Implant bone locking mechanism and artificial periodontal ligament system

• US 5,890,902 A
• Filed: 09/19/1997
• Issued: 04/06/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Schubert L. Sapian
• Original Assignee: Schubert L. Sapian
• Inventors: Sapian, Schubert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucchesi, Nicholas D.
• Application Number:
  US08/934,498
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• Field of Search: 433/172, 433/173, 433/174, 433/175, 433/176, 433/177
• US Class Current: 433/173
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/0033 Expandable implants; Implants with extendable elements
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 8/0048 Connecting the upper structure to the implant, e.g. bridging bars A61C8/0028 takes precedence

Abstract

An implant bone locking mechanism and artificial periodontal ligament system having a hollow implant casing and a set of stabilizing locking pins that are initially retracted within the casing. A pin activator is moved axially through the hollow implant casing to cause the locking pins to move outwardly therefrom and bore into the patient'"'"'s bone structure in which the implant casing is located to enable immediate bone implant and increase bone/implant stabilization. A locking basket has a pair of outstretched arms and a plurality of locking splines that are coupled to the pin activator and the implant casing to prevent a rotation of the pin activator and implant casing relative to the locking basket and each other. An irremovable crown is seated upon the locking basket and adapted for both lateral movement along the outstretched arms of the locking basket and up and down movement relative to the locking basket so as to function like a natural tooth and improve the quality of mastication.

Claims

1. A dental implant system for affixing a crown to the bone structure within a patient'"'"'s mouth, said dental implant system comprising:

a root portion to be located substantially below the patient'"'"'s gum line in a hole made in the patient'"'"'s bone structure;

means by which to anchor the root portion to the bone structure within which the hole is made;

a crown portion located above said root portion, the crown being irremovably connected to said crown portion;

means by which to couple said crown portion to said root portion; and

means by which to permit the crown to move laterally. upwardly and downwardly relative to said crown portion so as to emulate the movement of a natural tooth.

2. The dental implant system recited in claim 1, wherein said root portion includes a hollow implant casing to be received within the hole made in the patient'"'"'s bone structure, said means by which to anchor said root portion to the bone structure including a plurality of locking pins located within said hollow implant casing and movable outwardly therefrom to bore into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.

3. The dental implant system recited in claim 2, wherein said means by which to anchor said root portion to the bone structure also includes a set of threads at the exterior of said hollow implant casing to bite into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing when said implant casing is received within the hole made in the bone structure.

4. The dental implant system recited in claim 2, further comprising a supply of bone tissue growth factor located within said hollow implant casing to be expulsed therefrom after said implant casing is received within the hole made in the bone structure to promote the growth of bone tissue around said implant casing.

5. The dental implant system recited in claim 4, wherein said plurality of locking pins have open windows formed therein, said bone tissue growth factor being expulsed from said hollow implant casing via said open windows when said locking pins are moved outwardly of said implant casing to bore into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.

6. The dental implant system recited in claim 2, wherein said root portion also includes a pin activator having a elongated abutment stem, said abutment stem moving axially through said hollow implant casing to force said plurality of locking pins to move outwardly of said implant casing to bite into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.

7. The dental implant system recited in claim 6, wherein said crown portion includes a locking basket having a pair of outstretched wings upon which the crown is seated, said means by which to couple said crown portion to said root portion including a plurality of locking splines extending from said locking basket to engage said hollow implant casing and said pin activator to prevent the rotation of said implant casing and said pin activator relative to said locking basket and to one another.

8. The dental implant system recited in claim 6, wherein said crown portion also includes a swivel rod, a first end of said swivel rod connected to the crown and the opposite end of said swivel rod connected to said root portion, said means by which to permit the crown to move relative to said crown portion comprising a first pivot surface located at said opposite end of said swivel rod and pivotally connected to said root portion to permit said swivel rod to rotate and the crown to slide laterally along the outstretched wings of said locking basket.

9. The dental implant system recited in claim 8, wherein said first pivot surface of said swivel rod is a ball that is pivotally connected to said root portion at a swivel pocket formed in said pin activator, said root portion also including elastomeric material having a spring memory located within said swivel pocket to support said ball so that said ball is capable of moving towards and away from said swivel pocket, whereby the crown is adapted to move upwardly and downwardly relative to said locking basket in response to a compressive force applied to the crown, said compressive force transmitted from the crown to said ball via said swivel rod.

