Artificial tooth production method, artificial tooth, and artificial tooth material

Abstract

To provide an artificial tooth production method, etc., capable of further accurately reproducing a mutual position relation of adjacent teeth and having excellent aesthetic properties.SOLUTION: An artificial tooth production method includes: a dental plate intermediate forming step S2 of forming a dental plate intermediate with a connecting part with the artificial tooth in an original size and the other parts in the original size plus a finishing allowance; an artificial tooth intermediate forming step S3 of individually forming a connecting part one by one, the connecting part of at least two adjacent artificial teeth intermediates out of the artificial teeth intermediates, with the dental base, and the adjacent surface in the original size and the other parts in the original size plus a finishing allowance, where a part of the finishing allowance is formed as a connecting part; an artificial teeth connecting step S4 of directly or indirectly connecting the connecting parts to each other to connect the plurality of individually-formed artificial teeth intermediates to each other according to three-dimensional shape data of the artificial teeth; an artificial tooth forming step S5 of joining all the artificial teeth intermediates and the dental plate intermediates to form an artificial tooth intermediate; and an artificial tooth forming step S6 of cutting the artificial tooth intermediate to form the artificial tooth.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for manufacturing dentures, dentures, and artificial tooth materials.

Background Art

[0002] Prior to creating the final dentures, treatment dentures to be worn by patients with non-optimal temporomandibular joints are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] This treatment denture includes an upper denture and / or a lower denture in which artificial teeth are implanted on the denture base. When an artificial tooth that may cause interference with the opposing tooth when the temporomandibular joint approaches the optimal position is a tooth to be ground among the artificial teeth constituting either the upper denture or the lower denture, it is configured to guide the temporomandibular joint to the optimal position by wearing down the tooth to be ground with chewing. The tooth to be ground is set such that the amount of wear accompanying the chewing action is larger than that of the opposing tooth.

[0004] In this way, by setting one of the opposing teeth as the tooth to be ground and setting the amount of wear accompanying the chewing action to be larger than that of the opposing tooth, the tooth to be ground can be automatically and selectively worn down with chewing, thereby guiding the temporomandibular joint to the optimal position.

[0005] In this way, when both the patient and the dentist are satisfied, the adjusted treatment denture is replaced with the final denture. (See

[0003] ,

[0016] to

[0018] , and FIGS. 4 to 8 of Patent Document 1).

[0006] On the other hand, a method for manufacturing dentures based on digital data has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0007] In this method, for example, a dental impression is taken or an intraoral scan is created to measure the patient's oral cavity, and based on this, the target shape of the denture is created using CAD, and the denture is manufactured based on the obtained data.

[0008] That is, a U-shaped semi-finished product for the dentition and a U-shaped semi-finished product for the lower denture base are cut out by roughing from a dentition blank (tooth-colored blank) and a denture base blank (gum-colored blank), respectively. Next, finish milling is performed only on the regions set for mutual joining (the basal region in the dentition and the tooth cavity in the denture base).

[0009] Next, an adhesive is applied to the basal region or the tooth cavity to bond the two, and finish milling is performed on the resulting combination of the dentition and the denture base. (See [Summary], paragraphs

[0004] to

[0008] ,

[0077] to

[0089] of Patent Document 2).

[0010] Thus, the milling time is significantly shortened by a milling procedure consisting of roughing of the main part, finish milling of the connection region, joining, and final finish milling. Also, the dentition can be adhered into the denture base extremely simply as compared with adhering individual teeth to the denture base. Furthermore, by performing the final finish milling after adhering the dentition and the denture base, even if there is an adhesive bulge that may occur in some cases due to the expansion of the adhesive, or if there is inaccuracy in the height position, for example, due to the adhesion process, or if the dentition is adhered "obliquely", that is, if there is poor adhesion, the finish milling is executed according to the target setting, and thus it is automatically corrected simultaneously, and accordingly, occlusal defects can be prevented. (See paragraphs

[0073] to

[0074] ,

[0045] to

[0048] of Patent Document 2).

[0011] If this method for manufacturing a denture is used when replacing a therapeutic denture with a final denture, it can be expected that the therapeutic denture that satisfies both the patient and the dentist can be quickly and accurately replaced with the final denture.

[0012] In this method for manufacturing a denture, the dental arch is either an integral type or a three-part type consisting of two molar partial dental arches and one anterior dental arch. By configuring it in this way, it becomes possible to accurately reproduce the positional relationship between adjacent teeth that make up the dental arch, as compared to the case of adhering individual teeth one by one to the denture base. As a result, the optimal positional relationship between adjacent teeth obtained with the therapeutic denture can be accurately reproduced, without impairing functions such as occlusion.

[0013] However, in the final denture, in addition to functions such as occlusion, aesthetic properties are required. No matter how thin the diameter of the finishing milling cutter is made, it is difficult to reproduce the adjacent surfaces of adjacent teeth that make up an integral type or three-part type dental arch. Therefore, there is a limit to accurately reproducing the contact points (contact points) and embrasure spaces between adjacent teeth.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0014]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0015] An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and provide a method for manufacturing a denture, a denture, and an artificial tooth material that can more accurately reproduce the positional relationship between adjacent teeth and have excellent aesthetic properties.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0016] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a denture based on three-dimensional shape data of the denture. In the method for manufacturing a denture, a process of forming a denture base intermediate from a denture base material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein a connecting portion with artificial teeth is in the original size, and other portions are formed into the denture base intermediate with a finishing allowance added to the original size; a process of forming a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein for at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates, a connecting portion with the denture base and an adjacent surface are in the original size, and other portions are formed one by one individually with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and for an artificial tooth intermediate that is not formed individually, if any, a connecting portion with the denture base and a released adjacent surface are in the original size, and other portions are formed as one or more blocks in combination of two or more with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, a part of the finishing allowance is formed as a connecting portion; a process of connecting at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by directly or indirectly connecting the connecting portions to each other based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture; a process of forming a denture intermediate by joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate; and a process of forming a denture by cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0017] The features of the present invention can be widely shown as described above, but its configuration and content will become clearer from the following disclosure in consideration of the drawings together with the purpose and features.

Advantages of the Invention

[0018] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the first invention of the present application is a method for manufacturing a denture based on three-dimensional shape data of the denture. In the method for manufacturing a denture, a process of forming a denture base intermediate from a denture base material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein the connection part with the artificial tooth is in its original size, and the other parts form the denture base intermediate with a finishing allowance added to the original size; a process of forming a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein for at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates, the connection part and the adjacent surface with the denture base are in their original size, and the other parts are formed one by one individually with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and for the artificial tooth intermediate that is not formed individually, if any, the connection part and the released adjacent surface with the denture base are in their original size, and the other parts are formed as one or more blocks grouped together with two or more pieces with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, a part of their finishing allowance is formed as a coupling part; a process of directly or indirectly coupling the coupling parts to each other based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to connect the at least individually formed plurality of artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture; a process of forming a denture intermediate by joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate; and a process of forming a denture by cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0019] Thus, in this invention, for at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the adjacent surfaces are formed one by one individually in their original size, that is, the original dimensional shape (the same hereinafter), and then configured to be connected to each other.

[0020] Therefore, by bringing the adjacent surfaces formed in their original size into contact with each other, the contact points between adjacent teeth and the situation of the drum-shaped gaps given by the three-dimensional shape data of the denture can be accurately reproduced. As a result, it becomes possible to realize a more natural and aesthetically excellent denture.

[0021] Furthermore, at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are configured to be interconnected according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0022] As a result, for at least a plurality of individually formed artificial teeth, it becomes possible to accurately reproduce the positional relationship between adjacent teeth given by the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0023] That is, according to this invention, it is possible to more accurately reproduce the positional relationship between adjacent teeth and to realize a denture with excellent aesthetics.

[0024] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the second invention of the present application is the method for manufacturing a denture according to the first invention of the present application, wherein the artificial tooth intermediate connection step includes a connection auxiliary material forming step of forming a connection auxiliary material having a plurality of connection auxiliary parts for respectively connecting to a plurality of connection parts based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, and by connecting the corresponding connection parts to the respective connection auxiliary parts of the connection auxiliary material, at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are configured to be interconnected according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0025] Thus, in this invention, separately from the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates, a connection auxiliary material for connecting them is separately formed, and the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates are configured to be indirectly interconnected via the connection auxiliary material.

[0026] Therefore, it becomes possible to make the connection part of the artificial tooth intermediate have a simple shape, such as a substantially elliptical column protruding from the side surface (buccal surface, labial surface, lingual surface or palatal surface) of the tooth.

[0027] For this reason, the processing of the adjacent surfaces of the original dimensions of the artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step becomes easy.

[0028] Note that since the bonding auxiliary material is removed (scraped off) together with the finishing margin including the bonding part of the artificial tooth intermediate body in the subsequent denture forming process, the material of the bonding auxiliary material is not particularly limited. The bonding auxiliary material can be formed, for example, by utilizing the empty space of the artificial tooth material used in the artificial tooth intermediate body forming process or by utilizing the empty space of the denture base material used in the denture base intermediate body forming process.

[0029] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to the third invention of the present application, in the method for manufacturing a denture according to the first invention of the present application, the bonding part is configured to directly bond to the bonding parts of adjacent artificial tooth intermediates based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, and the artificial tooth intermediate connecting step is configured to connect at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by mutually bonding the corresponding bonding parts.

[0030] Thus, in this invention, the bonding part of the artificial tooth intermediate is configured to directly bond to the bonding parts of adjacent artificial tooth intermediates.

[0031] Therefore, a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates can be directly connected without using another member. For this reason, an improvement in accuracy when connecting a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates and a shortening of the manufacturing time can be expected by omitting the forming process of another member.

[0032] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to the fourth invention of the present application, in the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to third inventions of the present application, the tip part of any artificial tooth constituting the denture is configured to be formed of a highly transparent material.

[0033] For example, in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, when forming an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to an arbitrary artificial tooth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance, and after the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the denture formation step, the removed tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is added by applying or the like a highly transparent material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0034] Alternatively, for example, in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to an arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a normal shape, and after the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is excised, and the excised tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is replaced with a highly transparent material by applying or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture and re-formed.

[0035] Furthermore, for example, prior to the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, a transparent material replacement step is executed in which a portion corresponding to the tip portion of an arbitrary artificial tooth in an artificial tooth material without a transparent layer is replaced in advance with a highly transparent material, and thereafter, the steps after the artificial tooth intermediate formation step are executed as usual.

[0036] In any of the above three methods, in the subsequent denture formation step, by cutting a denture intermediate including an artificial tooth intermediate whose tip portion is formed (or re-formed) of a highly transparent material according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, a denture in which the tip portion of an arbitrary artificial tooth is formed of a highly transparent material can be formed.

