Dental prosthesis blank

Abstract

A dental prosthesis is provided, manufactured from a monobloc or multibloc prosthesis blank (10), which is composed of a gum-colored material (14) and a tooth-colored material (12), which materials (12, 14) are bonded to each other by bonding, polymerization and/or one-piece manufacture. The boundary surface (16) between the materials is wave-shaped comprising alternating grooves (22) and ribs (24) in the course of the dental arch, and radial in an oral-vestibular direction in the region of the anterior teeth (33) to be created. The boundary surface (16), at least in the region of the molars (26)—again as viewed in the oral vestibular direction—has parallel grooves (22) and ribs (24) forming troughs and crests of the waveform, or grooves (22) and ribs (24) such that they extend in deviation from parallel by at most 10 degrees, in particular at most 5 degrees, at least in the region of the molars (26).

Claims

1. A dental prosthesis blank (10) comprising: a gum-colored material (14) and a tooth-colored material (12), which materials (12, 14) are joined to one another by bonding, by polymerization, by injection molding and/or by monobloc production, wherein a boundary surface (16) between the materials, as viewed in the course of a dental arch, is wave-shaped having mutually alternating grooves (22) and ribs (24) in a region of anterior teeth (33) to be produced, and as viewed in an oral-vestibular direction, is radially formed, wherein the boundary surface (16), at least in a region of molars (26), and in the region of the anterior teeth (33) to be produced, as viewed in the oral-vestibular direction, has parallel grooves (22) and ribs (24) in a region of premolars (28) as viewed in an oral-vestibular direction, forming crests and troughs of a waveform, or has grooves (22) and ribs (24) such that they extend, deviating from parallel by at most 25 degrees.

2. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the parallel grooves (22) and ribs (24) are provided in the region of the molars (26) and in the region of the premolars (28).

3. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 2, wherein parallel grooves (22) and ribs (24) provided in the region of the molars (26) and in the region of the premolars (28) each extend with a length of at least 2 cm from the oral to vestibular direction.

4. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein a width of the troughs (22) is adapted to a width of a tooth to be produced, and wherein the trough (22) for a first molar (26) has the largest trough width.

5. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the crests (24) and troughs (22) have the same shape or at least remain congruent over a shaping region (40) extending from oral to vestibular direction.

6. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the crests (24), over the course of the dental arch (11), form a ridge line which is inclined towards a plane of occlusion and towards a side of the blank (10) adjacent to teeth.

7. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 6, wherein the ridge line, as viewed from the vestibular direction, extends in a manner comprising straight, curved, or S-shaped manner or according to the curve of Spee, at least partially.

8. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 6, wherein the blank (10) has a boundary surface (16) which is inclined towards the occlusal plane and has a greater height of the tooth-colored material (12) in the distal direction than in the mesial direction.

9. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the crests (24) as viewed from vestibular and towards oral direction, extend sloping downwards to approach the occlusion plane (60), in particular at an angle of 10 to 40 degrees or between 15 and 25 degrees.

10. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 9, wherein the crests (24) extend sloping downwards to approach an occlusion plane (60) at an angle of 10 to 40 degrees or at an angle between 15 and 25 degrees.

11. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein a transition region is provided between the region of the molars (26) and the region of the anterior teeth (33), in which the shape of the crests (24) and troughs (22) merges from parallel into radial.

12. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the tooth-colored material (12) of the blank (10) has a diameter or a width of more than 5 cm and a flat cylindrical shape having a diameter/height ratio of more than 2 to 1.

13. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 12, wherein the diameter/height ratio is more than 3 to 1.

14. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein an additional layer of a material having different refractive properties in comparison to the gum-colored and the tooth-colored material (14, 12), is arranged between the tooth-colored and the gum-colored material.

15. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the gum-colored material (14) and the tooth-colored material (12) are fabricated of a plastics material, and wherein the grooves (22) and ribs (24) deviate from parallel by at most 10 degrees.

