Scannable therapeutic components

Abstract

To provide a system for designing therapeutic components, such as therapeutic abutments, that have scannable feature areas. [Solution] An operation to create a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of scanned data; an operation to determine the location and orientation of a dental implant within the 3D model based on a first information marker; and a virtual dental component including dimensional information of the dental component based on the location and orientation of the dental implant.

Description

Technical Field

[0005] , , , ,

[0004]

[0001] Priority Claim This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 853,652, filed May 28, 2019, entitled "Scannable Treatment Component," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This specification generally, but non - limitingly, relates to dental prosthetic systems and methods, and more specifically to treatment components such as treatment abutments with scannable features.

Background Art

[0003] Dental prosthetic systems can be used for the purpose of reconstructing defects in a patient's jaw, such as missing teeth or misaligned teeth. A dental prosthetic system can include components such as dental implants, intermediate structures such as abutments, and final prosthetics or restorations such as crowns, bridges, or dentures that can replicate one or more missing teeth of the patient. <0??00014>

[0004] The placement of dental implants can be achieved step - by - step. For example, in the first step, a dentist can examine radiographs and dental models to determine the appropriate placement and axial alignment of the dental implant. In the second step, an oral surgeon can access the bone through the mucosal tissue. The surgeon can drill holes in the maxilla or mandible. Thereafter, the dental implant can be press - fit or screwed into the bone. A treatment abutment having a height generally at least equal to the thickness of the gingival tissue can be coupled to the dental implant to induce the growth of gingival tissue during the treatment period.

[0005] In some procedures, an impression can be taken after the dental implant has been placed. The impression can be used to record the position and orientation of the apical surface (e.g., the mounting surface) of the dental implant. The position and orientation of the implant's apical surface can then be reproduced in a dental model of the patient's mouth. The primary purpose of the impression is to accurately communicate to the dental technician the size and shape of the adjacent teeth and soft tissues in relation to the apical surface of the permanently placed dental implant. The dental model provides the technician with an accurate model of the patient's mouth, including the orientation and position of the apical surface dental implant in relation to the surrounding teeth. Based on this model, the technician can construct a final restoration that accurately occludes with the dental implant positioned in the patient's mouth. To assist the impression process, an impression coping or device can be attached to the apical surface of the dental implant. In some cases, the treatment abutment can be removed, and the impression coping is attached to the dental implant. Removing the treatment abutment disturbs the treatment tissue, and if the impression coping does not have the same or similar gingival dimensions as the treatment abutment, a gap may form between the impression coping and the gingival tissue wall, defining an aperture. This can result in an inaccurate impression of the patient's oral condition. The impression coping may be retained in the impression material or in the removed impression material. In the final stage of the restoration process, the treatment abutment can be replaced with the final restoration.

[0006] More recently, intraoral scanning (IOS) has emerged as an alternative to taking physical impressions of a patient's mouth and / or creating dental models. In this procedure, a handheld intraoral scanner is used to capture three-dimensional data and / or images of the configuration and orientation of dental implants through the use of a scanning device that can be coupled to the tip of the dental implant, as well as the shape of adjacent teeth in relation to the permanently placed implant. This information can be used to construct a physical or digital model of the patient's anatomical structure, which can then be used to design and / or manufacture the final restoration. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The inventors recognized, in particular, that the earlier treatment abutments may have several drawbacks. For example, the complex coding system on the top of the treatment abutment may be difficult to manufacture and difficult to accurately capture using scanning, which may reduce the accuracy of the coding interpretation. Furthermore, some earlier treatment abutments have non-anatomical shapes that may cause the gingiva to heal into shapes that cannot correspond to the shape of the final prosthesis. Regarding complex coding, the earlier approach used various methods to convey information about the treatment abutment in the scanning data. For example, multiple protrusions, grooves, and asymmetric shapes with computable features can be used to determine information about the treatment abutment and implant. However, scanning quality that captures all coding is crucial for accurately determining the implant's position and orientation. Since the quality of the scanning data can affect the accuracy of identifying the implant's position and orientation, the use of complex coding may increase the difficulty in obtaining the precise position and orientation of the implant from the scanning data. Furthermore, the use of complex code can make manufacturing difficult and increase inaccuracies between the actual therapeutic abutment and the design file (virtual therapeutic abutment). Moreover, complex code can increase the difficulty of data manipulation, such as interpretation and alignment, including shape matching. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The inventors have provided a solution by providing a treatment abutment or scanning body (in the following description, treatment abutment may also mean treatment element, treatment cap, or scanning body) for coupling with a dental component that includes a scannable feature (also called an information marker) that can be used to accurately determine the position and orientation of a dental implant. The scannable feature is not very complex, thus increasing ease of manufacture, which in turn increases the accuracy between the manufactured treatment abutment and the design file (virtual treatment abutment). Data collection increases because the quality of treatment abutment scanning is more accurate and of higher quality due to the less complex nature of the scannable feature. Furthermore, the ease and accuracy of data manipulation are increased because the code is not very complex, which in turn increases the accuracy of the alignment between the virtual treatment abutment and the scanning data of the treatment abutment.

[0009] As used herein, “scannable features” (also referred to herein as “information markers”) may include any reference portion / surface of a treatment abutment (attachment member) that can be captured in scanning data and used to identify the unique characteristics of the treatment abutment, assisting the user in determining the position and orientation of the underlying implant. For example, “scannable features” may include the shape of the surface of the treatment abutment, indicia (including, but not limited to, identification marks including text, color and numbers), grooves, protrusions, flat surfaces, and shapes that can be used in particular for or for shape matching, alignment and as a reference surface. That is, the overall surface defining the shape of the treatment abutment, as well as any identification marks, surface lines, profiles or cross-sectional shapes, etc., may be scannable features as discussed herein.

[0010] For example, multiple pieces of information may be provided within the scanned data via information markers. However, the inventors determined that some data requires greater accuracy than others. For example, when designing a final prosthesis, information from several scannable features (also referred to as “first information markers,” “hardcodes,” or “first scannable features”) used to determine the location and orientation of a dental implant is important, and the information needs to be as accurate as possible. In contrast, however, other scannable features (referred herein to as “second information markers,” “softcodes,” or “second codes”) used to determine information such as the profile of soft tissue or the type of implant do not need to be as accurate. For example, soft tissue is flexible and mobile, and therefore determining the precise shape of the soft tissue in a 3D model is not as important as determining the location and orientation of a dental implant. Accordingly, in the present invention, the complexity of the information markers or scannable features is minimized, and the information markers used to determine the location and orientation of a dental implant are positioned on the treatment abutment of the present disclosure and are available for use in accurately determining the location and orientation of a dental implant.

[0011] When a user receives scanning data, including scanning data of a treatment abutment in a patient's mouth, they can create a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of the scanning data that includes a portion of the treatment abutment. The user can then manipulate the data by combining the 3D virtual model with the virtual treatment abutment. As discussed herein, once the virtual treatment abutment is accurately positioned within the 3D virtual model of the scanning data, the virtual treatment abutment can be removed from the 3D model so that the position and orientation of the apical mounting surface of the dental implant can be determined.

[0012] When scanning techniques are used to capture scannable features of a treatment abutment, computer software can determine the implant's position and orientation in relation to adjacent teeth. For example, the implant's position is defined in a Cartesian coordinate system with X, Y, and Z axes. The common point is the intersection of the implant's centerline and the plane representing the implant's mounting surface.

[0013] In one example, a first scannable feature can be geometrically aligned to a corresponding first scannable feature on a virtual therapeutic abutment (design file). Since the dimensions of the virtual therapeutic abutment are known, a 3D virtual model can be modified. A reference surface is determined to properly align the virtual therapeutic abutment within the 3D virtual model and to determine the coordinate system. The inventors determined that some scannable feature parts are more important than others for determining the reference surface. Therefore, a first scannable feature can be geometrically aligned so that the location and orientation of the reference surface are precisely determined within the 3D virtual model. That is, the first scannable feature is used to geometrically align to a corresponding feature on the virtual therapeutic abutment. Once geometrically aligned, the first scannable feature on the virtual therapeutic abutment is locked to the coordinate system in five of its six degrees of freedom. As will be further discussed herein, since the location of the mounting surface is on the underside of the treatment abutment, a location along the Z-axis of the mounting surface is not provided by morphologically matching the first scannable feature portion.

[0014] At least one second scannable feature area can provide various information about the characteristics of the treatment abutment. For example, the height dimension of the treatment abutment may be indicated from the second scannable feature area. Once the height dimension is known, the virtual treatment abutment is locked in a sixth degree of freedom, and the precise location and orientation of a portion of the dental implant can be determined within the coordinate system. Furthermore, data from at least one second scannable feature area can be used to determine additional information about the treatment abutment, such as the profile shape and implant connection type.

