Customized Dental Prosthesis For Periodontal or Osseointegration and Related Systems

Abstract

Custom dental prosthesis or implants each individually designed and manufactured to replace nonfunctional natural teeth positioned in a jawbone of a specific pre-identified patient are provided. An example dental prosthesis/implant includes a dental implant body having a prosthesis interface formed therein to receive an occlusally-facing dental prosthesis component. The prosthesis interface has a custom three-dimensional surface shape positioned and formed to create a form locking fit with respect to the occlusally-facing dental prosthesis component when positioned thereon.

That claimed is: 
     
         1 . A dental prosthesis to replace a specific natural tooth of a pre-identified patient, the dental prosthesis to be integrated into a receiving jawbone cavity structure of the pre-identified patient corresponding to the specific natural tooth, the dental prosthesis being a finished manufactured product prior to its insertion into the receiving jawbone cavity structure, wherein the dental prosthesis comprises:
 a root body and an occlusal-facing body,   wherein the root body is configured to be positioned in and substantially integrated into and adopted by at least one of the following: a jawbone structure of the pre-identified patient and a periodontal ligament structure of the pre-identified patient, defining the receiving jawbone cavity structure,   wherein the root body comprises a spatial custom root surface shape dimensionally correlated to a corresponding spatial surface shape of at least one of the following: a root portion of the specific natural tooth of the pre-identified patient and the receiving jawbone cavity structure, and   wherein the root body and the occlusal-facing body comprise a plurality of layer builds of a rapid prototyping material.   
     
     
         2 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the root body is configured to be positioned in and substantially integrated into and adopted by the jawbone structure of the pre-identified patient. 
     
     
         3 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the root body is configured to be positioned in and substantially integrated into and adopted by the periodontal ligament structure of the pre-identified patient. 
     
     
         4 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the spatial custom root surface shape dimensionally matches the corresponding spatial surface shape of the root portion of the specific natural tooth. 
     
     
         5 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the spatial custom root surface shape dimensionally matches an oversized representation of the corresponding spatial surface shape of the root portion of the specific natural tooth. 
     
     
         6 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the spatial custom root surface shape dimensionally matches an undersized representation of the corresponding spatial surface shape of the root portion of the specific natural tooth. 
     
     
         7 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the spatial custom root surface shape dimensionally matches the corresponding spatial surface shape of the receiving jawbone cavity structure. 
     
     
         8 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein a first plurality of layer builds of the plurality of layer builds comprises a first rapid prototyping material, and a second plurality of layer builds of the plurality of layer builds comprises a second rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         9 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the first rapid prototyping material has a first hardness that is different when compared to a second hardness of the second rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         10 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the first rapid prototyping material provides a first stiffness that is different when compared to a second stiffness provided by the second rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         11 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the first rapid prototyping material comprises a first set of substances that is different when compared to a second set of substances comprised in second rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         12 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the first rapid prototyping material provides a first set of biological properties that is different when compared to a second set of biological properties provided by the second rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         13 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the rapid prototyping material comprises hardened powder material. 
     
     
         14 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the rapid prototyping material is a powder in a pre-manufacturing stage. 
     
     
         15 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the rapid prototyping material comprises a photopolymer material. 
     
     
         16 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the occlusal-facing body is a crown. 
     
     
         17 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the occlusal-facing body is an abutment. 
     
     
         18 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the occlusal-facing body comprises an interface to receive a crown. 
     
     
         19 . A dental prosthesis as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the rapid prototyping material is configured for selective laser sintering in its pre-manufacturing stage. 
     
     
         20 . A dental system for oral implant-based rehabilitation of tooth loss, the system comprising:
 a virtual interface model of an interface portion of a dental implant to receive a dental crown,   a virtual root model of a custom root portion of the dental implant,   a workpiece comprising a plurality of layer builds of a rapid prototyping material,   wherein the workpiece comprises a first three-dimensional surface shape dimensionally correlated to a corresponding virtual surface shape of the virtual interface model, and   wherein the workpiece comprises a second three-dimensional surface shape dimensionally correlated to a corresponding virtual surface shape of the virtual root model.   
     
     
         21 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the rapid prototyping material comprises hardened powder material. 
     
     
         22 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the rapid prototyping material comprises a photopolymer material. 
     
     
         23 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the rapid prototyping material is a powder in a pre-manufacturing stage. 
     
     
         24 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece is the dental implant, and wherein the dental implant comprises the interface portion to receive the dental crown and the custom root portion. 
     
