System and Process for Duplication of Dentures

Abstract

Systems and processes for the duplication of dentures from existing dentures. The interior and exterior of the dentures are scanned and a best fit procedure is used to create a fully digitized denture. The denture teeth are selected from a library that is the closest fit to the original denture teeth. The library teeth are offset a preset distance to compensate for the best fit. The teeth are then subtracted from the digitized denture. The margins of the denture are then cleaned after subtracting the teeth. The denture base is then ready for manufacturing. The teeth are then installed onto the denture base and provided to the patient.

1 . A computer implemented method for duplicating dentures from an existing denture, said method comprising the steps of:
 taking a scan of the existing denture;   creating a digital three dimensional model of the denture from the scan of the denture;   manufacturing a denture base from the digital denture model; and   installing the teeth to the denture base.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said step of manipulating the digital mode includes:
 fitting digital denture teeth from a library to the digital denture; 
 offsetting the denture teeth by a predetermined amount; 
 subtracting the teeth from the digital denture; and 
 cleaning the margins from the digital denture. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of a creating a digital three dimensional model includes:
 offsetting the teeth by a preset amount; and 
 subtracting the teeth and offset from the model. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said step of taking a scan of the existing denture includes:
 taking a scan of the interior of the existing denture; and 
 taking a scan of the exterior of the existing denture; and 
 merge the scans together to form one model. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said method further includes:
 providing additional information to correct the fit of the existing dentures to improve the fit of the duplicate denture. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said method further includes:
 using the existing denture as an impression tray; 
 taking bite impressions using the existing denture; 
 scanning the bite impressions; and 
 using the bite impression scans with the denture scans to create a digital model of the dentures. 
 
     
     
         7 . A system for creating a duplicate denture from an existing denture, the system comprising:
 a processing device configured to execute computer-readable code;   a memory device connected to said processing device for storing computer-readable code;   an interface for receiving data relevant to a particular patient and storing said data in said memory device;   a rendering engine for creating a digital three dimensional model of the existing dentures from scans of the existing image;   a selection engine for selecting the denture teeth that best fits the digital denture model;   a manipulation engine adding a preset amount to the denture teeth, for subtracting the denture teeth from the denture model and for cleaning the margins of the denture model.