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 a denture, a denture, and an artificial tooth material.

Background Art

[0002] Prior to the creation of the final denture, there is known a treatment denture that is worn by patients such as those with a jaw joint not in the optimal position (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 as the jaw joint approaches the optimal position among the artificial teeth constituting either the upper denture or the lower denture is defined as the tooth to be abraded, the tooth to be abraded is worn by the chewing action so as to guide the jaw joint to the optimal position. The tooth to be abraded 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 abraded and setting the amount of wear accompanying the chewing action to be larger than that of the opposing tooth, the tooth to be abraded can be automatically and selectively worn by the chewing action, thereby guiding the jaw 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] , FIGS. 4 to 8 of Patent Document 1).

[0006] On the other hand, a method for manufacturing a denture 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 dental arch and a U-shaped semi-finished product for the lower denture base are cut out by roughing from a dental arch 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 dental arch 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 dental arch and the denture base. (See [Summary], paragraphs

[0004] to

[0008] , and paragraphs

[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 dental arch can be adhered into the denture base extremely simply as compared to adhering individual teeth to the denture base. Further, by performing the final finish milling after adhering the dental arch and the denture base, even if an adhesive bulge that may occur due to the expansion of the adhesive, or inaccuracy in the height position, for example, occurs due to the adhesion process, or the dental arch is adhered "obliquely", that is, poor adhesion occurs, the finish milling is executed according to the target setting, and thus it can be automatically corrected simultaneously, and accordingly, occlusal defects can be prevented. (See paragraphs

[0073] to

[0074] and paragraphs

[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] And in this method for manufacturing a denture, the dental arch is either integral or divided into three parts 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, compared to the case of individually adhering each tooth to the denture base one by one. 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, aesthetics is 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 or three - part 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 aesthetics.

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, 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 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 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 among 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 in two or more, with a part of the finishing allowance thereof formed as a coupling portion for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates; a process of directly or indirectly coupling the coupling portions 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 joining all the artificial tooth intermediates and the denture base intermediate to form a denture intermediate; and a process of cutting the denture intermediate according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture to form a denture. It is characterized by comprising the above steps.

[0017] The features of the present invention can be broadly shown as 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, 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 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 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 connection portion and an adjacent surface with the denture base are in their original size, and other portions are in a size with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and they are formed individually one by one. For an artificial tooth intermediate that is not formed individually, if any, a connection portion and a released adjacent surface with the denture base are in their original size, and other portions are in a size with a finishing allowance added to the original size, and they are formed as one or more blocks combined of two or more, and for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, a part of their finishing allowance is formed as a coupling 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 coupling the coupling 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, characterized in that it comprises the above steps.

[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 individually one by one in their original size, i.e., 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, it is possible to accurately reproduce the contact points and the situation of the gingival embrasures between adjacent teeth given by the three-dimensional shape data of the denture. As a result, it becomes possible to realize a denture that is more natural and has excellent aesthetics.

[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 a 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, it becomes easy to process the adjacent surfaces of the original dimensions of the artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth intermediate forming step.

[0028] Incidentally, since the bonding auxiliary material is removed (scraped off) together with the finishing allowance including the joint portion 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 joint portion is configured to directly bond to the joint portion of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, and the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting step is configured to connect at least a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediate bodies to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by bonding the corresponding joint portions to each other.

[0030] Thus, in this invention, the joint portion of the artificial tooth intermediate body is configured to directly bond to the joint portion of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body.

[0031] Therefore, a plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies can be directly connected without using another member. For this reason, it is expected to improve the accuracy when connecting a plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies and to shorten the manufacturing time 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 portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture is configured to be formed of a material with high transparency.

[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 configured to be formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance. After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the denture formation step, the tip portion of the removed artificial tooth intermediate is configured to be formed by adding a highly transparent material by coating or the like 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. 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 configured to be replaced with a highly transparent material by coating 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 then the steps after the artificial tooth intermediate formation step are executed as normal.

