2. (canceled)

3. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 1, wherein the inner material has a lower hardness than the outer material.

4. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 3, wherein the inner material is a metal and the outer material is a ceramic.

5. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 3, wherein the inner material and the outer material are metals.

6. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 1, wherein the inner material has a greater hardness than the outer material.

7. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 6, wherein the inner material is a ceramic.

8. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 1, further comprising an opening having the internal screw thread, which extends from the second surface through the outer material into the inner material.

9. Method for producing a dental prosthesis part comprising the steps of: providing a dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 1, and producing the dental prosthesis part by removing material from the dental prosthesis molding block using a CAD/CAM process, whereby a pin having a self-tapping external screw thread is created; wherein the pin is formed from a portion of the inner material.

10. (canceled)

11. Method according to claim 9, wherein the pin is first formed in a first region of the dental prosthesis molding block by completely removing the outer material and partially removing the inner material, and then the outer material is partially removed in a second region of the dental prosthesis molding block, so that there is no surface of the dental prosthesis molding block in the second region on which the inner material is exposed.

12. Method according to claim 9, wherein the dental prosthesis molding block includes an opening having the internal screw thread, which extends from the second surface through the outer material into the inner material and the dental prosthesis part is produced in such a way that a dental prosthesis supply element is screwable into the internal screw thread of the dental prosthesis part.

13. Method according to claim 9, wherein the dental prosthesis part is produced on the basis of data from a patient acquired by an intraoral camera.

14. (canceled) 15. (canceled)

16. Dental CAD/CAM system, that said system is configured to carry out the method according to claim 9.

17. Dental prosthesis molding block according to claim 8, wherein the opening has a first region in the outer material which has smooth inner walls and that a second region of the opening in the inner material is provided with the internal screw thread.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Design examples of the invention are shown in drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an isometric illustration of a dental prosthesis molding block according to a design example of the invention.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the dental prosthesis molding block according to FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 3 shows an isometric illustration of a dental prosthesis molding block according to another design example of the invention.

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the dental prosthesis molding block according to FIG. 3.

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a first processing step of a dental prosthesis molding block in a method according to a design example of the invention.

[0028] FIG. 6 shows a second processing step of a dental prosthesis molding block in a method according to a design example of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 7 shows a third processing step of a dental prosthesis molding block in a method according to a design example of the invention.

[0030] FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a dental prosthesis part which can be produced using a design example of the method according to the invention.

DESIGN EXAMPLES

[0031] A dental prosthesis molding block 10 according to a first design example of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is cuboid, and has a surface 11 and an opposite second surface 12. A core of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 consists of titanium as an inner material 13. Zirconium dioxide is pressed onto this as an outer material 14. The first surface 11 thus consists partly of titanium and partly of zirconium dioxide, while all the other surfaces of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 consist exclusively of zirconium dioxide. The inner material 13 is exposed on the surface 11 and is surrounded in a frame-like manner by the outer material 14. All other surfaces of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 are formed by the outer material.

[0032] In a second and third design example of the dental prosthesis molding block 10, the core of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 consists of titanium as an inner material 13. The outer material 14 is a cobalt-chromium alloy (second design example) or a glass ceramic (third design example).

[0033] In a fourth, fifth, and sixth design example of the dental prosthesis molding block 10, the core of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 consists of zirconium dioxide as an inner material 13. The outer material 14 is titanium (fourth design example), a cobalt-chromium alloy (fifth design example) or a glass ceramic (sixth design example).

[0034] In a seventh design example of the dental prosthesis molding block 10, which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, said molding block consists of the same materials as in one of the previous design examples. Starting from the second surface 12, an opening 15 extends through the outer material 14 into the inner material 13. Whereas the region 151 in the outer material 14 has smooth inner walls, the region 152 in the inner material 13 is provided with an internal screw thread.

[0035] In a first design example of the method according to the invention, a desired form of a dental prosthesis part is defined in a dental CAD/CAM system 30 on the basis of data from a patient. This data can be obtained with the aid of an intraoral camera, for example. A dental prosthesis molding block 10 is then inserted into the CAD/CAM system 30 according to one of the design examples described above, and secured there on its second surface 12 by means of a block holder 31. This is shown in FIG. 5. Material removal tools 32, 33 are positioned above and below the dental prosthesis molding block 10.

[0036] The material removal tools 32, 33 are used to remove material from the dental prosthesis molding block 10, starting at the first surface 11, to first form a pin 20 having a self-tapping external screw thread. This is shown in FIG. 6. The outer material 14 is completely removed in a first region of the dental prosthesis molding block 10. The inner material 13 is partially removed in this region to form the pin 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a dental prosthesis part 50 is formed, which at the end of the material removal is connected to the dental prosthesis molding block 10 only by a cut-out piece 51. To do this, the outer material 14 is partially removed in a second region of the dental prosthesis molding block 10 without exposing the inner material 13 in said second region. After removal of the cut-out piece 51, the finished dental prosthesis part 50, which is formed in one piece with the pin 20, can be removed from the CAD/CAM system 30.

[0037] If the dental prosthesis part 50 was produced from a dental prosthesis molding block 10 according to its seventh design example, it still has the internal screw thread between the pin 20 and a surface created in the course of the material removal, which is opposite to the pin 20. The region 151 of the opening 15, which has no internal screw thread, was completely removed in the process. A dental prosthesis supply element 60 in the form of an abutment can be screwed into the internal screw thread by means of a screw 61, as shown in FIG. 8.

[0038] In a second design example of the method according to the invention, a desired form of a dental prosthesis part is also defined in a dental CAD/CAM system 30 on the basis of data from a patient. A dental prosthesis molding block 10, which consists entirely of zirconium dioxide, is then inserted into the CAD/CAM system 30, and secured there on its second surface 12 by means of the block holder 31. This is shown in FIG. 9. The material removal tools 32, 33 are used to remove material from the dental prosthesis molding block 10, starting at the first surface 11, to first form a pin 20 having a self-tapping external screw thread. This is shown in FIG. 10. Then, again as shown in FIG. 7, a dental prosthesis part 50 is formed, which at the end of the material removal is connected to the dental prosthesis molding block 10 only by a cut-out piece 51. To do this, the zirconium dioxide is removed. After removal of the cut-out piece 51, the finished dental prosthesis part 50, which is formed in one piece with the pin 20 and consists exclusively of zirconium dioxide, can be removed from the CAD/CAM system 30.

[0039] The examples of the dental prosthesis molding block and the method described above make the one-piece, customized production of dental prosthesis parts in the form of implants possible.