U.S. patent number 3,846,911 [Application Number 05/321,257] was granted by the patent office on 1974-11-12 for preformed blanks for false teeth set-up.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Valeria O. Wichner. Invention is credited to Theodore Wichner.
United States Patent |
3,846,911 |
Wichner |
November 12, 1974 |
PREFORMED BLANKS FOR FALSE TEETH SET-UP
Abstract
Set-ups of sets of teeth individually selected from assortments
of conventional and readily available false teeth are prepared on
preformed dental arch ridge conforming blanks selected for the
individual patient from a supply of sizes and configurations. Each
blank has means for individually positioning each tooth of the set
and serves as a support for the set-up enabling testing and
adjusting in the mouth. Also, preselected sets of teeth may be
supplied to dentists and technicians, each set of teeth being
set-up in an appropriately sized blank. Thereafter the set-up
including the blank serves as an integral part of the finished
denture.
Inventors: |
Wichner; Theodore (Miami Beach,
FL) |
Assignee: |
Wichner; Valeria O. (Miami
Beach, FL)
|
Family
ID: |
23249853 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/321,257 |
Filed: |
January 5, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
433/171 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C
13/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
13/00 (20060101); A61c 013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;32/2,11,71 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Guida; Antonio F.
Assistant Examiner: Lever; J. Q.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Barnett; Erwin M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A dental ridge blank provided in a range of sizes and arch
shaped configurations corresponding to those of the human dental
ridge, said blank being preformed of a material and of a limited
thickness to become an integral part of the completed denture, and
having a cut-out portion for positioning therein the support end of
false teeth of standard construction, said positioning permitting
relative movement of the teeth for adjustment purposes.
2. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said blank
has an interior edge serving as said cut-out portion and includes a
concave portion indicating a location for each of the teeth.
3. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a wax material
temporarily retaining each of said false teeth in said positions in
said blank cut-out providing a temporary set-up capable of
accomplishing said adjustment in the patient's mouth in the
preparation of a semi-custom denture.
4. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said cut-out
portion is formed with concave portions which indicate seating
positions for the teeth.
5. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a preformed base to
which the blank is applied, a slow curing resin adjustably
retaining each of said false teeth in said positions providing a
set-up capable of accomplishing said adjustment in the patient's
mouth, said base, blank and teeth being bonded together by said
resin after curing as a directly made denture.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
The invention relates to dentures made with preformed gum
conforming blanks on which false teeth of any conventional
construction are set-up either on stone models of the patient's
jaws, hereinafter designated semi-custom dentures or, on preformed
bases, herinafter designated as directly made dentures. Both these
dentures distinguish from the well known custom denture.
2. Description of the prior art
One of the advantages of the custom denture is its versatility in
the selection of each of the false teeth individually for desired
size, shape, and color and the proper positioning of those selected
teeth in relation to each other, to the gum line, and to the teeth
of the opposing jaw. The selected false teeth are set-up in wax
formed as temporary dentures usually on stone models of the
patient's jaw in a painstaking, time consuming procedure by a
highly skilled and trained technician. The temporary denture is
then fitted and adjusted in the patient's mouth and, when found
satisfactory, the wax is replaced by permanent acrylic or other
suitable plastic in the manner well known in the art.
One form of directly made denture is completely prefabricated with
the teeth prepositioned and requires only lining to snugfit the
patient's gums and palate after the proper size and shape denture
is selected from those available. A method of aiding the individual
in his selection so that he may fit his own dentures is disclosed
in U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,133, of which I am a co-inventor. To combine
the advantages of better fit and appearance of the custom denture
with the economy and availability of the directly made denture, my
prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,495 discloses a preformed sectional
denture which permits selection of individual teeth but requires
the teeth to be of a special construction. The present invention is
an improvement of my said prior patent disclosure and utilizes
false teeth of constructions that are currently readily available.
The existing need in dental clinics where large numbers of patients
must be served quickly and economically is also satisfied by this
invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the objects of the invention is to provide dentures and
methods of forming same which dentures will approximate custom
dentures in fit and appearance yet will be inexpensive, capable of
being made and completely fitted in one or no more than two
sittings, and are adaptable both to dental clinic procedure where
patients can be served in assembly-line fashion without sacrifice
of quality results and to the private dentist taking personal pride
in his work.
Preformed gum conforming blanks are provided for upper and lower
jaws in a range of predetermined sizes and configurations to
include the various dimensions of the male and female mouth. Each
blank is formed with cut-outs on its ridge portion to seat each of
the teeth of the set individually so that each tooth may be
carefully selected and matched from a stock of conventional false
teeth customarily available to the dentist. In making the
semi-custom denture, the preformed blank is selected to best fit a
stone model of the patient's jaw and, with the aid of wax, the
teeth are positioned in the blank which has been placed on the
stone model to make a temporary set-up for checking and adjusting
in the patient's mouth. Thereafter, the denture is prepared by
conventional molding methods in which the teeth and blank become an
integral part of the denture.
For the directly made denture, the set-up of the teeth and blank is
done on a preformed base selected to best fit the patient's gums. A
slow curing material is used to bind the teeth, blank and base
together into a set-up initially permitting adjustment of the teeth
in the mouth and subsequently setting into a permanent unitary
structure.