[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 position (i.e., the cutting position in the height direction and / or the cutting angle) of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material, it is possible to make only the tip portion of any individually formed artificial tooth 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 have a lighter 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, which is the portion observable 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 gum appears, in terms of appearance, to be a lighter color (for example, a gingival color with a white tint or a color with a transparent tint) than the color of the attached gingiva (the portion 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 portion 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 a denture, 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 viewpoint 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 front tooth portion.

[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 portion, the appearance of the most prominent anterior tooth portion 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 portion.

[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 portion, the appearance of the molar portion 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 portion 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 situation of the adjusted occlusion, etc., for example, the situation of the correct occlusion in the corrected correct jaw position in the case of the 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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Figure 25

[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 (steps S1 to 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 method for manufacturing a denture. 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, although not particularly limited, specialized for dental prosthetics.

[0066] Note that each step shown in FIG. 1 does not necessarily have 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 treatment denture. The method of obtaining the three-dimensional shape data based on the adjusted treatment denture is not particularly limited, but can be obtained, for example, by directly or indirectly measuring the three-dimensional shape of the adjusted treatment 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 treatment 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, which is 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 synthetic resin, for example, a pink PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate) one can be used. Its shape is not particularly limited either, but for example, a substantially disk-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, which is 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 disk-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 part) along line VIA-VIA shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6B is an end view of a cut portion (portion corresponding to the front tooth part) along line VIB-VIB shown in FIG. 5.

[0073] FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of an artificial tooth intermediate 4 corresponding to the artificial tooth constituting the molar part formed in step S3 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of an artificial tooth intermediate 3 corresponding to the artificial tooth constituting the front tooth part 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 member 5 formed in the bonding auxiliary member forming step that constitutes step S4 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9B is a conceptual diagram assuming that the bonding auxiliary member 5 is developed on a plane.

[0076] FIG. 10A is a bottom view of the artificial tooth intermediate connector 6 formed in step S4. The artificial tooth intermediate connector 6 is formed by connecting a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates 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 7 formed in step S5 shown in FIG. 1.

[0078] FIG. 12A is an end view of a cut portion (portion corresponding to the molar part) along line XIIA-XIIA shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 12B is an end view of a cut portion (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 subsequent steps 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 integrally 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 portion and an artificial tooth portion is set, and the division is performed along this dividing surface.

[0083] Of the divided denture base portions, the dividing surface is left as it is, and the other portions are processed so as to have dimensions obtained by adding a finishing allowance to 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, of 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 one-dot chain 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 processing errors in subsequent steps, such as joining 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 dividing 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 size. This dividing 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 to be 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 joining errors when joining the artificial tooth intermediates 3 and 4 and the denture base intermediate 2 in the denture intermediate formation 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 corresponding 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 connecting 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 connecting 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 connecting part 36.

[0094] For the artificial tooth intermediate 4 formed by grouping, in addition to the connecting 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 connecting auxiliary material 5 (see FIGS. 9A to 9B) for indirectly connecting the connecting 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 connecting 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 side surface). The shape of the connecting 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 coupling to the coupling portions 36 of the six artificial tooth intermediates 3 respectively. 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 the two 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 into it 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 method 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 body forming step (step S3) is executed.

[0105] In the artificial tooth intermediate body forming 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 to be machined. 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 on the left and right respectively from the blank 19 for artificial teeth.

[0108] Note 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 body forming step. This is because it becomes difficult to polish in the denture forming step (step S6). Part or all of this polishing work may be automated by some method or may be performed manually by a person.

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

[0110] In this embodiment, in the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting step, first, a connecting auxiliary material forming step is executed.

[0111] In the connecting auxiliary material forming step, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the connecting 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, but for example, the blank 19 for artificial teeth can be configured to 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 cost and time for manufacturing the denture can be reduced.

[0114] Of course, the blank 18 for denture base can also be configured to be used as the workpiece 10 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 denture base, so that the cost and time for manufacturing the denture can also be reduced.

[0115] After the cutting process in the 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 denture base).

