Customized Healing Abutment Gingival Tissue Shaping
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing healing abutments with standardized geometries fail to accurately shape gingival tissue for a precise fit with final implant replacements, leading to potential gaps, pressure sores, and increased risk of infection, especially in esthetically sensitive areas like the front teeth, due to limitations in customization and precision in shaping the gingival profile.
Innovation Solution
A customized healing abutment with a tapered bottom portion and edge, featuring a tilt angle between 0.5° to 30°, is designed to match the final abutment's geometry, allowing for precise shaping of the gingival tissue during the healing phase, and is fabricated using plastics-based materials for ease of machining and cost-effectiveness, with a 3D data set used to optimize the design for precise alignment and emergence profile matching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a standardized geometry healing abutment is used, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is easier, but the manufacturing precision of the gingival tissue shaping is insufficient leading to gaps and pressure sores
Solution Approach 1:
The healing abutment features a customized edge with specific geometric parameters (radius of curvature between 0.1-2.0 mm, inclination angle between 0-45 degrees) that differ from the standardized portion. This local customization allows precise shaping of the gingival tissue at the critical edge region while maintaining simplicity in the overall abutment design, resolving the contradiction between precision and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The healing abutment is designed with a pre-configured customized edge that matches the final implant replacement geometry before the healing phase. This preliminary shaping of the abutment edge ensures that the gingival tissue is guided into the correct position and shape during healing, eliminating gaps and pressure sores without requiring complex post-operative adjustments.
2Manufacturing precision
If a customized healing abutment with precise geometry is designed, then the manufacturing precision of the gingival profile is improved, but the ease of manufacture is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention specifies concrete parameter ranges for the customized edge (radius of curvature: 0.1-2.0 mm, inclination angle: 0-45 degrees) that can be directly input into CAD/CAM systems. These defined parameters enable precise manufacturing through modern dental fabrication technologies while maintaining manufacturability, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and ease of manufacture.
3Reliability
If the healing abutment edge is customized to match the final implant, then the reliability of the fit between gingival tissue and implant is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The customized edge with specific geometric parameters (radius of curvature, inclination angle) is applied only at the critical interface between the healing abutment and gingival tissue. This localized customization ensures reliable fit and prevents gaps or pressure sores while keeping the rest of the abutment geometry simple and manageable.
4Ease of operation
If a tapered top portion with specific tilt angle is added, then the ease of operation for gingival tissue shaping is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered top portion is defined with specific geometric parameters (tilt angle between 0.5-30 degrees, radius of curvature between 0.1-2.0 mm) that optimize the interaction with gingival tissue. These parameter specifications enable easy shaping and adaptation to different patient anatomies while maintaining structural integrity and avoiding excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that includes a gingiva former, a final abutment, and a final implant replacement. The gingiva former includes connecting geometry for attachment to an implant, a customized edge, a tapered bottom portion, and a tapered top portion that includes a circumferential surface. The customized edge and the tapered bottom portion have respective shapes that correspond to a 3D data set of a region of the final abutment that includes and is below an edge of the final abutment. The circumferential surface and a longitudinal axis of the connecting geometry form an angle of inclination. The customized edge of the gingiva former either (i) corresponds to a gingival line of the final implant replacement or (ii) is at a distance from the gingival line of the final implant replacement such that the gingival line of the final implant replacement is above the edge of the gingiva former.