[0015] In one example, a treatment abutment may include a body extending from the coronal end portion to the apical end portion. The body may include a lateral surface and a apical surface defining the margin, where the apical surface includes the most coronal surface and a circumferential portion extending between the apical surface and the margin. A portion of the circumferential portion may be tapered from the most coronal surface toward the margin. The lateral and / or apical surfaces may further include indicia. However, as discussed herein, the most coronal surface and the circumferential portion are used for shape matching to accurately position the virtual treatment abutment within a 3D virtual model of the patient.

[0016] This summary is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter of this patent application. It is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive description of the invention. A more detailed description is included to provide further information about this patent application. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a therapeutic abutment and retention screw according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 2A] Figure 2A is a top view of a dental implant according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 2B] Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view of the dental implant shown in Figure 2A. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 8A] Figure 8A is a top view of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 8B] Figure 8B is a perspective view of the treatment abutment in Figure 8A. [Figure 8C] Figure 8C is a cross-sectional view of the treatment abutment in Figures 8A and 8B. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the treatment abutment in Figure 8A along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Figure 14A illustrates a top view of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 14B] Figure 14B illustrates a perspective view of the treatment abutment shown in Figure 14A. [Figure 15A] Figure 15A illustrates a top view of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 15B] Figure 15B illustrates a perspective view of the treatment abutment shown in Figure 15A. [Figure 16] Figure 16 illustrates a patient and scanner according to an exemplary embodiment. [Figure 17] Figure 17 illustrates a perspective view of a coordinate system according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 18] Figure 18 illustrates a perspective view of a 3D virtual model of a patient's mouth according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 19A] Figure 19A illustrates a perspective view of the modified 3D virtual model from Figure 18, with the treatment abutment removed from the 3D virtual model. [Figure 19B] Figure 19B illustrates a perspective view of the modified 3D virtual model from Figure 18, with the treatment abutment removed from the 3D virtual model. [Figure 20] Figure 20 illustrates a system according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 21] Figure 21 illustrates a perspective view of a treatment abutment according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 22] Figure 22 illustrates a virtual model of a therapeutic abutment from a therapeutic abutment library according to one exemplary embodiment. [Figure 23] Figure 23 illustrates a method flowchart according to one exemplary embodiment.

[0018] In drawings that are not necessarily drawn to actual size, similar numbers may represent similar components in different drawings. Similar numbers with different subscripts may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings generally illustrate, as examples and not limitingly, the various embodiments discussed herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] Herein, embodiments of therapeutic abutments and methods are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where similar figures throughout represent similar or analogous elements. Although several embodiments, examples, and illustrations are disclosed below, those skilled in the art will understand that the invention described herein extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments, examples, and illustrations, and may include other uses of the invention and its obvious modifications, combinations, and subcombinations and / or equivalents. The terms used in the descriptions presented herein are not intended to be constrained or restrictive simply because they are used in conjunction with the detailed descriptions of some specific embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include several novel feature elements, none of which alone bears its desired attributes and is not essential to the practice of the invention described herein.

[0020] In the following explanation, some terms may be used for reference only and are therefore not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as "above" and "below" refer to the direction in the drawing to which the reference is indicated. Terms such as "proximal," "distal," "apical," "front," "back," "coronal," "rear," and "side" describe the orientation and / or location of each part of a component or element within an arbitrary reference frame, which will become clear by referring to the text and accompanying drawings describing the component or element in discussion. Such terms may include the words specifically mentioned above, their derivatives, and words with similar meanings.

[0021] Figures 1, 2, and 8A-C illustrate a treatment abutment 10 that can be coupled to a dental implant 42 (see Figures 2A and 2B) via a retaining screw 30. In one embodiment, the dental implant 42 may be a “bone-level” dental implant as described below. In a modified arrangement, the treatment abutment 10 can be coupled directly to the dental implant 42 or to one or more intermediate components between the dental implant 42 and the treatment abutment 10.

[0022] The treatment abutment 10 includes a body 16 extending from a coronal end portion 12 to an apical end portion 14. The apical end portion 14 may include a mounting surface 26 configured to contact the apical surface 44 of the implant 42. The apical end portion 14 may also include a non-rotating feature portion 28 that can be housed within a corresponding bore 46 of the implant 42. The bore 46 of the implant 42 has a non-rotating feature portion 48 corresponding to the non-rotating feature portion 28 of the treatment abutment 10. Although shown as a protrusion in Figure 1, Figure 3 illustrates an example where the non-rotating feature portion 27 is a non-rotating cavity 25 that can house a non-rotating feature portion extending from the apical surface of the implant. Other non-rotating features are intended to prevent rotation between the treatment abutment 10 and the implant 42. The apical end portion 14 may include a stop surface 40 at the apical end of the non-rotating feature portion 28 that can contact the apical surface 44 on the implant 42 when the treatment abutment 10 is coupled to the implant 42.

[0023] The treatment abutment 10 includes a bore 21 extending through the abutment and a shoulder 23 configured to engage with the shoulder 33 of the head 32 of the retaining screw 30. As shown in Figure 1, the retaining screw 30 includes a thread 36 that can engage with the thread 54 of a bore 51 within the implant 42 to securely fasten the treatment abutment 10 to the dental implant 42. The retaining screw 30 also includes a bore 38 that receives a tool for turning the screw 30.

[0024] The treatment abutment 10 includes a lateral surface 24 and a apical surface 18 that define a margin 22. That is, the margin 22 is positioned between the lateral surface 24 and the apical surface 18. In other words, the margin 22 defines the boundary between the lateral surface 24 and the apical surface 18 and extends continuously around the circumference of the apical surface 18. As described herein, the periphery defined by the margin 22 can define an asymmetric shape (see Figure 8A). In one example, the periphery defined by the margin may be circular. Although the margin 22 may be circular, generally, an asymmetric shape may be closer to the natural shape of the patient's tooth being replaced than a cylindrical shape. However, both circular and asymmetric shapes defined by the periphery of the margin 22 are intended. Thus, the margin 22 can have a variety of shapes corresponding to different teeth being replaced.

[0025] In one embodiment, the lateral surface 24 may include an emergence profile that can assist in shaping the gingival tissue to be treated. For example, the lateral surface 24 may include one or more curved surfaces to assist in gingival formation. Furthermore, the lateral surface 24 may include straight portions that are inclined toward each other. Other configurations are possible in modified embodiments. Thus, the shape of the margin 22 and the lateral surface 24 can help in shaping the gingiva to a desired shape. The cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment 10 below the margin 22 may similarly be asymmetrical or symmetrical and may have a shape similar to or different from the margin 22.

[0026] In one embodiment, the apical surface 18 includes the most coronal surface 20. In one example, the most coronal surface 20 is planar and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 19 of the treatment abutment 10 (see Figures 8A-C). Since the most coronal surface 20 can surround the bore 30, it may include an inner edge 29 and an outer edge 31. The thickness 72 of the most coronal surface 20 between the inner and outer edges 29, 31 may vary and may be due to various factors. As discussed herein, the most coronal portion 20 may be planar and is a scannable feature that provides information about the dental implant. In one example, the most coronal portion 20 is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 19. In another example, the most coronal portion 20 is not perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 19 and forms an angle other than 90 degrees. Furthermore, in some examples, the most coronal surface 20 is not planar.

[0027] In one embodiment, the apical surface 18 includes a circumferential portion 60 extending between the most crown-side surface 20 and the margin 22. As discussed herein, the circumferential portion 60 is a portion of the apical surface 18 that forms at least a portion of a cone, so that the scanning data of the circumferential portion 60 can be shape-matched to a virtual treatment abutment having the same circumferential portion 60. As further discussed herein, since the central axis of the circumferential portion 60 (having a conical shape or a portion that matches a conical shape) is known, the orientation of the central axis of the treatment abutment in the 3D virtual model is also known.

[0028] In one example, the circumferential portion 60 is tapered away from the most crown-side surface 20. As discussed herein, the circumferential portion 60 defines at least a portion of the cone. That is, along the circumferential portion 60, a portion of the apical surface 18 extends circumferentially with a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and extends radially with a constant taper angle. Although the circumferential portion 60 is discussed as having a conical shape, any axisymmetric geometry can be used such that the central axis can be determined or discerned from the circumferential portion 60. While the conical shape is easy to manufacture, it is intended that any shape / scannable feature can be used such that the central axis can be determined.

[0029] In one embodiment, during use, a first scannable feature or first information marker, namely the most coronal portion 20 and the circumferential portion 60, is provided in the scanning data, and a 3D model of the scanning data is generated. The first information marker can be used as a reference surface to determine the location and orientation of a virtual dental implant in the 3D model, corresponding to the location and orientation of a dental implant placed in the patient's mouth. The scanning data may include treatment abutment data, soft tissue data, and peripheral tooth data, if any peripheral teeth are present in the patient.