[0116] In 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 undulation and roughness of the surface are smaller than those of the other primary cutting surfaces 23 etc.

[0117] Next, in the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting step (step S4), subsequently, an artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 6 shown in FIGS. 10A to 10B is formed. The artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 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 step of fitting and fixing the coupling part 36 into 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 step, a denture intermediate 7 shown in FIGS. 11 to 12B is formed. The denture intermediate 7 is composed of a denture tooth intermediate connecting body 6 formed by connecting a total of six denture tooth intermediates 3 formed in step S4 to each other, and two blocks of a total of eight denture 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 joining portions 31 and 41 of the denture tooth intermediates 3 and 4 and the joining 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 step may be automated in some way or may be performed manually by a person.

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

[0125] In the denture formation step, 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 having the denture intermediate 7 formed in step S5 is mounted on the milling machine 12. In the milling machine 12, by performing cutting 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 machining, the denture 8 is separated from the denture base blank 18 and polished. Thereafter, 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 six, they are formed individually one by one and then configured to be connected to each other. When forming one by one, based on the three-dimensional shape data VD of the denture, the adjacent surfaces 35 are 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 concave-convex gaps can be accurately reproduced. As a result, it is 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 material with high transparency. The method of forming the tip portion of the artificial tooth with a material having high transparency is not particularly limited. 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 therewith. The transparent layer 191 is made of a material with high transparency, and the tooth-colored layer 192 is made of a material representing the color of the tooth. The tooth-colored layer 192 may be 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 a 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, but for example, it is preferably disposed in the uppermost layer. The thickness of the transparent layer 191 is not particularly limited, but may be any dimension that 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 an excessive amount of wasted portions that are not used in the artificial tooth blank 19.

[0135] The transparent layer 191 only needs to be transparent enough to be visually determined as such, 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*> about 13 is preferable.

[0136] If ΔL*> about 13, it can be visually determined as transparent, 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. As the white background, a standard white plate can be used, and as the black background, a standard black plate can be used, respectively.

[0140] In addition, 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*>1 or so.

[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 a natural tooth, preferably ΔΔL*>5, more preferably ΔΔL*≧10, still more preferably ΔΔL*>15, and particularly preferably ΔΔL*≧20.

[0142] 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 spectrocolorimeter), and can be 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. As the white background, a standard white plate can be used, and as the black background, a standard black plate can be used, 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 a 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 a 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 body forming step (step S3), when cutting out an artificial tooth intermediate body 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 body 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 body 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 body 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 body is not shown, and the artificial tooth corresponding to the artificial tooth intermediate body 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 body 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 body 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 the portion 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 executed when the artificial tooth blank does not include 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 formation step (step S3), an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to any artificial tooth 95 is formed in the normal manner.

[0157] Next, after the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3), as shown in FIG. 16B, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate 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 is reformed by replacing it with a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture.

[0159] In the subsequent denture formation step (step S6), by cutting the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate whose tip portion has been reformed 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, and FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 16C.

[0161] For example, after the execution of the denture formation 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 reformed by replacing it with a highly transparent material by coating or the like.

[0162] Furthermore, an example of another method of forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth constituting the denture 8 with a highly transparent material, which can also be implemented even when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer, 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 body forming step (step S3).

[0164] The transparent material replacement step includes a recess forming 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, as the artificial tooth material as the workpiece 10, an artificial tooth blank 119 is used 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 forming 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. 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, by performing cutting on the blank 119 for artificial teeth according to the received NC data, the filling recess 194 is formed.

[0168] Note that the blank 119 for artificial teeth mounted on the milling machine 12 during the execution of the recess forming process is preferably 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 in some way 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 of being 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 providing flexibility in the occlusion relationship. Since the occlusal surface of the non-anatomical artificial tooth, etc. is flat or nearly flat, it is significantly 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 a transparent occlusal surface. By configuring in this way, while maintaining the functions of non-anatomical artificial teeth or the like, the appearance of natural teeth can be presented, so that artificial teeth satisfying both functionality and aesthetics can be realized.

