Dental impression tray with absorbent barriers

A dental impression apparatus for obtaining a patient's dental impression is provided. The dental impression apparatus includes a support frame of a predefined shape, a partially permeable membrane mounted on the support frame, and absorbent barrier members. The support frame includes a distal member, a buccal edge member, and a lingual edge member. The absorbent barrier members mounted to the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member of the support frame define opposing troughs separated by the partially permeable membrane. The opposing troughs receive the patient's mandibular teeth and maxillary teeth. The opposing troughs are deposited with a first impression material and/or a second impression material for obtaining the dental impression of the patient. The absorbent barrier members confine a flow of the first impression material and the second impression material within the opposing troughs, when the patient applies a biting force within the opposing troughs.

BACKGROUND

To fabricate a dental prosthesis for a patient, a dental impression of a dentition of the patient is required. At present, a sequence of steps is followed to obtain the dental impression. The impression of prepared teeth such as maxillary teeth or mandibular teeth of a desired dental arch is obtained. The impression of the opposing dental arch is then obtained. A bite registration is then fabricated to interdigitate each impression to enable a dental practitioner to fabricate the dental prosthesis. During this procedure, a dental practitioner must perform retraction of free tissues such as tongue, cheek, lips, etc., retraction of attached tissues such as gingival margins around an individual tooth, control of moisture, saliva, blood, etc., and monitor the patient to prevent gagging. Performing each of these functions sequentially is time consuming and difficult.

Although, current impression devices allow a dental practitioner to capture both the dental arches at once, these devices lack techniques or construction to manage the free tissues, the attached tissues, and/or the moisture contaminants of an oral cavity. Current practices involve auxiliary steps for the management of tissues, for example, mechanical retraction, altered tissue dynamics using laser, electrosurge, etc., or chemical alteration. Hence, there is a need for an apparatus that expedites the procedure for obtaining a dental impression by minimizing the sequence of steps currently followed. There is also a need for an apparatus that effectively employs dental impression materials around the teeth of interest for obtaining an accurate dental impression of the patient.

Therefore, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a dental impression apparatus that accurately obtains a dental impression of a patient with a minimum number of steps. Furthermore, there is a need for a dental impression apparatus that effectively employs the dental impression materials to accurately obtain the dental impression of the patient, while preventing contamination of the dental impression by moisture, saliva, blood, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The dental impression apparatus and method disclosed herein address the above stated needs for accurately obtaining a dental impression of a patient with a minimum number of steps by effectively employing dental impression materials around teeth of interest, while preventing contamination of the dental impression by moisture, saliva, blood, etc.

The dental impression apparatus disclosed herein comprises a support frame of a predefined shape, a partially permeable membrane, and absorbent barrier members. The support frame comprises a distal member, a buccal edge member and a lingual edge member extending from the opposing ends of the distal member. The buccal edge member and the lingual edge member of the support frame are attached to the opposing ends of the distal member of the support frame. In an embodiment, the predefined shape of the support frame conforms to a dental arch of one or more molar and premolar regions of the mandibular teeth and the maxillary teeth of the patient. The distal member of the support frame is positioned around one of the posterior molar teeth of the patient when obtaining the dental impression of the patient. The partially permeable membrane is mounted between the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member of the support frame.

The pair of absorbent barrier members is mounted onto each of the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member of the support frame. The absorbent barrier members mounted to the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member define opposing troughs separated by the partially permeable membrane. As used herein, each of the troughs refers to a channel of space defined by the partially permeable membrane and the upper absorbent barrier members mounted on the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member or the lower absorbent barrier members mounted on the buccal edge member and the lingual edge member. The opposing troughs are configured to receive mandibular teeth and maxillary teeth of the patient. The dental impression apparatus further comprises a handle attached to and extending outwardly from the buccal edge member of the support frame for holding the dental impression apparatus.

The opposing troughs defined by the dental impression apparatus disclosed herein are deposited with one or more of a first impression material and a second impression material for obtaining the dental impression of the patient. The first impression material is, for example, of a substantially higher viscosity than the second impression material. The first impression material of a substantially higher viscosity than the second impression material forces the second impression material within interstitial spaces of the maxillary teeth and the mandibular teeth. The absorbent barrier members confine a flow of the first impression material and the second impression material within the opposing troughs of the dental impression apparatus, when the patient applies a biting force within the opposing troughs. Furthermore, the absorbent barrier members absorb moisture, saliva, blood, etc., within the patient's oral cavity and prevent contamination of the dental impression during the procedure. The dental impression of each of the mandibular teeth and the maxillary teeth is obtained on the second impression material and the first impression material. The dental impression apparatus and method disclosed herein reduces chair time, is more comfortable for the patient, and allows capture of a more accurate centric occlusion of the patient.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1AandFIG. 1Bexemplarily illustrate a perspective and a top orthogonal view of a dental impression apparatus100respectively, for obtaining a dental impression of a patient. The term “dental impression” refers to an accurate representation of a part or all of a patient's dentition comprising, for example, maxillary teeth305band mandibular teeth305aas exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 5. The dental impression apparatus100disclosed herein comprises a support frame101, a partially permeable membrane102, absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dmounted on the support frame101, and a handle105. The support frame101is of a predefined shape as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 4-5. The support frame101comprises a distal member101a, a buccal edge member101band a lingual edge member101cextending from the distal member101a. The distal member101aof the support frame101is substantially semi-circular is shape.

The buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101extend from and are attached to the opposing ends101dand101eof the distal member101aof the support frame101. As used herein, the buccal edge member101brefers to a lateral edge of the dental impression apparatus100that is disposed proximal to a cheek of the patient. As used herein, the lingual edge member101crefers to a lateral edge of the dental impression apparatus100that is disposed proximal to the tongue of the patient. Materials used for constructing the support frame101comprise, for example, one or more of metal alloys, stainless steel, high density polyethylene, etc.

The partially permeable membrane102is, for example, a mesh that allows limited passage of one or more substances, for example, dental impression materials301and303, contaminants, etc. As exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 1A, the partially permeable membrane102is mounted between the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101. The partially permeable membrane102is made from materials such as cotton fabric, a nylon mesh, a polyethylene screen, etc. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dmounted to the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101respectively are disclosed in the detailed description ofFIG. 2. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dare of a uniform height and about the length of an exposed portion of the mandibular teeth305aand maxillary teeth305bsurface over an entire length of said absorbent barrier members.

The handle105of the dental impression apparatus100is attached to the buccal edge member101bof the support frame101for holding the dental impression apparatus100. The handle105extends outwardly from the buccal edge member101bof the support frame101. The handle105is shaped to resemble, for example, a sword fish tail as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 1A-1B,FIGS. 3A-3B, andFIGS. 4-5. The handle105is made from materials comprising, for example, one or more of metal alloys, stainless steel, high density polyethylene, etc.

FIG. 2exemplarily illustrates a front orthogonal view of the dental impression apparatus100. A pair of absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dof the dental impression apparatus100is mounted onto the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101respectively. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dmounted to the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cdefine opposing troughs104aand104bseparated by the partially permeable membrane102of the dental impression apparatus100. The opposing troughs104aand104bcomprise an upper trough104aand a lower trough104b. As used herein, the upper trough104arefers to a channel of space defined by the partially permeable membrane102and the absorbent barrier members103aand103cmounted on the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101crespectively. Also, as used herein, the lower trough104brefers to a channel of space defined by the partially permeable membrane102and the absorbent barrier members103band103dmounted on the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101crespectively.

The opposing troughs104aand104b, that is the upper trough104aabove the partially permeable membrane102and the lower trough104bbelow the partially permeable membrane102, are configured to receive maxillary teeth305band mandibular teeth305aof the patient respectively as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 4-5andFIGS. 8A-8F. The maxillary teeth305brefer to the upper teeth in the upper jaw or maxilla of the patient. The mandibular teeth305arefer to the lower teeth in the lower jaw or mandible of the patient. In an embodiment, the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dare mounted along a length of the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101crespectively. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dabsorb moisture, saliva, blood, etc., within the patient's oral cavity and prevent contamination of a dental impression obtained by the dental impression apparatus100. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dare made from materials comprising, for example, one or more of low density polyethylene foam, a cotton sponge, a cotton polyethylene blend, etc. Hence, the absorbent barrier members103a,103b,103cand103dare soft and configured for comfort to the patient using the dental impression apparatus.

The opposing troughs104aand104bare configured to receive the mandibular teeth305aas disclosed in the detailed description ofFIG. 4and the maxillary teeth305bas disclosed in the detailed description ofFIG. 5. The opposing troughs104aand104bare deposited with a first impression material301and/or a second impression material303, as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 3A-3BandFIG. 4, for obtaining the dental impression of the patient as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 4-5. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dconfine a flow of the first impression material301and the second impression material303within the opposing troughs104aand104b, when the patient applies a biting force within the opposing troughs104aand104bas exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 5.