[0037] Thereby, a denture with a natural appearance similar to that of natural teeth can be realized.

[0038] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the fifth invention of the present application is the method for manufacturing a denture according to the fourth invention of the present application, wherein the artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate having a transparent layer in which at least one layer is made of a highly transparent material, and when forming an artificial tooth intermediate from the artificial tooth material, the cutting position of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material is set so that the tip portion of the artificial tooth corresponding to any individually formed artificial tooth intermediate is composed of the transparent layer.

[0039] Thus, in this invention, the artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate having a transparent layer, and the cutting position of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material is set so that the tip portion of the artificial tooth corresponding to any individually formed artificial tooth intermediate is composed of the transparent layer.

[0040] Since the positions and angles in the height direction of the tip portions of each artificial tooth in the dental arch (i.e., the incisal edge, cusp tip in the anterior tooth region, or occlusal surface in the molar region) are not necessarily the same, by individually adjusting the cutting positions (i.e., the cutting positions in the height direction and / or the cutting angles) of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material, it is possible to make only the tip portions of any individually formed artificial teeth transparent.

[0041] Thereby, a natural appearance similar to that of natural teeth can be realized.

[0042] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the sixth invention of the present application is the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to fifth inventions of the present application, wherein the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth constituting the denture and the denture base is configured to be lighter in color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0043] Here, the external boundary portion between the artificial tooth and the denture base refers to the boundary portion between the artificial tooth and the denture base that can be observed from the outside when the denture is worn by the patient. For example, the portion corresponding to the vicinity of the free gingiva of the denture base (referred to as the "external boundary portion of the denture base"), the portion corresponding to the vicinity of the cervical part of the artificial tooth (referred to as the "external boundary portion of the artificial tooth"), and all or part of the joint portion between the artificial tooth and the denture base correspond to this.

[0044] In the case of natural teeth, the boundary portion between the tooth and the gingiva appears, in terms of appearance, to be a lighter color (e.g., a gingival color with a white tint or a transparent tint) than the color of the attached gingiva (the part of the gingiva attached to the tooth and the alveolar bone). This is presumably due to the fact that there are few capillaries in the vicinity of the free gingiva (the part of the gingiva that surrounds the cervical part of the tooth in a band shape) and the tooth root can be seen through the thin free gingiva, or due to the presence of saliva accumulated in the gingival sulcus (the gap between the cervical part and the free gingiva).

[0045] However, in the case of dentures, since the entire denture base is usually formed of the same denture base material, both the portion corresponding to the free gingiva and the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva are composed of a single gingival color. Therefore, compared with the case of natural teeth, there is a sense of discomfort, which can be a problem from the perspective of aesthetics.

[0046] Therefore, by forming the external boundary portion between the artificial tooth and the denture base with a material that is, for example, a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base or a highly transparent material, a denture that is closer to natural teeth and has excellent aesthetics can be realized.

[0047] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the seventh invention of the present application is characterized in that, in the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to sixth inventions of the present application, the individually formed artificial tooth intermediate corresponds to the artificial tooth constituting the anterior tooth part.

[0048] In the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, by configuring to individually form artificial tooth intermediates corresponding to the artificial teeth (i.e., central incisors, lateral incisors, and canines) that constitute the anterior tooth part, the appearance of the most prominent anterior tooth part can be made closer to that of natural teeth. Thereby, the aesthetics of the entire denture can be enhanced.

[0049] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the eighth invention of the present application is characterized in that, in the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to seventh inventions of the present application, the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates correspond to the artificial teeth that constitute the molar part.

[0050] In the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, by configuring to individually form artificial tooth intermediates corresponding to the artificial teeth (i.e., premolars and molars) that constitute the molar part, the appearance of the molar part can be made closer to that of natural teeth. Thereby, the aesthetics of the entire denture can be further enhanced.

[0051] Furthermore, even when there is a curvature or inclination on the occlusal surface, by individually adjusting the cutting position and cutting angle in the height direction of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material, it becomes possible to make only the tip portion (i.e., the occlusal surface) of each individually formed artificial tooth transparent, and the appearance of the molar part can be made closer to that of natural teeth. Thereby, the aesthetics of the entire denture can be further enhanced.

[0052] The method for manufacturing a denture according to the ninth invention of the present application is characterized in that, in the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to eighth inventions of the present application, the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is obtained based on the adjusted denture.

[0053] In this way, by configuring to manufacture a denture using the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the first to seventh inventions of the present application based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture obtained based on the adjusted denture, the adjusted meshing situation, for example, the correct meshing situation at the corrected correct jaw position in the case of an adjusted therapeutic denture, can be accurately reproduced, and a denture that is close to natural teeth and has excellent aesthetics can be realized.

[0054] The denture according to the 10th invention of the present application is characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the 1st to 9th inventions of the present application.

[0055] Therefore, when manufacturing this denture, it exhibits the same effects as those in the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of the 1st to 9th inventions of the present application.

[0056] The artificial tooth material according to the 11th invention of the present application is characterized by being used in the method for manufacturing a denture according to the 5th invention of the present application.

[0057] Therefore, by using this artificial tooth material, it exhibits the same effects as those in the method for manufacturing a denture according to the 5th invention of the present application.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0058]

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[0059] First, a method for manufacturing a denture according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0060] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a method for manufacturing a denture according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, each step (step S1 to step S6) shown in the flowchart is assumed to be executed by a dental technician or the like.

[0061] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a denture manufacturing apparatus 1 used in the above-described denture manufacturing method. The denture manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a computer 11 and a milling machine 12. The denture manufacturing apparatus 1 can be configured as an integrated device or can be configured to be distributed among a plurality of devices.

[0062] The computer 11 includes, for example, an input device 13 such as a keyboard and a touch panel, a display device 14 such as an LCD (liquid crystal display), an arithmetic device 15 such as a CPU (central processing unit), and a storage device 16 such as a main memory and an auxiliary storage device.

[0063] The computer 11 is equipped with, for example, a CAD / CAM system (software). The CAD / CAM system is not particularly limited, but for example, one specialized for dental prosthetics is preferred.

[0064] An operator such as a dental technician can input instructions from the input device 13 while looking at the display device 14, thereby performing desired processing on the three-dimensional shape data, generating NC (numerical control) data for cutting and transmitting it to the milling machine 12.

[0065] The milling machine 12 is provided with, for example, a milling bar (cutting tool) 17 for multi-axis control (for example, 5-axis control), and is configured to perform three-dimensional cutting on the workpiece 10 according to the NC data received from the computer 11. The milling machine 12 is also preferably specialized for dental prosthetics, although it is not particularly limited.

[0066] Note that each step shown in FIG. 1 does not necessarily need to be executed in this order. For example, step S2 can be configured to be executed after step S3 or step S4. Also, depending on the configuration of the denture manufacturing apparatus 1, etc., a plurality of steps can be configured to be executed simultaneously.

[0067] It is assumed that the three-dimensional shape data of the denture used in this embodiment is obtained based on the adjusted therapeutic denture. The method of obtaining the three-dimensional shape data based on the adjusted therapeutic denture is not particularly limited, but can be obtained, for example, by directly or indirectly measuring the three-dimensional shape of the adjusted therapeutic denture using a 3D (three-dimensional) scanner (not shown).

[0068] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a virtual three-dimensional model of a denture obtained by digitizing the shape of the upper jaw of an adjusted therapeutic denture (complete denture). This virtual three-dimensional model of the denture is stored in the storage device 16 of the computer 11 as the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture.

[0069] FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing an example of a denture base blank 18 as a workpiece 10 for a denture base material. The denture base blank 18 is a dental prosthetic denture base material used as a material for cutting out a denture base by cutting, particularly using a milling machine. The material of the denture base blank 18 is not particularly limited, but if it is made of a synthetic resin, for example, a pinkish PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate) one can be used. Its shape is not particularly limited either, but for example, a substantially disc-shaped one with a certain thickness can be used.

[0070] FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing an example of an artificial tooth blank 19 as a workpiece 10 for an artificial tooth material. The artificial tooth blank 19 is a dental prosthetic artificial tooth material used as a material for cutting out an artificial tooth by cutting, particularly using a milling machine. The material of the artificial tooth blank 19 is not particularly limited, and for example, those made of synthetic resin or ceramics can be used. If it is made of synthetic resin, for example, a PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate) one can be used. In this example, a PMMA one is used. Its shape is not particularly limited either, but for example, a substantially disc-shaped one with a certain thickness can be used. Details of the artificial tooth blank 19 will be described later.

[0071] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the denture base intermediate 2 formed in step S2 shown in FIG. 1.

[0072] FIG. 6A is an end view of a cut portion (portion corresponding to the molar region) along line VIA-VIA shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6B is an end view of a cut portion (portion corresponding to the incisor region) along line VIB-VIB shown in FIG. 5.

[0073] FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of an artificial tooth intermediate 4 corresponding to an artificial tooth constituting the molar region formed in step S3 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of an artificial tooth intermediate 3 corresponding to an artificial tooth constituting the incisor region formed in step S3.

[0074] FIG. 8A is an end view of a cut portion along line VIIIA-VIIIA shown in FIG. 7B. FIG. 8B is a view taken in the direction of the arrow as seen from VIIIB shown in FIG. 7B.

[0075] FIG. 9A is a bottom view of the bonding auxiliary material 5 formed in the bonding auxiliary material forming step that constitutes step S4 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9B is a conceptual diagram assuming that the bonding auxiliary material 5 is developed on a plane.

[0076] FIG. 10A is a bottom view of the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 6 formed in step S4. The artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 6 is formed by connecting a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies 3 to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. FIG. 10B is an end view of a cut portion along line XB-XB shown in FIG. 10A.

[0077] FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the denture intermediate body 7 formed in step S5 shown in FIG. 1.

[0078] FIG. 12A is an end view of a cut portion (a portion corresponding to the molar part) along line XIIA-XIIA shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 12B is an end view of a cut portion (a portion corresponding to the front tooth part) along line XIIB-XIIB shown in FIG. 11.

[0079] FIG. 13A is a bottom view of the denture 8 formed in step S6 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 13B is a partial front view of the denture 8.

[0080] Returning to FIG. 1, first, a three-dimensional shape data processing step (step S1 in FIG. 1) is executed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture (see FIG. 3) stored in the storage device 16 of the computer 11. In the three-dimensional shape data processing step, various three-dimensional shape data used in each subsequent step are constructed and stored in the computer 11 using, for example, CAD techniques, based on the given three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture.

[0081] That is, in this step S1, three-dimensional shape data of the denture base intermediate 2 (see FIGS. 5 to 6B) used in the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2), three-dimensional shape data of the individually formed artificial tooth intermediate 3 (see FIGS. 7B to 8B) used in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3), three-dimensional shape data of the collectively formed artificial tooth intermediate 4 (see FIG. 7A), three-dimensional shape data of the bonding auxiliary material 5 (see FIGS. 9A to 9B) used in the artificial tooth intermediate connection step (step S4), etc. are constructed and stored.

