Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly constituted by a drill and a tenon for anchoring a dental prosthesis adapted to be fixed in the root of a tooth.
Anchoring tenons are known at the present time which are made in different shapes, namely cylindrical, cylindroconical, conical or stepped conical. Each of these types of tenon has advantages and drawbacks.
In particular, Patent No. FR-E-80794 describes an anchoring tenon constituted by two coaxial cylindro-conical parts of different diameters, the cylindro-conical part of smaller diameter itself being extended by a cylindrical end part. Such a tenon is positioned in a hole pierced by means of a drill having a profile identical to that of the tenon but of a slightly larger diameter at all points along the length of the tenon. Once positioned in the hole drilled in the root of a tooth, the cylindrical end part of the tenon stops at a certain distance from the bottom of the hole. Such a tenon presents the drawback that it "floats" relatively in its hole and it tends to move out by itself, when silicon is injected for taking an impression, under the effect of the pressure of this silicon injected by means of a syringe. To ensure a firm hold of the tenon in its hole, it is necessary to place circlips in transverse annular grooves in this tenon, which ensure compensation of the clearance. Consequently, such a tenon has a relatively complex structure and is therefore relatively expensive to manufacture; furthermore, it does not enable a strictly calibrated thickness of the layer of sealing cement interposed between each of the cylindrical parts and the wall of the drilled hole to be obtained.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks by providing an assembly constituted by a drill and an anchoring tenon of particular shapes, allowing excellent retention of the tenon sealed in the root of a tooth.
To that end, this assembly is constituted by a drill and a tenon for anchoring a dental prosthesis adapted to be fixed in the root of a tooth. The drill has a diameter slightly larger than that of the tenon at all points along its length. The tenon and the drill each have similar meridian profiles and each are constituted by two coaxial cylindroconical parts of large and small diameters respectively. The cylindro-conical part of small diameter comprises a cylindrical part connected to the small base of the conical frustum of the cylindro-conical part of large diameter projecting out of the root of the tooth. The tenon and the drill terminate respectively in their truncated end part of small diameter, of which the angle of taper is selected so as to ensure a wedging of the truncated end part of small diameter of the tenon in the corresponding truncated end part of the drilled hole and the truncated end part of the tenon has a length shorter than that of the drill.
The anchoring tenon according to the invention offers the advantage of having a considerably increased power of retention thanks to the presence of the two cylindrical parts, of large and small diameter respectively, and of ensuring an excellent joint with the prosthesis by the cylindrical part of large diameter projecting from the root. Furthermore, this tenon ensures a film of sealing cement having an optimal thickness of between 20 and 40 micrometers, along the two cylindrical parts whilst a conical tenon perfectly in contact with the walls of the cavity cannot allow this minimum thickness of cement. The truncated end part of the tenon respects the taper of the terminal part of the tooth. The step separating the two cylindro-conical parts is located in the cervical zone where the anatomy of the tooth allows this. Passage towards the step is effected by means of a very open cone without rendering the tooth fragile.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of an assembly of a drill and anchoring tenon according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a view in axial section of an anchoring tenon according to the invention engaged and sealed in the root of a tooth.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Referring now to the drawings, the anchoring tenon 1 which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is adapted to be engaged and sealed in the root of a tooth, for the purpose of receiving a prosthesis on its outer upper part.
According to the invention, the anchoring tenon 1 is constituted by a single piece of revolution formed by two coaxial cylindro-conical parts in line with each other, namely an upper cylindro-conical part 2, of large diameter and a lower cylindro-conical part 3 of smaller diameter. Cylindro-conical part 2 comprises a cylindrical rod 4 of relatively large diameter a, extended, at its lower end, by a truncated part 5 with small base of diameter b. This small base is followed by a cylindrical rod 6 of diameter b which terminates in a truncated part 7, converging downwardly, and of which the small base has a diameter c.
The taper of the two truncated parts 5 and 7 have different values. More particularly, the end truncated part 7 is sharper (semi-vertex angle y of 6.degree. for example) than the intermediate truncated part 5 (semi-vertex angle x of 11.degree. to 12.degree. for example).
The anchoring tenon 1 is engaged in a hole made in the root of a tooth by means of a drill 8 of which the meridian profile is similar to that of tenon 1 but whose diameter is larger than that of tenon 1, at all points along its length. In other words, drill 8 successively comprises, from top to bottom, an upper cylindrical part 9 of large diameter a.sub.1, an intermediate truncated part 10 of semi-vertex angle x, a lower cylindrical part 11 of small diameter b.sub.1 and a lower truncated end part 12 of semi-vertex angle y. The larger diameter a.sub.1 and small diameter b.sub.1 of the drill 8 may be larger than the corresponding diameters a and b of the anchoring tenon 1 by 0.06 mm for example. This is shown in the left-hand part of FIG. 1 where the profile of the drill 8 is shown in chain-dotted lines, superposed on that of tenon 1. The heights of the intermediate truncated parts 5,10 and of the cylindrical parts of small diameter 6,11 are respectively the same for tenon 1 and drill 8, but the truncated end part 12 of drill 8 has a height h1 which is greater than height h of the truncated end part 7 of the anchoring tenon.
When the anchoring tenon 1 is engaged and sealed in the root of a tooth (FIG. 2), its upper cylindrical rod 4 of large diameter a ensures a cylindrical retention, within the root 1, over a distance A of the order of 3 mm. The diameter a of this rod 4 corresponds to the diameter of the junction with the prosthesis and it is reinforced thanks to the provision of the step between the two cylindro-conical parts 2 and 3.
The anchoring tenon according to the invention also ensures a second cylindrical retention over length B corresponding to the length of the cylindrical rod 6 of the cylindro-conical part of small diameter.
The intermediate and end truncated parts 5,7 which are closely engaged in the truncated parts, of corresponding angles of taper, hollowed in the root, ensure a precise centring of the anchoring tenon 1 with respect to the drilled hole. Such precise centring makes it possible to define, about the two cylindrical parts 4 and 6 of the tenon 1, annular spaces 9', 10' for sealing of well-determined width, filled with cement. In this way, each film of cement filling the sealing spaces 9' and 10' has a well-determined thickness, equal to half the difference of the diameters a.sub.1-a or b.sub.1-b viz. 0.03 mm in the present example. Furthermore, the very sharp truncated end part, i.e. of small semi-vertex angle y, provides a particularly efficient wedging of the tenon 1 in the drilled hole, such wedging opposing the loosening of the tenon from the hole under the effect of the pressure of the material used for impression (silicon), when an impression is taken by injecting silicon under pressure by means of a syringe.
The following Tables gives the values of the dimensions (in mm) of various tenons which have been manufactured and which have given entire satisfaction during the tests carried out: