Dental crown having a highly retentive coating and method for making the same

Abstract

Dental crowns and methods of making the same. The dental crown may include a metal shell shaped to cover a portion of a tooth of a patient; a coating retention metal layer diffusion bonded to the metal shell, wherein an interface between the coating retention layer and the metal shell comprises a plurality of interstitial regions; and a composition on the coating retention layer and within the plurality of the interstitial regions to bond the coating composition to the metal shell.

1 . A dental crown, comprising:
 a metal shell shaped to cover a portion of a tooth of a patient;   a coating retention metal layer diffusion bonded to the metal shell, wherein an interface between the coating retention metal layer and the metal shell comprises a plurality of interstitial regions; and   a composition on the coating retention metal layer and within the plurality of the interstitial regions to bond the composition to the metal shell.   
     
     
         2 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the coating retention layer comprises an interwoven mesh, the mesh comprising a plurality of elongated metal strands, and the interstitial regions underlie at least a portion of the strands. 
     
     
         3 . The dental crown of  claim 2 , wherein a plurality of apertures between the plurality of elongated metal strands comprise 10 to 60 percent of the area of the coating retention layer. 
     
     
         4 . The dental crown of  claim 3 , wherein the open spaces between the elongated metal strands comprise 30 to 40 percent of the area of the coating retention layer. 
     
     
         5 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the coating retention layer comprises a nonwoven mesh of elongated metal strands, and the interstitial regions underlie at least a portion of the strands. 
     
     
         6 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the coating composition is hardened or cured by heating to remove solvent, heating to cause polymerization, chemical crosslinking, radiation-induced polymerization or crosslinking. 
     
     
         7 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises a polymer or copolymer chosen from epoxy, polyester, and hybrids thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises a thermoplastic polymer. 
     
     
         9 . The dental crown of  claim 6 , wherein the composition comprises a thermoplastic polymer chosen from polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyphenolsulfones, polyethersulfones, polyacrylamide, PTFE and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the metal shell and/or the coating retention layer comprise stainless steel alloys. 
     
     
         11 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the coating composition is retained on the metal shell with a minimum bond strength of 5 MPa. 
     
     
         12 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises a polymerizable component selected from the group consisting of phenoxyethyl methacrylate, urethane dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol methacrylate, polypropylene glycol methacrylate, triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, the diglycidyl methacrylate of bisphenol A, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the metal shell has a thickness in the range of 50 to 250 micrometers. 
     
     
         14 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the metal shell has a thickness in the range of 50 to 150 micrometers. 
     
     
         15 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the coating retention layer has a thickness in the range of 50 to 125 micrometers. 
     
     
         16 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the dental crown has a thickness in the range of 50 to 700 micrometers. 
     
     
         17 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the metal shell is a continuous, nonporous layer of metal. 
     
     
         18 . The dental crown of  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises powder. 
     
     
         19 . A dental crown, comprising:
 a continuous, nonporous metal shell shaped to cover a portion of a tooth of a patient;   a coating retention metal layer of elongated metal strands bonded to the metal shell, wherein there are apertures between the elongated metal strands, wherein the apertures between the elongated metal strands comprise 10 to 60 percent of the area of the coating retention layer, and wherein an interface between the polymeric retention layer and the metal shell comprises a plurality of interstitial regions; and   a polymeric composition on the coating retention layer and within a plurality of the interstitial regions to bond the coating composition to the metal shell.   
     
     
         20 . The dental crown of  claim 19 , wherein the plurality of apertures between the elongated metal strands comprise 30 to 40 percent of the area of the coating retention layer. 
     
     
         21 . The dental crown of  claim 19 , wherein the coating retention layer comprises an interwoven mesh, the mesh comprising a plurality of elongated metal strands, and the interstitial regions underlie at least a portion of the strands. 
     
     
         22 . The dental crown of  claim 10 , wherein the coating retention layer comprises a nonwoven mesh of elongate metal strands, and the interstitial regions underlie at least a portion of the strands. 
     
     
         23 . The dental crown of  claim 19 , wherein the composition is hardened or cured by heating to remove solvent, heating to cause polymerization, chemical crosslinking, radiation-induced polymerization or crosslinking. 
     
     
         24 . The dental crown of  claim 19  wherein the composition is photocurable. 
     
     
         25 . The dental crown of  claim 10 , wherein the composition comprises a polymer or copolymer chosen from epoxy, polyester, and hybrids thereof. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the coating composition comprises a thermoplastic polymer. 
     
     
         27 . The dental crown of  claim 26 , wherein the coating comprises a thermoplastic polymer chosen from polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyphenolsulfones, polyethersulfones, polyacrylamide, PTFE and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         28 . The dental crown of  claim 19 , wherein the metal shell and/or the coating retention layer comprise stainless steel alloys. 
     
     
         29 . The dental crown of  claim 19 , wherein the composition is retained on the metal shell with a minimum bond strength of 5 MPa. 
     
     
         30 . The dental crown of  claim 10 , wherein the polymeric composition comprises a polymerizable component is selected from the group consisting of phenoxyethyl methacrylate, urethane dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol methacrylate, polypropylene glycol methacrylate, triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, the diglycidyl methacrylate of bisphenol A, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         31 - 70 . (canceled)