Screw-Attached Dental Coping Pick-Up for Precise Closed-Tray Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental prosthetic attachment systems face challenges in achieving precise alignment and retention without causing patient discomfort, particularly in the conversion of existing dentures to screw-attached prostheses, and current digital modeling methods introduce inaccuracies due to compromised mechanical integrity.
Innovation Solution
A screw-in fastener system with a temporary fastener that includes a male-threaded bottom portion and an axially separable top portion, allowing easy removal of the coping from the abutment without tools, and a threaded post that engages abutment threads for precise alignment and retention during the pick-up process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional impression screws are used for open-tray impressions, then alignment precision is improved, but patient discomfort and device complexity increase due to required mechanical access and special tools
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is divided into two functional segments: an internal threaded portion that engages the abutment and an external portion that engages the coping. This segmentation allows the internal threads to remain buried within the abutment (improving comfort) while the external portion provides the necessary engagement interface (maintaining precision).
Solution Approach 2:
The impression fastener acts as an intermediary component between the abutment and the coping, enabling alignment transfer without requiring direct mechanical access to the abutment interior. The fastener mediates the connection during impression taking while maintaining patient comfort.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional through-holes are created in dentures for impression screws, then screw attachment is enabled, but mechanical integrity and device strength are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The impression fastener is nested within the abutment structure, with the internal threaded portion embedded in the abutment material. This nesting approach eliminates the need for through-holes in the denture, as the fastener integrates with the existing abutment geometry while preserving denture strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener design concentrates the screw attachment functionality at the abutment-coping interface rather than requiring structural modifications to the denture body. The localized engagement at the interface maintains overall denture integrity while enabling screw attachment capability.
3Ease of operation
If snap-on systems are used for denture conversion, then ease of operation is improved, but alignment precision and manufacturing cost increase due to larger clearance cavities and reduced mechanical stability
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the snap-on mechanical engagement system with a screw-threaded engagement system. The threaded fastener provides precise rotational control and alignment during engagement, eliminating the alignment uncertainties inherent in snap-on systems while maintaining ease of operation through simple screw engagement.
4Measurement precision
If impression screws extend through the tray beyond impression material, then alignment is achieved, but patient discomfort and gag reflex increase
Solution Approach 1:
The problematic extension of the fastener beyond the impression material is extracted from the design. The fastener is contained entirely within the abutment structure, with only the necessary engagement portion exposed. This eliminates the gag-inducing extension while preserving the alignment function through the internal threading mechanism.
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
Facilitates easier installation and removal of dental prostheses, maintaining alignment accuracy, improving clinical efficiency, and enhancing patient comfort by minimizing mechanical access and discomfort, while enabling digital modeling with improved precision.
Implementation Method 1
a male-threaded bottom portion and an axially separable top portion, allowing easy removal of the coping from the abutment without tools, and a threaded post that engages abutment threads for precise alignment and retention during the pick-up process
Data Source
AI summary
A temporary alignment system and method for holding a dental coping to an implant abutment using the same threads in the abutment that are used for definitive attachment are disclosed. The disclosed temporary fasteners initially orient and hold a coping against an abutment with a force along the same axis as the semi-definitive screw. The aligned coping can be picked-up in a closed-tray impression process without unscrewing the temporary fastener. Embodiments include threaded posts that release copings from the abutment through axial forces. Some embodiments include a threaded post with separable cap that is picked-up with the coping. Methods for converting an existing prosthesis for screw attachment to implants in a single visit and digital capture of the converted prosthesis are described.