[0173] In this way, 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 non-anatomical artificial tooth or the like) and 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 natural tooth) are different, if the present method is applied, it can be easily realized.

[0174] In FIGS. 18A to 19B, a method for manufacturing a denture including a transparent material replacement step has been described by taking as an example a single artificial tooth (artificial tooth intermediate) constituting a molar part, but the method for manufacturing 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 either individually formed artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) or a plurality of artificial teeth (artificial tooth intermediates) formed as a block of two or more.

[0175] Note that in the various methods for forming the tip portion of any artificial tooth with a highly transparent material (various methods that can also be carried out when the artificial tooth blank does not have a transparent layer), 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 FIGS. 14A or 14B) formed using the artificial tooth blank 19 provided with 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 part of an artificial tooth intermediate body 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 as 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 part showing a part of an artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 106 formed by connecting a plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies 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 intermediate bodies 3 to each other, a coupling portion 36 provided on the artificial tooth intermediate body 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, and 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 intermediate bodies 3 are configured to be indirectly connected via a coupling auxiliary material 5 to form an artificial tooth intermediate body 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 intermediate bodies 103 are configured to be directly connected without using a separate member such as the above-described coupling auxiliary material 5 to form an artificial tooth intermediate body connecting body 106. Therefore, the artificial tooth intermediate body connecting step (see step S4) of this embodiment does not include the coupling auxiliary material forming step as executed in the above-described embodiment.

[0180] As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, a part of the finishing margin 134 in the artificial tooth intermediate body 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 part 136 and the second coupling part 137 in the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 are not particularly limited, but for example, they can be configured to be arranged along the inner surface (in this example, the palate side surface) of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103.

[0182] As shown in FIG. 17C, the second coupling part 137 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is provided with a coupling auxiliary part 138 for coupling to the first coupling part 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103. By coupling the first coupling part 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 to the coupling auxiliary part 138 of the second coupling part 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 an 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 part 136 and the second coupling part 137 can be omitted.

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

[0186] With the first coupling part 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 coupled to the coupling auxiliary part 138 of the second coupling part 137 of the artificial tooth intermediate body 103, the shape of the coupling auxiliary part 138 of the second coupling part 137 and the first coupling part 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is determined so that they do not rotate relative to each other. In this example, the coupling auxiliary part 138 of the second coupling part 137 is formed in a substantially elliptical hole shape, and the first coupling part 136 of the adjacent artificial tooth intermediate body 103 is formed as a convex protrusion that fits into this 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 made tight, 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 any way or may be performed manually.

[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 inapplicable 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] If 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 are 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. Therefore, it becomes possible to more accurately reproduce 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 artificial teeth corresponding to individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are all the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth portion has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0194] The present invention can also be applied when the artificial teeth corresponding to the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are part or all of the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth portion and / or the molar portion. Naturally, when the artificial teeth corresponding to the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates are all the artificial teeth constituting the front tooth portion and the molar portion, 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 appearance boundary portion between any 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 a portion related to the denture base, that is, the appearance boundary portion of the denture base, of the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and 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 "light-colored material, etc.").

[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 appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base is formed of a light-colored material 185 or the like. FIG. 21B is an enlarged end face view of a cut portion along the XXIB-XXIB line shown in FIG. 21A.

[0198] This method includes a denture base boundary material replacement step of replacing, in advance, a portion corresponding to the external appearance boundary portion of the denture base in the denture base material with a material such as a light color prior to the denture base intermediate body 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 the denture base material with a material such as a light color, and a light color material filling step of filling the formed filling recess with a material such as a light color.

[0200] In this method, as the denture base material as the work material 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 parts are denoted by the same reference numerals for description. The denture base blank 18 includes a gingiva color layer 182 formed of a substantially single gingiva color material.

[0201] First, in the recess formation step, as shown in FIG. 20A, a filling recess 184 is formed in an appropriate portion of the denture base blank 18, for example, the upper surface 183. The filling recess 184 is formed in a portion corresponding to the external 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 so as to include the external appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base 98 in a part (bottom) thereof.

