METHOD OF MANUFACTURING DENTAL PROSTHESES AND DENTAL PROSTHESES

Abstract

The present invention describes a method for the manufacture of dental prostheses where traditional artisanal or purely manual techniques are combined or merged with other more recent ones based on digital design, which comprises obtaining a digital image of the patient's mouth, digitally designing the dental pieces (1) and the gum (4) in a personalized way for each patient, manufacturing both parts separately, mounting them by tonguing-and-grooving and finally treating the prosthesis. Furthermore, the present invention also includes a dental prosthesis that comprises at least one dental piece (1) and a gum, where both are bonded by tonguing-and-grooving means.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing dental prostheses characterized in that it comprises the steps of: providing a digital library of dental pieces wherein each dental piece comprises a hole or female part at its lower base that is designed according to mechanical stresses and a morphology of each dental piece; obtaining digital information of a patient's mouth; from the obtained digital information of the patient's mouth and from the digital library of dental pieces, carrying out a digital design of the dental pieces and a gum so that both include a tongue-and-groove means to bond to each other, wherein the gum comprises corresponding male parts to receive the female parts of each of the dental pieces specific for each position, and wherein sizes of the female parts located in the dental pieces and of the corresponding male parts located in the gum are designed according to the mechanical stresses and the morphology of each dental piece; with the obtained digital information, manufacturing the dental pieces and the gum; mounting the dental pieces on the gum by tonguing-and-grooving; and treating the dental prosthesis.

2. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 1, characterized in that the gum is manufactured using a 3D printing technique and the dental pieces are manufactured in acrylic material using a process of selective injection-compression molding of layers of the dental pieces.

3. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 1, characterized in that the tongue-and-groove means are designed in such a way that each of the dental pieces can only be mounted in a single position on one of the corresponding male parts of the gum.

4. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 1, characterized in that tongue-and-groove bonding between the dental pieces and the gum is reinforced with use of a cement, glue or acrylic resin between them.

5. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 1, characterized in that once the mounting of the dental pieces on the gum is completed, the treating the dental prosthesis includes smoothing down, polishing and glazing.

6. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 1, characterized in that the digital information of the patient's mouth is obtained directly with an intraoral scanner or by scanning a physical model of the patient's mouth.

7. A dental prosthesis comprising at least one dental piece with a lower base and a gum, characterized in that the dental prosthesis further comprises: a tongue-and-groove means for mounting said at least one dental piece and said gum to each other, wherein the at least one dental piece comprises a female part at the lower base and the gum comprises a corresponding male part, and wherein sizes of the female part located in the at least one dental piece and of the corresponding male part located in the gum vary for each type of dental piece of the at least one dental piece, taking into account masticatory loads that each one of the at least one dental piece supports, as well as an amount of material available in each one of the at least one dental piece.

8. The dental prosthesis according to claim 7, characterized in that the female part of the at least one dental piece and the corresponding male part of the gum have a design that allows tonguing-and-grooving in a single position.

9. The dental prosthesis according to claim 8, characterized in that the female part of the at least one dental piece and the corresponding male part of the gum have a conical half-round shape.

10. The dental prosthesis according to claim 7, characterized in that an inner surface of the female part of the at least one dental piece and/or an outer surface of the corresponding male part of the gum comprise gripping means.

11. The method of manufacturing dental prostheses according to claim 3, characterized in that tongue-and-groove bonding between the dental piece and the gum is reinforced with use of a cement, glue or acrylic resin between them.

12. The dental prosthesis according to claim 8, characterized in that an inner surface of the female part of the at least one dental piece and/or an outer surface of the corresponding male part of the gum comprise gripping means.

13. The dental prosthesis according to claim 9, characterized in that an inner surface of the female part of the at least one dental piece and/or an outer surface of the corresponding male part of the gum comprise gripping means.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, according to a preferred example of a practical embodiment thereof, a series of drawings is provided as an integral part of said description wherein, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

[0032] FIG. 1.—Shows a block diagram of a method of manufacturing removable or fixed dental prostheses according to a first technique already known in the state of the art.

[0033] FIG. 2.—Shows a block diagram of a method of manufacturing removable or fixed dental prostheses according to a second technique already known in the state of the art.

[0034] FIG. 3.—Shows a block diagram of the method of manufacturing removable or fixed dental prostheses according to the present invention.

[0035] FIGS. 4a), 4b) and 4c)—Show so many other views of a dental piece, in this case a central incisor.

[0036] FIGS. 5a), 5b) and 5c)—Show so many other views of a dental piece, in this case a lateral incisor according to the present invention.