[0030] In one embodiment, at least one second information marker can be used to identify the correct virtual treatment abutment from a virtual treatment abutment library. The virtual treatment abutment library contains characteristics for each virtual treatment abutment in the library. Therefore, once the correct virtual treatment abutment is identified by, for example, the second information marker, information about various characteristics such as dimensional information (height and width), profile and cross-sectional shape, and connection type of the dental implant can be determined. This type of information does not need to be provided in the first information marker used for shape matching. Therefore, the second information marker is separate from the first information marker. In fact, the second information marker does not need to be provided in the scan data, but can be provided as an annotation within a file sent with the scan data. This makes the first information marker, which is used as a reference surface to help determine the location and orientation of the dental implant, simple and separate from other information markers. In this way, the manufacturing of therapeutic abutments can be made easier, scanning more accurate, and the interpretation and use of information markers can be made more precise and simpler, leading to an overall process improvement and more accurate data.

[0031] Once a virtual treatment abutment that matches the treatment abutment in the scanning data is identified, the selected virtual treatment abutment can be geometrically aligned with the 3D model so that the first scannable feature in the 3D model aligns with the first virtual scannable feature of the virtual treatment abutment. For example, the virtual coronal portion of the virtual treatment abutment is aligned with the coronal surface 20 of the treatment abutment in the 3D model of the patient's mouth, and the virtual circumferential portion is aligned with the circumferential portion 60 of the treatment abutment in the 3D model of the patient's mouth. Once geometrically aligned, the virtual treatment abutment is merged with the 3D model of the patient's mouth. At this point, the coordinate system is determined within the 3D model of the patient's mouth. That is, the coronal surface and circumferential portion are fixed with five degrees of freedom, and the first information marker is translated along the X and Y axes and rotated along the X, Y, and Z axes. At this point, the only information we have about the coordinate system is where the mounting surface is positioned along the Z-axis.

[0032] Since the height of the selected virtual treatment abutment is known by a second information marker, the precise location of the mounting surface of the dental implant can be determined by aligning the shape of the outermost coronal surface 20 in the 3D model with the virtual outermost coronal surface of the virtual treatment abutment. For example, the second information marker can provide the height of the virtual treatment abutment, and therefore, based on the location of the outermost coronal surface 20, the final degrees of freedom can be determined, and the precise location and orientation of at least the mounting surface of the dental implant can be determined. That is, the mounting surface is now transitionally locked along the Z-axis complementing the coordinate system, and the location and orientation of the mounting surface within the coordinate system are determined. As further discussed herein, the location and orientation of the mounting surface may be a determined coordinate system within the 3D model and / or may include a virtual representation of the mounting surface of the virtual dental implant.

[0033] Figures 4–7 illustrate various cross-sectional shapes of the apical surface 18 of the treatment abutment 10. As discussed herein, one scannable feature of the treatment abutment 10 may be a circumferential portion 60 of the apical surface 18 defining a portion of a cone. In one example, the entire apical surface 18 extending between the outermost coronal surface 20 and the margin 22 may have a conical shape. However, other configurations are possible in which the circumferential portion 60 extends less than 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis and extends less than the total length between the outermost coronal surface 20 and the margin 22. Although the margin 22 is shown as the intersection between the apical surface and the lateral surface, the margin 22 may be a rounded corner, as shown, for example, in Figures 1 and 8C.

[0034] Various other exemplary embodiments are shown in Figures 4-7. As can be seen in Figure 4, the circumferential portion 60 extends from the outermost crown surface 20 to the edge 22. The circumferential portion 60 can extend around the entire apical surface for, for example, 360 degrees, or less than 360 degrees, for example, 180 degrees, 90 degrees, 45 degrees, 25 degrees, etc. For example, machining issues and sufficient surface area to accurately shape-match the scanning data of the treatment abutment 10 to the virtual treatment abutment may be factors in determining how much of the apical surface forms the circumferential portion 60.

[0035] Furthermore, the circumferential portion 60 can extend 360 degrees only for a portion of the length extending between the outermost coronal surface 20 and the margin 22. The extent to which the circumferential portion (having a constant radius of curvature and a constant taper angle along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis) extends around the longitudinal axis of the treatment abutment 10, and the length between the outermost coronal surface 20 and the margin 20, can vary. In the example shown in Figure 5, the circumferential portion 60 extends from the outermost coronal portion 20 to another portion 62 of the apical surface 18, which has a different taper angle compared to the circumferential portion 60. The second portion 63 shown in the example in Figure 6 includes a curved surface. Although the second portion 63 in Figures 5 and 6 is positioned apically relative to the circumferential portion 60, Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment in which the second portion 63 is positioned coronally relative to the circumferential portion 60. In one embodiment, the circumferential portion 60 may be positioned between two second portions 63.

[0036] Figures 8-11 illustrate treatment abutments 10. Figure 8A illustrates a top view of the treatment abutment 10. As can be seen here, the outer circumference of the margin 22 defines an asymmetrical shape, and the closest crown surface 20 surrounds the bore 21. Again, in one embodiment, the outer circumference of the margin 22 may be circular.

[0037] In one embodiment, the treatment abutment 10 may include a scannable feature marking the location of the surface of the non-rotating feature portion 48 of the implant 42 (see Figure 2A). In one embodiment, the scannable feature marking may be located on the apex surface 18. In one embodiment, the scannable feature marking may be located on the lateral surface 24. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8A, the apex surface 18 includes a scannable feature marking the location of the surface of the non-rotating feature portion 48 of the implant 42 (see Figure 2A). For example, if the non-rotating feature portion is hexagonal, the scannable feature marking the non-rotating feature portion may mark the hexagonal surface. As shown in the embodiment of Figure 8A, the scannable feature marking is a cutout 64 defining a ridge 65. The first side 66 and the second side 67 of the ridge 65 extend to the edge 22. However, other configurations are intended to identify the non-rotating feature portion of the implant. For example, a scannable feature of the treatment abutment aligns with a non-rotating feature of the treatment abutment, such as a non-rotating feature 28, which interlocks with the corresponding non-rotating feature 48 of the implant 42.

[0038] Figure 9 illustrates the cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment 10 between the outermost coronal surface 20 and the ridge 65. As seen in Figure 9, the circumferential portion 60 extends 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis 19. Figure 10 illustrates the cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment along a portion of the cutout 65. As seen in Figure 10, the circumferential portion 60 extends less than 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis. The circumferential portion 60 discussed herein forms a portion of a cone so that the longitudinal axis 19 of the treatment abutment can be deduced in a virtual model of the patient's mouth, and thus the longitudinal axis of the implant can be determined. Figure 11 illustrates another embodiment in which the circumferential portion 60 extends only around a portion of the longitudinal axis 19. In the embodiment shown in Figure 11, the outer circumference includes a portion 74 that does not have a constant radius of curvature. While portion 74 in Figure 11 includes a straight line, other shapes that are curved or do not match the radius of curvature of the circumferential portion 60 may also be used.

[0039] As discussed herein, scan data of the outermost coronal surface 20 and circumferential portion 60 are shape-matched to the corresponding virtual treatment abutment so that the location of the treatment abutment 10 within the 3D virtual model (or 3D model) can be determined. The outermost coronal surface 20 and circumferential portion 60 are “hardcode” (similarly, “first code,” “first information marker,” or “first scannable feature portion”) that the inventors have determined need to be as accurate as possible. To enhance accuracy, the hardcode is separated from and simplified from all other code to make the shape-matching more precise.

[0040] Figure 8C illustrates the height 70 of the abutment 10 from the mounting surface 26 to the most crown-side surface 20, the width 72 of the most crown-side surface 20 which is ring-shaped in this embodiment, and the length 61 of the circumferential portion 60 is known. In one embodiment, once the scanning data of the most crown-side surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60 are geometrically matched with the corresponding virtual treatment abutment, the height of the virtual treatment abutment is known, and therefore the apical surface of the implant can be determined as known. As discussed herein, the height of the virtual treatment abutment can be determined from one or more “soft codes” (similarly, “second codes,” “second information markers,” or “second scannable feature areas”). That is, the soft codes provide only information about the treatment abutment and are not geometrically matched.

[0041] As discussed herein, the apical surface 18 may be configured such that, when the therapeutic abutment 10 is scanned by a scanning system, information about the position and orientation of the implant 42 can be deduced based on a first information marker on the apical surface 18 of the therapeutic abutment 10.

[0042] The coronal surface 20 is planar and, in the embodiment shown in Figure 8C, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. While a planar surface is a simple reference surface to be aligned with, non-planar coronal surfaces are intended. In other embodiments, the coronal surface 20 can form an acute angle with the longitudinal axis. For example, in cases where an angled treatment abutment is placed in the mouth, the coronal surface surrounding the bore of the treatment abutment may need to be angled. In one embodiment, the coronal surface forms an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis. In another embodiment, the angle of the coronal surface with respect to the longitudinal axis is between 10 and 30 degrees.

