Patent Publication Number: US-2018028283-A1

Title: Healing abutment assembly, healing abutment and selecting method thereof

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 105124330, filed Aug. 1, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a healing abutment assembly, a healing abutment and a selecting method thereof. More particularly, the healing abutment assembly, the healing abutment and the selecting method thereof have special positioning structures and are controlled by an auxiliary tool. 
     Description of Related Art 
     A dental implant surgery provides various methods and apparatus for compensating for the loss of natural teeth. Dental implants are devices that are designed to be screwed into the human jawbone and serve as a mounting for a prosthetic in the shape and color of the tooth it is replacing. The primary advantage of implants over bridgework and partial dentures is that the installation is of a permanent nature and does not require the care, maintenance, comfort problems or adjustment associated with bridgework and dentures. 
     One conventional method is a single-stage dental restoration. The natural tooth can be replaced with a prosthetic tooth that is mounted on a unibody implant or a separate abutment secured to an implant. In the instance utilizing a separate implant and abutment, the implant is first installed in the patient&#39;s jawbone, typically through threaded engagement. A separate abutment is then secured to the coronal end of the implant and, after sufficient osseointegration of the implant with the patient&#39;s jawbone, the prosthetic tooth is secured to the abutment. In the single-stage dental restoration, the implant is installed into the patient&#39;s jaw bone and allowed sufficient time to osseointegrate. After a period of time, the prosthetic tooth is installed on the coronal end of the unibody implant. However, this conventional single-stage dental restoration easily causes wound infection around the abutment and the gums damage, thus increasing the patient&#39;s pain and discomfort. 
     Another conventional method is a two-stage dental restoration having a first stage and a second stage. In the first stage, a dental implant in inserted in the jawbone of a dental patient in the location of the natural root of the lost tooth. After the first stage surgery, the implant is left in position in the jawbone, covered by the patient&#39;s fleshy gum tissue, for several months until it becomes osseointegrated within the patient&#39;s jawbone. Thereafter, in the second stage, the gum tissue is opened to expose an end of the implant, and a healing abutment is attached to the implant until the surrounding gum tissue heals around the abutment. After the gum tissue has healed, the healing abutment is typically removed and the implant is available to support an artificial tooth. In general, the healing abutment is made of titanium and has a conical shape. However, the cost of this conventional healing abutment is too thigh to implement, and the structure of the conventional healing abutment formed in a conical shape may cause great gums damage during the removing procedure because of the rotation between the conventional healing abutment and the gums, thereby increasing the wound area. Therefore, a healing abutment assembly, a healing abutment and a selecting method thereof having the features of low cost, convenient operation and fitting teeth shapes are commercially desirable. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a healing abutment for disposing on an implant by an auxiliary tool includes a body and a positioning structure. The body includes an accommodating space, a healing surrounding surface, a top surface and a bottom surface. The bottom surface is connected to the implant. The healing surrounding surface is connected between the top surface and the bottom surface. The accommodating space is communicated with the top surface and the bottom surface, and the healing surrounding surface is formed in a non-conical shape. The positioning structure is disposed on the top surface and removably connected to the auxiliary tool. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a healing abutment assembly for disposing on an implant by an auxiliary tool includes a healing abutment and a connecting member. The healing abutment includes a body and a positioning structure. The body includes an accommodating space, a healing surrounding surface, a top surface and a bottom surface. The bottom surface is connected to the implant. The healing surrounding surface is connected between the top surface and the bottom surface. The accommodating space is communicated with the top surface and the bottom surface. An outline of the top surface is formed in a non-circular shape, and the healing surrounding surface is formed in a non-conical shape. The positioning structure is disposed on the top surface and removably connected to the auxiliary tool. The connecting member is removably connected to the body and the implant. The connecting member is passed through the body and disposed in the implant so as to fixedly connect the body to the implant. 