[0202] The details of the recess formation 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 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 a cutting process 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 process is preferably not detached until at least the subsequent denture base intermediate body forming process (step S2) is completed. This is to prevent displacement in the two cutting processes.

[0204] After the concave portion forming process, in the light-colored material filling process, 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 process may be automated by some method or may be performed manually.

[0205] Thereafter, as described above, by performing the denture base intermediate body forming process (step S2) to the denture forming process (step S6) in the normal manner, a denture having a denture base 98 in which the outer 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 process is performed on the outer boundary portion of the denture base corresponding to all artificial teeth has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is also possible to configure such that a method for manufacturing a denture provided with a denture base boundary portion material replacement process is applied only to the outer 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 outer 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 process (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 outer 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 in which a portion of the denture base intermediate including the appearance boundary portion of the denture base is 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 portion of the denture base intermediate is added based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by coating or the like with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. 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, it becomes possible to configure the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a material such as a lighter color, and thus, it becomes possible to configure the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0210] In addition, a method similar to the method of forming the tip portion of the above-described artificial tooth 95 with a highly transparent material 952 (see FIGS. 16A to 16C) can be applied to the method of configuring the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a material such as a lighter color.

[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 portion of the denture base intermediate including the appearance boundary portion of the denture base is excised, and the excised portion of the denture base intermediate is replaced and re-formed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by coating or the like with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. 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, it becomes possible to configure the appearance boundary portion of the denture base with a material such as a lighter color, and thus, it becomes possible to configure the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the portion 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, among the appearance boundary portions between any artificial tooth and the 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 a blank 119 for an artificial tooth. FIG. 22B is a cross-sectional view of an appropriate portion of the blank 119 for an artificial tooth 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 material replacement step of replacing, in advance, a portion corresponding to an appearance boundary portion of any artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material with a material such as a light color, prior to the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3).

[0215] The artificial tooth boundary material replacement step includes a recess formation 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, as the artificial tooth material as the workpiece 10, one having the same configuration as the above-described blank 119 for an artificial tooth (see FIG. 18A) is used. Hereinafter, the blank for an artificial tooth used in this method is also referred to as the blank 119 for an artificial tooth, and the same reference numerals are given to the same portions for explanation.

[0217] First, in the recess forming step, as shown in Fig. 22A, a filling recess 197 is formed in an appropriate part 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 part 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] Note 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 misalignment in the two cutting steps.

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

[0221] Thereafter, as described above, by normally performing the artificial tooth intermediate formation step (step S3) to the denture formation step (step S6), a denture having an artificial tooth 97 in which the appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial tooth is formed of a light-colored 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 an 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 any of the 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 forming the appearance boundary portion of the artificial tooth with a light-colored 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 forming the appearance boundary portion of the artificial tooth with a light-colored 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 in which a portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is 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 portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is added based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by means such as coating with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base to form it. 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 portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth with a material such as a lighter color, and thus it becomes possible to configure the external boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

[0226] Also, a method similar to the method of forming the tip portion of the above-described 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 portion 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 portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is excised, and the excised portion of the artificial tooth intermediate is replaced and re-formed based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by means such as coating with a material that is lighter in color or more transparent than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. 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 portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth with a material such as a lighter color, and thus it becomes possible to configure the external boundary portion between the arbitrary artificial tooth and the denture base to be lighter in color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base.

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

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

[0230] In this method, for example, in a denture intermediate forming 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 a lighter color or has higher transparency than a portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base 100. Excess adhesive that has leaked from a joining portion between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100 and solidified remains partially at the boundary portion between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100 even after execution of a denture forming step (step S6). This is referred to as residual solidified adhesive.