     
         25 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , the system further comprising:
 a combined numerical description correlating to a virtual three-dimensional surface shape of the dental implant, the combined numerical description comprising a virtual three-dimensional surface shape correlating to the virtual interface model and a virtual three-dimensional surface shape correlating to the virtual root model.   
     
     
         26 . A dental system as defined in  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of layer builds are stacked in a third dimension to form the workpiece as a solid body, and each layer build comprises an edge dimensionally matching a corresponding numerical description correlating to a three-dimensional surface shape of the dental implant. 
     
     
         27 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece is a sample and the rapid prototyping material comprises a resin material configured for lost-sample casting. 
     
     
         28 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece is a sample and the rapid prototyping material comprises a wax material configured for lost-sample casting. 
     
     
         29 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece is a green body, the rapid prototyping material is configured for sintering, and the rapid prototyping material is configured to receive its final material properties by sintering. 
     
     
         30 . A dental system as defined in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece is the dental implant, and the rapid prototyping material is configured for selective laser sintering in its pre-manufacturing stage. 
     
     
         31 . A rapid prototyping method to fabricate a dental prosthesis to replace a specific natural tooth of a pre-identified patient, the dental prosthesis to be integrated into a receiving jawbone cavity structure of the pre-identified patient corresponding to the specific natural tooth, the dental prosthesis being a finished manufactured product prior to its insertion into the receiving jawbone cavity structure, the dental prosthesis comprising a custom shaped root body and an occlusal-facing body, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving a first set of digital data representing a virtual root model;   receiving a second set of digital data representing a virtual interface model; and   utilizing a layer-by-layer process to form a workpiece from a rapid prototype material responsive to the first set of digital data and responsive to the second set of digital data,   wherein the virtual root model represents the custom shaped root body of the dental prosthesis,   wherein the virtual interface model represents an interface of the occlusal-facing body to receive a dental crown,   wherein a first three-dimensional surface shape of the workpiece dimensionally correlates to a corresponding three-dimensional surface shape of the virtual interface model, and   wherein a second three-dimensional surface shape of the workpiece dimensionally correlates to a corresponding three-dimensional surface shape of the virtual root model.   
     
     
         32 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process forms a plurality of layer builds, the plurality of layer builds being solidly stacked to form the workpiece. 
     
     
         33 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process employs a controlled laser beam to harden the rapid prototype material. 
     
     
         34 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the rapid prototype material comprises a powder. 
     
     
         35 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the workpiece is the dental prosthesis. 
     
     
         36 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the workpiece is formed from greater than one rapid prototyping material. 
     
     
         37 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the first three-dimensional surface shape of the workpiece dimensionally matches the corresponding three-dimensional surface shape of the virtual interface model. 
     
     
         38 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the second three-dimensional surface shape of the workpiece dimensionally matches the corresponding three-dimensional surface shape of the virtual root model. 
     
     
         39 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 35 , wherein the custom shaped root body is configured to be positioned in and substantially integrated into and adopted by natural hard or soft tissue of the receiving jawbone cavity structure of the pre-identified patient. 
     
     
         40 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the method further comprises the step of:
 combining the virtual interface model and the virtual root model to form a virtual three-dimensional solid object, the virtual three-dimensional solid object to comprise an unambiguous numerical description of a virtual surface of the virtual three-dimensional solid object, the unambiguous numerical description showing no holes and identifying an inside and an outside of the virtual surface.   
     
     
         41 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the method further comprising the step of:
 transferring the first set of digital data and the second set of digital data by a computer network.   
     
     
         42 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process is employed at a dentist's office. 
     
     
         43 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process is employed in a laboratory. 
     
     
         44 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process deposits the rapid prototyping material responsive to the first set of digital data and to the second set of digital data. 
     
     
         45 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 32 , wherein each layer build constitutes a two-dimensional cross section of the workpiece having an edge defined by the first set of digital data or by the second set of digital data. 
     
     
         46 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 32 , wherein the plurality of layer builds are solidly stacked in a third dimension to form the workpiece. 
     
     
         47 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the layer-by-layer process employs a selective laser sintering process. 
     
     
         48 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the workpiece is a green body, and the method further comprises the step of:
 sintering the workpiece.   
     
     
         49 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein the workpiece is a sample body, and the method further comprises the step of:
 lost-sample casting.   
     
     
         50 . A rapid prototyping method as defined in  claim 49 , wherein the rapid prototyping material comprises a wax or resin material configured for lost-sample casting.