[0043] In one embodiment, the treatment abutment 10 may also have features (one or more second information markers) that can be used to transfer or communicate information about the physical properties of the treatment abutment 10 and / or dental implant 42, such as the size, diameter, height, manufacturer, appearance profile shape, cross-sectional shape, or platform type of the component. However, even if this information is communicated to the user, it is the alignment of the virtual treatment abutment with the most coronal surface 20 and circumferential portion 60 of the 3D model of the scanned data that enables the user to determine the location and orientation of the dental implant in the 3D model. The second information markers can be positioned on the apical surface 18 or lateral surface 24 of the treatment abutment. Furthermore, the second information markers may not be included in the scanned data but may be annotations in a file accompanying the scanned data.

[0044] In one embodiment, the treatment abutment 10 may be coupled to a dental implant 42 and may remain coupled to the dental implant 42 for a first period, which in one embodiment may correspond to a treatment period during which the lateral surface 16 of the treatment abutment 10 can shape the gingival tissue. After the first period, the treatment abutment 10 may be removed and the final restoration or a portion of the final restoration may be attached to the dental implant 42. The apical surface 18 may include scannable feature areas that can transmit information about the position, orientation and / or physical properties of the treatment abutment 10 and / or the dental implant 42. As described herein, the apical surface 18 can be recorded through the use of an intraoral scanner and / or through the use of a physical impression. Thus, the treatment abutment 10 may function as a scanning body used to determine the orientation and position of the dental implant 42.

[0045] Figures 8A and 8B illustrate a second information marker including indicia 68-1, 68-2 (collectively referred to as “Indicia 68”) included on the apical surface 18. However, the indicia 68 may be provided on the lateral surface 16 or within an annotation section delivered with the scanning data. The indicia 68 may include numbers, letters, symbols, or other identifying features and may contain one or more indicia. In one embodiment, the indicia 68 is formed so that it can be recorded by an intraoral scanner or impression material. The indicia 68 can relay and convey various types of information about the treatment abutment 10 or the underlying implant 42. For example, the most coronal surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60 are shape-matched with the corresponding virtual treatment abutment, while the indicia 68 are ignored during the shape-matching process. In one embodiment, the most coronal surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60 may be characterized as a “first scannable feature” or “hardcode,” and the indicia 68 may be characterized as a “second scannable feature” or “softcode.” The hardcode is a reference surface used to determine the position and orientation of the treatment abutment within the 3D virtual data. The accuracy of the implant position and orientation can be improved by simplifying the scannable features and aligning (e.g., shape-aligned) only the first scannable feature rather than all the scannable features on the apical surface 18, for example, to obtain the position and orientation of the treatment abutment on the coordinate system. The second scannable feature or “softcode” may be part of the scan data (or may be pointed out in a file accompanying the scan data). In one embodiment, the indicia 68 (provided as a scannable feature or accompanying a file) can be used to determine the corresponding virtual treatment abutment. For example, there may be various different treatment abutments for different locations in the mouth, different sizes, different implant connections, and lateral profile shapes. Once a virtual treatment abutment is selected, it is geometrically aligned with the treatment abutment in the 3D model.In other words, the most crown-side surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60 are shape-matched so that the central axis and mounting surface of the dental implant can be determined within the coordinate system. The information provided by Indicia 68 can be used to determine the treatment abutment and / or other feature parts of the dental implant 10. For example, Indicia 68 can provide, among other things, the implant type, the connection type, and the shape of the treatment abutment 10 (including the lateral surface 24 and the margin 22). The shape of the treatment abutment along the lateral surface and the cross-sectional shape are understood based on Indicia 68, but these do not need to be shape-matched as precisely as hardcoded.

[0046] As discussed herein, the virtual treatment abutment is geometrically aligned and merged with a 3D virtual model, and the first information marker (the most coronal surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60) is locked in five of the six degrees of freedom. The only unknown is the location of translational motion along the Z-axis. However, the location along the Z-axis can be determined based on the height of the virtual treatment abutment, which is known from the second information marker that identifies the virtual treatment abutment. Thus, the first information marker acts as a reference surface, from which the location and orientation of the dental implant can be determined.

[0047] Figures 12–15 illustrate examples of various treatment abutments 10, 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. As seen here, the shape of the margins 22, 22-1, 22-2, and 22-3 can vary, as can the shape of the lateral surfaces 24, 24-1, 24-2, and 24-3, and the heights 70, 70-1, 70-2, and 70-3. Although four different treatment abutments are shown, any number of treatment abutments with different margins and appearing profile shapes and sizes may exist. In one embodiment, a dentist may be offered a set of treatment abutments having different base diameters, different heights, different shapes, and different connection mechanisms. The dentist can select the appropriate treatment abutment based on the tooth to be replaced, the implant used, and other factors based on the patient and peripheral area.

[0048] After a treatment abutment with scannable features is placed, scanning data of the mouth, including the treatment abutment, can be obtained without using, for example, an impression coping. The scanning data can be obtained by scanning the patient's mouth or by creating an impression and scanning either the impression or a dental model made from the impression. Since the scannable features are located on the top and / or side of the treatment abutment, the user (e.g., a dental laboratory) has all the information necessary to determine the gingival opening, implant size, and the orientation of the underlying implant and hexagon. This allows the dental laboratory to quickly prepare the permanent component. While in previous systems the soft tissue closed once the treatment abutment was removed, the system of the present invention also allows for maintenance of the soft tissue surrounding the treatment abutment. The system frees the patient from the discomfort of removing the treatment abutment to obtain scanning of the implanted dental implant.

[0049] To create a permanent prosthesis, the dental area is scanned, as described above, from a dental impression, from an impression material, or directly in the mouth using scanning technology, photographic scanning technology, or mechanical detection technology. Figure 16 shows a scanning technology in which an intraoral scanner 86 can scan the oral cavity 82 of a patient 80. The user can scan the treatment abutment, surrounding teeth, surrounding soft tissues, and other components located within or adjacent to the patient's jawbone 84.

[0050] Referring to Figure 17, when scanning technology is used to learn information about the treatment abutment, computer software can determine the position and orientation of the virtual implant 90 in relation to adjacent teeth and soft tissues. The determined position of the virtual implant 90 can represent the location and orientation of a dental implant placed in the patient's tooth. The position of the virtual implant 90 is defined in a Cartesian coordinate system with "X", "Y", and "Z" axes. The common point is the intersection of the plane 93 representing the apical surface 92 of the implant 90 and the centerline of the implant.

[0051] As noted above, the second scannable feature area assists in determining the height of the treatment abutment above the implant. This height can be used to identify the zero point on the "Z" axis within the plane 93 containing the mounting surface 92 of the implant 90. The "Y" axis 94 lies within the plane 93 representing the mounting surface 94, with the positive "Y" direction as close as possible to the buccal direction from the face. The "X" axis 98 lies within the plane 93 and is perpendicular to the hexagonal face of the implant. Thus, the width of the mounting surface 92 within the plane 93 is known, as is the width of the treatment abutment emerging through the gingiva. Therefore, the emergence profile of the artificial tooth is also known.

[0052] Once scanned, the scan data may include treatment abutment data, soft tissue data, and any peripheral tooth data. The scan data is transferred into a graphical image forming program, such as a computer-aided design ("CAD") program, as shown in Figure 18, to create a three-dimensional ("3-D") CAD model 100 of the patient's mouth (hereinafter referred to as the "3D virtual model 100" or "3D model 100"). As can be seen in Figure 18, the 3D model 100 includes the apical and lateral surfaces of the treatment abutment 10', as well as the gingiva 104 and peripheral teeth 102. As discussed herein, the treatment abutment 10' in the 3D model 100 can be replaced or merged with the virtual treatment abutment discussed herein. That is, the user can shape-match the virtual treatment abutment with the treatment abutment in the 3D model 100 and merge the data together to form a first modified 3D model.

[0053] To select the correct virtual therapeutic abutment for merging with scan data, the system can run a shape matching algorithm to thoroughly examine all virtual therapeutic abutments within the library until a precise fit is found, or it can select a virtual therapeutic abutment from the virtual therapeutic abutment library using information from a second information marker.