     According to further another aspect of the present disclosure, a selecting method of a healing abutment provides a position judging step and a healing abutment selecting step. The position judging step is for judging a teeth position corresponding to an implant. The healing abutment selecting step is for selecting the healing abutment including a healing surrounding surface and a positioning structure. The healing surrounding surface is formed in a non-conical shape, and the healing abutment is corresponding to the teeth position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment assembly disposed on an implant according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the healing abutment assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of the healing abutment assembly of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view of the healing abutment assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment and an auxiliary tool corresponding to the healing abutment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  shows a schematic view of a plurality of healing abutments corresponding to a plurality of teeth positions according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7A  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7B  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8A  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment according to still further another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8B  shows a schematic view of the healing abutment and an auxiliary tool corresponding to the healing abutment of  FIG. 8A ; 
         FIG. 9  shows a flow chart of a selecting method of a healing abutment according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 10  shows a flow chart of an operating method applied in a healing abutment assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment assembly  100  disposed on an implant  104  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;  FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the healing abutment assembly  100  of  FIG. 1 ;  FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of the healing abutment assembly  100  of  FIG. 2 ;  FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view of the healing abutment assembly  100  of  FIG. 1 ; and  FIG. 5  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment  200  and an auxiliary tool  102  corresponding to the healing abutment  200  of  FIG. 1 . In  FIGS. 1-5 , the healing abutment assembly  100  for disposing on the implant  104  by the auxiliary tool  102  includes the healing abutment  200  and a connecting member  500 . 
     The healing abutment  200  includes a body  300  and a positioning structure  400 . The body  300  includes an accommodating space  310 , a healing surrounding surface  320 , a top surface  330  and a bottom surface  340 . The accommodating space  310  is communicated with the top surface  330  and the bottom surface  340 . An extending direction of the accommodating space  310  is parallel to a Z-axis direction. The accommodating space  310  has a first space  312  and a second space  314 . The first space  312  is communicated with the second space  314 . The first space  312  has a cylindrical shape and a first inner diameter R 1 . The second space  314  has the cylindrical shape and a second inner diameter R 2 , and the first inner diameter R 1  is greater than the second inner diameter R 2 . In addition, the healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in a non-conical shape. The healing surrounding surface  320  is connected between the top surface  330  and the bottom surface  340 . There is an angle θ between an extending direction of the healing surrounding surface  320  and the Z-axis direction, so that the healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in an inverted cone-shaped configuration and has a wide top and a narrow bottom. The top surface  330  and the bottom surface  340  are parallel to an X-Y plane. An outline area of the top surface  330  is greater than an outline area of the bottom surface  340 . The outline of the top surface  330  is formed in a non-circular shape. The top surface  330  includes a first surface region  332  and a second surface region  334 . The first surface region  332  is symmetric with the second surface region  334  along an X-axis direction. The bottom surface  340  is connected to the implant  104 . 
     The positioning structure  400  is disposed on the top surface  330  and removably connected to the auxiliary tool  102 . In detail, the positioning structure  400  is disposed on the body  300  and is connected to the top surface  330 . The shape of the positioning structure  400  is corresponding to the shape of the auxiliary tool  102 , thus positioning and rotating the body  300  via the auxiliary tool  102 . The positioning structure  400  includes a third surface region  410  and two movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b . The third surface region  410  is located between the first surface region  332  and the second surface region  334 . There is a first height difference H between the third surface region  410  and the first surface region  332 . There is a second height difference between the third surface region  410  and the second surface region  334 , and the first height difference H is equal to the second height difference. The third surface region  410  is higher than the first surface region  332  and the second surface region  334 . The two movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b  are opposite to each other and parallel to the Z-axis direction. The movable abutting surface  420   a  is connected between the first surface region  332  and the third surface region  410 . The movable abutting surface  420   b  is connected between the second surface region  334  and the third surface region  410 . The body  300  and the positioning structure  400  are both made of plastic material and integrally connected with each other. The healing abutment  200  has a flesh color or a white color, and the color of the healing abutment  200  is similar with the surrounding gums or adjacent teeth thereof, thereby pleasing to the eye of an observer and allowing a physician to quickly identify the status of other teeth. In  FIGS. 1-5 , the healing abutment  200  has a flesh color, and the positioning structure  400  is a convex portion. The auxiliary tool  102  includes two auxiliary abutting surfaces  102   a ,  102   b . When the healing abutment  200  is engaged by the auxiliary tool  102 , the two auxiliary abutting surfaces  102   a ,  102   b  are connected to the two corresponding movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b , respectively. The auxiliary tool  102  can be rotated by the physician in the X-Y plane, thus rotating the healing abutment  200 . When the connecting member  500  is rotated, the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200  cooperated with the auxiliary tool  102  can prevent the healing abutment  200  from rotating relative to the implant  104 , thereby increasing the stability and convenience of installing or removing the healing abutment  200 . Moreover, the healing abutment  200  is a temporary device in a dental implant surgery procedure. After the implant  104  engaged into the bone of the mouth (the patient&#39;s jawbone), the healing abutment  200  will be removed, and then an abutment and a crown are disposed on the implant  104  to accomplish the dental implant surgery. The healing abutment  200  of the present disclosure is made of plastic material and has the healing surrounding surface  320  formed in a non-conical shape, thereby greatly reducing the gums damage during a removing procedure of the healing abutment  200  and being a great help for patients. 
