Dental device comprising surgical template and false teeth set and related methods

Abstract

A dental device is described. The dental device includes a surgical template having one or more sites for drilling osteotomies in the maxillary or mandibular jaw and a false teeth set. The surgical template and false teeth set are configured to fit together to form a denture prosthesis that can be implanted in a patient. Also described are a method for creating a surgical dental template, a method for implanting a dental prosthesis, and a method for reducing jaw bone in a patient.

1 . A method for creating a surgical dental template, the method comprising:
 performing a CT scan on a patient;   transferring one or more CT scan images into treatment planning software;   virtually placing implants in one or more positions on the CT scan using the treatment planning software;   creating a surgical template based on the one or more positions on the CT scan that provides one or more sites for drilling osteotomies in a maxillary or mandibular jaw of a patient for installing the implants.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the CT scan slices implant or anchor sites by size and diameter per zone into jaw bone. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surgical template is configured to fit over an edentulous patient's maxillary or mandibular gum tissue. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the surgical template has the appearance of gum tissue. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sites are openings each providing a channel for drilling an osteotomy into the maxillary or mandibular jaw. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each opening comprises a cylindrical wall having a height which is capable of limiting drilling depth of the osteotomy. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more CT scan images are in the form of DICOM files. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surgical template is manufactured from a nanoceramic composite. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surgical template is manufactured through CNC milling. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient is fully edentulous, and the CT scan is performed with the patient wearing a denture with radio-opaque markers. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient is partially edentulous, and the CT scan is performed with the patient wearing a radiographic guide. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient is partially edentulous, and the CT scan is performed with the patient not wearing a radiographic guide. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 making a set of full arch impressions from the patient's jaw;   performing a CT scan on the arch impressions; and   creating a surgical template based on the CT scan of the arch impressions.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surgical template is configured to fit with a false teeth set to form a denture prosthesis. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the false teeth set comprises one or more openings configured to overlap the one or more openings of the surgical template when the template and false teeth set are fit together. 
     
     
         16 . A method for implanting a denture prosthesis in a partially edentulous patient, comprising:
 providing a surgical template and a false teeth set, wherein the surgical template is configured to fit over gum tissue of an edentulous jaw of a patient and has one or more sites for drilling osteotomies, and wherein the surgical template and false teeth set are configured to fit together to form a denture prosthesis;   positioning the surgical template over the gum tissue of an edentulous jaw of a patient at a first position;   inserting the false teeth set into the surgical template;   instructing the patient to bite down on the false teeth set with natural teeth of the jaw opposite the edentulous jaw, repositioning the surgical template, and repeating until occlusion between the natural teeth and false teeth set is confirmed; and   fixing the surgical template over the gum tissue of the patient's edentulous jaw at a second position.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein a wall of the surgical template is configured to form one or more pin holes, the surgical template comprising pins configured to pass though each of the pin holes, and the pins are used to fix the surgical template over the gum tissue of the patient's edentulous jaw. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising drilling osteotomies into the edentulous jaw based on the drilling sites. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising installing implants at the osteotomies and securing the surgical template through the implants. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the implants are secured with one or more fasteners. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising finishing the surgical template and false teeth set by removing one or more of a boundary line between the surgical template and false teeth set, one or more pin holes in the surgical template, and one or more flanges in the surgical template. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the boundary line and one or more pin holes are removed by filling with composite. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the false teeth set is fixed to the surgical template with a composite. 
     
     
         24 . A method for reducing jaw bone in a patient, the method comprising:
 installing a surgical template configured to fit an interior of a maxillary or mandibular jaw over an edentulous patient's gum tissue, wherein the surgical template has one or more sets of drill holes;   perforating osteotomies through the drill holes in the surgical template to define markings in the jaw bone forming a boundary for reducing bone;   removing the surgical template and exposing the jaw bone though an incision to reveal the osteotomies; and   using a surgical instrument to remove jaw bone based on the boundary formed by the markings.