[0082] In step S1, for example, first, using CAD software, a dividing surface for dividing the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture shown in FIG. 3 into a denture base part and an artificial tooth part is set, and the division is made along this dividing surface.

[0083] Among the divided denture base parts, the dividing surface is left as it is, and the other parts are processed so as to have dimensions with an additional finishing allowance based on the original dimensions in principle. This dividing surface becomes the connecting portion 21 with the artificial tooth. In this way, the three-dimensional shape data of the denture base intermediate 2 shown in FIGS. 5 to 6B can be constructed.

[0084] In FIGS. 5 to 6B, among the denture base intermediate 2, the original shape surface 22 showing the original shape (the same shape as the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture) is represented by a dashed line, and the primary cutting surface 23 (including the connecting portion 21) showing the contour during the cutting process in step S2 is represented by a solid line. The portion sandwiched between the original shape surface 22 and the primary cutting surface 23 becomes the finishing allowance 24.

[0085] The dimension of the finishing allowance 24 of the denture base intermediate 2 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably a dimension that can absorb machining errors in subsequent processes, such as bonding errors when joining the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 and the denture base intermediate 4 in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S5). In this example, the finishing allowance 24 of the denture base intermediate 2 is set to about 20 percent of the average thickness of the denture base.

[0086] On one hand, for the divided artificial tooth part, the divided surface is left as it is, and the other parts are processed so that, in principle, they have dimensions with a finishing allowance added to the original dimensions. This divided surface becomes the connection parts 31 and 41 with the denture base. In this way, the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 shown in FIGS. 7A to 8B can be constructed.

[0087] In FIG. 7A, among the artificial tooth intermediates 4 corresponding to the artificial teeth constituting the molar part, the original shape surface 42 showing the original shape (the same shape as the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture) is represented by a dashed line, and the primary cutting surface 43 (including the connection part 41) showing the contour during the cutting process in step S3 is represented by a solid line. The portion sandwiched between the original shape surface 42 and the primary cutting surface 43 becomes the finishing allowance 44.

[0088] In FIGS. 7B to 8B, among the artificial tooth intermediates 3 constituting the front tooth part, the original shape surface 32 showing the original shape (the same shape as the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture) is represented by a dashed line, and the primary cutting surface 33 (including the connection part 31 and the adjacent surface 35 described later) showing the contour during the cutting process in step S3 is represented by a solid line. The portion sandwiched between the original shape surface 32 and the primary cutting surface 33 becomes the finishing allowance 34.

[0089] The dimensions of the finishing allowances 34 and 44 of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 are not particularly limited, but it is preferable that they are dimensions that can absorb processing errors in subsequent processes, such as the joining error when joining the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 and the denture base intermediate 2 in the denture intermediate forming process (step S5). In this example, the finishing allowances 34 and 44 of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 are set to about 20 percent of the average thickness of the artificial tooth.

[0090] As shown in FIGS. 6A to 7B, the connection part 21 of the denture base intermediate 2 is formed in a concave shape so that it can stably receive and hold the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 when joining with them, and the connection parts 31 and 41 of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 are formed in a shape (convex shape) that is substantially the reverse of the connection part 21 of the denture base intermediate 2 so that they can be stably received and held by the denture base intermediate 2.

[0091] In this embodiment, six artificial tooth intermediates 3 corresponding to the artificial teeth (i.e., central incisors, lateral incisors, and canines) constituting the anterior tooth part are formed individually one by one, and eight artificial tooth intermediates 4 corresponding to the artificial teeth (i.e., premolars and molars) constituting the molar part are configured to be formed by grouping four on each of the left and right sides into one block respectively.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 5, among the connection parts 21 of the denture base intermediate 2, the parts corresponding to the six artificial tooth intermediates 3 are formed individually one by one, and the parts corresponding to the eight artificial tooth intermediates 4 are configured to be formed by grouping four on each of the left and right sides into one group respectively.

[0093] For the artificial tooth intermediate 3 formed individually one by one, in addition to the connection part 31 with the above-mentioned denture base, the adjacent surface 35 (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) in contact with the adjacent tooth is also kept at the original size. Further, a part of the above-mentioned finishing margin 34 is configured to be formed as a coupling part 36.

[0094] For the artificial tooth intermediate 4 formed in a group, in addition to the connection part 41 with the above-mentioned denture base, the released adjacent surface 45 (i.e., in this example, the mesial surface of the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the first premolar. See FIG. 11) is also kept at the original size.

[0095] Three-dimensional shape data of the coupling auxiliary material 5 (see FIGS. 9A to 9B) for indirectly coupling the coupling parts 36 of the six individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 3 to each other is formed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture.

[0096] The position of the coupling auxiliary material 5 with respect to the dental arch is not particularly limited. For example, it can be configured to be arranged along the inner surface of the dental arch (in this example, the palatal surface). The shape of the coupling auxiliary material 5 is not particularly limited either. In this example, it is configured to be in a substantially arc-shaped band when assumed to be developed on a plane.

[0097] The coupling auxiliary member 5 is provided with six coupling auxiliary portions 56 for respectively coupling to the coupling portions 36 of the six artificial tooth intermediates 3. By coupling the corresponding coupling portions 36 to the respective coupling auxiliary portions 56 of the coupling auxiliary member 5, the six individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 3 are configured to be interconnected according to the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture.

[0098] The shapes of the coupling auxiliary portion 56 and the coupling portion 36 are determined so that they do not rotate relative to each other when the corresponding coupling portion 36 is coupled to the coupling auxiliary portion 56. In this example, the coupling auxiliary portion 56 is formed in a substantially elliptical hole shape, and the coupling portion 36 is formed in a substantially elliptical columnar shape that fits therein without a gap. In this way, the three-dimensional shape data of the coupling auxiliary member 5 shown in FIGS. 9A to 9B can be constructed.

[0099] In FIGS. 9A to 9B, the primary cutting surface 53 (including the coupling auxiliary portion 56) showing the contour during the cutting process in step S4 is represented by a solid line.

[0100] Returning to FIG. 1, following step S1, a denture base intermediate forming step (step S2) is executed.

[0101] In the denture base intermediate forming step, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture base intermediate 2 constructed in step S1, the NC data is generated in the computer 11 using, for example, a CAM technique and transmitted to the milling machine 12.

[0102] The milling machine 12 is equipped with a denture base blank 18 as the workpiece 10. In the milling machine 12, by cutting the denture base blank 18 according to the received NC data, a denture base intermediate 2 having the primary cutting surface 23 as the contour surface is formed as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6B.

[0103] Note that the denture base intermediate 2 formed in this way is not separated from the denture base blank 18 at this point.

[0104] Subsequent to step S2, an artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3) is executed.

[0105] In the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 constructed in step S1, the NC data thereof is generated in the computer 11, for example, using a CAM method, and is transmitted to the milling machine 12.

[0106] The milling machine 12 is equipped with a blank 19 for artificial teeth as the workpiece 10. In the milling machine 12, by cutting the blank 19 for artificial teeth according to the received NC data, artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 having primary cutting surfaces 33 and 43 as contour surfaces respectively, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 8B, are formed.

[0107] After the above cutting process, the artificial tooth intermediates 3 are separated one by one from the blank 19 for artificial teeth, and the artificial tooth intermediates 4 are separated in groups of four each from the left and right sides, all from the blank 19 for artificial teeth.

[0108] It should be noted that the adjacent surfaces 35 of the artificial tooth intermediate 3 shown in FIGS. 8A to 8B and the released adjacent surfaces 45 of the artificial tooth intermediate 4 shown in FIG. 11 are preferably polished after cutting in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step. This is because it becomes difficult to polish in the denture formation step (step S6). Part or all of this polishing operation may be automated by some method or may be performed manually by a person.

[0109] Subsequent to step S3, an artificial tooth intermediate connection step (step S4) is executed.

[0110] In this embodiment, in the artificial tooth intermediate connection step, first, a bonding auxiliary material formation step is executed.

[0111] In the bonding auxiliary material formation step, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the bonding auxiliary material 5 constructed in step S1, the NC data thereof is generated in the computer 11, for example, using a CAM method, and is transmitted to the milling machine 12.

[0112] The workpiece 10 is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, according to the received NC data, by machining the workpiece 10, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9B, the bonding auxiliary material 5 having the primary cutting surface 53 as the contour surface is formed.

[0113] The workpiece 10 used in the bonding auxiliary material forming step is not particularly limited. For example, the blank 19 for artificial teeth can be used as the workpiece 10. With this configuration, in the same step as the artificial tooth intermediate body forming step (step S3), the bonding auxiliary material forming step can be executed using the same blank 19 for artificial teeth, so that the costs and time for manufacturing the denture can be reduced.

[0114] Of course, the blank 18 for the denture base can also be used as the workpiece 10 used in the bonding auxiliary material forming step. In this case, in the same step as the denture base intermediate body forming step (step S2), the bonding auxiliary material forming step can be executed using the same blank 18 for the denture base, so that the costs and time for manufacturing the denture can also be reduced.

[0115] After the cutting process in the above bonding auxiliary material forming step, the bonding auxiliary material 5 is separated from the workpiece 10 (for example, the blank 19 for artificial teeth or the blank 18 for the denture base).

[0116] During each of the cutting processes in the above steps S2 to S4, for the connection part 21 of the denture base intermediate body 2, the connection part 31 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 3, the adjacent surface 35, the connection part 41 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 4, the released adjacent surface 45, the coupling part 36 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 3, and the coupling auxiliary part 56 of the coupling auxiliary material 5 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the connection part 21 etc."), without distinguishing from the primary cutting surfaces 23, 33, 43, 53 other than the connection part 21 etc. in each member (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the other primary cutting surfaces 23 etc."), it may be configured to perform cutting under the same cutting conditions. However, for all or part of the connection part 21 etc., for example, it can also be configured to perform cutting under cutting conditions different from those of the other primary cutting surfaces 23 etc. so that the surface undulation and roughness are smaller than those of the other primary cutting surfaces 23 etc.

[0117] Next, in the artificial tooth intermediate body connection step (step S4), subsequently, an artificial tooth intermediate body connector 6 shown in FIGS. 10A to 10B is formed. The artificial tooth intermediate body connector 6 is formed by fitting and fixing the coupling parts 36 of the corresponding six artificial tooth intermediate bodies 3 to the respective coupling auxiliary parts 56 of the coupling auxiliary material 5 formed in the above coupling auxiliary material forming step. The method of fixing the coupling part 36 to the coupling auxiliary part 56 is not particularly limited. For example, the fitting between the coupling auxiliary part 56 and the coupling part 36 can be made tight, an adhesive can be used, or these can be used in combination.