16. The dental prosthesis blank according to claim 1, wherein the deviating from parallel of the grooves (22) and ribs (24) is between 5 and 10 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages, details and features will arise from the following description of an embodiment of the invention b making reference to the drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a dental arch to be created in a blank disc according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top view of the dental arch according to FIG. 1, also showing the denture blank;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a prosthesis blank according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a prosthesis blank according to the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a prosthesis blank according to the invention; and

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a further design of a prosthesis blank according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) The blank 10 shown in FIG. 1 essentially is disc-shaped. The top region in FIG. 1 is intended for realization of a dental arch 11 and the bottom surface thereof is shown in FIG. 1. The basal surfaces 13 of the individual teeth of the dental arch 11 are to be recognized.

(9) The blank 10 consists of a disc of tooth-colored material and a disc of gum-colored material, which are bonded together by gluing or in any other suitable way. In this respect, the arrangement of the materials may better be seen in FIG. 3.

(10) Between the materials there is a boundary surface 16 having an undulating course. The course is modelled to match a human gingival margin.

(11) Accordingly, troughs 22 and crests 24 are alternatingly arranged, as can schematically be seen from FIG. 1.

(12) The troughs 22, which correspond to grooves, are designed to accommodate teeth, and the crests 24, which correspond to ribs, subsequently form the interdental spaces.

(13) The boundary surface 16 extends over the course of the dental arch 11 in a wave-shaped manner. As viewed in an oral-vestibular direction, it has a specific course.

(14) In the region of the front teeth 33 the course is radial, starting from a radial center 36.

(15) On the other hand, in the remaining region, the course of the wave crests and wave troughs in the oral-vestibular direction is non-radial. As far as the molars 26 are concerned, the crests 24 and troughs 22 of adjacent teeth extend parallel to each other. However, the grooves 22 and ribs 24 may also extend by a maximum of 10 degrees, and in particular a maximum of 5 degrees, away from parallelism.

(16) This also applies to the crests and troughs of the premolars 28.

(17) The rib 29 in the interdental space between canine 31 and the first premolar 28 is parallel to the following rib in the distal direction. The trough 22, in which the canine tooth 31 is located, is radially widened outwards, as are the troughs of the anterior teeth 33.

(18) The region in which dental arches 11 can be created is limited in the oral vestibular direction. It is referred to as shaping region 40.

(19) A clamping edge 50 projecting outwards is formed on the outer circumference of the blank 10. This is to accommodate the disc-shaped blank in the workpiece holder of a dental milling machine in a manner known per se.

(20) Basically, the disc formed by the blank 10 is of circular shape. However, it comprises grooves 52 and 54 on a level below the clamping edge 50. The grooves 52 and 54 are not diametrically opposed to each other, so that anti-twist protection is assured.

(21) From FIG. 2 the blank disc according to FIG. 1 may be seen in top view on the dental arch 11. Herein, the same reference numbers are used as in the other figures to denote the same parts.

(22) The teeth 26, 28 and 31 may be seen including their occlusal surface 41, and it can be seen that, for example, there is quite large space available for the chewing cusp 43 of the first molar 26, even if the dental arch 11 is kept small, i.e. shifted towards the oral direction.

(23) Above the clamping edge 50, i.e. on the tooth side of the prosthesis, a different anti-twist device from that shown in FIG. 1 is provided. It has flattenings 58 and 60, which are distributed asymmetrically, as are the grooves 52 and 54.

(24) FIG. 3 shows a blank 10 consisting of a tooth-colored material 12 and a gum-colored material 14. It is for the manufacture of a mandibular dental prosthesis.

(25) The blank 10 is essentially disc-shaped. A boundary surface 16 between the tooth-colored material 12 and the gum-colored material 14 is shown in FIG. 3. It has a specifically shaped recess 18 in the gum-colored material 14. The material 12 extends into the recess 18, starting from the upper side 20 of the blank 10.

(26) The tooth-colored material 14 of the blank 10 has a diameter or width of more than 5 cm and in particular a substantially flat cylindrical shape with a diameter to height ratio of more than 2 to 1, preferably more than 3 to 1.

(27) The gum-colored and tooth-colored materials 14 and 12 are bonded together, e.g. by bonding, polymerization and/or monobloc production.

