Device for Tooth Implantation

The present invention relates to a device for tooth implantation comprising a fixture part intended to be set into the jawbone, and a holder part to which the tooth crown is attached. The holder part can be and the fixture part can be coupled by an attachment screw.

The tooth implantation of the above mentioned type is successfully used for tooth bridges. When using this technique for single tooth implantation problems arise. The screw attaching the holder part carrying the tooth crown to the fixture part often becomes loose as a result of uneven loads on the tooth. When the tooth crown begins to get loose from the fixture part, the canal to the attachment screw must be bored, so that the screw can be tightened whereupon the canal is again filled. When the tooth crown is getting loose, there often also are increasing bacterial problems around the implantation. Because of these problems it has been very difficult to use the previously known technique of implantation for a single tooth.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned problem and provide a device for tooth implantation which makes a permanent locking of the implantation structure possible also for one-tooth implantation.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the holder part presents a conical portion on which the tooth crown is mounted. If this portion is cylindric it will be difficult to move the crown down on the holder part to the intended fixation position. This can result in the formation of pockets between the crown and the gums after the implantation of the tooth with increasing bacterial problems as a consequence. These problems are thus solved by making the portion in question of the holder part conical. The optimum cone angle is 5.degree..

According to another aspect of the invention the cross section of the conical portion of the holder part is non circular, preferably quadrangular with rounded out corners or hexagonal, so that the tooth crown cannot turn on the holder part after being mounted.

An embodiment of the device according to the invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings

FIG. 1 shows the fixture part set in into the jawbone.

FIG. 2 depicts the holder part in enlarged scale including the attachment screw and the locking screw.

FIG. 3 illustrates a single tooth implantation.

In FIG. 1 the fixture part is shown in the form of a threaded anchoring unit 2 made of titanium and set in the jawbone.

FIG. 2 discloses the holder part 4 which is intended to be screwed on the fixture part 2 by an attachment screw 6 located at the bottom region of the holder part, said attachment screw being threaded into a central bore in the fixture part 2.

The holder part 4 presents a conical portion 8 on which the tooth crown itself is intended to be attached by an adhesive, cement or porcelain burning. The cone portion 8 has a cone angle of between 5.degree. and 15.degree.. The optimum cone angle is 5.degree. as depicted in FIG. 2.

As a consequence of uneven loads on the tooth crown when chewing the attachment screw 6 has, as mentioned above, a tendency to get loose and to prevent this a locking screw 12 is screwed into the bore against the attachment screw 6.

The attachment screw 6 includes a threaded end portion 7 which is screwed into the central bore of fixture part 2. The opposite end of attachment screw 6 is formed as a head portion 9.

Locking screw 12 is designed to be screwed into the bore of conical portion 8 to bear against head portion 9 of attachment screw 6. Locking screw 12 and threaded end portion 7 of attachment screw 6 are oppositely threaded so that when attachment screw 6 tends to unscrew locking screw 12 will become locked and secure attachment screw 6 in place. Ordinarily attachment screw 6 is a right-threaded screw while the locking screw 12 is a left-threaded screw and the bore of conical portion 8 is threaded to receive locking screw 12. Thus, the locking screw 12 will lock the attachment screw 6 if it would tend to unscrew.

In the upper portions of the screws there is a square recess 16 and 18 respectively, in which a matched screw tool can be inserted for tightening the screws. Of course the recesses can be of another shape e.g. of triangular or hexagonal shape.

The tooth crown 10 is mounted on the holder part 4 by a sterile procedure and the cross section of the conical section 8 is non-circular, e.g. quadrangular or hexagonal, so that rotation of the tooth crown 10 on the conical portion 8 is avoided.

The attachment screw 6 and the locking screw 12 are tightened through a canal 14 through the tooth crown 10, said canal 14 thereafter being filled up with a suitable filling material.

A completed tooth implantation is illustrated in FIG. 3.

The invention is described above applied to a one-tooth implantation. Even if the problem with a loosening attachment screw, as mentioned above, is most severe for one-tooth implantations, also for bridges the attachment screws will have a tendency to get loose inspite of the fact that adjacent teeth will lock each other against movement. The invention can, however, also be used for implantation of tooth bridges to eliminate this problem also for such constructions. For bridges having a plurality of attachment screws, locking screws are not necessarily needed for locking each attachment screw, but it will be sufficient if at least some of the attachment screws are locked.