Differential-Hardness Dental Molding Block for One-Piece Implants
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Customization of one-piece dental implants is difficult due to their standard shapes, and multipart implants face issues like bacterial migration, mechanical wear, and loosening of components, especially when produced extraorally.
Innovation Solution
A dental prosthesis molding block with varying hardness materials, allowing for a one-piece implant production using CAD/CAM, where a pin with a self-tapping external screw thread is formed from a harder inner material surrounded by a softer outer material, enabling secure, aesthetically pleasing, and gap-free implants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If one-piece standard implants are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but customization capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a molding block with non-uniform hardness distribution - a harder inner material core surrounded by a softer outer material layer. This allows different regions of the block to serve different functions: the harder core provides structural integrity for the pin while the softer outer layer enables precise CAD/CAM machining for customization. The differential hardness resolves the contradiction by enabling both easy manufacturing (through selective material properties) and customization capability (through machinability of the outer layer).
2Adaptability or versatility
If multipart implants are used, then customization capability is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to gaps and bacterial migration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pin and abutment into a single one-piece structure produced from the differential hardness molding block. The harder inner material forms the pin with self-tapping external screw thread, while the softer outer material forms the abutment. This merging eliminates the gaps between separate components that would allow bacterial migration, while still enabling customization through CAD/CAM processing of the softer outer material before final assembly. The solution combines the reliability of one-piece implants with the customization benefits of multipart approaches.
3Manufacturing precision
If one-piece implants are produced extraorally using CAD/CAM, then manufacturing precision is improved, but material hardness uniformity deteriorates due to processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately creates local quality variations in the molding block by surrounding a harder inner material with a softer outer material. This non-uniform hardness distribution is essential for CAD/CAM processing - the softer outer layer can be precisely machined to achieve high manufacturing precision for the abutment portion, while the harder inner core maintains structural integrity for the pin. The differential hardness resolves the contradiction by enabling precise extraoral CAD/CAM manufacturing without requiring uniform material properties throughout.
4Adaptability or versatility
If standard one-piece implants are customized extraorally, then adaptability is improved, but mechanical strength deteriorates due to heating and loosening risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of hardness by using differential hardness materials - a harder inner material (higher strength) surrounded by a softer outer material. The softer outer material can be customized extraorally through CAD/CAM without generating excessive heat that would compromise the harder inner core's mechanical strength. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by allowing customization of the abutment portion while preserving the mechanical strength and integrity of the pin structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a dental prosthesis molding block for producing a dental prosthesis part. The block comprises an inner material that is at least partially surrounded by an outer material, the hardness of which differs from the hardness of the inner material. The inner material forms part of a first surface of the dental prosthesis molding block. The invention further relates to a method for producing a dental prosthesis part. In said method, a dental prosthesis molding block is provided, and the dental prosthesis part is produced by removing material from the dental prosthesis molding block using a CAD/CAM process. In doing so, a pin having a self-tapping external screw thread is created.