[0054] As shown in Figures 19A and B, the 3D model 100 of the patient's mouth is then further modified to create a second modified CAD model 106, which removes the virtual treatment abutment that replaces the treatment abutment 10 in the 3D model 100. By removing the virtual treatment abutment, the orientation and location of the opening 108 inside the soft tissue and at least the mounting surface 114 (or apical surface) of the virtual implant 116 become known within the coordinate system. As discussed, a virtual representation of the mounting surface can be displayed in the second modified 3D model 106, but once the coordinate system is known, it is not necessary to visualize the virtual representation. The mounting surface 114 of the virtual implant 116 corresponds to the position and location of the apical surface of the dental implant placed in the patient's mouth. For example, the mounting surface 114, bore 110, and anti-rotation feature 112 can be displayed in the second modified 3D model 106. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 19B, the outline of a virtual implant placed in the patient's mouth can be shown in the second modified 3D model 106. However, the location and orientation of the mounting surface 114 are the parts of the dental implant required to design the final restoration.

[0055] The virtual treatment abutment can be shape-matched to the treatment abutment 10 represented in the 3D virtual model 100 that forms the first modified CAD model 106, as discussed herein. Once shape-matched, the virtual treatment abutment can be removed (or subtracted) from the 3D model so that at least the location and orientation of the dental implant mounting surface can be determined in the second modified 3D model 106. The opening 108 is an opening that extends through soft tissue and has the shape of the contour of the treatment abutment. As discussed herein, the second modified 3D model 106 is formed, for example, by determining from the indicia on the treatment abutment 10 which virtual treatment abutment corresponds to the treatment abutment that will be placed in the patient's mouth.

[0056] CAD programs are further used to design custom dental components for specific patients so that they are adapted for attachment to implants. In one embodiment, the dental component may be a custom abutment. The custom abutment supports the final prosthesis, often called a crown. A second modified 3D model 106 is used to design the abutment and / or crown to fit within the soft tissue and between adjacent teeth based on the specific dimensions and conditions of the patient's mouth. Therefore, obtaining the precise position of the dental implant is crucial in designing accurate dental abutments and final prostheses. However, as discussed above, the soft tissue profile shape is not as important as the implant's location and orientation. Once a CAD program has been used to design a custom abutment, the design of the custom abutment is entered into precision manufacturing equipment such as a CNC milling machine to create the custom abutment from a metal blank, which is usually titanium or a titanium alloy, or from a ceramic material.

[0057] The apical surface 18 of the treatment abutment 10 (including the most crown-side surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60) can be used to determine the orientation and position of the apical surface 114 (installation surface) and non-rotating feature portion 112 (e.g., indexing portion) of the dental implant 116 within the 3D model.

[0058] Figure 20 shows a system 200 capable of transferring scanning data acquired via a scanner 204 of the treatment abutment 10 and surrounding tissues of the patient's anatomical structure (e.g., adjacent teeth, gingival tissue, and / or implant or abutment) to an analysis system 208. A 3D virtual model of the scanning data can be created. The analysis system 208 can utilize shape alignment to identify the orientation and position of a first information marker of the treatment abutment 10 within the 3D virtual model. In such a configuration, the first information marker can be used to determine the longitudinal central axis of the treatment abutment 10 and, consequently, the longitudinal central axis of the dental implant 116 on which the treatment abutment 10 is mounted. The first information marker can also be used to determine the spatial position of the treatment abutment within the coordinate system. Once the spatial position of the treatment abutment 10 within the coordinate system is determined, the size and shape of a particular treatment abutment can be determined, and vectors for the position and orientation of the apex surface and / or non-rotating feature portion (e.g., indexing portion) can be determined from the position and orientation of the apex surface 18 of the treatment abutment 10. As discussed herein, since the first information marker is shape-matched, the five degrees of freedom of the coordinate system are locked in place, the only unknown is where the mounting surface is positioned along the Z-axis. Information from the second information marker allows the user to determine which virtual treatment abutment matches the treatment abutment in the user's mouth and to determine dimensional information. As discussed herein, the height of the virtual treatment abutment can be used as a reference in conjunction with the shape-matched first information marker so that the position and orientation of the mounting surface can be locked along the Z-axis.

[0059] In one embodiment, the type of treatment abutment 10 can be input into the analysis system 208 by the user 202 through an input device 206 (e.g., a computer keyboard or mouse) or can be determined via indicia within the treatment abutment scanning data. From the type of treatment abutment 10, information regarding the physical structure (e.g., the height and diameter of the treatment abutment, edge shape, profile shape, etc.) can be provided to the analysis system 208. As noted above, the known physical structure of the treatment abutment 10 can be combined with the position and orientation of the first information marker to determine the orientation and location of the implant mounting surface and the orientation of the non-rotating feature portion of the implant. In this way, the user 202 of the analysis system 208 can design a final restoration 214 (e.g., a dental abutment) that can accurately occlude with the dental implant placed in the patient's mouth.

[0060] As discussed herein, a first scannable feature can be used to determine the position and orientation of a dental implant. That is, once geometrically aligned with the treatment abutment in a 3D virtual model, the location and orientation of at least the mounting surface of the dental implant can be determined by using the first scannable feature as a reference surface. A second scannable feature can provide information about the treatment abutment to the user 202. For example, the second scannable feature does not need to be geometrically aligned and can be input into the analysis system 208 to determine information about the physical structure of the treatment abutment 10 and which virtual treatment abutment represents the treatment abutment 10 coupled to the dental implant in the patient's mouth. Although the second scannable feature may be provided in the scanning data, these are not part of the geometric alignment process. Soft code is ignored while the position and orientation of the apex surface 18 (including the first information marker) are geometrically aligned with the virtual treatment abutment.

[0061] In one embodiment, user 202 can inspect the final replica on a computer screen 206 or a similar device and / or use the computer screen 206 to plan and design the final replica. Manufacturing data 210 regarding the shape (dimensional data) and configuration of the final replica can be sent to the manufacturing facility 212. The manufacturing facility 212 can manufacture the final replica 214 according to the manufacturing data 210.

[0062] In one embodiment, the analysis system 208 can match the shape of a first information marker on the top surface 18 to a stored library of top surface shapes of virtual treatment abutments, thereby allowing the analysis system 208 to match the top surface 18 of the treatment abutment scanned by the scanning system. In one embodiment, the analysis system 208 can receive input from user 202 regarding a second information marker (one or more indicias) on or separately provided on the surface of the treatment abutment, and can automatically determine which virtual treatment abutment in the stored library matches the treatment abutment attached to the dental implant in the patient's mouth. Now that the analysis system 208 has identified the virtual treatment abutment that matches the treatment abutment inside the patient's mouth, it can shape-match the first information marker on the selected virtual treatment abutment to the treatment abutment in the 3D virtual model. Thus, a 3D virtual model is provided in a coordinate system as described herein. Once shape-matched, the analysis system 208 will know the five degrees of freedom of the virtual treatment abutment within the 3D virtual model. The analysis system 209 can determine the dimensional information of the virtual treatment abutment 121, which is the translational motion position along the Z-axis, in particular, to be used with the shape-matched first information marker to determine the last degree of freedom. The location of the mounting surface is on the underside of the treatment abutment and is not shown in the scanning data from the patient. Therefore, this information (the height of the treatment abutment) can be provided separately from the first information marker, since the translational motion position along the Z-axis is binary and is determined from the most coronal surface of the treatment abutment and the height of the treatment abutment. A second information marker can provide other physical properties of the virtual treatment abutment (e.g., diameter, emergent profile shape, and / or treatment abutment type), which can be used in combination with the orientation and position of the first information marker of the treatment abutment 10 to determine the shape of the soft tissue surrounding the treatment abutment.

[0063] Figure 21 shows an exemplary treatment abutment 10. As seen in Figure 18, the scanning data includes treatment abutment data. That is, the scanning data from the patient includes at least the apical surface 18 of the treatment abutment 10, and includes a first scannable feature portion (e.g., the most coronal surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60), and in some embodiments, includes a second scannable feature portion (e.g., indicia 68), as the second scannable feature portion may be provided outside the scanning data. As discussed herein, although both scannable feature portions are provided in the scanning data, only the first scannable feature portion is shape-matched so that the coordinate system within the 3D virtual model is known and the position and orientation of the dental implant can be determined. Figure 22 illustrates an exemplary virtual treatment abutment selected from a library of virtual treatment abutments. The library of virtual treatment abutments may include various treatment abutments for different teeth to be replaced and for different implants placed in the patient's body. Whether through shape alignment alone or through the use of a second information marker, the selected virtual treatment abutment is used to shape-align with the treatment abutment provided in the 3D virtual model formed from scan data. As seen in Figure 22, the virtual treatment abutment 121 includes a apical surface 123 that includes the first information marker (i.e., the most coronal surface 122 and the circumferential portion 124). The apical surface 123 also includes the cutout 126 and the margin 128. Lateral surfaces 133, including the apical end 132 and the emergence profile 130, are also shown, although these dimensions are not shape-aligned and may be provided once the orientation of the treatment abutment is known. For example, once the coordinate system is determined within the 3D virtual model by shape-aligning the first information marker between the treatment abutment in the 3D virtual model and the virtual treatment abutment 121, the position and orientation of the virtual treatment abutment 121 within the 3D virtual model are known with five degrees of freedom.Since dimensional information (e.g., height) is known from the selected virtual treatment abutment 121, the position and orientation of the dental implant mounting surface can be determined from the shape-matched first information marker. Additional information such as diameter and appearance profile can also be determined in the same way. As seen in Figure 22, the indicia 68 derived from the treatment abutment is not present on the virtual treatment abutment. Since it is not used for shape matching, the indicia does not need to be present on the virtual treatment abutment. In other embodiments, the indicia may be present even if it is not used for shape matching.

