DENTAL FRAMEWORK

• US 20090104585A1
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andrew John Schulter, Carl Walter Schulter, Charles Schulte Iii Sullivan, Denis John Diangelo
• Original Assignee: Andrew John Schulter, Carl Walter Schulter, Charles Schulte Iii Sullivan, Denis John Diangelo
• Inventors: Schulter, Andrew John, Sullivan, Charles Schulte III, Diangelo, Denis John, Schulter, Carl Walter
• Granted Patent: US 8,100,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/223
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 13/0004 Computer-assisted sizing or machining of dental prostheses
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/0001 Impression means for implants, e.g. impression coping
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/0048 Connecting the upper structure to the implant, e.g. bridging bars A61C8/0028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/006 with polygonal positional means, e.g. hexagonal or octagonal
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/0095 Total denture implant
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing

Abstract

A method of preparing a dental framework or mathematical model thereof comprises creating a replica of a patient'"'"'s mouth or a framework to be inserted into the patient'"'"'s mouth, electronically scanning the replica or framework, electronically determining a surface model of a dental framework and manufacturing the framework.

Claims

1. A method of creating a dental framework having a plurality of mating surfaces that are configured to engage corresponding plurality of anchors in a patient'"'"'s mouth, the method comprising the steps of:

attaching a plurality of copings to the anchors;

forming an impression in which the copings are embedded;

attaching an analog to each of the plurality of copings;

forming a stone cast in which the plurality of copings are embedded;

attaching alignment posts having surface extensions to each of the analogs;

digitally scanning the surface extensions to generate a point cloud dataset;

deriving the relative positions and orientations of the mating surfaces from the point cloud dataset;

generating a toolpath that is configured to generate the mating surfaces in their relative positions and orientations; and

making the framework in accordance with the toolpath.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alignment posts are attached to surfaces of the analogs that correspond to the plurality of mating surfaces on the anchors.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the framework further comprises a bridging structure that extends between and couples the plurality of mating surfaces together, and wherein the step of generating a toolpath further comprises the step of generating a toolpath configured to generate the bridging structure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of digitally scanning the surface extensions further comprises the step of scanning the surface extensions with a laser scanner at a plurality of locations on each surface extension to produce a plurality of three dimensional datapoints, said point cloud dataset comprising the three dimensional datapoints.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of deriving the relative positions and orientations further comprises the step of electronically fitting datapoints scanned from the surface extensions to a predetermined three dimensional geometry of the surface extensions stored in a computer memory.

6. A method of generating a toolpath for manufacturing a dental framework for a patient'"'"'s mouth, the patient'"'"'s mouth comprising a plurality of anchors embedded in the patient'"'"'s mandible or maxilla, the framework being made from a stone cast with embedded analogs, the stone cast being made from an impression having embedded copings, the impression being taken directly from the patient'"'"'s mouth, wherein the framework further comprises a plurality of mating surfaces that are configured to engage the plurality of anchors, the method comprising the steps of:

attaching alignment posts having surface extensions to each of the analogs embedded in the stone cast of the patient'"'"'s mouth;

digitally scanning the surface extensions to generate a point cloud dataset;

deriving the relative positions and orientations of the mating surfaces from the point cloud dataset; and

generating a toolpath that is configured to generate the mating surfaces in their relative positions and orientations.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the alignment posts are attached to surfaces of the analogs that correspond to the plurality of mating surfaces on the anchors.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the framework further comprises a bridging structure that extends between and couples the plurality of mating surfaces together, and wherein the step of generating a toolpath further comprises the step of generating a toolpath configured to generate the bridging structure.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of digitally scanning the surface extensions further comprises the step of scanning the surface extensions with a laser scanner at a plurality of locations on each surface extension to produce a plurality of three dimensional datapoints, said point cloud dataset comprising the three dimensional datapoints.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of deriving the relative positions and orientations further comprises the step of electronically fitting datapoints scanned from the surface extensions to a predetermined three-dimensional geometry of the surface extensions stored in a computer memory.