(28) The recess essentially has the shape of a U having rather wide legs, i.e. a dental arch shape. The boundary surface 16 is therein formed there in a specified way. It has a wave form over the course of the U, corresponding to a gingiva margin, i.e. essentially corresponding to a chain line.

(29) The waveform has alternating wave troughs 22 and wave crests 24. The wave troughs are also grooves, and the wave crests are ribs.

(30) The peaks of the wave crests 24 and also the peaks of the wave troughs 22, which face downwards, each form a ridge line.

(31) The ridge lines downwardly extend from distal 30 towards the mesial 32 direction. The boundary surface 16 is diagonally located in the blank 10 and is higher at the front, i.e. in the region of the anteriors, than in the rear region.

(32) This refers to the average course of boundary surface 16, which is actually undulating, as described above.

(33) Herein, the inclination angle or the inclination of the boundary surface 16 is on average 16 degrees.

(34) In the region of the anterior teeth or anteriors, the wave crests and wave troughs 24 and 22 are radially extending from the oral towards the vestibular direction. They extend radially outwards from radial center 36.

(35) On the other hand, they extend parallel to each other in the molar and premolar region. The leg width of the U, and thus the width of the recess 18, is considerably more than required for shaping teeth. The blank 10 is designed to realize both large and small dental arches by milling the teeth radially inside, radially in the middle or radially outside with respect to the center 36.

(36) In this respect, the entire width of the U is available as a shaping region 40 for shaping.

(37) As can be seen from FIG. 3, the recess 18 is significantly deeper in the distal region 30 than in the mesial region 32. This results in a significantly greater height of the tooth-colored material 12 in the distal direction than in the mesial direction. As a result of this measure, the anterior tooth region 32 moves closer to the top surface 20 of the blank 10, and undercuts can rapidly and accurately be milled therein using short milling cutters, as required.

(38) FIG. 3 also shows that the blank 10 has a circumferential clamping edge 50. The clamping edge 50 has the usual shape for dental disc blanks, and the disc-shaped blank 10 has a diameter between 95 and 100 mm.

(39) Above the clamping edge 50, the tooth-colored material 12 backwardly, wherein grooves 52 and 54 are provided asymmetrically arranged to each other, i.e. are not arranged diametrically opposite to each other, serving as an anti-twist device.

(40) Additional flattenings 58 and 60 are formed on the bottom side 56 of the blank 10. They are provided in the region of material 14 and are also asymmetrical to each other. They are used for alternative clamping in more recent milling machines to prevent twisting.

(41) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a blank 10. Only the tooth-colored material 12 of the blank is shown, whereas the remaining parts, for example, extend and are formed according to FIG. 3.

(42) On the side shown below in FIG. 3, the occlusal plane 60 extends. Accordingly, a tooth 41 in FIG. 4 is drawn into the material 12, such that its occlusal surface faces the occlusal plane 60.

(43) Contrary to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in FIG. 4 the crests, i.e. the ribs 24, are inclined towards the vestibular-oral direction, while in FIG. 3, for example, they extend straight, i.e. parallel to the occlusal plane.

(44) Towards the oral direction, the ribs 24 are more occlusal than vestibular.

(45) The angle between the occlusal plane 60 and the rib 24 can largely be adapted to the requirements. For example, the angle can be 10 to 20 degrees, but may also be above.

(46) For the individual teeth or interdental spaces, the angle can also be different. The crests 24 correspond to interdental spaces and the troughs 22 correspond to the teeth.

(47) The inclination shown in FIG. 4 refers to both the crests 24 and the troughs 22.

(48) It has been shown that the inclined position provided, in this respect, allows for better adjustment, especially in the case of large differences between dental arches.

(49) Exemplary inclination angles of the crests 24 are shown in FIG. 5 for the lower jaw, and are shown in FIG. 6 for the upper jaw. The angles of inclination as indicated therein refer to a normal to the blank, which blank is disc-shaped.

(50) In relation to occlusal plane 60, the angles for the mandible according to FIG. 5 are between 10 degrees and 19 degrees and for the maxilla are between 15 degrees and 23 degrees.

(51) It is understood that adjustments of the angle and also of the course of the ridge line across the dental arch are widely possible depending on the requirements.