[0118] Part or all of the process of fitting and fixing the coupling part 36 to the coupling auxiliary part 56 may be automated by some method or may be performed manually by a person.

[0119] Subsequent to step S4, a denture intermediate body forming step (step S5) is executed.

[0120] In the denture intermediate formation process, a denture intermediate 7 shown in FIGS. 11 to 12B is formed. The denture intermediate 7 is composed of a denture intermediate connector 6 that connects a total of six artificial tooth intermediates 3 formed in step S4 to each other, and two blocks of a total of eight artificial tooth intermediates 4 formed in step S3, four on each of the left and right sides, which are joined to a denture base intermediate 2 that has not been separated from a denture base blank 18.

[0121] The method of joining is not particularly limited. For example, it can be configured to join the joint portions 31 and 41 of the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 and the joint portion 21 of the denture base intermediate 2 using an adhesive.

[0122] Note that the denture intermediate 7 formed in this way is not separated from the denture base blank 18 at this point.

[0123] Part or all of the denture intermediate formation process may be automated in some way or may be performed manually by a person.

[0124] Subsequent to step S5, a denture formation process (step S6) is executed.

[0125] In the denture formation process, based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture (see FIG. 3) stored in the storage device 16 of the computer 11, the NC data is generated in the computer 11 using, for example, a CAM technique and transmitted to the milling machine 12.

[0126] A denture base blank 18 provided with the denture intermediate 7 formed in step S5 is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, by performing a cutting process on the denture base blank 18 according to the received NC data, a denture 8 having the respective original surfaces 22, 32, and 42 of the denture intermediate 7 shown in FIGS. 11 to 12B as contour surfaces is formed as shown in FIGS. 13A to 13B.

[0127] After the above-mentioned cutting process, the denture 8 is separated from the denture base blank 18 and polished. Then, intraoral fitting, adjustment, etc. are performed as necessary, and the denture 8 is completed.

[0128] Thus, in this embodiment, for the six artificial teeth constituting the front tooth part, instead of forming them together as a group of six, they are formed individually one by one, and then configured to be connected to each other. When forming each one, based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, the adjacent surface 35 is configured to be finished to the original size.

[0129] That is, by bringing the adjacent surfaces 35 finished to the original size one by one into contact with each other, as shown in FIG. 13B, the contact points between adjacent teeth and the situation of the drum-shaped gaps can be accurately reproduced. As a result, it becomes possible to realize a natural and aesthetically excellent denture 8.

[0130] Now, in this embodiment, the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 is configured to be formed of a highly transparent material. The method of forming the tip portion of the artificial tooth with a highly transparent material is not particularly limited, but for example, it can be realized by using the artificial tooth blank 19 shown in FIG. 4B.

[0131] The artificial tooth blank 19 is configured as a laminate including a transparent layer 191 and a tooth-colored layer 192 formed in contact with the transparent layer 191. The transparent layer 191 is made of a highly transparent material, and the tooth-colored layer 192 is made of a material representing the color of teeth. The tooth-colored layer 192 may be of a single color, but it is preferably configured such that the color gradually becomes darker from the incisal edge portion to the cervical portion of the artificial tooth to be manufactured, that is, in the direction away from the transparent layer 191 from the portion in contact with the transparent layer 191.

[0132] The position of the transparent layer 191 in the artificial tooth blank 19 is not particularly limited. For example, it is preferably disposed in the uppermost layer. The thickness of the transparent layer 191 is not particularly limited, provided that it can ensure the height of the tip portion of the artificial tooth and the height necessary to absorb the machining error when forming the tip portion.

[0133] The thickness of the transparent layer 191 is preferably 1 mm or more and less than 8 mm, more preferably 1 mm or more and less than 4 mm, still more preferably 1 mm or more and less than 2 mm, and particularly preferably 1 mm or more and less than 1.8 mm.

[0134] If the transparent layer 191 is less than 1 mm, it may be difficult to absorb the height of the tip portion of the artificial tooth and the machining error when forming the tip portion. If it is 8 mm or more, there may be more unnecessary portions that are not used in the artificial tooth blank 19 than necessary.

[0135] The transparent layer 191 only needs to be transparent enough to be visually judged as transparent, and its transparency is not particularly limited. However, when the transparency of the transparent layer 191 is expressed by ΔL* in the L*a*b* color system, for example, ΔL*>13 is preferable.

[0136] If ΔL*>13, it can be judged as transparent visually, so it is expected that the formed artificial tooth can give an impression closer to that of natural teeth. More preferably, ΔL*>25, still more preferably ΔL*≧26, and particularly preferably ΔL*≧28.

[0137] Note that the transparency ΔL* of the transparent layer 191 can be calculated by the following formula (1) based on the L*, a*, and b* values obtained by measuring the chromaticity of the white background and the black background using a color difference meter (for example, a spectrocolorimeter).

[0138] ΔL*=Lw*-Lb*·····(1)

[0139] In formula (1), Lw* represents the chromaticity value of the transparent layer 191 on a white background, and Lb* represents the chromaticity value of the transparent layer 191 on a black background. Note that a standard white plate can be used as the white background, and a standard black plate can be used as the black background, respectively.

[0140] Also, the difference in transparency between the transparent layer 191 and the adjacent tooth-colored layer 192 is not particularly limited. However, when the transparency difference between the transparent layer 191 and the tooth-colored layer 192 is expressed by ΔΔL* in the L*a*b* color system, there is no particular problem if ΔΔL*> about 1.

[0141] However, if the difference in transparency between the transparent layer 191 and the adjacent tooth-colored layer 192 can be visually perceived, and it is considered that the formed artificial tooth can be expected to give an impression closer to that of natural teeth, preferably ΔΔL*>5, more preferably ΔΔL*≧10, still more preferably ΔΔL*>15, and particularly preferably ΔΔL*≧20.

[0142] Note that the transparency difference ΔΔL* between the transparent layer 191 and the tooth-colored layer 192 can be measured using a color difference meter (for example, a spectrophotometer), and calculated by the following formula (2) based on the values of L*, a*, and b*.

[0143] ΔΔL*=(Lw*1 - Lb*1)-(Lw*2 - Lb*2)·····(2)

[0144] In formula (2), Lw*1 represents the chromaticity value of the transparent layer 191 on a white background, and Lw*2 represents the chromaticity value of the tooth-colored layer 192 on a white background. Also, Lb*1 represents the chromaticity value of the transparent layer 191 on a black background, and Lb*2 represents the chromaticity value of the tooth-colored layer 192 on a black background. Note that a standard white plate can be used as the white background, and a standard black plate can be used as the black background, respectively.

[0145] FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate part of the artificial tooth blank 19, and is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth 91 constituting the front tooth portion with a highly transparent material using the artificial tooth blank 19. FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate part of the artificial tooth blank 19, and is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth 93 constituting the molar portion with a highly transparent material using the artificial tooth blank 19.

[0146] As shown in FIG. 14A, in the above-described artificial tooth intermediate forming step (step S3), when cutting out an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the artificial tooth 91 (for example, central incisor and / or lateral incisor) from the artificial tooth blank 19, the cutting position of the artificial tooth intermediate is set so that the tip portion of the artificial tooth 91 is constituted by the transparent layer 191.

[0147] When cutting out an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the artificial tooth 92 (for example, canine tooth) whose tip portion is not desired to be formed of a highly transparent material, the cutting position of the artificial tooth intermediate may be set so that the entire artificial tooth 92 is accommodated within the tooth-colored layer 192.

[0148] In FIG. 14A, for convenience of explanation, the artificial tooth intermediate is not shown, and the artificial tooth corresponding to the artificial tooth intermediate is shown. The same applies to FIGS. 14B to 16C.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 14B, in step S3, when it is desired to cut out an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the artificial tooth 93 (for example, molar) from the artificial tooth blank 19, the cutting position may be set with the artificial tooth intermediate tilted so that the curved or inclined tip portion of the artificial tooth 93 is constituted by the transparent layer 191.

[0150] This artificial tooth blank 19 can also be understood as follows. That is, the artificial tooth blank 19 is an artificial tooth material used as a material for cutting out artificial teeth by cutting, and includes a transparent layer 191 and a tooth-colored layer 192. The transparent layer 191 is composed of a material with high transparency and is used to form the tip portion of the artificial tooth. The tooth-colored layer 192 is provided in contact with the transparent layer 191, is composed of a material representing the color of the tooth, and is used to form portions other than the tip portion of the artificial tooth. The transparency ΔL* of the transparent layer 191 is configured to exceed 25. The transparency difference ΔΔL* between the transparent layer 191 and the adjacent tooth-colored layer 192 is configured to exceed 5.

[0151] FIGS. 15A and 15B are drawings for explaining another method of forming the tip portion of an arbitrary artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 with a material having high transparency. This method can also be carried out when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer.

[0152] In this method, first, as shown in FIG. 15A, before the execution of the denture forming step (step S6), for example, when forming an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to an arbitrary artificial tooth 94 in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step (step S3), based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion 941 of the arbitrary artificial tooth 94 is formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance.

[0153] Next, after the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate forming step (step S3) and before the execution of the denture forming step (step S6), the removed tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is formed by adding a material with high transparency by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0154] In the subsequent denture forming step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate with the tip portion formed of a material with high transparency according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, as shown in FIG. 15B, a denture can be formed in which the tip portion of an arbitrary artificial tooth 94 is formed of a material 942 with high transparency.

[0155] FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 16C are drawings for explaining still another method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 with a highly transparent material. This method can also be carried out even when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer.

[0156] In this method, for example, as shown in FIG. 16A, first, in the artificial tooth intermediate body forming step (step S3), an artificial tooth intermediate body corresponding to any artificial tooth 95 is formed in the normal manner.

[0157] Next, after the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate body forming step (step S3), as shown in FIG. 16B, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate body including the tip portion 951 of the artificial tooth 95 is cut off.

[0158] Next, the cut-off tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate body is replaced with a highly transparent material by coating or the like and re-formed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0159] In the subsequent denture forming step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate body including the artificial tooth intermediate body whose tip portion has been re-formed with a highly transparent material according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, as shown in FIG. 16C, a denture in which the tip portion of any artificial tooth 95 is formed with a highly transparent material 952 can be formed.

[0160] The method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 with a highly transparent material is not limited to the methods shown in FIGS. 15A, 15B, FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 16C.

[0161] For example, after the execution of the denture forming step (step S6), the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the formed denture 8 can be cut off, and then the cut-off tip portion of the artificial tooth can be replaced with a highly transparent material by coating or the like and re-formed.