11. A method of creating a dental framework having a plurality of mating surfaces that are configured to engage a corresponding plurality of anchors in the patient'"'"'s mouth, the method comprising the steps of:

attaching a plurality of copings to the anchors;

forming a stone cast in which the copings are embedded;

attaching an analog to each of the plurality of copings;

forming a stone cast in which the plurality of analogs are embedded;

attaching a fitting to each of the plurality of analogs;

coupling the fittings together with a bridging structure to hold them in their relative positions thereby forming a model framework;

removing the fittings and bridging structure from the copings;

attaching alignment posts having surface extensions to each of the fittings;

digitally scanning the surface extensions to generate a point cloud dataset;

deriving the relative positions and orientations of the mating surfaces from the point cloud dataset;

generating a toolpath that is configured to generate the mating surfaces in their relative positions and orientations; and

making the framework in accordance with the toolpath.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the alignment posts are attached to surfaces of the fittings that correspond to the plurality of mating surfaces on the anchors.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of digitally scanning further comprises the step of digitally scanning the surface of the bridging structure to generate the point cloud dataset, and further wherein the step of generating a toolpath further comprises the step of generating a toolpath configured to generate the bridging structure from datapoints scanned from the surface of the bridging structure.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of digitally scanning the surface extensions further comprises the step of scanning the surface extensions with a laser scanner at a plurality of locations on each surface extension to produce a plurality of three dimensional datapoints, said point cloud dataset comprising the three dimensional datapoints.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of deriving the relative positions and orientations further comprises the step of electronically fitting datapoints scanned from the surface extensions to a predetermined geometry of the surface extensions stored in a computer memory.

16. A method of creating a dental framework having a plurality of mating surfaces that are configured to engage a corresponding plurality of anchors in the patient'"'"'s mouth, the method comprising the steps of:

attaching a plurality of copings to the anchors;

forming a stone cast in which the copings are embedded;

attaching an analog to each of the plurality of copings;

forming a stone cast in which the plurality of analogs are embedded;

attaching a fitting to each of the plurality of analogs;

coupling the fittings together with a bridging structure to hold them in their relative positions thereby forming a model framework;

removing the fittings and bridging structure from the copings;

attaching alignment posts having surface extensions to each of the fittings;

digitally scanning the surface extensions to generate a point cloud dataset;

deriving the relative positions and orientations of the mating surfaces from the point cloud dataset;

generating a toolpath that is configured to generate the mating surfaces in their relative positions and orientations; and

making the framework in accordance with the toolpath.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the alignment posts are attached to surfaces of the fittings that correspond to the plurality of mating surfaces on the anchors.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of digitally scanning further comprises the step of digitally scanning the surface of the bridging structure to generate the point cloud dataset, and further wherein the step of generating a toolpath further comprises the step of generating a toolpath configured to generate the bridging structure from datapoints scanned from the surface of the bridging structure.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of digitally scanning the surface extensions further comprises the step of scanning the surface extensions with a laser scanner at a plurality of locations on each surface extension to produce a plurality of three dimensional datapoints, said point cloud dataset comprising the three dimensional datapoints.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of deriving the relative positions and orientations further comprises the step of electronically fitting datapoints scanned from the surface extensions to a predetermined geometry of the surface extensions stored in a computer memory.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein a facial index has a first surface formed in abutment to a diagnostic wax-up and a second surface formed in abutment to a third surface of a stone cast, wherein the first point cloud dataset comprises points scanned both from the first surface and the second surface, and wherein the second point cloud dataset comprises points scanned from the third surface and points scanned from a fourth surface of the stone cast adjacent to the third surface, and further wherein the overlapping portions of both point cloud datasets comprise points scanned from the second surface in the first point cloud dataset and points scanned from the third surface in the second point cloud dataset.

21. A method of locating a dental appliance with respect to dental surfaces, the method comprising the steps of:

scanning a first dental surface to create a first point cloud dataset;

scanning a second dental surface to create a second point cloud dataset;

registering the first and second point cloud datasets by aligning points in each dataset taken from the overlapping surface portions; and

using non-overlapping portions of both point cloud datasets to define the location of the dental appliance.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the first dental surface is selected from the group comprising an impression, a stone cast, a diagnostic wax-up, a facial index and a dental framework.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the second dental surface is selected from the group comprising an impression, a stone cast, a diagnostic wax-up, a facial index, and a dental framework.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first point cloud dataset comprises both points scanned from a surface of a diagnostic wax-up disposed on a stone cast and points scanned from a surface of the stone cast while the diagnostic wax-up is disposed on it, and wherein the second point cloud dataset comprises points scanned from the surface of the stone cast and points scanned from a surface of the stone cast that was covered by the diagnostic wax-up when the diagnostic wax-up was scanned to create the first point cloud dataset, wherein the portions of the stone cast common scanned to both point cloud datasets constitute the overlapping portions of both point cloud datasets.