Implant positioning device and method

Abstract

The invention includes a method and apparatus to guide a dental drill to drill a bore into which a dental implant may be inserted at a particular axis. The dentist first takes an impression of a selected patient's dental arch. The cast dental arch is then formed from the impression. A dental professional then determines the desired location of the desired axis. A proxy implant having a proxy axis is placed in the cast dental arch with the proxy axis co-incident with the desired location of the desired axis. A stent is then formed of the tooth crowns from the cast dental arch. The stent has incorporated into it a locating barrel. A drill head with a drill alignment arm is provided to the dentist for fixation to a dental drill hand piece. The kit of parts provided to the dentist includes the stent with its incorporated locating barrel. The drill alignment arm provided to the dentist for attachment to the drill head and a plurality of drills. By using the stent with its incorporated locating barrel, the dentist's drill is guided into the desired location by interaction of the pin of the drill alignment arm with the locating barrel in the stent. By additionally controlling the length of the drills, the location, axis and depth of the drill hole made by the dentist will exactly coincide with the designed location, depth and orientation of the implant.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 086,859 filed Mar. 4, 2002.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to the field of dentistry. In particular, the invention relates to the positioning of dental implants. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Dental implants are commonly use in dental procedures. Often when a tooth has been removed, an implant is placed in the jaw bone and a dental prosthesis is then positioned using the implant. The implant is incorporated in the bone material and provides a suitable anchor for various types of dental prostheses. [0004] Typically, when a dental implant is to be installed, a dentist prepares a cast of the patient's dental arch. That cast is then forwarded to a dental lab for creation of a suitable template. When the lab has determined the appropriate implant location to be used given the conditions of the patient's dental arch, the lab forwards a suitable template to the dentist. The dentist, guided by ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

One of the problems that can arise in this situation is that the template provides only a rough or imprecise guide as to where the dentist should place the implant.

Thus, because the dentist is given some leeway in deciding where the implant is to be placed, the location of the implant is not controlled and may not reflect the position intended by the laboratory.

Accordingly, the design of the prosthesis may be non ideal in terms of strength, esthetic appearance or the biological response it provokes.

Images