10. The dental implant recited in claim 9, wherein said crown portion also includes resilient material having a spring memory and covering the outstretched wings of said locking basket to support the crown, the compressive force applied to the crown being transmitted to said resilient material when the crown moves downwardly relative to said locking basket.

11. The dental implant recited in claim 8, wherein said means by which to permit the crown to move relative to said crown portion further comprises a second pivot surface located at the first end of said swivel rod and pivotally connected to the crown.

12. The dental implant recited in claim 11, wherein said second pivot surface is a hemispherically shaped swivel rod connector surrounding the first end of said swivel rod, the crown being adapted to rotate around said hemispherically shaped swivel rod connector and slide laterally along the outstretched wings of said locking basket.

13. The dental implant recited in claim 12, wherein said crown portion also includes a snap ring surrounding the first end of said swivel rod and being seated upon said swivel rod connector to hold said swivel rod connector in mating engagement against the crown.

14. The dental implant system recited in claim 13, wherein said crown portion also including a locking tube surrounding said snap ring and holding said snap ring in compression around the first end of said swivel rod and seated upon said swivel rod connector, an axial pushing force applied to said locking tube being transferred to said snap ring to cause said snap ring to move axially along said swivel rod and towards said swivel rod connector to thereby apply a compressive force to said swivel rod connector.

15. A dental implant system for affixing a crown to the bone structure within a patient'"'"'s mouth, said dental implant system comprising:

a root portion to be located substantially below the patient'"'"'s gum line in a hole made in the patient'"'"'s bone structure;

means by which to anchor said root portion to the bone structure in which the hole is made;

a crown portion coupled to said root portion, said crown portion including a locking basket having a pair of outstretched wings and a plurality of locking splines depending therefrom to engage said root portion and thereby prevent said root portion from rotating relative to said crown portion;

means by which to irremovably connect the crown to said crown portion so that the crown is seated upon said locking basket and adapted to slide in a first direction laterally along the outstretched wings of said locking basket and in a second direction up and down relative to said locking basket, said first and second directions lying in substantially perpendicular alignment with one another.

16. A dental implant system for affixing a crown to the bone structure within a patient'"'"'s mouth, said dental implant system comprising:

a root portion to be located substantially below the patient'"'"'s gum line in a hole made in the patient'"'"'s bone structure, said root portion including a hollow implant casing to be received within said hole, a supply of bone tissue growth factor located within said hollow implant casing, and openings formed through said hollow implant casing through which said bone tissue growth factor is expulsed after said hollow implant casing is received within said hole so as to promote the growth of bone tissue around said hollow implant casing;

means by which to anchor the hollow implant casing of said root portion to the bone structure within which the hole is made;

a crown portion located above said root portion, the crown being irremovably connected to said crown portion;

means by which to couple said crown portion to said root portion; and

means by which to permit the crown to move relative to said crown portion so as to emulate the movement of a natural tooth.

17. The dental implant system recited in claim 16, wherein said means by which to anchor said hollow implant casing of said root portion to the bone structure includes a set of threads at the exterior of said hollow implant casing to bite into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing when said implant casing is received within the hole made in the bone structure.

18. The dental implant system recited in claim 16, wherein said means by which to anchor said hollow implant casing of said root portion to the bone structure includes a plurality of locking pins, each of said plurality of locking pins located within said hollow implant casing and movable outwardly therefrom via respective ones of said openings formed through said hollow implant casing to bore into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.

19. The dental implant system recited in claim 18, wherein said plurality of locking pins have open windows formed therein, said bone tissue growth factor being expulsed from said hollow implant casing through said open windows of said locking pins when said locking pins are moved outwardly of said implant casing to bore into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.

20. The dental implant system recited in claim 19, wherein said root portion also includes a pin activator having an elongated abutment stem, said abutment stem moving axially through said hollow implant casing to force said plurality of locking pins to move outwardly of said hollow implant casing via said respective openings formed through said implant casing to bite into the bone structure surrounding said implant casing.