[0162] Furthermore, there is another method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 with a highly transparent material, which can be carried out even when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer. An example of this method will be described with reference to FIGS. 18A, 18B, 19A, and 19B.

[0163] This method includes a transparent material replacement step of replacing, in advance, a portion corresponding to the tip portion of any artificial tooth among the artificial tooth materials without a transparent layer with a highly transparent material prior to the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3).

[0164] The transparent material replacement step includes a recess formation step of forming a filling recess, which is a recess for filling a highly transparent material, in the artificial tooth material, and a transparent material filling step of filling the formed filling recess with a highly transparent material.

[0165] In this method, as shown in FIG. 18A, an artificial tooth blank 119 is used as the artificial tooth material as the workpiece 10 instead of the above-described artificial tooth blank 19 (see FIG. 4B). The artificial tooth blank 119 is an artificial tooth material composed of a tooth-colored material and includes a tooth-colored layer 1192 corresponding to the above-described tooth-colored layer 192. The artificial tooth blank 119 has substantially the same configuration as the artificial tooth blank 19 except that it does not have the above-described transparent layer 191.

[0166] First, in the recess formation step, as shown in FIG. 18B, a filling recess 194 is formed in an appropriate portion of the artificial tooth blank 119, for example, the upper surface 193. As shown in FIG. 19A, the filling recess 194 is formed in a portion corresponding to the tip portion 961 of the arbitrary artificial tooth 96 based on the three-dimensional shape data (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) of the arbitrary artificial tooth 96 constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture. In this example, the filling recess 194 is formed such that a part (bottom) thereof includes the tip portion 961 of the artificial tooth 96.

[0167] The details of the recess forming process are not particularly limited, but for example, it is carried out in the following procedure. That is, in the three-dimensional shape data processing step (step S1), the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth 96 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, and the data regarding the position and shape of the filling recess 194 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth 96. A blank 119 for artificial teeth is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, the blank 119 for artificial teeth is subjected to cutting by following the received NC data, thereby forming the filling recess 194.

[0168] Note that it is preferable that the blank 119 for artificial teeth mounted on the milling machine 12 during the execution of the recess forming process is not detached until the subsequent artificial tooth intermediate body forming process (step S3) is completed. This is to prevent displacement in the two cutting processes.

[0169] After the recess forming process, in the transparent material filling process, as shown in FIG. 19A, the filling recess 194 is filled with a highly transparent material 195. Part or all of the transparent material filling process may be automated by some method, or may be performed manually.

[0170] Thereafter, as described above, by normally performing the artificial tooth intermediate body forming process (step S3) to the denture forming process (step S6), as shown in FIG. 19B, a denture can be formed in which the tip portion 961 of an arbitrary artificial tooth 96 is formed of a highly transparent material 195.

[0171] Note that, as shown in FIG. 19B, the artificial tooth 96 is an artificial tooth constituting the molar part, and is an example in the case where it is configured as a non-anatomical artificial tooth or a semi-anatomical artificial tooth (hereinafter referred to as "non-anatomical artificial tooth etc.") while emphasizing functions such as giving flexibility to the occlusion relationship. Since the occlusal surface of the non-anatomical artificial tooth etc. is flat or nearly flat, it is greatly different from the occlusal surface of natural teeth with deep grooves, and dissatisfaction in appearance has become a problem.

[0172] In such a case, if the present method including a transparent material replacement step is applied, the tip portion 961 which is the occlusal surface of a non-anatomical artificial tooth or the like is formed of a highly transparent material 195, and a shape imitating the occlusal surface of a natural tooth formed of a tooth-colored material can be made visible through the tip portion 961 which is the transparent occlusal surface. By configuring in this way, while maintaining the function of a non-anatomical artificial tooth or the like, the appearance of a natural tooth can be presented, so that an artificial tooth satisfying both functionality and aesthetics can be realized.

[0173] Thus, even when the shape of the surface 962 of the tip portion 961 of any artificial tooth to be formed of the highly transparent material 195 (for example, the shape of the occlusal surface of the above non-anatomical artificial tooth or the like) is different from the shape of the back surface 963 (the surface in contact with the tooth-colored material) (for example, the shape imitating the occlusal surface of the above natural tooth), the present method can be easily realized by applying it.

[0174] In FIGS. 18A to 19B, the manufacturing method of a denture including a transparent material replacement step was described by taking an example of a single artificial tooth (artificial tooth intermediate) constituting a molar part, but the manufacturing method of a denture including a transparent material replacement step is not limited to this, and it can be applied regardless of whether it is a molar part or an incisor part, and also regardless of the number of artificial teeth. Of course, it can be applied to any of individually formed artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) and a plurality of artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) formed as a block of two or more.

[0175] In addition, in the various methods of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth with a highly transparent material (various methods that can also be executed when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer) described above, the highly transparent material constituting the tip portion of any artificial tooth is not particularly limited, but for example, it can be the same as that in the artificial tooth 91 or artificial tooth 93 (see FIG. 14A or FIG. 14B) formed using the artificial tooth blank 19 including the transparent layer 191 and the tooth-colored layer 192.

[0176] Next, a method for manufacturing a denture according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17A to 17C.

[0177] FIG. 17A is an end view of a cut portion of an appropriate portion of an artificial tooth intermediate 103 formed in the method for manufacturing a denture according to the other embodiment, and is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 8A. FIG. 17B is a view taken in the direction of the arrow seen from XVIIB shown in FIG. 17A, and is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 8B. FIG. 17C is an end view of a cut portion of an appropriate portion showing a part of an artificial tooth intermediate connecting body 106 formed by connecting a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates 103.

[0178] In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7B to 10B, in order to connect a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 3 to each other, a coupling portion 36 provided on the artificial tooth intermediate 3 is, for example, a convex (in this example, a substantially elliptical columnar) protrusion, and a coupling auxiliary material 5 having a plurality of coupling auxiliary portions 56 for coupling to the plurality of coupling portions 36 respectively is formed. Each coupling auxiliary portion 56 of the coupling auxiliary material 5 is configured to couple the corresponding coupling portion 36 respectively. That is, a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 3 are configured to be indirectly connected via the coupling auxiliary material 5 to form an artificial tooth intermediate connecting body 6.

[0179] On the other hand, in this embodiment (the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A to 17C), a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 103 are directly connected without using a separate member such as the above-described coupling auxiliary material 5 to form an artificial tooth intermediate connecting body 106. Therefore, the artificial tooth intermediate connecting step (see step S4) of this embodiment does not include the coupling auxiliary material forming step as performed in the above-described embodiment.

[0180] As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, a part of the finishing allowance 134 in the artificial tooth intermediate 103 is configured to be formed as a first coupling portion 136 and a second coupling portion 137, both of which are coupling portions.

[0181] The positions of the first coupling portion 136 and the second coupling portion 137 in the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 are not particularly limited. For example, they can be configured to be arranged along the inner surface of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 (in this example, the palatal side surface).

[0182] As shown in FIG. 17C, the second coupling portion 137 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is provided with a coupling auxiliary portion 138 for coupling to the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103. By coupling the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 to the coupling auxiliary portion 138 of the second coupling portion 137, two adjacent artificial tooth intermediate bodies 103 formed individually are configured to be interconnected according to the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture.

[0183] In this way, a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies 103 are interconnected according to the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, thereby configuring to form the artificial tooth intermediate body connector 106.

[0184] Among the plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies 103 constituting the artificial tooth intermediate body connector 106, for the two artificial tooth intermediate bodies 103 arranged at both ends, unnecessary ones of the first coupling portion 136 and the second coupling portion 137 can be omitted.

[0185] The shape of the second coupling portion 137 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is not particularly limited. For example, it can be configured in a substantially strip shape so that the coupling auxiliary portion 138 can be formed at the appropriate portion.

[0186] The shapes of the coupling auxiliary portion 138 of the second coupling portion 137 and the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 are determined so that they do not rotate relative to each other when the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is coupled to the coupling auxiliary portion 138 of the second coupling portion 137 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103. In this example, the coupling auxiliary portion 138 of the second coupling portion 137 is formed in a substantially elliptical hole shape, and the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is formed as a convex protrusion that fits into it without a gap, that is, in a substantially elliptical column shape.

[0187] The method of fitting and fixing the first coupling portion 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 to the coupling auxiliary portion 138 of the second coupling portion 137 is not particularly limited. For example, the fitting between the corresponding coupling auxiliary portion 138 and the first coupling portion 136 can be tightened, an adhesive can be used, or both can be used in combination.

[0188] Part or all of the process of fitting and fixing the corresponding first coupling portion 136 to the coupling auxiliary portion 138 may be automated in some way or may be performed manually by a person.

[0189] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to this embodiment, the remaining configurations and variations are the same as those in the method for manufacturing a denture according to the foregoing embodiment, except for those that are not applicable to the method for manufacturing a denture according to this embodiment.

[0190] In each of the above-described embodiments, in the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting step, only a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies are configured to be connected to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by directly or indirectly connecting the coupling portions of the plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0191] When there are artificial tooth intermediate bodies that are not formed individually, coupling portions are also provided in one or two or more blocks of the artificial tooth intermediate bodies formed in two or more together, and the coupling portions of the plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies and the coupling portions of one or two or more blocks of the artificial tooth intermediate bodies formed in two or more together can be configured to be directly or indirectly connected to each other.

[0192] By configuring in this way, not only a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies but also one or two or more blocks of the artificial tooth intermediate bodies formed in two or more together can be connected to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. For this reason, it becomes possible to reproduce more accurately the positional relationship between adjacent teeth given by the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0193] Also, in each of the above-described embodiments, mainly, the case where the artificial teeth corresponding to the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are all the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth part has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0194] The present invention can also be applied to the case where the artificial teeth corresponding to the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are part or all of the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth part and / or the molar part. Of course, when the artificial teeth corresponding to the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are all the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth part and the molar part, there will be no artificial tooth intermediates that are not individually formed.

[0195] Next, a method for manufacturing a denture according to still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 20A to 25B. This embodiment is an example of a case where the outer boundary portion between an arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base constituting the denture is configured to be a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0196] Among these, the method shown in FIGS. 20A to 21B is a method of forming the portion of the outer boundary portion between an arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base that relates to the denture base, that is, the outer boundary portion of the denture base, with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base (hereinafter referred to as "lighter color material").

[0197] FIG. 20A is a perspective view showing a state in which a filling recess 184 is formed in an appropriate portion of a denture base blank 18. FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate portion of the denture base blank 18 shown in FIG. 20A. FIG. 21A is a front view of a denture base 98 in which an outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base is formed of a lighter color material 185. FIG. 21B is an enlarged end face view of a cut portion taken along line XXIB-XXIB shown in FIG. 21A.

[0198] This method includes a denture base boundary material replacement step of replacing, in advance, a portion corresponding to the appearance boundary portion of the denture base in the denture base material with a light-colored material or the like, prior to the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2).

