Dental Implant Surgery Organizer Case

Abstract

A dental implant organizer case includes a housing with a plurality of compartments selectively arranged therein. Each compartment includes: a respective lid pivotally mounted to the housing to cover the compartment's cavity when closed; means for biasing the lid from the closed to the open position; means to releasably secure the lid in the closed position; means to releasably support dental implant containers within the compartment in an upright position; and a respective tooth number marking to indicate the tooth intended for the implant containers therein. The selectively arranged compartments may form a semi-circular or an in-line arrangement. Two compartment levels may be utilized, with the lower compartments being accessible using a tray being slidable with respect to the housing. Two cases may be secured together to be pivotable between collapsed and extended positions, where the first and second cases store dental implant containers for left-hand and right-hand teeth, respectively.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority on U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 692,789, filed on Aug. 24, 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to improvements in dental implant surgery, and more particularly to apparatus which is adapted to aid an oral surgeon in organizing implants for a patient's procedure, and to help prevent dropping of implants, to help increase the speed of the procedure, and to reduce the likelihood of the surgeon inadvertently deviating from the intended procedure by eliminating confusion as to which implant belongs in a given site.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]There are many conditions which may result in a person becoming partially or completely edentulous (periodontal disease, an injury, etc.), which in the past had been remedied by the wearing of a prosthetic device, known as dentures. Dentures were constructed to replac...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]It is a further object of the invention to properly orient the surgeon during the surgery, and eliminate confusion, as to the planned implant sites for a set of platforms.

[0017]It is also an object of the invention to provide a means of collapsing a dental implant case for its transport or storage, and for expanding the case in more advantageous use during an implant procedure.

[0020]Each case may be segregated by a plurality of walls into a series of compartments, and may preferably have seven compartments that are accessible from the top of the case. Each compartment may be adapted to support one or more implant platform vials. Each of the compartments may preferably support three or more such vials, which may contain the suggested implant platform and two other possible alternatively sized platforms that are likely to be needed by the surgeon as an alternate, depending upon quality and volume of the patient's bone at each prospective implant site. Each compartment may also preferably have a hinged lid that is biased into an open position permitting easy access to the vials therein. The hinged lid may be retained in the closed position by a simple catch mechanism that may be actuated by the touching of a respective button on the top of the case. Each lid may preferably be translucent, to permit the practitioner or an assistant of the practitioner to recognize that an implant within the case has been utilized for a previous procedure, and that it needs to be replaced before using the case again.

[0024]Prior to performing an extensive implant procedure, the oral surgeon or assistant may position the case on a cart in proximity to the surgical chair, and pivot the left-side and right-side cases into the extended, in-line position. The trays may then be slid outwardly to expose the lower compartments. To further assist the surgeon during the procedure, the lids of only the tooth locations to receive implants may be unlatched, thereby permitting biasing of those lids into the open position. The surgeon will therefore have the correct assortment of tooth-specific, implant platforms readily available to him / her during the procedure, along with a textual indication of which implant locations—tooth numbers and jaw position (maxilla / mandible)—which those platforms are intended for, to serve as a visual cue during the procedure to help prevent accidental mis-placement of an implant.

Problems solved by technology

The significant drawbacks to the wearing of such partial or complete dentures, principally its means of support, which often required the use of adhesives, as well as its cleaning requirements served to bolster the development of dental implants.

Variations from a “recommended” platform size are frequently necessary, especially if a “spinner” occurs, which is an implant that does not have good primary fixation.

Therefore, the number of different sized / shaped platforms that the oral surgeon may need to have readily available during a procedure, to accommodate all of the implant sites, may often become considerable and unwieldy.

Where the patient requires multiple platforms to be implanted, and with the probability of needing to vary the platform selected for implantation from the “recommended” platform size, the potential for an error resulting in malpractice escalates.

Furthermore, increased handling of the vials that contain the platform in a sterile environment also introduces the likelihood of its mishandling, which may result in dropping of the vial and ruining of the sterile seal, which would necessitate the use of a new implant, at additional cost.

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