Abstract:
A combination tool for defining and measuring anatomical features of a patient for the fabrication of dentures. The tool includes components for preparing a double arch impression, for determining the vertical spacing of the patient&#39;s mouth, for measuring the lip, mid line and smile lines of the patient, and for determining the occlusal plane of the patient. This single tool replaces the need for a multitude of tools typically used in preparing for the fabrication of dentures.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent claims the benefit of provisional application 61/409,914, filed on Nov. 3, 2010. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to the field of dental measurement tools and in particular, tools for measuring anatomical features for the fabrication and fitting of dentures. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The manufacture of dentures normally require the measurement of several anatomical features of the patient in order to fabricate a denture that will properly fit and function. These measurements are normally sent to a dental lab that uses these measurements to create 
         [0004]    The dentist obtains data regarding several anatomical features of the patient to send to the dental lab. First, the dentist obtains a scan of the bite impressions. This can be done by using an upper bite impression tray, a lower bite impression tray or a triple bite impression tray that simultaneously takes both upper and lower bite impressions. 
         [0005]    The dentist also takes additional measurements of anatomical features of the patient. These include, without limitation, the vertical height relation to the upper and lower bite alignment; the lip support of the patient; canine position; the smile line of the patient; the centric relationship of the patient; and the mid-line measurement. Other measurements may be taken as well. 
         [0006]    The lip line measurement is intended to provide a measurement of the upper lip from the anterior papilla at rest. This is traditionally measured by a papillameter which consist of a vestibule shield, incisive papilla rest and an vertical handle with measurement increments. 
         [0007]    The smile line measurement can also be determined by the papillameter. The device is inserted into position and the patient is requested to smile so that the lip line at that position from the anterior papilla can be measured. 
         [0008]    The mid-line is determined from typically from the existing intraoral anatomic structures, usually the maxillary anterior (labial) frenum. 
         [0009]    The vertical height dimension is typically determined from measurements taken from nose and chin reference points. Measurements of the vertical height are taken at rest and of the vertical dimension of occlusion. 
         [0010]    A centric tray or bite rim is commonly used to take a double arch registration to record vertical and centric jaw registration. 
         [0011]    The occlusal plane is an orientation of the position of an imaginary occlusal plane which theoretically touches the incisal edges of the incisors and tips of the occluding surface of the posterior teeth. A normal occlusal plane extends parallel to a line drawn from the tragus of the ear to the ala of the nose and parallel to the interpupillary line (Camper&#39;s Line). This ensures that the patient will not dislodge the lower denture, particularly while eating and not bite the lateral borders of the tongue. Tools for measuring the occlusal plane typically include a thin flat plane have a curved bite piece and a pair of laterally and distally extending wings projecting from the bite piece. 
         [0012]    There are individual tools for each of these measurements. These include a papillameter, a centric tray, bite rim, a vertical height caliper, bite trays and other tools. This requires the practitioner to maintain a variety of different tools and be trained for each. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The present invention provides a single tool that can take most if not all of the necessary measurements for the preparation of dentures and other dental orthosis. The tool enables a variety of measurements to be obtained without the need of numerous tools in the preparation of dentures and other dental orthosis. This enables the examination of the patient to be taken in a much shorter time frame and with less discomfort to the patient. It also improves the quality of the measurements since they are taken from a single base line measurement with one tool. 
         [0014]    The tool of a preferred embodiment includes an upper impression tray and a lower impression tray. This enables a double arch impression to be taken in a single measurement. The trays can be inserted and removed with the use of a removable handle that can be attached when needed, and removed when not to allow other measurements to be taken. A vertical adjustment mechanism allows the spacing between the upper and lower trays to be precisely adjusted. This allows the vertical spacing to be precisely measured. 
         [0015]    The preferred embodiment of the tool also includes a removable lip support that is attached to one or both of the upper and lower trays. The lip support can include a horizontal adjustment so that the spacing between the lip support and the trays can be adjusted to allow the smile and lip lines of the patient to be accurately determined and measured. A measurement grid can be formed on the lip support so these measurements can be precisely determined. The lip support can also include an attachment mechanism for templates so the size, shape and coloring of the teeth can be matched. In one embodiment, protuberances or other devices can be attached to the lip support so that anatomical features of the patient can be simulated, such as the canine structure. 