[0199] The denture base boundary material replacement step includes a recess formation step of forming a filling recess, which is a recess for filling a light-colored material or the like, in the denture base material, and a light-colored material filling step of filling the formed filling recess with a light-colored material or the like.

[0200] In this method, as the denture base material of the workpiece 10, a material having the same configuration as the above-described denture base blank 18 (see FIG. 4A) is used. Hereinafter, the denture base blank used in this method is also referred to as the denture base blank 18, and the same reference numerals are given to the same parts for description. The denture base blank 18 includes a gingiva-colored layer 182 formed of a substantially single gingiva-colored material.

[0201] First, in the recess formation step, as shown in FIG. 20A, a filling recess 184 is formed in an appropriate part of the denture base blank 18, for example, the upper surface 183. The filling recess 184 is formed in a portion corresponding to the appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base 98 based on the three-dimensional shape data (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) of the denture base 98 constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture. In this example, the filling recess 184 is formed such that a part (bottom) thereof includes the appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base 98.

[0202] The details of the recess formation step are not particularly limited, but are executed, for example, according to the following procedure. That is, in the three-dimensional shape data processing step (step S1), the three-dimensional shape data of the denture base 98 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, and the data regarding the position and shape of the filling recess 184 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture base 98. The denture base blank 18 is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, the filling recess 184 is formed by subjecting the denture base blank 18 to cutting according to the received NC data.

[0203] Note that the denture base blank 18 attached to the milling machine 12 during the concave portion forming step is preferably not detached until at least the subsequent denture base intermediate body forming step (step S2) is completed. This is to prevent misalignment in the two cutting steps.

[0204] After the concave portion forming step, in the light-colored material filling step, as shown in FIG. 20B, the filling concave portion 184 is filled with the light-colored material 185 or the like. Part or all of the light-colored material filling step may be automated by some method, or may be performed manually.

[0205] Thereafter, as described above, by normally performing the denture base intermediate body forming step (step S2) to the denture forming step (step S6), a denture having a denture base 98 in which the appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base is formed by the light-colored material 185 or the like, as shown in FIGS. 21A to 21B, can be formed.

[0206] In FIGS. 20A to 21B, the case where the denture base boundary portion material replacement step is performed on the appearance boundary portion of the denture base corresponding to all artificial teeth has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to configure such that the manufacturing method of the denture provided with the denture base boundary portion material replacement step is applied only to the appearance boundary portion of the denture base corresponding to some artificial teeth (for example, artificial teeth constituting the front tooth portion).

[0207] Note that the method of configuring the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a light-colored material or the like is not limited to the method provided with the above-described denture base boundary portion material replacement step (see FIGS. 20A to 21B).

[0208] For example, a method similar to the method of forming the tip portion of the above-described artificial tooth 94 with a highly transparent material 942 (see FIGS. 15A to 15B) can be applied to the method of configuring the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a light-colored material or the like.

[0209] For example, in the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2), when forming the denture base intermediate, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, it is formed in a shape with a part of the denture base intermediate including the external boundary part of the denture base removed in advance. After the execution of the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2) and before the execution of the denture formation step (step S6), the removed part of the denture base intermediate is added by applying a material with a lighter color or higher transparency than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. Then, in the subsequent denture formation step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the denture base intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the external boundary part of the denture base can be constituted by a material with a lighter color or the like. Thus, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part between any artificial tooth and the denture base to have a lighter color than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0210] Also, a method similar to the method of forming the tip part of the above artificial tooth 95 with a material 952 having high transparency (see FIGS. 16A to 16C) can be applied to the method of configuring the external boundary part of the denture base with a material having a lighter color or the like.

[0211] For example, in the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2), the denture base intermediate is formed in a normal shape. After the execution of the denture base intermediate formation step (step S2) and before the execution of the denture formation step (step S6), the part of the denture base intermediate including the external boundary part of the denture base is excised, and the excised part of the denture base intermediate is replaced and re-formed with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. Then, in the subsequent denture formation step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the denture base intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the external boundary part of the denture base can be constituted by a material with a lighter color or the like. Thus, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part between any artificial tooth and the denture base to have a lighter color than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0212] Next, the method shown in FIGS. 22A to 23 is a method of forming a portion related to an artificial tooth, that is, an appearance boundary portion of the artificial tooth, of an appearance boundary portion between an arbitrary artificial tooth and a denture base with a material such as a light color.

[0213] FIG. 22A is a perspective view showing a state in which a filling recess 197 is formed in an appropriate portion of an artificial tooth blank 119. FIG. 22B is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate portion of the artificial tooth blank 119 shown in FIG. 22A. FIG. 23A is a front view of an artificial tooth 97 in which an appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial tooth is formed of a material 198 such as a light color. FIG. 23B is an end view of a cut portion along line XXIIIB-XXIIIB shown in FIG. 23A.

[0214] This method includes an artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step of replacing, in advance, a portion corresponding to an appearance boundary portion of an arbitrary artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material with a material such as a light color prior to the artificial tooth intermediate body formation step (step S3).

[0215] The artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step includes a recess forming step of forming a filling recess, which is a recess for filling a material such as a light color, in the artificial tooth material, and a light color material filling step of filling the formed filling recess with a material such as a light color.

[0216] In this method, an artificial tooth material as a workpiece 10 having the same configuration as the above-described artificial tooth blank 119 (see FIG. 18A) is used. Hereinafter, the artificial tooth blank used in this method is also referred to as the artificial tooth blank 119, and the same parts will be described with the same reference numerals.

[0217] First, in the recess forming step, as shown in FIG. 22A, a filling recess 197 is formed in an appropriate portion of the artificial tooth blank 119, for example, the lower surface 196. As shown in FIG. 22B, the filling recess 197 is formed in a portion corresponding to the outer boundary portion 971 of the arbitrary artificial tooth 97 based on the three-dimensional shape data (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) of the arbitrary artificial tooth 97 constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture. In this example, the filling recess 197 is formed such that a part (side portion or bottom portion) thereof includes the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial tooth 97.

[0218] The details of the recess forming step are not particularly limited, but for example, it is executed by the following procedure. That is, in the three-dimensional shape data processing step (step S1), the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth 97 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, and the data regarding the position and shape of the filling recess 197 is constructed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth 96. The artificial tooth blank 119 is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, the filling recess 197 is formed by performing cutting on the artificial tooth blank 119 according to the received NC data.

[0219] It should be noted that the artificial tooth blank 119 mounted on the milling machine 12 during the execution of the recess forming step is preferably not detached until the subsequent artificial tooth intermediate forming step (step S3) is completed. This is to prevent displacement in position during the two cutting steps.

[0220] After the recess forming step, in the step of filling with a light-colored material or the like, as shown in FIG. 22B, the filling recess 197 is filled with a light-colored material or the like 198. Part or all of the step of filling with a light-colored material or the like may be automated by some method or may be performed manually.

[0221] Thereafter, as described above, by performing the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3) to the denture formation step (step S6) as usual, a denture having an artificial tooth 97 in which the appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial tooth is formed of a light color material 198 or the like as shown in FIGS. 23A to 23B can be formed.

[0222] In FIGS. 22A to 23B, the manufacturing method of a denture including an artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step has been described by taking one artificial tooth (artificial tooth intermediate) constituting the front tooth portion as an example. However, the manufacturing method of a denture including an artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step is not limited to this, and can be applied regardless of whether it is the front tooth portion or the molar portion, and also regardless of the number of artificial teeth. Of course, it can be applied to both individually formed artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) and a plurality of artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) formed as a block of two or more.

[0223] Note that the method of configuring the appearance boundary portion of the artificial tooth with a light color material or the like is not limited to the method including the above-described artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step (see FIGS. 22A to 23B).

[0224] For example, a method similar to the method of forming the tip portion of the above-described artificial tooth 94 with a highly transparent material 942 (see FIGS. 15A to 15B) can be applied to the method of configuring the appearance boundary portion of the artificial tooth with a light color material or the like.

[0225] For example, in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3), when forming an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to an arbitrary artificial tooth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, it is formed in a shape with a part of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary part of the arbitrary artificial tooth removed in advance. After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3) and before the execution of the denture formation step (step S6), the removed part of the artificial tooth intermediate is added with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. Then, in the subsequent denture formation step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part of the arbitrary artificial tooth with a material such as a lighter color, and thus, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0226] Also, a method similar to the method of forming the tip part of the above-mentioned artificial tooth 95 with a highly transparent material 952 (see FIGS. 16A to 16C) can be applied to the method of configuring the external boundary part of the artificial tooth with a material such as a lighter color.

[0227] For example, in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3), an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to an arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a normal shape. After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3) and before the execution of the denture formation step (step S6), the part of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary part of the arbitrary artificial tooth is cut off, and the cut-off part of the artificial tooth intermediate is replaced and re-formed with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. Then, in the subsequent denture formation step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part of the arbitrary artificial tooth with a material such as a lighter color, and thus, it becomes possible to configure the external boundary part between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the part corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0228] Next, FIG. 24 shows still another method of configuring such that the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base constituting the denture is a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0229] FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate part showing the appearance boundary portion 99 formed by an adhesive at the boundary portion between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100.

[0230] In this method, for example, in the denture intermediate formation step (step S5), an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to any artificial tooth 101 and a denture base intermediate are joined using an adhesive that is lighter in color or more transparent than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base 100. The surplus adhesive that has leaked from the joint portion between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100 and solidified remains partly at the boundary portion between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100 even after the execution of the denture formation step (step S6). This is called the residual solidified adhesive.

[0231] Among the appearance boundary portions between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100, the portion constituted by the above residual solidified adhesive is called the appearance boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive. In this way, by configuring the adhesive with a light-colored material or the like, the appearance boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive is also constituted by a light-colored material or the like, and as a result, the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100 becomes a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0232] FIG. 25A is a front view showing an example of a denture formed such that the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base constituting the denture is a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by the various methods described above. FIG. 25B is an enlarged end view of the cut portion along the XXVB - XXVB line shown in FIG. 25A.

[0233] The denture 108 shown in FIGS. 25A to 25B includes a denture base 98 formed of a light-colored material 185 or the like for the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base, and artificial teeth 97 formed of a light-colored material 198 or the like for the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth. Further, at the boundary portion between the denture base 98 and the artificial teeth 97, there is an outer boundary portion 99 formed of an adhesive formed of a light-colored material or the like.

[0234] The above light-colored material or the like is not particularly limited, and may be a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. Also, the color shades of the light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base, the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, and the outer boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive may all be the same, or may be different in part.