FIG. 3AandFIG. 3Bexemplarily illustrate perspective views of the dental impression apparatus100, showing application of the first dental impression material301having a high viscosity on an upper trough104aand a lower trough104bof the dental impression apparatus100respectively. The dental impression apparatus100disclosed herein comprises the support frame101having the distal member101a, the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101c, the partially permeable membrane102, the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103d, and the handle105as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 1A-1BandFIG. 2. The first dental impression material301having a high viscosity is applied to the upper trough104adefined by the partially permeable membrane102and the absorbent barrier members103aand103cmounted on the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101crespectively as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 3A. The first dental impression material301having a high viscosity is also applied to the lower trough104bdefined by the partially permeable membrane102and the absorbent barrier members103band103dmounted on the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101crespectively as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 3B. A dispensing tube302containing the first dental impression material301is used for dispensing the first dental impression material301, having a high viscosity, onto the troughs104aand104bdefined by the dental impression apparatus100. A dispensing tube307containing the second dental impression material303is used for dispensing the second dental impression material303, having a low viscosity, as a thin layer on top of the first dental impression material301.

FIG. 3Cexemplarily illustrates application of a second dental impression material303onto the mandibular teeth305aof a patient. The second dental impression material303has a viscosity substantially lower than the viscosity of the first dental impression material301exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 3A-3B. The first dental impression material301is of a substantially higher viscosity than the second dental impression material303.FIG. 3Calso illustrates a dental arch304, and one or more molar and premolar regions306aand306bof the mandibular teeth305a. A second dispensing tube307containing the second dental impression material303is used for dispensing and depositing the second dental impression material303having a low viscosity at ambient temperature onto the mandibular teeth305aof the patient.

In an embodiment, the first impression material301shown by dense shading inFIGS. 3A-3Band the second impression material303shown by sparse shading inFIG. 3Care both deposited in the troughs104aand104bas exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 4. The second impression material303is applied as a thin layer over the first impression material301in the troughs104aand104b. The first impression material301and the second impression material303comprise, for example, polymers of different viscosities selected based on curing characteristics required for the dental impression or according to needs or preferences of a dental practitioner. Examples of the first impression material301and the second impression material303comprise vinyl polysiloxanes (VPS), polyethers, hydrocolloids, etc. The first impression material301having a high viscosity confines and drives the second impression material303having a low viscosity deeper and tighter around the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aof the patient.

FIG. 4exemplarily illustrates a perspective view of the dental impression apparatus100for obtaining a dental impression of the mandibular teeth305aof the patient. The dental impression apparatus100comprises the support frame101, the partially permeable membrane102, and the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103das disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 1A-1BandFIG. 2. In an embodiment, the predefined shape of the support frame101conforms to a dental arch304of one or more molar regions306aand306bof the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient. In another embodiment, the predefined shape of the support frame101conforms to a dental arch304of one or more molar and premolar regions306aand306bof the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient. The dental impression apparatus100with the deposited first impression material301and second impression material303in the troughs104aand104bis positioned in the patient's mouth to receive the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305a. The distal member101aof the support frame101is positioned around one of the patient's posterior molar teeth306c, when obtaining the dental impression of the patient.

FIG. 5exemplarily illustrates a perspective view of the dental impression apparatus100for obtaining a dental impression of the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient. The dental impression apparatus100comprising the support frame101, the partially permeable membrane102, the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103d, and the handle105as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 1A-1BandFIG. 2is inserted in the patient's mouth to receive the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305a. The support frame101is of a predefined shape that conforms to the dental arch304of one or more molar and premolar regions306aand306bof the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient.FIG. 5exemplarily illustrates the confinement of the first impression material301within the opposing troughs104aand104bby the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103d, when the patient applies a biting force within the opposing troughs104aand104bexemplarily illustrated inFIG. 2.

The first impression material301deposited in the opposing troughs104aand104bis of a substantially higher viscosity than the second impression material303deposited on the first impression material301in the opposing troughs104aand104b. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dattached to the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101respectively restrict lateral expansion of the first impression material301having a high viscosity. The restriction of the lateral expansion of the first impression material301having a high viscosity drives the second impression material303having a low viscosity deeper into and tighter around the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305b, thereby creating an accurate dental impression of the patient on the first impression material301and the second impression material303. When the lateral expansion of the first impression material301is restricted, the first impression material301forces the second impression material303deeper into the interstitial spaces305cof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305ato obtain high precision dental impressions601aand601brespectively as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 6A-6B. With pressure dynamics exhibited by the lateral absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103d, the need for mechanical retraction, altered tissue dynamics, or chemical alteration is substantially reduced or eliminated.

FIG. 6AandFIG. 6Bexemplarily illustrate orthogonal views of the dental impression apparatus100, showing dental impressions601aand601bof the maxillary teeth305bin the upper trough104aand the mandibular teeth305ain the lower trough104brespectively. The second impression material303having a low viscosity shown by sparse shading obtains a finer impression601aand601bof the teeth305band305aof the patient, specifically the interstitial spaces305cbetween the teeth305band305awhen the second impression material303is cured. The first impression material301having a high viscosity shown by dense shading may obtain a coarser impression601aand601bof the teeth305band305aaround the second impression material303, depending on the viscosity of the first impression material301.