         [0016]    The tool of the preferred embodiment also includes a occlusal plane plate component that can be attached to the lip support, one or both of the trays, or any combination thereof. The occlusal plane plate includes a horizontal member that will be in the same plane as the tool in the patient&#39;s mouth and a pivotal member that can be pivoted to determine the occlusal plane of the patient. A calibrated scale provides the angle measured between these two members. 
         [0017]    In use, the tool can be used to define and measure the critical anatomical features of the patient so that dentures and other orthosis can be precisely fabricated. The tool is able to form double arch dental impressions, determine the vertical spacing between the upper and lower arches, determine the lip, mid line and smile lines, the size, shape and coloring of the teeth and the occlusal plane of the patient precisely and quickly without the need of multiple tools. 
         [0018]    These and other features of the present invention will be evident from the ensuing detailed description of preferred embodiments, from the drawings and from the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of a preferred embodiment of the tool of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  a lower perspective illustration of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a side perspective illustration of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a lower perspective view of the upper tray of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the lower tray of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a front view of the lower tray of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the vertical adjustment mechanism of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the vertical adjustment mechanism of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a rear view of the lip support of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the occlusal plane plate component of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  is a front view of the occlusal plane plate of the tool of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the occlusal plane plate tool. 
           [0031]      FIG. 13  is a front view of the occlusal plane plate tool. 
           [0032]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the scalar member of the occlusal plane plate tool. 
           [0033]      FIG. 15  is a front view of the scalar member. 
           [0034]      FIG. 16  is an illustration of the tool of another preferred embodiment of the present invention configured for use to be used as a triple tray for double arch registration. 
           [0035]      FIG. 17  is an illustration of an opposing perspective view of the tool of  FIG. 16 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 18  is an illustration of a rear view of the tool configured in  FIG. 16 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 19  is an illustration of the tool configured for lip line measurements and for vertical dimensional measurements. 
           [0038]      FIG. 20  is an illustration of an opposing perspective view of the tool configured in  FIG. 19 . 
           [0039]      FIG. 21  is an illustration of a rear perspective view of the tool configured in  FIG. 19 . 
           [0040]      FIG. 22  is an illustration of the tool configured for occlusal plane measurement. 
           [0041]      FIG. 23  is an illustration of an opposing perspective view of the tool configured in  FIG. 18 . 
           [0042]      FIG. 24  is an illustration of a rear perspective view of the tool configured in  FIG. 18 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0043]    The present invention provides a combination tool for measuring anatomical features of a patient for the fabrication of denture bases. Descriptive embodiments are provided before for explanatory purposes. It is to be expressly understood that the present invention is not be limited to these descriptive embodiments. Other embodiments are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, including without limitation the use of the present invention for other applications, such as denture duplication, dental implants, and other dental applications. The descriptions below discuss the systems of the present invention as used in dental labs, but it is to be expressly understood that these systems could also be implemented in the dentist office or through a network allowing interaction between the dentist and the dental lab through the systems. The processes and systems of the present invention may also be used in combination with all or parts of the following co pending applications filed on Nov. 3, 2010, entitled System and Processes for Anatomical Features in Dentures, Ser. No. 12/939,138; System and Process for Duplication of Dentures, Ser. No. 12/939,136; System and Processes for Optimization of Dentures, Ser. No. 12/939,141; and Removable Tool for Denture Uses, Ser. No. 12/939,143; all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0044]    A tool  10  of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-15 . The tool includes several features, including without limitation an impression tray, vertical height measuring mechanism, lip support, occlusal plane plate, a measurement grid for measuring the smile and mid-line and tooth template and other features critical for defining and measuring anatomical features of a patient for the manufacture of a denture. 
         [0045]    The tool  10  includes an upper tray  20  and lower tray  30 . The upper tray  20  and lower tray  30  are filled with impressionable material for making an impression of the mandibular and maxilla ridge of the patient. This creates a double arch impression of the patient. A removable handle, as discussed in greater detail below, can be used to remove the trays and impression from the mouth of the patient. 