[0235] For example, the light-colored material or the like for the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base may be a lighter color (for example, a gingival color with a tint of white compared to the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base), and the light-colored material or the like for the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth may be a material having higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base (for example, a material having the same degree of transparency as the transparent layer 191 of the artificial tooth blank 19 shown in FIG. 4B). The light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive may have the same color shade as the light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base, may have the same color shade as the light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, or may have a color shade between the light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base and the light-colored material or the like in the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth.

[0236] In the example of the denture 108 shown in FIGS. 25A to 25B, all three portions of the outer boundary portion 981 of the denture base, the outer boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, and the outer boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive are formed of some light-colored material or the like, so that the outer boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base constituting the denture has a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0237] It is also possible to form only one or two of the appearance boundary portions 981 of the denture base, the appearance boundary portions 971 of the artificial teeth, and the appearance boundary portions 99 by the adhesive with a light-colored material or the like, so that the appearance boundary portions between any artificial teeth and the denture base constituting the denture are lighter in color than the portions corresponding to the attached gums of the denture base.

[0238] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the three-dimensional shape data of the denture used in the method for manufacturing the denture is obtained based on the adjusted therapeutic denture has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0239] The present invention can also be applied when the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is obtained based on, for example, a denture other than the adjusted therapeutic denture, or when it is obtained based on the three-dimensional shape data of the intraoral shape obtained by directly or indirectly digitizing the intraoral shape of the patient.

[0240] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case of manufacturing an upper complete denture has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can also be applied when manufacturing a lower complete denture or when manufacturing a tooth-supported denture (partial denture) other than a complete denture (full denture).

[0241] Now, in each of the above-described embodiments, when disclosing the invention of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture with a highly transparent material, for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediate body, a part of the finishing cost is formed as a coupling portion, and on the premise that an artificial tooth intermediate body coupling step of directly or indirectly coupling the coupling portions to each other based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is executed, the invention of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture with a highly transparent material is not limited thereto and can be applied regardless of the presence or absence of such a premise.

[0242] In this case, the present invention can be understood, for example, as the following Invention A1 to Invention A10. Invention A1 to Invention A10 can generally be understood as inventions obtained by abstracting elements related to the connection between artificial tooth intermediates, such as joints and elements related to the artificial tooth intermediate connection process, from the inventions described in each of the above embodiments.

[0243] Also, if the present invention is understood as a method for manufacturing artificial teeth, it can be expressed as the following Invention B1 to Invention B11. In this case, Invention B1 to Invention B11 can generally be understood as inventions obtained by further abstracting elements related to the denture base, such as elements related to the denture base intermediate formation process and the artificial tooth intermediate formation process, from Invention A1 to Invention A10, and reading the denture as an artificial tooth. The three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth in this case may be data directly or indirectly obtained from artificial teeth or natural teeth, or may be virtual data generated on CAD. Furthermore, it may be data obtained by extracting the artificial tooth portion from the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0244] [Invention A1]

[0245] A method for manufacturing a denture for manufacturing a denture based on three-dimensional shape data of the denture,

[0246] wherein the tip portion of one or more arbitrary artificial teeth constituting the denture is configured to be formed of a highly transparent material,

[0247] a step of forming a denture base intermediate from a denture base material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the denture base intermediate formation step of forming the denture base intermediate with at least the connection portion with the artificial tooth at the original size and adding a finishing allowance to the dimension of the portion not formed at the original size to form the denture base intermediate at the original size,

[0248] A step of forming one or more artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on three-dimensional shape data of a denture, wherein, in the case of an artificial tooth intermediate to be formed individually among the artificial tooth intermediates, at least the connecting portion with the denture base is in its original size, and at least the tip portion of any of the artificial teeth is in a size with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and they are formed individually one by one. In the case of an artificial tooth intermediate not to be formed individually, at least the connecting portion with the denture base is in its original size, and at least the tip portion of any of the artificial teeth is in a size with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and they are formed as one or more blocks formed by combining two or more together. This is an artificial tooth intermediate forming step,

[0249] A denture intermediate forming step of joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate to form a denture intermediate,

[0250] A denture forming step of cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to form a denture,

[0251] being provided with,

[0252] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0253] [Invention A2]

[0254] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Invention A1,

[0255] The artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate having a transparent layer in which at least one layer is made of a highly transparent material,

[0256] When forming an artificial tooth intermediate from the artificial tooth material, the cutting positions of the respective artificial tooth intermediates in the artificial tooth material are set so that the tip portion of any of the artificial teeth is composed of the transparent layer,

[0257] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0258] [Invention A3]

[0259] In the method for manufacturing a denture of Invention A1,

[0260] in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step, when forming the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance,

[0261] after the artificial tooth intermediate forming step is executed and before the denture forming step is executed, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate that has been removed is added with a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to form it,

[0262] in the subsequent denture forming step, the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate with the tip portion formed of a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so as to form a denture in which the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed of a highly transparent material,

[0263] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0264] [Invention A4]

[0265] In the method for manufacturing a denture of Invention A1,

[0266] in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step, the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a normal shape,

[0267] after the artificial tooth intermediate forming step is executed and before the denture forming step is executed, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is cut off, and the tip portion of the cut artificial tooth intermediate is replaced and reformed with a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture,

[0268] In the subsequent denture forming step, a denture intermediate body including a denture intermediate body in which the tip portion is re-formed with a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so as to form a denture in which the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed with a highly transparent material.

[0269] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0270] [Invention A5]

[0271] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Invention A1,

[0272] As the artificial tooth material, an artificial tooth material composed of a tooth-colored layer made of a tooth-colored material is used.

[0273] Prior to the artificial tooth intermediate body forming step, a transparent material replacement step of previously replacing a portion corresponding to the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material with a highly transparent material is further provided.

[0274] In the subsequent denture forming step, a denture intermediate body including a denture intermediate body in which the tip portion is formed with a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so as to form a denture in which the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed with a highly transparent material.

[0275] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0276] [Invention A6]

[0277] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention A1 to Invention A5,

[0278] The arbitrary artificial tooth whose tip portion is formed with a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth constituting the front tooth portion.

[0279] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0280] [Invention A7]

[0281] In the method for manufacturing a denture of any one of Inventions A1 to A6,

[0282] any artificial tooth whose tip portion is formed of a material with high transparency is an artificial tooth constituting the molar part,

[0283] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0284] [Invention A8]

[0285] In the method for manufacturing a denture of any one of Inventions A1 to A7,

[0286] the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is obtained based on the adjusted denture,

[0287] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0288] [Invention A9]

[0289] A denture characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing a denture of any one of Inventions A1 to A8.

[0290] [Invention A10]

[0291] An artificial tooth material characterized by being used in the method for manufacturing a denture of Invention A2.

[0292] [Invention B1]

[0293] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth for manufacturing an artificial tooth based on three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth, comprising:

[0294] configured to form the tip portion of one or two or more arbitrary artificial teeth with a material having high transparency,

[0295] A step of forming one or more artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on three-dimensional shape data of an artificial tooth. When there are artificial tooth intermediates to be formed individually, for each of the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, they are formed individually, one by one, with a dimension obtained by adding a finishing margin to at least the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth at the original size. When there are artificial tooth intermediates not to be formed individually, for each of the artificial tooth intermediates not to be formed individually, they are formed as one or more blocks grouped together, with a dimension obtained by adding a finishing margin to at least the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth at the original size. An artificial tooth intermediate formation step

[0296] An artificial tooth formation step of cutting an artificial tooth intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth to form an artificial tooth

[0297] Comprising

[0298] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by

[0299] [Invention B2]

[0300] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to Invention B1,

[0301] The artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate having a transparent layer in which at least one layer is made of a highly transparent material

[0302] When forming an artificial tooth intermediate from the artificial tooth material, setting the cutting positions of the respective artificial tooth intermediates in the artificial tooth material so that the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is composed of the transparent layer

[0303] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by

[0304] [Invention B3]

[0305] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to Invention B1,

[0306] In the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, when forming the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance.

[0307] After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the artificial tooth formation step, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate that has been removed is formed by adding a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth.

[0308] In the artificial tooth formation step to be executed thereafter, the artificial tooth intermediate with the tip portion formed of a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth, so as to form an artificial tooth with the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth formed of a highly transparent material.

[0309] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by the above.

[0310] [Invention B4]

[0311] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to Invention B1,

[0312] In the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a normal shape.

[0313] After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the artificial tooth formation step, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is cut off, and the tip portion of the cut artificial tooth intermediate is replaced and reformed with a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth.

[0314] In the artificial tooth formation step to be executed thereafter, the artificial tooth intermediate with the tip portion reformed with a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth, so as to form an artificial tooth with the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth formed of a highly transparent material.

[0315] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by...

[0316] [Invention B5]

[0317] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth of Invention B1,

[0318] an artificial tooth material composed of a tooth-colored layer made of a tooth-colored material is used as the artificial tooth material,

[0319] prior to the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, a transparent material replacement step of replacing a portion corresponding to the tip portion of any artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material with a highly transparent material is further provided,

[0320] in the artificial tooth formation step executed thereafter, an artificial tooth intermediate having a tip portion formed of a highly transparent material is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth, so as to form an artificial tooth having a tip portion of any artificial tooth formed of a highly transparent material.

[0321] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by...

[0322] [Invention B6]

[0323] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to any one of Inventions B1 to B5,

[0324] any artificial tooth having a tip portion formed of a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth constituting the front tooth portion.

[0325] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by...

[0326] [Invention B7]

[0327] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to any one of Inventions B1 to B6,

[0328] Any of the artificial teeth formed of a material with high transparency at the tip portion is a molar artificial tooth.

[0329] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by the above.

[0330] [Invention B8]

[0331] In the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to any one of Invention B1 to Invention B7,

[0332] the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth is obtained based on the artificial tooth constituting the adjusted denture.

[0333] A method for manufacturing an artificial tooth, characterized by the above.

[0334] [Invention B9]

[0335] An artificial tooth, characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to any one of Invention B1 to Invention B8.

[0336] [Invention B10]

[0337] An artificial tooth material, characterized by being used in the method for manufacturing an artificial tooth according to Invention B2.

[0338] [Invention B11]

[0339] A denture, characterized by using the artificial tooth according to Invention B9.

[0340] Incidentally, the scope of application of the manufacturing methods according to Inventions A2, A3, A4, A5 and B2, B3, B4, B5 is not particularly limited. For example, when an artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate including a transparent layer and a tooth-colored layer (a layer composed of a material representing the color of a tooth) in contact therewith, and the transparent layer and the tooth-colored layer are in contact in a substantially flat plane, in the artificial tooth intermediate formation step, when the cutting positions of the tip portions of arbitrary artificial teeth to be formed of a highly transparent material can be arranged on substantially the same plane, the manufacturing method according to Invention A2 or B2 can be applied.