     The connecting member  500  is removably connected to the body  300  and the implant  104 . The connecting member  500  is passed through the body  300  and disposed in the implant  104  so as to fixedly connect the body  300  to the implant  104 . In detail, the connecting member  500  includes a threaded portion  510 , an abutting portion  520  and a connecting portion  530 . The implant  104  has a threaded hole  1042  and an end surface  1044 . The threaded portion  510  of the connecting member  500  is disposed through the accommodating space  310  of the healing abutment  200  and is screwed into the threaded hole  1042  of the implant  104  so as to tightly connect the end surface  1044  to the bottom surface  340  of the body  300 . In addition, the abutting portion  520  has a first diameter D 1  and is corresponding to the first space  312 . The first diameter D 1  is smaller than the first inner diameter R 1 . The connecting portion  530  is connected between the threaded portion  510  and the abutting portion  520 . The connecting portion  530  has a second diameter D 2  and is corresponding to the second space  314 . The second inner diameter R 2  is greater than or equal to the second diameter D 2  and smaller than the first diameter D 1 . Therefore, the threaded portion  510  of the connecting member  500  can be smoothly passed through the first space  312  and the second space  314  sequentially and screwed into the threaded hole  1042  of the implant  104 . The abutting portion  520  can be rotated by a rotary tool (not shown), thereby moving the abutting portion  520  downwardly via the threaded portion  510 , i.e. the abutting portion  520  moved in a negative Z-axis direction. When the threaded portion  510  is screwed into the threaded hole  1042 , a bottom edge of the abutting portion  520  is tightly connected to a junction between the first space  312  and the second space  314 , thus tightly connecting the end surface  1044  of the implant  104  to the bottom surface  340  of the body  300 . The rotary tool (not shown) is corresponding to a hexagonal hole of the abutting portion  520 . Furthermore, when the healing abutment  200  is removed, the physician may firstly use the auxiliary tool  102  to position the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200 , and then use the rotary tool to remove the connecting member  500 . Finally, the physician moves the healing abutment  200  upwardly, i.e. the healing abutment  200  moved in a positive Z-axis direction, thereby separating the healing surrounding surface  320  from the gums. Accordingly, the structure of the present disclosure can effectively prevent the healing surrounding surface  320  from rotating relative to the gums under condition of the healing abutment  200  having the positioning structure  400  and the healing surrounding surface  320  formed in the non-conical shape, thus greatly reducing the gums damage during the removing procedure of the healing abutment  200 . On the contrary, the structure of the conventional healing abutment formed in a conical shape may cause great gums damage during the removing procedure because of the rotation between the conventional healing abutment and the gums, thereby increasing the wound area. Thus, the structure of the healing abutment  200  of the present disclosure can be a great help for patients. 
     The healing abutment  200  of the present disclosure can be made of medical grade plastics, medical grade titanium, titanium alloy, glass-ceramic materials, feldspar, zirconia, noble metal or non-noble metal. In detail, the medical grade plastic is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polyetheretherketone (PEEK). The noble metal is a high gold alloy (which contains 70% of gold, palladium and platinum), a low gold alloy (which contains 45-60% of gold, palladium and platinum), a palladium-silver alloy or a metal-ceramic alloy. The non-noble metal is a cobalt-chromium alloy, a cobalt-chromium-nickel alloy or a chromium-nickel alloy. The material of the healing abutment  200  can be determined by a manufacturer according to the requirements of the particular application. 