         [0046]    The tool  10  also includes a drive mechanism  40  for adjusting the vertical height of the upper tray  20  and the lower tray  30 . This not only assists in creating the impression of the mandibular and maxilla ridge of the patient, but more importantly it allows for precise measurement of the vertical distance between the mandibular and maxilla ridges of the patient. The drive mechanism  40  of a preferred embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-5 . The drive mechanism includes threaded bolt  42  that is mounted in thread engagement to drive gear  44 . Drive shaft  46  engages in a rack and pinon gear engagement with drive gear  44  and is retained by key  48  on support  50 . The drive shaft  46  includes an internal hex socket  52 . The support  50  includes an oval inner hole having substantially flattened surfaces that engage the flattened surfaces on the sides of the threaded bolt  42  to prevent rotation of the threaded bolt. A hex tool (not shown) engages in the hex socket  52  to rotate drive shaft  46 . The rotation of the drive shaft  46  causes drive gear  44  to rotate which in turn causes vertical movement of the threaded bolt  42 . Spherical end  54  engages in a slot  60  on the lower tray  30  as shown in  FIG. 5 . An extension  56  may also be added to the end of threaded bolt  44  to provide additional vertical extension. 
         [0047]    The tool  10  also includes lip support  70  as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  9 . The lip support  70  is mounted to the upper tray  20  by adjustment bold  72 . Horizontal guides  74 ,  76  engage in guide holes  78 ,  80  on the upper tray  20 . The position of the lip support  70  can be precisely adjustment by the adjustment bold  72 . A measurement grid  82  is formed on the outer surface of the lip support  70  to enable precise definition and measurement of the smile line and the mid-line In the preferred embodiment, the grid is in one millimeter increments. The lip support  70  also provides retention for securing teeth templates to the lip support to enable the size, shape and coloring of the patient&#39;s teeth to be determined for fabrication of a denture. The lip support  70  can also include additional structure to create additional support for other anatomical features, such as protuberances for the canine teeth, and other such features. 
         [0048]    Slots  90 ,  92  formed in the lip support and slots  94 ,  96  in the lower tray serve several functions. One function is to provide for engagement with a removable handle (not shown). This removable handle allows the tool to be easily inserted into the patient&#39;s mouth, then removed to allow the appropriate measurements to be made. A second function is to provide a precise alignment with the occlusal plane plate discussed below. 
         [0049]    The occlusal plane plate  100 , shown in  FIGS. 10 - 14  includes alignment guides  102 ,  104  that are inserted into slots  94 ,  96  on the lower tray  30  or slots  90 ,  92  on the lip support  70 . This aligns the occlusal plane plate with the tool  10 . The occlusal plane plate  100  includes an elongated rectangular member  106  that is mounted on a perpendicular transverse axis to the tool  10 . An inner member  108  having an angular graduated scale  110  is mounted within the member  106  and is pivotal relative to the member  106 . The angle of the pivoting movement can be measured by the scale  110  relative to the pointer  112  on the outer member  106 . This feature is used to measure the angle of the occlusal plane of the patient relative to the position of the tray in the patient&#39;s mouth. 
       Use 
       [0050]    The tool as described above can be used to take the critical measurements of the patient&#39;s anatomy for the fabrication of dentures and other denture orthosis. The tool can be initially configured for taking the vertical dimension measurement. The dentist inserts the tool  10  into the patient&#39;s mount. The vertical spacing of the upper and lower trays is adjusted by rotating the drive shaft  44  until the appropriate measurement is taken. Once the vertical dimension has been measured, the upper and lower trays are adjusted to the correct position in the patient&#39;s mouth and impression compound is injected to lock the upper and lower tray and the patients ridges in a fixed vertical position and centric relation. The tool in this configuration is acting as a centric relation tray to obtain a double arch registration. Once the impression has been taken, the handle can be be removed and the lip support member can be inserted in lieu thereof. The lip support is carefully inserted into the appropriate position between the lip and gum of the patient. The lip lines of the lip support, mid line and smile lines can be thus measured against the measurement grid. The lip support member is then removed and the occlusal plane plate is inserted in lieu thereof. The reference angle of the occlusal plane relative to the Camper&#39;s line can then be measured relative to the occlusal of the incisors and posterior teeth. 