The curing times of both the first impression material301and the second impression material303ranges, for example, from about 2.5 minutes to about 5 minutes. The second impression material303, that is, the initial light body material is syringed around the prepared teeth area first, while the first impression material301, that is, the heavy body impression material is filled in one or both the opposing troughs104aand104bdefined by the dental impression apparatus100. Working times may decrease once the dental impression apparatus100is placed in the patient's oral cavity. In an embodiment, a medium body impression material is used instead of the heavy and/or light body impression material depending on the preference or needs of the dental practitioner.

FIG. 7illustrates a method for obtaining dental impressions601aand601bof a patient. A dental impression apparatus100, as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIGS. 1A-1BandFIG. 2, is provided701. The dental impression apparatus100disclosed herein comprises the support frame101of a predefined shape, the partially permeable membrane102mounted on the support frame101, and the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dmounted to the buccal edge member101band the lingual edge member101cof the support frame101to define opposing troughs104aand104bseparated by the partially permeable membrane102. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dabsorb moisture, saliva, blood, etc., within the patient's oral cavity. The opposing troughs104aand104bare configured to receive the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aof the patient respectively. The distal member101aof the support frame101is positioned around one of the patient's posterior molar teeth306cwhen obtaining the dental impressions601aand601bof the patient.

A first impression material301having a high viscosity is deposited702into the opposing troughs104aand104bdefined by the dental impression apparatus100. A second impression material303having a low viscosity is deposited703on the first impression material301. The second impression material303may also be applied704on the mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient. The mandibular teeth305aand the maxillary teeth305bof the patient are received705on the second impression material303and the first impression material301deposited into the opposing troughs104aand104b. The absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dconfine a flow of the first impression material301and the second impression material303within the opposing troughs104aand104b, when the patient applies a moderate biting force within the opposing troughs104aand104b. The first impression material301having a higher viscosity than the second impression material303forces706the second impression material303within the interstitial spaces305cof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305a, as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 5, to obtain a finer impression601cof the interstitial spaces305cof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305a. The maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aare maintained707in the second impression material303and the first impression material301until the second impression material303and the first impression material301are substantially cured. When the first impression material301and the second impression material303are cured, the dental impressions601aand601bof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aare retained by the first impression material301and the second impression material303as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 6A-6B.

FIGS. 8A-8Gexemplarily illustrate a sequence of procedural steps for obtaining dental impressions601aand601bof a patient using the dental impression apparatus100disclosed herein. With reference toFIGS. 8A-8G, consider an example where the dental impression apparatus100, as disclosed in the detailed description ofFIG. 1A-1BandFIG. 2, is employed for obtaining the dental impressions601aand601bof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aof the patient. As exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 8A, the opposing troughs104aand104bare configured to receive and conform in shape to the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305aof the patient respectively, where the upper trough104areceives the maxillary teeth305band the lower trough104breceives the mandibular teeth305a. A second impression material303having a low viscosity is applied to the mandibular teeth305aof the patient using the dispensing tube307as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 8B. A first impression material301having a substantially higher viscosity that the second impression material303is deposited into the opposing troughs104aand104busing the dispensing tube302as exemplarily illustrated inFIGS. 8C-8D. The second impression material303may also be deposited on the first impression material301in the opposing troughs104aand104b.

When the patient is instructed to bite into the troughs104aand104bby applying a biting force as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 8E, the patient's maxillary teeth305band mandibular teeth305aare received on the second impression material303and the first impression material301deposited into the opposing troughs104aand104brespectively as illustrated inFIG. 8F. At this step, the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103dconfine the flow of the first impression material301and the second impression material303within the opposing troughs104aand104b, such that the first impression material301having a higher viscosity than the second impression material303forces or drives the second impression material303deeper into the interstitial spaces305cof the maxillary teeth305band mandibular teeth305ato obtain high precision dental impressions601aand601b.

The patient is instructed to maintain the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305ain the second impression material303and the first impression material301until the second impression material303and the first impression material301are substantially cured. As exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 8F, the absorbent barrier members103a,103band103c,103disolate the teeth305aand305bof interest and the impression materials301and303from the soft tissues, saliva, blood, etc., within the oral cavity of the patient, and prevent contamination of the dental impressions601aand601bduring the procedure. When the first impression material301and the second impression material303are cured, the dental impressions601aand601bof the maxillary teeth305band the mandibular teeth305arespectively are retained on the first impression material301and the second impression material303as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 8G.

The first dental impression material and said second dental impression material are configured to simultaneously capture a dental impression of the maxilliary teeth, the mandibular teeth and a centric occlusion of the maxillary teeth and the mandibular teeth when a biting force is applied by said patient into said first and second troughs.