Dental prosthesis and method of its production utilizing standardized framework keys and matching premanufactured teeth

Abstract

A system including a method and associated structures creates efficiencies in the manufacture of prosthetic tooth support frameworks. Pre-manufactured teeth with matching internal keys are used in the setup of a patient prototype. Each key includes a shaft, a cervical platform, a retention knob and preferably at least one channel for the expulsion of excess adhesive fluid. The cervical platforms are shaped to provide intimate contact with a base of their respective tooth. The same tooth/key pairs are then used to make a framework pattern from the setup positioning. The pattern can be cast or scanned for direct machining to produce the finished framework.

What is claimed as being new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows: 
     
         1 . A free-standing key utilized in forming a pattern for a prosthetic framework strut, comprising:
 a shaft having a coronal aspect at one end and a retention knob at an opposite end.   
     
     
         2 . The key of  claim 1  further including a cervical platform adjacent said retention knob. 
     
     
         3 . The key of  claim 1  wherein said key includes a channel for the expulsion of excess adhesive fluid. 
     
     
         4 . The key of  claim 3  wherein said channel is an axial groove along a surface of the shaft, and wherein the shaft is elongate. 
     
     
         5 . The key of  claim 4  wherein said shaft is inwardly tapered from said platform toward the coronal aspect of the key. 
     
     
         6 . The key of  claim 5  further including a tooth having a socket which receives said elongated shaft while the surface of a base of the tooth is in intimate contact with a mating surface of said cervical platform. 
     
     
         7 . The key and tooth combination of  claim 6  wherein said tooth has a cervical retention groove located in close proximity to its base.