Dental implant

Abstract

A dental prosthesis comprises an implant, an abutment and a crown. The implant has distal and proximal portions with the implant proximal portion including distal and proximal segments. The implant proximal segment has an outer surface. The abutment has distal and proximal segments and defines an abutment shoulder therebetween. The abutment shoulder is configured to circumferentially engage the outer surface of the implant proximal segment such that an implant abutment joint is defined therebetween. The crown is configured to be positioned over the abutment and the implant such that the crown covers the implant abutment joint. The implant proximal segment has an annular concave cross-section such that the crown distal end has a rounded shape to reduce the potential for stress cracking of the crown.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 795,876, filed on Apr. 28, 2006 and entitled DENTAL IMPLANT, the entire contents of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT[0002](Not Applicable)BACKGROUND[0003]The present invention relates generally to dental prostheses and, more particularly, to a dental prosthesis including an implant, an abutment which is attachable to the implant, and a crown which is attachable to the abutment and the implant such that the joint defined between the abutment and the implant is covered and effectively sealed.[0004]As is well known in the art, dental prostheses are commonly used in the dental field to address extensive damage to teeth caused by injury or disease. A typical dental prosthesis comprises an implant, an abutment and a crown. The implant itself generally comprises a metallic component which is impla...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]Provided is a dental prosthesis which comprises an implant, an abutment and a crown. The implant is adapted to be embedded into the bony structure of a patient's mouth. The abutment is attached to the implant in a manner wherein an implant abutment joint is defined therebetween. The crown is attached to the abutment and the implant in a manner wherein the implant abutment joint is covered by the crown. The attachment of the crown to the abutment and implant may be facilitated through the use of adhesive (e.g., dental cement) extending between the crown and the implant (i.e., crown implant joint).

[0013]The adhesive within the crown implant joint effectively seals the implant abutment joint as well as protects the crown implant joint. More particularly, the adhesive isolates such joints from the gum line in the patient in order to prevent migration of bacteria into the joints. The implant has distal and proximal portions with the implant proximal portion including distal and proximal segments. The implant proximal segment includes an outer surface. The abutment also has distal and proximal portions with distal and proximal ends being disposed respectively adjacent thereto. The abutment distal and proximal portions define an abutment shoulder therebetween.

[0014]Importantly, the abutment shoulder is configured to circumferentially engage the outer surface of the implant proximal segment with increased joint surface area which thereby improves joint strength. In addition, the circumferential engagement between the abutment shoulder and the implant provides improved resistance to micro-movement of the abutment relative to the implant. The elimination of such micro-movement reduces the risk of cracking of the adhesive and also minimizes the development of micro-gapping at the joint which, in turn, reduces the potential for periodontal pathogens. The implant abutment joint and the crown implant joint are sealed from bacterial invasion due to the positioning of the crown over the abutment and implant.

Problems solved by technology

Over time, such bone loss can compromise the integrity of the implant or cause its failure by breaking loose from the bony structure into which the implant is embedded.

Obviously, such failure, in addition to providing inconvenience and discomfort for the patient, is of serious medical concern due to the resulting bone loss or mutilation potentially rendering the installation of a replacement implant difficult or impossible.

The joint formed by the attachment of the crown to the abutment is also susceptible to bacterial invasion which contributes to bone loss around the implant.

Such micro-gaps can harbor bacteria which can lead to inflammation and, ultimately, failure of the implant.

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