       FIG. 6  shows a schematic view of a plurality of healing abutments  200  corresponding to a plurality of teeth positions according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;  FIG. 7A  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment  200  according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and  FIG. 7B  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment  200  according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure. In  FIG. 6 , the installation of the specific healing abutments  200  of the present disclosure on the different teeth positions can be successfully performed for gums healing, crowns installation and fitting teeth shapes. In general, the teeth positions of a person are arranged from outside to inside in order of a central incisor P 1 , a lateral incisor P 2 , a canine P 3 , a first premolar P 4 , a second premolar P 5 , a first molar P 6 , a second molar P 7  and a third molar P 8 . In  FIG. 6 , the healing surrounding surface  320  of each healing abutment  200  has one of three shapes which represent a triangular cone shape, an elliptical cone shape and a quadrangular cone shape, respectively. The top surface  330  of the body  300  of each healing abutment  200  has one of three shapes which represent a rounded triangular shape, an elliptical shape and a rounded quadrangular shape, respectively. The healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in the triangular cone shape, and the top surface  330  is formed in the rounded triangular shape corresponding to the teeth position of the central incisor P 1 , the lateral incisor P 2  or the canine P 3 , as shown in  FIG. 7B . The healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in the elliptical cone shape, and the top surface  330  is formed in the elliptical shape corresponding to the teeth position of the first premolar P 4  or the second premolar P 5 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in the quadrangular cone shape, and the top surface  330  is formed in the rounded quadrangular shape corresponding to the teeth position of the first molar P 6 , the second molar P 7  or the third molar P 8 , as shown in  FIG. 7A . In general, the central incisor P 1  of an adult human is greater than the lateral incisor P 2 , thereby manufacturing the healing abutments  200  with different shapes and sizes to meet the requirements of a variety of teeth positions. 
       FIG. 8A  shows a schematic view of a healing abutment  200  according to still further another embodiment of the present disclosure; and  FIG. 8B  shows a schematic view of the healing abutment  200  and an auxiliary tool  102  corresponding to the healing abutment  200  of  FIG. 8A . The healing abutment  200  includes a body  300  and a positioning structure  400 . The body  300  includes an accommodating space  310 , a healing surrounding surface  320 , a top surface  330  and a bottom surface  340 . The top surface  330  includes a first surface region  332  and a second surface region  334 . The positioning structure  400  is a concave groove. The positioning structure  400  includes a third surface region  410  and two movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b . The third surface region  410  is located between the first surface region  332  and the second surface region  334 . There is a first height difference between the third surface region  410  and the first surface region  332 . There is a second height difference between the third surface region  410  and the second surface region  334 , and the first height difference is equal to the second height difference. The third surface region  410  is lower than the first surface region  332  and the second surface region  334  so as to form the concave groove by the two movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b  and the third surface region  410 . The two movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b  are opposite to each other and parallel to the Z-axis direction. The movable abutting surface  420   a  is connected between the first surface region  332  and the third surface region  410 . The movable abutting surface  420   b  is connected between the second surface region  334  and the third surface region  410 . In addition, the auxiliary tool  102  includes two auxiliary abutting surfaces  102   a ,  102   b . When the healing abutment  200  is engaged by the auxiliary tool  102 , the two auxiliary abutting surfaces  102   a ,  102   b  are connected to the two corresponding movable abutting surfaces  420   a ,  420   b , respectively. The auxiliary tool  102  can be rotated by the physician in the X-Y plane, thereby rotating the healing abutment  200 . The auxiliary tool  102  of  FIG. 8B  has a single-convex structure, and the auxiliary tool  102  of  FIG. 5  has a double-convex structure. No matter what structure of the auxiliary tool  102 , the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200  cooperated with the auxiliary tool  102  can prevent the healing abutment  200  from rotating relative to the implant  104  when the connecting member  500  is rotated, thereby increasing the stability and convenience of installing or removing the healing abutment  200 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a flow chart of a selecting method  600  of a healing abutment  200  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The healing abutment  200  is manufactured and selected at the outside of the body. The selecting method  600  of the healing abutment  200  can be performed by a dental computer system or other judging devices. The selecting method  600  of the healing abutment  200  includes a position judging step S 11 , a healing abutment selecting step S 12  and a tool selecting step S 13 . 
     The position judging step S 11  is for judging a teeth position corresponding to an implant  104 . The teeth position is corresponding to one of the central incisor P 1 , the lateral incisor P 2 , the canine P 3 , the first premolar P 4 , the second premolar P 5 , the first molar P 6 , the second molar P 7  and the third molar P 8 . The human teeth are disposed symmetrically relative to a central plane of the mouth, thus easily inferring the correct teeth positions of the healing abutment  200 . 