Manufacturers or distributors of false teeth may supply complete
sets of teeth preselected and placed in preformed blanks ready,
after selection with regard to the size and shape of the blank, for
application directly to the stone model.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is an exploded bottom plan view of a preformed gum ridge
conforming blank and a set of false teeth which are to be secured
to the blank.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the blank and teeth shown
in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the blank and teeth shown in FIGS. 1 and 2
assembled on a stone model in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 4 is a modified form of the blank shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a direct made denture
shown to comprise a base, a blank and a set of teeth.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a set of false teeth placed in its
preformed blank providing a supplier's package unit, and
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7--7 in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring in detail to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, blank 10 is
seen to substantially conform to a patient's dental arch ridge and
comprises an outer or buccal portion 10a, an inner or lingual
portion 10b, and a central opening or cut-out 11, the opposing
edges of which may have a series of concave portions 11a separated
by inward projections 11b defining a series of locations or seats,
one for each of the false teeth 12 of the set. In accordance with
the invention, blank 10 is relatively thin, namely, of a thickness
permitting embedment in the completed denture and is preformed of
an acrylic or other plastic material compatable with that of said
denture. Blank 10 is provided in an assortment of sizes and shapes,
as for example, in a small, medium and large size for each of a
tapered, square and ovoid shape of dental arch and intermediate
sizes and shapes, if necessary. The assortment of sizes and shapes
of blank 10 may substantially correspond to those of the base and
matching blank described in my said prior U.S. Pat. No.
3,335,495.
In the preparation of a semi-custom denture, a stone model S is
cast from an impression taken of the patient's mouth, shown in FIG.
3 as that of the upper jaw and having a palate P. A preformed blank
10 is selected from the assortment to best fit the dental arch
ridge and is positioned thereon. A set of teeth 12 are then
individually selected from a supply of conventional false teeth
which may be made either of plastic or porcelain. Each selected
tooth is positioned with its base in central cut-out 11 of blank 10
and is temporarily secured thereto by a suitable wax, proper
relative seating of each tooth being readily accomplished by
registration thereof with its respective concave portion 11a of
cut-out 11.
A similar set-up is made for the lower jaw, an assortment of lower
jaw blanks, likewise, being provided for use on a stone model made
from an impression of the lower jaw. The setups of upper and lower
jaws on blanks 10, if desired, may then be checked in the patient's
mouth and various adjustments, including changes of teeth and the
like, made and rechecked until found to be satisfactory. The
set-ups are then returned to the stone models for completion, for
example, the addition of the palate portion of the upper denture.
The wax is then replaced with acrylic in the manner well known in
the art, blanks 10 being retained as an integral part of the
finished semi-custom dentures.
Where dental laboratory equipment and technicians are readily
available as may be the case in large dental clinics, the above
described semi-custom molded dentures may be completed and
delivered to the patient on the same day.
A modified form of blank 20, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is seen to
be blank 10 lacking a lingual portion 10b, its buccal portion 20a
being provided with an interior edge 21 formed with concave
portions 21a and projections 21b which correspond to the buccal
edge of cut-out 11, concave portions 11a and projections 11b,
respectively. It will be apparent that blank 20 will serve in a
manner similar to that hereinbefore described with respect to blank
10.
The directly made denture is seen in FIG. 5 to comprise a preformed
base 33, a preformed blank 30 and a set of teeth 32. Base 33 is
made of an acrylic or other suitable plastic material as a
relatively thin structure similar to the base shown and described
in my said prior patent but without the locating pins. Similarly,
bases 33 are supplied in an assortment of sizes and shapes to
provide an approximate fit for all individuals, each size of the
assortment having a corresponding blank 30 fitted for use
therewith. Each blank 30 is seen to have a buccal portion 30a and a
central opening or cut-out 31 formed with concave portions 31a
separated by inward projections 31b similar to the corresponding
structure of blank 10.
With a supply of assortments of bases 33, blanks 30, and sets of
teeth 32 for the upper and lower jaws on hand, a directly made pair
of dentures may be expertly assembled and fitted for immediate use
by the patient in a single sitting. The closest fitting pair of
bases 33 for the upper and lower jaws are chosen from said
assortments and are lined and fitted in the mouth for the patient's
comfort. Corresponding blanks 30 are then applied to the lined
bases 33 and the sets of teeth 32 are set-up in the cut-outs 31,
aided by concave portions 31a for proper seating, and using, as a
bonding and filling agent, a slow setting acrylic or plastic
material which is compatable with the acrylic or plastic material
from which bases 33 and the blanks 30 are made. The dentures may be
directly checked in the patient's mouth and any required
repositioning, or adjustment of teeth 32 is rapidly accomplished
before the bonding material sets permanently.
Whereas each blank 10 requires its set of false teeth 12,
manufacturers of false teeth may utilize blanks 10 as a holder for
packing and shipping their product. Accordingly, FIGS. 6 and 7 show
a novel package comprising a set of teeth 12 which are matched in
size, shape, and color and removably set in cut-out 11 of a blank
10 by a strip of wax 13. In use, the appropriate package is
selected from an assortment according to the desired size and shape
of its blank 10 and then may be directly applied to the stone model
S, thereby materially reducing the time for making the set-up and
yet preserving the capability for individually adjusting each
tooth.
The semi-custom and directly made dentures utilizing the preformed
gum conforming blank herein disclosed are seen to achieve the
several objects of the invention and to be well adapted to meet
conditions of practical use. As various possible embodiments might
be made in this invention, and as various changes might be made in
the disclosed structures, it is to be understood that all matter
herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawing are to be
interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *