DENTAL IMPLANT

Abstract

A dental implant intended for insertion into the jawbone of a patient and having a base body which is provided with a circumferential external thread in an apically arranged screw region on its outer side is intended, on the one hand, to permit a particularly high primary and secondary stability and thus to particularly favor the healing process and, on the other hand, to facilitate in a particularly favorable manner the containment or treatment of an inflammation which may occur in the surrounding bone tissue. For this purpose, according to the invention, the base body is designed to be thread-free in a proximal shaft region provided in addition to the screw region.

Claims

1. A method of implanting a dental implant into a patient, the method comprising: preparing a jawbone of the patient via a single osteotomy that passes through cortical bone and into cancellous bone; obtaining a dental implant that comprises a base body that comprises on its outside a circumferential external thread in an apically arranged screw region and is designed to be thread-free in a proximal shaft region that adjoins the screw region, and that is provided for osseointegration along with the screw region, wherein the screw region has a length of at most 4 mm; and screwing the dental implant into the cancellous bone, such that the distal tip of the screw region and a majority of the screw region are engaged with the cancellous bone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, after implantation, the screw region is exclusively engaged with cancellous bone of the jawbone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the screw region comprises a self-tapping thread.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shaft region comprises a polished outer surface.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the base body comprises an outer surface in the shaft region having a roughness with a roughness value Ra of at least 1 μm.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the base body comprises a biocompatible surface structure or coating in the shaft region.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the screw region has a length of at most ⅓ of a total length of the base body.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the threadless shaft region has a length of at least ⅔ of a total length of the base body.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the external thread comprises at most four thread turns.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the base body comprises a round cross-section in the shaft region.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the base body comprises an oval cross-section in the shaft region.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the base body comprises a tapered cross-section in the shaft region as viewed in a longitudinal direction of the base body.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the screw region has a length of at most 3 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing. Therein are shown:

[0042] FIG. 1 depicts a dental implant intended for insertion into the jawbone of a patient, and

[0043] FIG. 2 depicts an alternative embodiment of the dental implant according to FIG. 1.

[0044] Identical parts are marked with the same reference numerals in both figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The dental implant 1 according to FIG. 1 is intended for insertion into the jawbone of a patient and comprises, in a conventional design, a base body 2 which is provided with a circumferential external thread 6 in an apically arranged screw region 4 on its outer side. The dental implant 1 is designed, on the one hand, to ensure a particularly high primary and secondary stability and thus to particularly favor the healing process, whereby, on the other hand, however, the containment or treatment of an inflammation possibly occurring in the surrounding bone tissue should also be facilitated in a particularly favorable manner with the dental implant 1 already inserted.

[0046] To this end, the design of the dental implant 1 makes use of the realization that the essential contributions to the stability and mechanical load-bearing capacity of the implant are made by the apical end region 8 of the external thread 6. Accordingly, the upper endosseous shaft area 10 can be kept thread-free without having to accept any significant impairment of the primary or secondary stability of the inserted dental implant 1 or the load-bearing capacity after osseointegration has taken place. The base body 2 is thus designed without threads in the proximal shaft area 10 provided in addition to the screw area 4 and directly adjacent to the screw area 4. This facilitates access to the implant surface when therapeutic measures become necessary, makes it easier to remove the inserted implant if necessary, and reduces the risk of metal chips contaminating the surrounding tissue in the case of implantoplasty (leveling and smoothing of the implant surface).

[0047] The outer surface 12 of the shaft area 10 is specifically designed to have the desired properties to promote healing and/or osseointegration. It could be machined or polished for this purpose. In the embodiment example, however, the outer surface 12 in the shaft area 10 is designed to be thread-free and thus smooth from a macroscopic point of view, but from a microscopic point of view it also has a surface structure that is particularly favorable for osseointegration. For this purpose, the base body 2 has an outer surface 12 in the shaft area 10 with a roughness with a roughness value Ra of approximately 2 μm. Alternatively or additionally, the base body 2 can also have a surface in its shaft region 10 that is particularly favorable for osseointegration in terms of its structure, coating and/or pretreatment.

[0048] The base body 2 is designed to provide both screw region 4 and thread-free shaft region 10. In the embodiment example, the base body 2 has an overall length L of approximately 11 mm. In contrast, the screw region 4 is limited to a length LS of about 3.2 mm, whereas the thread-free shank region 10 occupies a length of about 7.8 mm. In the embodiment example, the screw area 4 thus accounts for 29% of the total length L of the basic body 2, and the shank area accounts for 71% of the total length L of the basic body 2. The targeted limit values of at most 40% for the screw region 4 and/or at least 60% for the unthreaded shank region 10 are thus clearly complied with in the embodiment example. Furthermore, as can be clearly seen from the illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2, the external thread 6 in the embodiment example has only 3 complete thread turns.

[0049] The external thread 6 in the screw area 4 is designed as a so-called “aggressive” thread, which has comparatively deep thread flanks, particularly in the apical end area 8.

[0050] In the embodiment example, both in the shank area 10 and in the screw area 4, the base body 2 is designed with a cross-section tapering towards the apical end area 8 as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the base body 2, i.e., in particular conical.

[0051] In the embodiment example according to FIG. 1, the base body 2 is designed with a round cross-section in the shaft region 10. In contrast, in the alternative embodiment example according to FIG. 2, the dental implant 1′ has an oval cross-section in the shaft region 10 of the basic body 2.

[0052] In both variants shown, the dental implant 1, 1′ can be designed as a one-piece implant in which the prosthetic restoration for the patient is attached directly to the base body 2 after insertion of the base body 2 into the jawbone. However, the variants in which the respective base body 2 is intended for use in a two-part or multi-part implant system are shown in each case, in which an abutment, which is not shown in more detail, is initially placed on the inserted base body 2, which in turn carries the actual prosthetic restoration for the patient. The free end 14 of the shaft area 10 of the basic body 2 is designed for connection to the abutment, i.e., it is adapted to the respective connection system provided.

[0053] In the examples shown, the base body 2 is formed from a suitably selected, biocompatible material suitable for osseointegration, in the embodiment example from titanium.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0054] 1 Dental implant [0055] 2 Basic body [0056] 4 Screw range [0057] 6 External thread [0058] 8 Apical end region [0059] 10 Shaft area [0060] 12 Outer surface [0061] 14 Free end [0062] L Total length [0063] LS Length of the shaft area