       Alternative Embodiments 
       [0051]    The tool  210  includes mouth base support  220  as shown in  FIGS. 16-24 . The base support  220  includes an upper ridge support  222  and a lower ridge support  224 . Horizontally slidable wing supports  230 ,  240 ,  250  are provided to be adjustable depending on the size of the patient&#39;s mouth. Vertical height calipers  232 ,  242 ,  252  extending from the wing supports with upper curved brackets  234 ,  244 ,  254  and lower curved brackets  236 ,  246 ,  256 . Handle  260  is removably inserted into the center of the base support. Engagement members  264 ,  266  secure the handle  60  to the base support. 
         [0052]    The tool in this configuration is used as a centric relationship tray to take a double arch registration to record vertical and centric jaw registration. The interior of the tray is filled with impression compound and inserted into the mouth. The patient bites down on the impression compound to form the double arch registration. Impression compound can be added when the tray is in the patients mouth. Once the compound has set, the tray is removed by grasping the handle and pulling the tool out. 
         [0053]    The vertical height calipers  232 ,  242 ,  252  are used to measure the vertical dimension of occlusion, that is the vertical dimension of the face with the posterior teeth fitting together and at rest. The dentist selects the appropriate size of caliper from a variety of calipers that best fits the size of the patient&#39;s face. The calipers can be moved horizontally to fit the arch as well as vertically to take the vertical measurements. 
         [0054]    Another embodiment of the tool in a preferred embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 20-22 . In this embodiment, the handle  60  is removed from the base support by disengaging the members  262 ,  264  from base support. In this embodiment, lip support  270  is inserted by slider  274  in lieu of the handles. The lip support includes a vestibule shield  272 . The vestibule shield includes a vertically extending measurement scale. The tool is then inserted into the mouth so that the lip extends over the vestibule shield. The handle can be removed to allow measurements of the lips and vertical height to be taken. 
         [0055]    A third configuration of the tool  210  is illustrated in  FIGS. 22-24 . The handle and lip supports are removed from the base support and the occlusal plane member  280  is inserted into the base support. The occlusal plane member  280  includes a flat planar surface member  282  extending from a cut-out portion  284  that will extend around the face and head of the individual being measured. The base support is inserted into the mouth, and the occlusal plane can be determined by registering the planar member  282  which should coincide with a horizontal plane that touches the incisal edges of the incisors and tips of the occluding surface of the posterior teeth. A normal occlusal plane extends parallel to a line drawn from the tragus of the ear to the ala of the nose and parallel to the interpupillary line (Camper&#39;s Line). The tool is inserted in the mouth, the patient bites down so vertical height set by the tray. The planar member  282  will be adjusted. The occlusal plane member can then be compared to the normal occlusal plane. Deviations from the norm can then be compensated in the new dentures. 
       Use 
       [0056]    The tool as described above can be used to take the critical measurements of the patient&#39;s anatomy for the fabrication of dentures and other denture orthosis. The tool can be initially configured for taking the vertical dimension measurement. The dentist selects the calipers appropriate for the size of the patient&#39;s face. The calipers are adjusted horizontally and vertically to the desired position relative to the patient&#39;s face. Once the vertical dimension has been measured, the horizontal wing supports are fixed to the correct position in the patient&#39;s mouth and impression compound is injected. The tool in this configuration is acting as a centric relation tray to obtain a double arch registration. Once the impression has been taken, the handle can be be removed and the lip support member can be inserted in lieu thereof. The vestibule shield is carefully inserted into the appropriate position between the lip and gum of the patient. The lip lines of the lip support, mid line and smile lines can be thus measured. The lip support member is then removed and the occlusal plane member is inserted in lieu thereof. The reference angle of the occlusal plane relative to the Camper&#39;s line can then be measured relative to the occlusal of the incisors and posterior teeth. 
         [0057]    The above described embodiments are provided for explanatory purposes and are not meant to limit the scope of the inventions.