[0231] Among the appearance boundary portions between the artificial tooth 101 and the denture base 100, a portion constituted by the above-described residual solidified adhesive is referred to as an appearance boundary portion 99 formed by an adhesive. Thus, by configuring the adhesive with a light-colored material or the like, the appearance boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive is also configured with 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 is a lighter color than a 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 an appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and a denture base constituting the denture is a lighter color than a portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base by the various methods described above. FIG. 25B is an enlarged end view of a cut portion along line XXVB-XXVB 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 at an outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base, and artificial teeth 97 formed of a light-colored material 198 or the like at an outer appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth. Further, at a boundary portion between the denture base 98 and the artificial teeth 97, there is provided an outer appearance boundary portion 99 formed of an adhesive made of a light-colored material or the like.

[0234] The above-mentioned light-colored material or the like is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having a lighter color or higher transparency than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base. Also, the color tones of the light-colored material or the like in the outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base, the outer appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, and the outer appearance 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 of the outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base may be a lighter color (for example, a gingival color with a tinge of white compared to the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva of the denture base), and the light-colored material or the like of the outer appearance 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 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 appearance boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive may have the same color tone as the light-colored material or the like of the outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base, or may have the same color tone as the light-colored material or the like of the outer appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, or may have a color tone between the light-colored material or the like of the outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base and the light-colored material or the like of the outer appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth.

[0236] In the example of the denture 108 shown in FIGS. 25A to 25B, all three portions, namely, the outer appearance boundary portion 981 of the denture base, the outer appearance boundary portion 971 of the artificial teeth, and the outer appearance boundary portion 99 formed by the adhesive, are formed of some light-colored material or the like, so that the outer appearance 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] 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 are formed of a light-colored material or the like, so that the appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base constituting the denture is thinner in color than the portion corresponding to the attached gingiva 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 a 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 denture with a base (partial denture) other than a complete denture (full base 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, at least for 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 connecting parts 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 by 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. Further, 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 three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the denture base intermediate forming step of forming the denture base intermediate such that at least the connection portion with the artificial tooth is in its original size and the portion not formed in its original size is in a size with an additional finishing allowance to 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 connection 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 obtained by adding a finishing allowance 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 connection 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 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;

[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, setting the cutting position of each artificial tooth intermediate in the artificial tooth material 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 formation step, when forming an artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to any of the artificial teeth, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the any artificial tooth is formed in a shape with the tip portion removed in advance.

[0261] After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the denture 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 denture.

[0262] In the subsequent denture formation 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 any 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 formation step, the artificial tooth intermediate corresponding to any of the artificial teeth is formed in a normal shape.

[0267] After the execution of the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the execution of the denture formation step, the tip portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the tip portion of the any 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 dental prosthesis 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 dental prosthesis 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 dental prosthesis material, a dental prosthesis material composed of a tooth-colored layer made of a tooth-colored material is used.

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

[0274] In the subsequent denture forming step, a denture intermediate body including a dental prosthesis 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 dental prosthesis 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 dental prosthesis in which the tip portion is formed with a highly transparent material is a dental prosthesis constituting the anterior 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 Invention A1 to Invention A6,

[0282] any one of the artificial teeth whose tip portion is formed of a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth constituting a molar portion,

[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 Invention A1 to Invention A7,

[0286] the three-dimensional shape data of the denture is obtained based on an 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 Invention A1 to Invention 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,

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

[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 is an artificial tooth intermediate to be formed individually, for the artificial tooth intermediate to be formed individually, it is 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 full size. When there is an artificial tooth intermediate not to be formed individually, for the artificial tooth intermediate not to be formed individually, it is formed as one or more blocks grouped together in two or more, with a dimension obtained by adding a finishing margin to at least the tip portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth at full size. An artificial tooth intermediate forming step,

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

[0297] being provided with,

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

[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 such 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 the above.

[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 added with a highly transparent material by coating or the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the artificial tooth to form it.

