Dental Abutment With Embedded Screw for Angulated Channel Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dental abutment systems with angulated screw channels face challenges in maintaining mechanical stability and aesthetic appeal while requiring additional post-processing to close screw channel holes, often resorting to cemented crowns due to instability and visible tracks.
Innovation Solution
A dental abutment system featuring an abutment and inlay with a variable diameter interior channel and a captive screw, where the screw occupies the channel, allowing for reduced hole size and enhanced mechanical strength through additive manufacturing, enabling more flexible material usage and improved screw guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an angulated screw channel is used to allow screw insertion, then the screw can be inserted through the abutment, but the screw channel hole becomes larger and requires post-processing to close, compromising mechanical stability and aesthetics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming the screw channel with the correct geometry during the additive manufacturing process itself, rather than creating a large hole and then attempting to close it through post-processing. The channel is designed with optimized dimensions and angulation from the start, eliminating the need for subsequent hole-closing operations and preserving mechanical stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by varying the diameter of the screw channel along its length, with the upper portion having a smaller diameter than conventional designs. This parameter optimization allows the channel to accommodate screw insertion while maintaining structural integrity and reducing the need for extensive post-processing to close the aperture.
2Ease of operation
If the screw channel hole is made larger to facilitate screw insertion, then the screw can be easily inserted, but the aesthetic appeal is compromised due to visible tracks and the need for closing procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the screw channel diameter parameters, particularly making the upper portion of the channel smaller than conventional designs. This parameter optimization allows the channel to facilitate screw insertion while minimizing the visible aperture, thereby maintaining aesthetic appeal without requiring extensive closing procedures.
3Ease of operation
If conventional methods are used to close the screw channel hole, then the hole can be closed, but the stability of the abutment is reduced compared to a normal vertical screw channel orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by designing and forming the optimally sized screw channel during the initial additive manufacturing process, rather than creating a large hole that subsequently needs to be closed. This preliminary optimization of the channel dimensions ensures that the abutment maintains its mechanical stability while still allowing for screw insertion, eliminating the stability-compromising closing procedures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced mechanical stability, reduced material costs, increased production speed, and improved user-friendliness around the screw channel aperture, while maintaining aesthetic appeal by minimizing the upper hole size and adapting mechanical properties.
Implementation Method 1
forming an abutment at the distal end of an inlay using an additive manufacturing process
Data Source
AI summary
A dental abutment system including an abutment, an inlay and screw, wherein the screw at least partially occupies the interior channel of the inlay. A method of manufacturing a dental abutment system and to a control data set including a plurality of control instructions that are configured to, when implemented in an additive manufacturing system, to cause the system to execute at least the step of forming an abutment at the distal end of an inlay using an additive manufacturing process. The screw is a captive screw. The interior channel of the abutment is variable in diameter and the smallest diameter is ≥102% and ≤110% of the width of the screw head and the longitudinal axis of the interior channel of the abutment and the longitudinal axis of the interior channel of the inlay are angled with respect to each other at an angle of ≥5 degrees.