[0341] That is, when an arbitrary artificial tooth whose tip portion is to be formed of a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth corresponding to an individually formed artificial tooth intermediate, or among artificial teeth corresponding to a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates formed as a block of two or more, for artificial teeth having substantially the same height of the tip portion (meaning the position of the tip portion in the height direction of the artificial tooth; the same shall apply hereinafter), generally, the manufacturing method according to Invention A2 or B2 can be applied.

[0342] However, even in such a case, when the tip portion of the artificial tooth is composed of a curve or a curved surface that changes in the height direction, by applying the manufacturing method according to Invention A3, A4, A5 or B3, B4, B5, it is possible to make the tip portion formed of a highly transparent material have a shape that faithfully reproduces the shape of the original tip portion, which is more preferable.

[0343] Also, when an arbitrary artificial tooth whose tip portion is to be formed of a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth having a different height of the tip portion or an artificial tooth having a different inclination angle of the tip portion among artificial teeth corresponding to a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates formed as a block of two or more, it is more preferable to apply the manufacturing method according to Invention A3, A4, A5 or B3, B4, B5.

[0344] More specifically, for example, when forming six artificial tooth intermediates corresponding to the artificial teeth constituting the anterior tooth part as one block, it is desired to form the tip portions (incisal edges) of four artificial teeth corresponding to the central incisors and lateral incisors with a highly transparent material. However, when the height of the tip portion of one or more of these four artificial teeth is different from the others, or when the shape of the tip portion of one or more artificial teeth is constituted by a curve that changes in the height direction, it is more preferable to apply the manufacturing method according to Invention A3, A4, A5 or B3, B4, B5.

[0345] Also, for example, when forming four artificial tooth intermediates corresponding to the artificial teeth constituting the molar part as one block, it is desired to form the tip portions (occlusal surfaces) of the four artificial teeth with a highly transparent material. However, when the height of the tip portion of one or more of these four artificial teeth is different from the others, or when the shape of the tip portion of one or more artificial teeth is constituted by a curved surface or is constituted at a different inclination angle from the others, it is more preferable to apply the manufacturing method according to Invention A3, A4, A5 or B3, B4, B5.

[0346] Also, as described above, even when the shape of the surface of the tip portion of any artificial tooth to be formed with a highly transparent material (for example, the shape of the occlusal surface of the above-mentioned non-anatomical artificial teeth, etc.) is different from the shape of the back surface (the surface in contact with the tooth-colored material) (for example, the shape imitating the occlusal surface of the above-mentioned natural teeth), it can be easily realized by applying the manufacturing method according to Invention A3, A4, A5 or B3, B4, B5.

[0347] Of course, when manufacturing artificial teeth, if necessary, it is also possible to implement by combining any two or more of Inventions A2, A3, A4, A5, or by combining any two or more of Inventions B2, B3, B4, B5.

[0348] And, similar to the cases of the above-described inventions A1 to A10, regarding an invention in which an outer boundary portion between any artificial tooth and a denture base constituting a denture is configured to have a lighter color than a portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base, from the inventions described in the above-described embodiments (see FIGS. 20A to 25B), elements related to the connection between artificial tooth intermediates, for example, elements related to a joint portion or an artificial tooth intermediate connection step, etc., can be grasped as the following inventions C1 to C9 by abstraction.

[0349] [Invention C1]

[0350] A method for manufacturing a denture based on three-dimensional shape data of the denture, comprising:

[0351] A step of forming a denture base intermediate from a denture base material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein at least the connection portion with the artificial tooth is formed at the original size, and for portions not formed at the original size, the denture base intermediate is formed with a dimension obtained by adding a finishing allowance to the original size; a denture base intermediate forming step

[0352] A step of forming one or more artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein for an artificial tooth intermediate to be formed individually among the artificial tooth intermediates, at least the connection portion with the denture base is formed at the original size, and for portions not formed at the original size, the dimension is obtained by adding a finishing allowance to the original size, and each is formed individually one by one; for an artificial tooth intermediate not to be formed individually among the artificial tooth intermediates, at least the connection portion with the denture base is formed at the original size, and for portions not formed at the original size, the dimension is obtained by adding a finishing allowance to the original size, and they are formed as one or more blocks formed by combining two or more together; an artificial tooth intermediate forming step

[0353] A step of joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate to form a denture intermediate; a denture intermediate forming step

[0354] A step of cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to form a denture; a denture forming step

[0355] comprising:

[0356] The appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base that constitute the denture is configured to have a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0357] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0358] [Invention C2]

[0359] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Invention C1,

[0360] In the step of forming the denture intermediate, by joining the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base intermediate using an adhesive having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base, the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base is configured to have a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0361] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0362] [Invention C3]

[0363] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C2,

[0364] In the step of forming the denture base intermediate, when forming the denture base intermediate, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the portion of the denture base intermediate including the appearance boundary portion of the denture base is formed in a shape with the portion removed in advance.

[0365] After the execution of the step of forming the denture base intermediate and before the execution of the step of forming the denture, the removed portion of the denture base intermediate is added with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0366] In the subsequent denture forming step, the denture intermediate including the denture base intermediate is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so that the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base has a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0367] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0368] [Invention C4]

[0369] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C2,

[0370] In the denture base intermediate forming step, the denture base intermediate is formed in a normal shape.

[0371] After the execution of the denture base intermediate forming step and before the execution of the denture forming step, the portion of the denture base intermediate including the appearance boundary portion of the denture base is cut off, and the cut-off portion of the denture base intermediate is replaced and reformed with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0372] In the subsequent denture forming step, the denture intermediate including the denture base intermediate is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so that the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base has a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0373] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0374] [Invention C5]

[0375] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C2,

[0376] As the denture base material, a denture base material composed of a gingiva-colored layer made of a gingiva-colored material is used.

[0377] Prior to the step of forming the denture base intermediate, a step of replacing a portion of the denture base material corresponding to the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base is further provided.

[0378] In the subsequent denture forming step, by cutting the denture intermediate including the denture base intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base is configured to have a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0379] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0380] [Invention C6]

[0381] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C5,

[0382] In the step of forming the artificial tooth intermediate, when forming the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the appearance boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a shape where it is removed in advance.

[0383] After the execution of the step of forming the artificial tooth intermediate and before the execution of the step of forming the denture, the removed portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is formed by adding a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0384] In the subsequent denture forming step, by cutting the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base is configured to have a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0385] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0386] [Invention C7]

[0387] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C5,

[0388] in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step, the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a normal shape,

[0389] after the artificial tooth intermediate forming step and before the denture forming step, the portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is cut away, and the portion of the cut artificial tooth intermediate is replaced and reformed with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by coating or the like,

[0390] in the subsequent denture forming step, the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so that the external boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base has a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base,

[0391] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0392] [Invention C8]

[0393] In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C5,

[0394] as the artificial tooth material, an artificial tooth material composed of a tooth-colored layer made of a tooth-colored material is used,

[0395] before the artificial tooth intermediate forming step, an artificial tooth boundary material replacement step is further provided, in which the portion corresponding to the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material is replaced in advance with a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base,

[0396] In the subsequent denture forming step, the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so that the appearance boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base has a color thinner than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0397] A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

[0398] [Invention C9]

[0399] A denture characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Invention C1 to Invention C8.

[0400] Note that various embodiments, variations, and other descriptions described in this specification are applicable to Invention A1 to A10, Invention B1 to B11, and Invention C1 to C9 (hereinafter referred to as "Invention A1 etc.") unless they are inapplicable by nature. Conversely, various descriptions regarding Invention A1 etc. are applicable to the invention described in the claims of the present application or other inventions described in this specification unless they are inapplicable by nature to the invention described in the claims of the present application or other inventions described in this specification.

[0401] In the above, the present invention has been described as a preferred embodiment, but each term is used for explanation, not for limitation, and can be changed within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Also, in the above, only some typical embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, but those skilled in the art will easily recognize that many changes can be made in the above typical embodiments without departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention. Therefore, all such changes are included in the scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0402] S2: Denture base intermediate forming step S3: Artificial tooth intermediate forming step S4: Artificial tooth intermediate connection process S5: Denture intermediate formation process S6: Denture formation process

Claims

1. In a method for manufacturing a denture based on three-dimensional shape data of the denture, a step of forming a denture base intermediate from a denture base material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein a connection portion with an artificial tooth is in its original size, and other portions form the denture base intermediate with a finishing allowance added to the original size; a denture base intermediate forming step a step of forming a plurality of artificial tooth intermediates from an artificial tooth material based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, wherein for at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of artificial tooth intermediates, a connection portion with the denture base and an adjacent surface are in their original size, and other portions form them individually one by one with a finishing allowance added to the original size. For an artificial tooth intermediate that is not formed individually, if any, a connection portion with the denture base and a released adjacent surface are in their original size, and other portions form them as one or more blocks combined with two or more together with a finishing allowance added to the original size. For at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, a part of their finishing allowance is formed as a coupling portion; an artificial tooth intermediate forming step an artificial tooth intermediate connecting step of directly or indirectly coupling the coupling portions to each other based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, thereby connecting the plurality of at least individually formed artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture a denture intermediate forming step of joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate to form a denture intermediate a denture forming step of cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to form a denture characterized by comprising a method for manufacturing a denture

2. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 1, the artificial tooth intermediate connecting step comprises a bonding auxiliary material forming step of forming a bonding auxiliary material having a plurality of bonding auxiliary portions for respectively bonding to the plurality of the bonding portions based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, and is configured such that by respectively bonding the corresponding bonding portions to the respective bonding auxiliary portions of the bonding auxiliary material, the plurality of at least individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are connected to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture a method for manufacturing a denture characterized by this

3. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 1, the bonding portion is configured to directly bond to the bonding portions of adjacent artificial tooth intermediates based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture The artificial tooth intermediate connecting step is configured to connect at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by connecting corresponding coupling portions to each other. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

4. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture is configured to be formed of a material with high transparency. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

5. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 4, the artificial tooth material is composed of a laminate having a transparent layer in which at least one layer is made of a material with high transparency, when forming an artificial tooth intermediate from the artificial tooth material, the cutting positions of the respective artificial tooth intermediates in the artificial tooth material are set such that the tip portion of the artificial tooth corresponding to any individually formed artificial tooth intermediate is constituted by the transparent layer. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

6. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the outer boundary portion between any artificial tooth constituting the denture and the denture base is configured to have a lighter color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

7. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the individually formed artificial tooth intermediate corresponds to the artificial tooth constituting the anterior tooth portion. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

8. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the individually formed artificial tooth intermediate corresponds to the artificial tooth constituting the molar portion. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

9. In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is obtained based on an adjusted denture. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized by the above.

10. A denture, characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

11. An artificial tooth material, characterized by being used in the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 5.

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