[0064] Referring to Figures 12-15, the shape of the apical surface margin differs for each size of the illustrated treatment abutment. As noted above, the analysis system 208 can utilize shape matching to identify the orientation and position of the treatment abutment in relation to the patient's anatomical structure. That is, the coronal surface 20 and the circumferential portion 60 can be shape-matched. In one embodiment, the type of abutment may be input into the analysis system 208 (e.g., by a user of the system reading Indicia), thereby providing the analysis system with information about the physical structure (e.g., the height and diameter of the treatment abutment). Known physical structures of treatment abutments can be combined with the measured position and orientation of the coronal surface and circumferential portion to determine the orientation and position of the mounting surface of the dental implant and the orientation of the non-rotating feature portion of the dental implant.

[0065] Referring to Figure 20, the system 200 may include one or more displays 206, one or more input devices 206, and one or more scanners 204, or one or more computers (analysis system 208) which may be coupled to an intraoral scanner. A user or operator 202, which may be a dentist, dental technician, or other person, may formulate data for the dental prosthesis analysis system by operating one or more input devices 206, which may be a keyboard and / or mouse. In some embodiments, while working on the design for the final restoration, the operator 202 may view a draft for the final restoration on the display 206. In a modified embodiment, the scanner may be a scanner (e.g., a desktop scanner) configured to scan an impression or plaster equivalent in an embodiment where a physical impression of the treatment abutment is taken.

[0066] In various embodiments, the analysis system 208 may include one or more computers with one or more processors, one or more memories, and / or one or more communication mechanisms. In some embodiments, two or more computers may be used to perform the modules, methods, and processes discussed herein. Furthermore, each of the modules and processes herein may run on one or more processors on one or more computers, or the modules herein may run on dedicated hardware. The input device 206 may include one or more keyboards (one-handed or two-handed), a mouse, a touchscreen, voice commands and associated hardware, gesture recognition, or any other means of providing communication between the operator 202 and the computer.

[0067] The display 206 may be a 2D or 3D display and may be based on any technology such as LCD, CRT, plasma, or projection. The scanner 204 may be a 2D or 3D scanner. The scanner 204 may be an intraoral scanner or another type of scanner (e.g., a scanner not configured to perform intraoral scanning). In some embodiments, 3D scanning within the scanner 204 is achieved using time-of-flight calculations, triangulation, conoscopy holography, structured light, modulated light, computed tomography, microtomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or any suitable technology or technique. In some embodiments, the 3D scanner may use X-rays, visible light, laser light, ultrasonic radiation, or any other suitable radiation or technology. In some embodiments, the 3D scanner may use stereoscopic imaging, photometry, silhouetteization, touch probe, or any other suitable technique. In a preferred embodiment, the scanner 204 is an intraoral scanner.

[0068] Communication between the various components of the system in Figure 20 can be achieved via any suitable coupling, including USB, VGA cable, coaxial cable, FireWire, serial cable, parallel cable, SCSI cable, IDE cable, SATA cable, wireless based on 802.11 or Bluetooth®, or any other arbitrary wired or wireless connection. One or more components within the system may also be combined into a single unit. In some embodiments, all the electronic components of the system shown in Figure 20 are contained within a single physical unit.

[0069] Referring here to Figure 23, one embodiment of Method 200 is provided. In step 202, an implant is provided and may be implanted in the patient's bone tissue, and a treatment abutment may be bonded to the implanted implant. If a physical impression must be made, Method 200 may include steps 204-208, where in step 204, an impression of the patient's mouth including the treatment abutment is taken; in step 206, a dental model is made from the impression; and in step 208, a stone cast including at least the apical surface of the treatment abutment and surrounding teeth is scanned. Instead of making a dental model or scanning an impression, in step 210, an intraoral scanner or other scanning device may be used to scan the apical surface of the treatment abutment inside the patient's mouth. Once the scanning data of the treatment abutment inside the patient's mouth is taken (from either the dental model or the intraoral scanner), in step 212, the scanning data is received and interpreted. For example, a 3D virtual model of the scanning data can be created. As discussed herein, a virtual treatment abutment is merged with scan data to provide a first modified 3D virtual model. The virtual treatment abutment is used to determine the coordinate system within the modified 3D virtual model. That is, the first information marker of the treatment abutment in the scan data is geometrically aligned with the first information marker of the virtual treatment abutment. In doing so, a coordinate system is created and the location and orientation of the first information marker of the virtual treatment abutment become publicly known within the modified 3D virtual model. Thus, the location and orientation of the dental implant also become publicly known, but only in terms of five degrees of freedom. That is, since the mounting surface of the dental implant is on the underside of the treatment abutment, once the height of the virtual treatment abutment is determined, its location along the Z-axis is determined simultaneously with or subsequently to the geometric alignment of the first information marker.

[0070] As discussed herein, the location and orientation of dental implants must be as accurate as possible; therefore, the inventors have minimized and simplified the information markers used for shape matching.

[0071] In step 214, the first modified 3D model is further modified to form a second modified 3D model that shows the apical surface (mounting surface), non-rotational features, and angular orientation (central axis) of the dental implant. That is, based on a second information marker that provides the characteristics of the virtual treatment abutment, the treatment abutment can be subtracted from the modified 3D model to form a second modified 3D model that accurately shows the orientation and location of the mounting surface of the dental implant. For example, the height of the virtual treatment abutment can be determined, and thus the distance at which the mounting surface of the dental implant forms the most coronal surface can also be determined. Thus, the analysis system 206 can remove the virtual treatment abutment and illustrate at least the mounting surface of the dental implant.

[0072] In step 216, once the position and orientation of the apical surface, longitudinal axis, and / or non-rotational feature of the dental implant are known, the user can design and then manufacture the final restoration.

[0073] After a certain period (e.g., treatment and osseointegration period), the treatment abutment can be removed from the dental implant, and a final dental restoration, such as a single tooth, bridge, or other framework, can be applied to the dental implant at its connection interface. As noted above, the final restoration may be designed and / or fabricated based on information (position and orientation) collected from the treatment abutment. As stated above, the final restoration can be designed using knowledge of the precise position and orientation of the dental implant, which can be determined from scanning the treatment abutment and the information derived therefrom. Scanning the treatment abutment can be performed before, during, or after a certain period (e.g., treatment and osseointegration period). As noted below, in some embodiments, a physical impression of the treatment abutment may be taken in addition to or as an alternative to intraoral scanning of the treatment abutment.

[0074] The processes, computer-readable media, and systems described herein may be implemented on various types of hardware, such as computer systems. A computer system may include buses or other communication mechanisms for communicating information, and other communication mechanisms coupled to the bus for processing information. A computer system may have main memory, such as random-access memory, or other dynamic storage devices coupled to the bus. Main memory may be used to store instructions and temporary variables. A computer system may also include read-only memory or other static storage devices coupled to the bus for storing static information and instructions. A computer system may also be coupled to a display, such as a CRT or LCD monitor. Input devices may also be coupled to a computer system. These input devices may include a mouse, trackball, or cursor arrow keys. A computer system described herein may include a computer, display, scanner, and / or input devices. Each computer system may be implemented using one or more physical computers or computer systems or parts thereof. Instructions executed by a computer system may also be read from computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be CDs, DVDs, optical or magnetic disks, laser disks, carriers, or any other media readable by a computer system. In some embodiments, hardwired circuits can be used instead of or in combination with software instructions executed by the processor.

[0075] Any process description, element, or block in the flowcharts described herein and / or depicted in the accompanying drawings should be understood as potentially representing a module, segment, or code portion containing one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or step in the process. As those skilled in the art will understand, alternative implementations in which elements or functions are executed in a deviant order from those illustrated or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the functionality involved, are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein and may be superseded.

