Patent Application Titled “Method of Making a Denture” Published Online (USPTO 20180104027)
By a
No assignee for this patent application has been made.
Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Field of the Invention
"The present invention relates to medical devices and, more specifically to dentures and a method for fabricating a denture in one visit.
"Description of the Related Art
"Many patients require dentures but do not have easy access to dental care, either because of monetary limitations or geographical limitations. Many patients are older and live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, making it difficult for those patients to go to the dentist's office once, let alone visit the office four to five times as required for conventional dentures. Additionally, conventional dentures are expensive and not fully covered by insurance and not covered at all by Medicare. Nonetheless, functional dentures are important in maintaining general health, decreasing the incidence of chronic disease, lowering overall medical costs while offering a higher quality of life and sense of self-esteem.
"Missing teeth have a variety of implications, including impairment of mastication, speech defects, swallowing disorders, nutrition intake, distorted facial contour, and overall physical and emotional discomfort. Headaches and other illnesses are often related to missing teeth. Replacement of missing teeth is therefore a necessity that is significant to emotional and physical health and well being.
"Conventional dentures are fabricated in dental offices and typically require four to five visits by the patient. During the first visit at the dentist's office, a preliminary impression is taken to make a custom mold of the mouth. That mold may be sent to the laboratory to make custom impression trays. During the second visit to the dentist, the custom impression trays are checked and adjusted and the dentist also takes final impressions. The corresponding laboratory procedures involve creating a cast master mold, a stabilized based plate, and a wax occlusal rim. During the third visit to the dentist, the dentist determines the maxilio-mandibular relation, selects the teeth for the denture, and takes a bite registration. The corresponding laboratory work involves setting the anterior and posterior teeth, thus completing a wax denture for the patient to try. During the fourth visit to the dentist, the dentist checks the aesthetics and functionality of the wax up dentures, checks the occlusal and vertical dimension, and makes any required corrections. The dentures are sent to the lab to be processed and finished. The fifth visit to the dentist involves the delivery of the dentures, a final check for fit and then, finally, the dentures are given to the patient for home use.
"One article suggests that the process of fabricating a denture can be accomplished in three appointments. This procedure is described in the article entitled The Three Appointment Denture Technique as Presented by
"Most notably, the proposed three visit procedure only results in a cost saving when the dentist office is able to work closely with the dental laboratory. Additionally, the procedure still requires making a wax model for the first try-in. Making a wax setup requires a significant amount of time and expense.
"Sekendur,
"Saitoh, et. al.,
"Hazar, et al.,
"Other methods of making custom dentures have failed to fully address the issue of being able to produce the dental device in a single visit and doing so at a reduced cost, such as may be at the level of Medicaid reimbursement. Thus, patients who do not have easy access to a dental office and those who cannot afford the procedure are precluded from dental treatment which is necessary for physical and emotional health. Furthermore, many dentists choose not to make dentures because the process requiring multiple visits is not profitable. Other methods also require the use of an off-site dental laboratory, adding to time and cost.
"It would therefore be desirable to provide a custom denture that overcomes the shortcomings and limitations of conventional dentures and the conventional methods for making dentures"
In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventor's summary information for this patent application: "To address these and other needs, and in view of its purposes, one aspect of the present invention provides a pre-formed denture template with teeth in place, and which requires only one step and only one sitting, to be made into a finalized, customized denture. The sitting may be a visit to a dental office according to one exemplary embodiment.
"According to one aspect, the invention provides a method for forming a denture for a patient in a single dental office visit. The method comprises providing a plurality of denture templates having different sizes, each having been pre-formed to a pre-formed shape and comprising a base acrylic portion with prosthetic teeth adjoined thereto, selecting a first dental template of the plurality of dental templates that has a size generally corresponding to a size of the patient's edentulous alveolar ridge but does not fit conformably, i.e., exactly thereto. The method further comprises adding an impression material which may be a reline or other viscous material, to the first dental template and positioning the first dental template on the patient's edentulous alveolar ridge to mold the impression material to conform to the contours of the patient's edentulous alveolar ridge and vestibule. The method further comprises allowing the impression material to solidify to produce a customized, rigid or semi-rigid molded portion thereby forming a denture comprised of the prosthetic teeth, the base acrylic portion and the solidified molded portion which includes a custom lining. The steps of selecting, adding, positioning and allowing may advantageously take place in one visit.
"According to another aspect, the present invention provides a denture formed according to such method and including two acrylic sections. A template is formed of a first acrylic portion and includes teeth coupled directly to the first acrylic portion. A second acrylic portion is conterminous with the first acrylic portion and conforms to a patient's edentulous alveolar ridge and may be rigid or semi-rigid.
"According to another aspect, the invention provides a denture comprising teeth and a denture base consisting of two acrylic portions including a template fainted of a first acrylic portion and coupled directly to the teeth and a second acrylic portion adjacent and conterminous with the first acrylic portion and being conformed to a patient's edentulous alveolar ridge."
For more information, see this patent application:
Keywords for this news article include: Dentistry, Patent Application, Health and Medicine.
Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2018, NewsRx LLC
Mony Life Insurance Co of America Files SEC Form S-1/A, General Form For Registration of Securities Under The Securities Act of 1933: (Apr. 24, 2018)
Data on Heart Attack Reported by Researchers at National Taiwan University (Single and dual antiplatelet therapy in elderly patients of medically…
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News