Healing Cap Asymmetrical Scanning for Dental Implant Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental prosthetic systems, such as the BellaTek Encode® Healing Abutment, face challenges with complex manufacturing processes and irritation to gum tissue due to the need for removal before final restoration, and existing IOS systems have limitations in simplicity and tissue disturbance.
Innovation Solution
A healing cap or scan body with an asymmetrical shape, including elliptical and circular portions, and index protrusions, which can be scanned to transfer information for designing final restorations without disturbing the gum tissue, allowing the base part to remain in place during the healing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the BellaTek Encode® Healing Abutment is used with notches to relay abutment design and milling information, then the need for an impression coping is eliminated, but the manufacturing process becomes more complicated and requires additional manufacturing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The healing abutment incorporates an asymmetrical feature (such as an asymmetrical top surface geometry or positioning element) that provides scannable information about the abutment's orientation and position. This asymmetrical design allows the intra-oral scanner to capture and interpret the abutment's spatial configuration without requiring complex notching patterns, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining the ability to convey necessary alignment information.
2Ease of operation
If the healing abutment is removed before coupling the final restoration to the dental implant, then the impression or scan can be taken, but the patient's gum tissue is disturbed and/or irritated
Solution Approach 1:
The healing abutment is equipped with scannable features (asymmetrical geometry, positioning elements, or coded surface patterns) that allow the intra-oral scanner to capture the necessary impression data while the abutment remains in place. This preliminary scanning capability eliminates the need to remove the healing abutment before taking the impression, thereby preventing gum tissue disturbance while still obtaining the required spatial information for restoration fabrication.
3Manufacturing precision
If the top surface of the dental implant is reproduced in a stone or plaster analogue, then the position and orientation can be accurately transferred, but the process requires multiple stages and time-consuming procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the traditional mechanical impression-taking process (using impression copings and stone/plaster analogues) with an optical scanning system. The intra-oral scanner captures three-dimensional images of the healing abutment's asymmetrical features, which encode the position and orientation information. This digital approach eliminates the need for physical stone models and multiple manual stages, significantly reducing the overall process time while maintaining or improving accuracy through digital precision.
4Measurement precision
If an impression coping is used to leave an impression in the impression material, then the top surface position and orientation can be recorded, but an additional component is required that complicates the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The healing abutment is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it guides gingival tissue growth during the healing period, maintains the implant's exposure at the correct level, and provides scannable asymmetrical features that encode position and orientation information for the intra-oral scanner. By integrating these multiple functions into a single component, the need for separate impression copings is eliminated, reducing procedural complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1F
Figure 2A
AI summary
The disclosure of the present application relates to a healing abutment system and its use. The abutment system can include a base part adapted to be coupled to a dental implant via an abutment screw and a healing cap that can be coupled to the base part by a further screw. The healing cap can include features that can be scanned by an intra-oral scanning system or transferred to a physical impression to convey information regarding the position and orientation of the base part.