[0076] The embodiments described herein may include or be operated by logic or many components or mechanisms. A circuit set is a set of circuits implemented in a tangible object, including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). The members of a circuit set may be flexible over time and in accordance with the variability of the underlying hardware. A circuit set includes members that can perform a defined operation during operation, either individually or in combination. In one embodiment, the hardware of a circuit set may be designed invariantly to perform a particular operation (e.g., hardwired). In one embodiment, the hardware of a circuit set may include variably coupled physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a computer-readable medium that is physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, a movable arrangement of invariant mass particles, etc.) to encode instructions for a particular operation. In coupling the physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components may be changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor, or vice versa. Instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or loading mechanism) to create members of a set of circuits within the hardware via variable connections to perform a specific part of an operation during operation. Thus, a computer-readable medium is coupled in a communicative manner to other components of the set of circuits while the device is operating. In one embodiment, any physical component may be used in two or more members of two or more sets of circuits. For example, during operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first set of circuits at one point in time, and may be reused at a different point in time by a second circuit in the first set of circuits or a third circuit in the second set of circuits.

[0077] The machine (e.g., an analysis system or computer system) 208 may include hardware processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof), main memory, and static memory, some or all of which may communicate with each other via interlink (e.g., a bus). The machine 208 may further include a display unit 206 and an alphanumeric input device 206 (e.g., a keyboard) and a user interface (UI) navigation device (e.g., a mouse). In one embodiment, the display unit 206, the input device 206, and the UI navigation device may be touchscreen displays. The machine 208 may further include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit).

[0078] The storage device may include a machine-readable medium storing one or more sets of data structures or instructions (e.g., software) that embody or are used by any one or more of the technologies or functions described herein. Instructions may also reside, all or at least partially, within main memory, static memory, or a hardware processor during the execution of instructions by machine 208. In one embodiment, one or any combination of a hardware processor, main memory, static memory, or storage device may constitute the machine-readable medium.

[0079] A machine-readable medium can be a single medium or a number of mediums configured to store one or more instructions (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers).

[0080] The term “machine-readable medium” may include any medium having the ability to store, encode, or carry instructions for execution by machine 208, or to store, encode, or carry data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Examples of non-limiting machine-readable mediums may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. In one embodiment, a mass machine-readable medium includes a machine-readable medium with a plurality of particles having constant (stationary) mass. Thus, a mass machine-readable medium is a non-temporary propagating signal. Specific examples of mass machine-readable mediums may include non-volatile memory, e.g., semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0081] Instructions may further be transmitted or received over a communication network using a transmission medium via a network interface device that utilizes one of numerous transmission protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Exemplary communication networks may include, among others, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile phone networks (e.g., cellular networks), simple conventional telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 standard family known as Wi-Fi®, the IEEE 802.16 standard family known as WiMax®), the IEEE 802.15.4 standard family, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In one embodiment, the network interface device may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet®, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the communication network. In one embodiment, the network interface device may include multiple antennas for wireless communication using at least one of the following technologies: single input multiple output (SIMO), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), or multiple input single output (MISO). The term “transmission medium” is understood to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by machine 208, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible mediums for facilitating the communication of such software.

[0082] The therapeutic abutments described herein may be manufactured from polymer materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), but in other embodiments, the therapeutic abutments may be manufactured from other materials such as metal (e.g., titanium). The therapeutic abutments may be made from a single monolithic material piece (e.g., injection-molded), but in other embodiments, the therapeutic abutments may be made from multiple pieces and / or pieces of different materials such as metal, ceramic, plastic or polymer.

[0083] In one embodiment, the top surface of a treatment abutment configured to be scanned has a roughened surface having a roughness value (Ra) ranging from about 0.05 Ra to about 0.5 Ra. The roughened surface increases scanability. Furthermore, the surface of the abutment can be further anodized to include a pink color for aesthetic reasons during treatment. [Examples]

[0084] Each of these non-limiting embodiments may be independent or may be combined with various substitutions or combinations of one or more of the other embodiments.

[0085] Embodiment 1 provides a step of receiving scanning data that includes at least therapeutic abutment data, representing a therapeutic abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient, wherein the therapeutic abutment data includes a first information marker on the apical surface of the therapeutic abutment, and the first information marker includes: the most coronal surface; a margin defining the boundary between the apical surface and the lateral surface of the therapeutic abutment; and a circumferential portion between the most coronal surface, having a constant taper along a portion of the apical surface between the most coronal surface and the margin, and having a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;; creating a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of the scanning data; determining the location and orientation of a portion of a virtual dental implant within the 3D model based on the first information marker, wherein the virtual dental implant corresponds to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient; and developing a virtual dental component including dimensional information of the dental component based on the location and orientation of the dental implant.

[0086] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes the first information marker including a scannable feature that indicates a non-rotating feature of a dental implant.

[0087] In Example 3, the subject of Example 2 optionally includes the fact that the most crown-side surface of the tooth is flat.

[0088] In Example 4, the themes of Examples 1 and 2 optionally include the fact that the most coronal surface of the tooth is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the treatment abutment.

[0089] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 optionally includes the fact that the outermost crown surface of the tooth includes an inner ridge and an outer ridge.

[0090] In Example 6, the themes of Examples 1 to 4 optionally include the fact that the treatment abutment data includes at least one second information marker that enables identification of the height of the treatment abutment.

[0091] In Example 7, the subject matter of Example 6 optionally includes at least one second information marker that enables identification of at least one of the following: the shape of the treatment abutment profile; the connection type of the dental implant; the cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment; and the width of the treatment abutment.

[0092] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 7 optionally includes the steps of determining the location and orientation of a dental implant within a 3D virtual model, which include: selecting a virtual treatment abutment from a treatment abutment library that matches a treatment abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the patient's mouth, wherein the virtual treatment abutment includes a first virtual information marker; and merging the virtual treatment abutment and treatment abutment data by shape matching the first information marker with the first virtual information marker of the virtual treatment abutment to form a first modified 3D model.

[0093] In Example 9, the subject of Example 8 optionally includes the step of forming a second modified 3D model by subtracting a virtual treatment abutment from a first modified 3D model, wherein the second modified 3D model shows the location and orientation of at least one mounting surface of a virtual dental implant, and the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the virtual dental implant corresponds to the location and orientation of the mounting surface of a dental implant placed inside the mouth of a patient.

[0094] Embodiment 10 provides a system for designing virtual dental components, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes at least one processor to perform: an operation to receive scanning data including at least treatment abutment data, wherein the treatment abutment data represents a treatment abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient, and the treatment abutment data includes a first information marker on the apical surface of the treatment abutment, the first information marker including: the most crown-side surface and; a margin defining the boundary between the apical surface and the lateral surface of the treatment abutment and a circumferential portion between the most crown-side surface, having a constant taper along a portion of the apical surface between the most crown-side surface and the margin, and having a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; an operation to create a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of the scanning data; an operation to determine the location and orientation of the dental implant within the 3D model based on the first information marker; and an operation to develop a virtual dental component including dimensional information of the dental component based on the location and orientation of the dental implant.

[0095] In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 optionally includes that the treatment abutment data includes at least one second information marker that enables identification of the height of the treatment abutment.

[0096] In Example 12, the subject of Example 11 optionally includes a second information marker that further enables the identification of at least one of the following: the shape of the treatment abutment profile; the connection type of the dental implant; the cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment; and the width of the treatment abutment.

[0097] In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 10-12 optionally includes, to cause at least one processor to perform the following steps in determining the location and orientation of a dental implant within a 3D virtual model: an operation to select a virtual treatment abutment from a treatment abutment library that matches a treatment abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient, wherein the virtual treatment abutment includes a first virtual information marker; and an operation to merge the virtual treatment abutment and treatment abutment data by shape matching the first information marker with the first virtual information marker of the virtual treatment abutment to form a first modified 3D model.

[0098] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 optionally includes causing at least one processor to perform an operation to determine the location and orientation of a dental implant within a 3D virtual model, wherein the operation involves subtracting a virtual treatment abutment from a first modified 3D model to form a second modified 3D model, the second modified 3D model showing the location and orientation of at least one mounting surface of a virtual dental implant, and the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the virtual dental implant corresponds to the location and orientation of the mounting surface of a dental implant placed inside a patient's mouth.

[0099] Example 15 provides a treatment abutment for bonding to a dental component, comprising: a body extending from the coronal end portion to the apical end portion, and having a first information marker including: a lateral surface and a margin, and a circumferential portion extending between the coronal end surface and the margin, which tapers from the coronal end surface toward the margin and has a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; and a apical surface.

[0100] In Example 16, the subject of Example 15 optionally includes the fact that the crown surface is flat and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the main body.

[0101] In Example 17, the themes of Examples 15-16 optionally include the fact that the circumferential portion of the apical surface tapers at a constant taper angle from the closest crown surface towards the edge.

[0102] In Example 18, the themes of Examples 15-17 optionally include the circumferential portion of the tapered top surface having a circumferential length of at least 15 degrees around the longitudinal axis.

[0103] In Example 19, the themes of Examples 15-18 optionally include the fact that the outer periphery defined by the edge forms an asymmetrical shape.