[0308] In the subsequent artificial tooth formation step, 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 subsequent artificial tooth formation step, 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 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 highly transparent material at the tip portion is a molar artificial tooth,

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

[0330] [Inventive concept B8]

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

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

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

[0334] [Inventive concept B9]

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

[0336] [Inventive concept B10]

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

[0338] [Inventive concept B11]

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

[0340] Note that the applicable ranges of the manufacturing methods according to Inventions A2, A3, A4, A5 and B2, B3, B4, B5 are 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 with the transparent layer, and the transparent layer and the tooth-colored layer are in contact with each other in a substantially flat plane, in the artificial tooth intermediate body forming step, when the cutting positions of the tip portions of any artificial teeth to be formed of a highly transparent material can be arranged on a substantially same plane, the manufacturing method according to Invention A2 or B2 can be applied.

[0341] That is, when any 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 body, or among artificial teeth corresponding to a plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies formed as a block of two or more together, 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 becomes 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 any artificial tooth whose tip portion is to be formed of a highly transparent material is an artificial tooth corresponding to a plurality of artificial tooth intermediate bodies formed as a block of two or more together, and the height of the tip portion is different, or when the inclination angle of the tip portion is different from others, 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 configured such that an externally visible boundary portion between any artificial tooth and a denture base constituting the denture has 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 process, etc., can be grasped as the following inventions C1 to C9 by abstracting them.

[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 size 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 artificial tooth intermediate is formed with a size obtained by adding a finishing allowance to the original size, and is formed individually one by one; and 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 artificial tooth intermediate is formed with a size obtained by adding a finishing allowance to the original size, and is formed as one or more blocks formed by combining two or more; 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 the denture; a denture forming step

[0355] comprising:

[0356] The appearance boundary portion between any artificial tooth and the denture base that constitutes the denture is configured to be 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 be 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 by applying or the like 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.

[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 gingival color layer made of a gingival color material is used.

[0377] Prior to the step of forming the denture base intermediate, the method further includes a step of replacing a portion of the denture base material corresponding to 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 in advance.

[0378] 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 outer 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.

[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 outer boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is formed in a shape obtained by removing it in advance.

[0383] After the step of forming the artificial tooth intermediate is executed and before the step of forming the denture is executed, 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, the denture intermediate including the artificial tooth intermediate is cut according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, so that the outer 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.

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

[0386] [Invention C7]

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

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

[0389] after the artificial tooth intermediate formation step and before the denture formation step, a portion of the artificial tooth intermediate including the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth is excised, and the excised portion of the 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 formation 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 of 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 formation step, an artificial tooth boundary portion material replacement step of previously replacing a portion corresponding to the external boundary portion of the arbitrary artificial tooth in the artificial tooth material 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,

[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 external 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.") except for those that are not applicable 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 except for those that are not applicable 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 body connection process S5: Denture intermediate body 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. If there are artificial tooth intermediates that are not formed individually, for such artificial tooth intermediates that are not formed individually, 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 in two or more, and for at least the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates, a part of the 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 coupling auxiliary material forming step of forming a coupling auxiliary material having a plurality of coupling auxiliary portions for respectively coupling to the plurality of the coupling portions based on the three-dimensional shape data of the denture, and is configured such that by respectively coupling the corresponding coupling portions to each of the coupling auxiliary portions of the coupling 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 coupling portion is configured to directly couple with the coupling 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 a plurality of individually formed artificial tooth intermediates to each other according to the three-dimensional shape data of the denture by connecting corresponding joint parts to each other. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized thereby. **Claim 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 highly transparent material. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized thereby. **Claim 5** In the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 4, the artificial tooth material is constituted by a laminate having a transparent layer in which at least one layer is formed of a highly transparent material, when forming an artificial tooth intermediate from the artificial tooth material, the cutting-out 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 of the individually formed artificial tooth intermediates is constituted by the transparent layer. A method for manufacturing a denture, characterized thereby. **Claim 6** In the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, the appearance 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 thereby. **Claim 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 thereby. **Claim 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 thereby. **Claim 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 thereby. **Claim 10** A denture, characterized by being manufactured by the method for manufacturing a denture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3. **Claim 11** An artificial tooth material, characterized by being used in the method for manufacturing a denture according to Claim 5.

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