     The healing abutment selecting step S 12  is for selecting the healing abutment  200  including a healing surrounding surface  320  and a positioning structure  400 . The healing surrounding surface  320  is formed in a non-conical shape, and the healing abutment  200  is corresponding to the teeth position. In detail, when the teeth position is corresponding to one of the central incisor P 1 , the lateral incisor P 2  and the canine P 3  in the position judging step S 11 , the healing abutment  200  having the healing surrounding surface  320  formed in the triangular cone shape is selected in the healing abutment selecting step S 12 . When the teeth position is corresponding to one of the first premolar P 4  or the second premolar P 5  in the position judging step S 11 , the healing abutment  200  having the healing surrounding surface  320  formed in an elliptical cone shape is selected in the healing abutment selecting step S 12 . When the teeth position is corresponding to one of the first molar P 6 , the second molar P 7  and the third molar P 8  in the position judging step S 11 , the healing abutment  200  having the healing surrounding surface  320  formed in a quadrangular cone shape is selected in the healing abutment selecting step S 12 . 
     The tool selecting step S 13  is for selecting an auxiliary tool  102  corresponding to the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200 . The auxiliary tool  102  is a wrench formed into a specific shape. When the connecting member  500  is rotated, the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200  cooperated with the auxiliary tool  102  can prevent the healing abutment  200  from rotating relative to the implant  104 , thus increasing the stability and convenience of installing or removing the healing abutment  200 . The healing abutment  200  is manufactured and selected at the outside of the body. Accordingly, the selecting method  600  of the present disclosure can be utilized for selecting the suitable healing abutment  200  and the corresponding auxiliary tool  102  according to the teeth positions by the dental computer system, thereby meeting the requirements of a variety of teeth shapes and teeth positions in the dental implant surgery procedure. 
       FIG. 10  shows a flow chart of an operating method  700  applied in a healing abutment assembly  100  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The operating method  700  includes a position judging step S 21 , a healing abutment selecting step S 22 , a first putting step S 23 , a second putting step S 24 , a tool selecting step S 25  and a positioning step S 26 . 
     In  FIG. 10 , the detail of the position judging step S 21 , the healing abutment selecting step S 22  and the tool selecting step S 25  is the same as the position judging step S 11 , the healing abutment selecting step S 12  and the tool selecting step S 13  of  FIG. 9 , respectively, and will not be described again herein. In  FIG. 10 , the operating method  700  applied in a healing abutment assembly  100  further includes the first putting step S 23 , the second putting step S 24  and the positioning step S 26 . The first putting step S 23  is for putting the healing abutment  200  on the implant  104  and disposing the accommodating space  310  of the healing abutment  200  corresponding to the threaded hole  1042  of the implant  104 . The second putting step S 24  is for putting the connecting member  500  into the accommodating space  310  and the threaded hole  1042 . The positioning step S 26  is for rotating the connecting member  500  by the auxiliary tool  102  to screw the threaded portion  510  of the connecting member  500  into the threaded hole  1042 , thus tightly positioning the abutting portion  520  of the connecting member  500  in the healing abutment  200 . Therefore, when the connecting member  500  is rotated, the auxiliary tool  102  is configured to position the positioning structure  400  of the healing abutment  200  and prevent the healing abutment  200  from rotating relative to the implant  104  so as to increase the stability and convenience of installing or removing the healing abutment  200 . 
     According to the aforementioned embodiments and examples, the advantages of the present disclosure are described as follows. 
     1. The installation of the specific healing abutments of the present disclosure on the different teeth positions can be successfully performed for gums healing, crowns installation and fitting teeth shapes. 
     2. The healing abutment assembly, the healing abutment and the selecting method thereof of the present disclosure can provide the healing abutment having a flesh color or a white color. The color of the healing abutment is similar with the surrounding gums or adjacent teeth thereof, thereby pleasing to the eye of an observer and allowing a physician to quickly identify the status of other teeth. 
     3. The healing abutment of the present disclosure is made of plastic material and has the healing surrounding surface formed in a non-conical shape, thereby greatly reducing the gums damage during a removing procedure of the healing abutment and being a great help for patients. 
     4. The structure of the present disclosure can effectively prevent the healing surrounding surface from rotating relative to the gums under condition of the healing abutment having the positioning structure and the healing surrounding surface formed in the non-conical shape, thus increasing the safety, stability and convenience of installing or removing the healing abutment. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.