[0104] In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 15-19 optionally includes the fact that the body includes at least one information marker, which includes an indicia indicating at least the height of the treatment abutment.

[0105] Example 21 contains one or a combination of elements from either Example or Examples 1-20.

[0106] The description described herein includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form part of the detailed description. The drawings illustrate specific embodiments that can put the invention into practice. These embodiments are also referred to herein as “Examples.” Such embodiments may include elements added to those illustrated or described. However, the inventors also intend embodiments in which only these illustrated or described elements are provided. Furthermore, the inventors also intend embodiments using any combination or substitution of these illustrated or described elements (or one or more aspects thereof) with respect to a particular embodiment (or one or more aspects thereof) or to other embodiments (or one or more aspects thereof) illustrated or described herein.

[0107] In the event of any inconsistency in usage between this specification and any document so as to be incorporated by reference, the usage in this specification shall prevail.

[0108] In this specification, the terms “a” or “an” are used to include one or more, regardless of any other instance or usage of “at least one” or “one or more,” as is common in patent documents. In this specification, the term “or” is used to mean non-exclusive or unless otherwise indicated, and therefore “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B.” In this specification, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain English equivalents of the terms “comprising” and “wherein,” respectively. Similarly, in the following claims, “including” and “comprising” are in open form, meaning that a system, device, article, composition, preparation or process including elements added to those listed after such terms in the claim is still considered to fall within the scope of this claim. Furthermore, in the following claims, terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose any numerical requirements on their objects.

[0109] Embodiments of the methods described herein can be implemented in machine or computer in part. Some embodiments may include computer-readable or machine-readable media encoded with instructions that can be operated to configure an electronic device to perform the methods described above. Implementations of such methods may include code such as microcode, assembly language code, or high-level language code. Such code may include computer-readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form part of a computer program product. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the code may be tangibly stored on one or more volatile, non-temporary, or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media, for example, during execution or at other points in time. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and the like.

[0110] It should be emphasized that many changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein, and these elements should be understood as falling within the scope of other acceptable embodiments. Such modifications and variations are included within the scope of this disclosure and are intended to be protected by the following claims. Furthermore, any of the steps described herein can be performed simultaneously or in a different order than those ordered herein. Moreover, as will be obvious, additional embodiments can be formed by combining different features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed herein, and all such embodiments fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0111] In particular, the conditional language used herein, such as "can," "could," "might," "may," and "eg," is generally intended to convey that some embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or states, unless otherwise specifically stated or understood to be used in other forms within the context. Accordingly, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or states are required in some way for one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether these features, elements, and / or states are included in or must be performed within any particular embodiment, with or without input or prompting from the author.

[0112] The above description is intended to be illustrative, not restrictive. For example, the above embodiments (or one or more embodiments thereof) may be used in combination with one another. For example, other embodiments may be used by those skilled in the art after careful examination of the above description. An abstract is provided in accordance with 37 C. FR § 1.72(b) so that readers may quickly review the contents of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Similarly, in the above detailed description, various features may be grouped together in order to simplify the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as meaning that any disclosed features not claimed are essential to any of the claims. Rather, inventive subject matter may reside in features that are not all of the particular disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, the following claims are incorporated herein in the detailed description as embodiments or examples, and it is intended that each claim stands independently as a separate embodiment, and that such embodiments can be combined with one another in various combinations or substitutions. The scope of the invention should be determined by referring to the entire scope of equivalents for which such claims are authorized, together with the appended claims.

Claims

1. In a system for designing virtual dental components, when executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor: An operation for receiving scanning data including at least treatment abutment data, wherein the treatment abutment data represents a treatment abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient, and the treatment abutment data includes a first information marker on the top surface of the treatment abutment, and the first information marker is On the outermost crown surface of the tooth; A margin defining the boundary between the apical surface and the lateral surface of the treatment abutment, and a circumferential portion between the apical surface and the coronal surface, the circumferential portion having a constant taper along a portion of the apical surface between the coronal surface and the margin, and having a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; Operations that include; An operation to create a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of the aforementioned scanned data; An operation to determine the location and orientation of the dental implant within the 3D model based on the first information marker; An operation to develop the virtual dental component, including dimensional information of the dental component, based on the location and orientation of the dental implant; A system that enables this to happen.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the treatment abutment data includes at least one second information marker that enables identification of the height of the treatment abutment.

3. The aforementioned second information marker further, The shape of the profile of the aforementioned treatment abutment; The aforementioned dental implant, connected type; The cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment; and The width of the aforementioned treatment abutment; The system according to any one of claims 1 to 2, which enables identification of at least one of the following.

4. The step of determining the location and orientation of the dental implant within the 3D virtual model is performed by the at least one processor: An operation to select a virtual treatment abutment from a treatment abutment library that is consistent with the treatment abutment attached to the dental implant placed in the mouth of the patient, wherein the virtual treatment abutment includes a first virtual information marker; and An operation to merge the virtual treatment abutment and the treatment abutment data by aligning the first information marker and the first virtual information marker of the virtual treatment abutment in order to form a first modified 3D model; A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which causes the following to be performed.

5. The step of determining the location and orientation of the dental implant within the 3D virtual model is performed by the at least one processor: An operation to form a second modified 3D model by subtracting the virtual treatment abutment from the first modified 3D model, wherein the second modified 3D model shows the location and orientation of at least one mounting surface of a virtual dental implant, and the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the virtual dental implant corresponds to the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the dental implant installed inside the patient's mouth; The system according to claim 4, which causes the following to be performed.

6. In designing virtual dental components: A step of receiving scanning data which includes at least treatment abutment data representing a treatment abutment attached to a dental implant placed in the mouth of a patient, wherein the treatment abutment data includes a first information marker on the top surface of the treatment abutment, and the first information marker On the outermost crown surface of the tooth; A margin defining the boundary between the apical surface and the lateral surface of the treatment abutment, and a circumferential portion between the apical surface and the coronal surface, the circumferential portion having a constant taper along a portion of the apical surface between the coronal surface and the margin, and having a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; Steps that include; The steps include creating a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of the scanned data; A step of determining the location and orientation of a portion of the virtual dental implant within the 3D model based on the first information marker, wherein the virtual dental implant corresponds to the dental implant placed in the patient's mouth; The steps include developing a virtual dental component, including dimensional information of the dental component, based on the location and orientation of the dental implant; A method that includes this.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first information marker includes a scannable feature portion that indicates a non-rotating feature portion of the dental implant.

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein the crown surface of the tooth is flat.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the most crown-side surface is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the treatment abutment.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the crown surface of the tooth includes an inner ridge and an outer ridge.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the treatment abutment data includes at least one second information marker that enables identification of the height of the treatment abutment.

12. The aforementioned at least one second information marker, The shape of the profile of the aforementioned treatment abutment; The aforementioned dental implant, connected type; The cross-sectional shape of the treatment abutment; and The width of the aforementioned treatment abutment; The method according to claim 11, which enables identification of at least one of the following.

13. The step of determining the location and orientation of the dental implant within the 3D virtual model is: A step of selecting a virtual treatment abutment from a treatment abutment library that is consistent with the treatment abutment attached to the dental implant placed in the mouth of the patient, wherein the virtual treatment abutment includes a first virtual information marker; The steps include: merging the virtual treatment abutment and the treatment abutment data by aligning the first information marker and the first virtual information marker of the virtual treatment abutment in order to form a first modified 3D model; The method according to any one of claims 6 to 12, including the method described in any one of claims 6 to 12.

14. A step of forming a second modified 3D model by subtracting the virtual treatment abutment from the first modified 3D model, wherein the second modified 3D model shows the location and orientation of at least one mounting surface of the virtual dental implant, and the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the virtual dental implant corresponds to the location and orientation of the mounting surface of the dental implant placed inside the patient's mouth; The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

15. In a treatment abutment for bonding to a dental component, The main body extends from the coronal end to the apical end: Lateral surface and; Define the border, and The outermost crown surface of the tooth; and A circumferential portion extending between the crown surface and the edge, wherein the circumferential portion tapers from the crown surface toward the edge and has a constant radius of curvature along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; A top surface having a first information marker including; The main unit including Treatment abutments including

16. The treatment abutment according to claim 15, wherein the crown surface of the tooth is flat and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the main body.

17. The treatment abutment according to any one of claims 15 to 16, wherein the circumferential portion of the apical surface is tapered at a constant taper angle from the closest crown surface toward the edge.

18. The therapeutic abutment according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the circumferential portion of the tapered top surface has a circumferential length of at least 15 degrees around the longitudinal axis.

19. The treatment abutment according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the outer circumference defined by the edge forms an asymmetrical shape.

20. The treatment abutment according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the main body includes at least one information marker including an indicia that indicates at least the height of the treatment abutment.

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