Implantable Dental Support

Abstract

An implantable support for a dental prosthesis having an implantable body portion, e.g., a stainless steel pin, surrounded by a resilient envelope, e.g., formed of organosilicic elastomer. The outer surface of the envelope is colonizable by the surrounding living tissue e.g., by providing it with a textile sleeve which is colonizable by the tissue of the patient's gum.

Description

The present invention relates to an implantable support for a dental prosthesis.

Dental prosthesis supports of the implantable kind generally consist of metalic pins sunk into the jawbone. The pressure exerted on the bone by these rigid elements brings about a local lysis of the bone tissue which does not allow the desired adherence.

Various devices of mechanical retention have been proposed, for example screws, grids, split pins implanted in the jawbone and rendered integral by their tip, and it has been proposed to cushion the pressure produced by chewing by connecting the prosthesis to its support by a resilient pad.

However, these devices do not prevent the bone lysis upon contact with the implant.

According to the present invention there is provided an implantable support for dental prosthesis comprising an implantable body portion, an elastomer envelope at least partly enclosing said body portion, and an outer surface to said envelope colonizable by living tissue. Such a support does not cause bone lysis and permits efficient securing by colonization and interpenetration. A further advantage of the invention is that the support can take up a well defined position but is sufficiently resilient to deaden and distribute the forces to which it is subjected.

The support can be implanted into the jawbone after drilling the latter; it can also be postioned in the socket after extraction of a tooth. Thus its external configuration may vary in accordance with the manner of use.

It is, of course, necessary to maintain the support in suitable position until it has consolidated, for example by means of a fixing device of conventional kind which has been prepared and adjusted beforehand. The evelope may also br wholly implanted and enclosed by gingival suture during the colonization period (3 to 5 weeks). This last technique is particuarly suitable for simple or split pins. During the wating period the colonizable envelope contains a simple filling, e.g., a filament of nylon, fluorinated resin or polyolefin which slides with gentle friction in the jacket. After colonization of the jacket the filling is withdrawn and the final support is forcibly inserted.

When the support has been definitely secrued by penetration of the living tissue into the colonizable surface of its envelope it remains to be capped in accordance with customary techniques. Advantageously the prosthesis is provided with a soft and resilient base enabling the pressure of chewing on the gum to be absorbed, the weak movements transmitted to the support being in turn absorbed by the resilient envelope.

The various portions of the support must, of course, be tolerated by the organism, and be resistant to the buccal environment, and they are made of materials which are know to possess these properties. For example, the pin or grid forming the body portion may be of platinum, tatalum, stainless steel or other material employed in the dental art; the envelope may be of an elastomer (preferably silicone), its surface may be rendered colonizable by adhesively affixing a textile sheath such as a tubular tricot or a velvet of polyester fibre (polyglycol terephthalate).

The integration of a pin and of the envelope is advantageously ensured by simple mechanical anchoring, the stem of the pine for example being adapted to carry transverse ribs or a thread. Resilient tightening is generally sufficient.

The invention will be better understood from the following description, given merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional elevation of one embodiment of implantable support according to the invention, shown positioned in a jawbone; and

FIG. 2 is a transverse section through the suport of FIG. 1.

The construction illustrated in the drawing includes an implantable body portion in the form of a stainless steel pin 1, which, for example, may be 1.5 mm in diameter. An elastomer enveloper 2 partly encloses the pin and is itself surround by a glued textile sleeve 3 of crimped polyester velvet. The envelope 2 is closed by a base or stopper 4, the envelope and stopper being formed of silicone elastomer, with the stopper being vulcanised in place. In the drawing the gum of the patient is indicated by the reference numeral 5.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a dental endosseous root implant, having a tube able to receive an artificial tooth/supporting pin, said tube being provided with an external surface colonisable by surrounding tissues, the improvement comprising forming said implant as a tubular member closed at one end and formed of a resilient elastomer the external surface of which is covered by a textile sleeve.

2. Implantable support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastomer envelope encloses a provisional filling.