[0037] FIGS. 6a) and 6b)—Show so many other views of a dental piece, in this case a molar, according to the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 7.—Shows a perspective view of a gum according to the invention, in which the extensions or male parts on which the dental pieces are mounted can be seen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0039] As can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 7, a preferred embodiment for the method of manufacturing dental prostheses of the present invention comprises the following steps: [0040] Obtaining a digital image of the patient's mouth. [0041] This digital image can be obtained either directly with an intraoral scanner or by making a physical model of the mouth in plaster and scanning it later. In both cases, detailed information on the morphology of the patient's mouth will be obtained, which can be digitally managed in the process using the appropriate computer equipment and software. [0042] Digital design of the dental pieces (1) and the gum (4). [0043] From the digital information of the patient's mouth obtained in the previous step and from an existing digital library of dental pieces (1), using the appropriate computer equipment and software, the digital design of the gum (4) and the necessary dental pieces (1) that make up the functional and dimensional personalized dental prosthesis for said patient is performed, where for the subsequent bonding thereof they have tonguing-and-grooving means, specifically, the dental pieces (1) are designed in such a way that they comprise a hole or female part (2) at its lower base (3) bonding to the gum (4) and, for its part, the gum (4) is designed so that it comprises the corresponding extensions or male parts (5) intended to receive each of the dental pieces (1) specific for each position. [0044] As already mentioned, in addition, the tongued-and-grooved bonding, that is, the female parts (2) located in the dental pieces (1) and the corresponding male parts (5) located in the gum (4), are designed based on the type of dental piece (1), its shape and functionality, that is, said bonding has to be large enough to guarantee fastening between dental piece (1) and gum (4) but without affecting the aesthetics of said dental pieces (1). [0045] That is, the sizes of each of the tongued-and-grooved bonding between each dental piece (1) and the gum (4) vary for each case, being different for each type of dental piece (1) depending on their mechanical stresses and their morphology as seen in FIGS. 4 to 7. [0046] In this way, the gum (4) designed for a typical patient will comprise a plurality of connections or male parts (5) emerging superiorly and which may all be different from each other, or at least, different between each type of dental piece (1) (central incisors, lateral incisors, molars, premolars, canines, etc.). [0047] In this sense, the advantage that the male part (5) is located in the gum (4) and not vice versa has its reason in that for the gum (4) to receive a male-type connection from the dental piece (1) in an adequate length, said female part would in some cases need to be inserted into the osseous bed of the patient, which, in addition to delaying and making the process more expensive, would obviously entail significant discomfort for the patient derived from the need to make holes for the accommodation of the female part in his/her osseous bed. [0048] On the other hand, in order to facilitate the subsequent mounting between the dental pieces (1) and the gum (4), the connections or female and male parts (2, 5) are designed so that said mounting is unequivocal, that is, that each dental piece (1) can only be mounted in a single position on the corresponding male part (5) on the gum (4). [0049] FIGS. 4 to 7 show a possible embodiment of the invention in which the female part (2) present in the dental piece (1) and the male part (5) of the gum (4) have a conical half-round shape which ensures that both can only be mounted in a single and unmistakable position, defined during the digital design step, and therefore eliminates the possibility of alignment or positioning errors when both parts are mounted to form the prosthesis. [0050] Actual manufacture of dental pieces (1) and gum (4). [0051] Subsequently, with the digital information obtained in the design phase, the dental pieces (1) and the gum (4) are manufactured separately. More specifically, according to a possible preferred embodiment, on the one hand, the gum (4) is manufactured by means of a 3D printing technique using suitable materials and, on the other hand, the dental pieces (1) are manufactured in acrylic material also preferably using a process of selective injection-compression molding (SCIM) of the layers. [0052] Mounting the dental pieces (1) on the gum (4) by tonguing-and-grooving. [0053] Once the dental pieces (1) and the gum (4) have been manufactured, they are mounted to each other by tonguing-and-grooving which, by virtue of the male (5) and female (2) elements or parts described above, it is carried out quickly and without errors since they only allow mounting in a single unmistakable position. [0054] Finally, according to a preferred embodiment, the tongued-and-grooved bonding between dental piece (1) and gum (4) is reinforced with the use of a suitable cement, glue or acrylic resin that ensures a durable and reliable bonding between the referred dental pieces (1) and the gum (4), greatly improving the performance of the processes currently carried out. [0055] Final treatment of the prosthesis. [0056] Finally, once the mounting of the dental pieces (1) on the gum (4) is completed and the dental prosthesis is obtained, it is subjected to a final treatment that gives it the final appearance, for example, a smoothing-down, polished and glazing treatment.

[0057] Finally, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 to 6, they show different types of dental pieces (1), specifically, in FIG. 4 a central incisor is shown, in FIG. 5 a lateral incisor is shown and FIG. 6 shows a molar, according to the present invention.

[0058] In all of them, the hole that makes up the female part (2) located in its lower base (3) is clearly seen, which will serve for the connection of the male part (5) that the gum (4) has and that can be seen in FIG. 7.

[0059] In addition, as can be seen in said figures, the female parts (2) located in the dental pieces (1) have different sizes depending on the type of dental piece (1) where they are located, since these sizes are dictated both by the shape of the dental piece (1) and its functionality, being necessary a greater tongued-and-grooved section or size when masticatory load and/or the mechanical forces or stresses to which it is subjected are greater when it is operative on the patient's mouth. This, of course, also conditions the size of the male parts (5) of the gum (4) on which the corresponding dental pieces (1) will be mounted.

[0060] On the other hand, it is also noticeable in said figures that both the female parts (2) of the dental pieces (1) and the corresponding male parts (5) present in the gum (4) have a design that allows their tonguing-and-grooving in a single unmistakable position, having chosen for the examples shown in said figures that having a conical half-round shape, but it can be any other that fulfills that function and does not prevent a correct tonguing-and-grooving.

[0061] Finally, according to another possible embodiment, either the inner surface of the female part (2) of the dental piece (1), or the outer surface of the male part (5) of the gum (4), or both, may have gripping means such as small bumps, roughness, scratches, etc. that facilitate the action of a cement, glue or acrylic resin used to ensure a durable and reliable bonding between the dental pieces and the gum.