Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8602773
Timestamp: 2018-02-23 05:01:37
Document Index: 95551326

Matched Legal Cases: ['§371', 'Application No. 0602272', 'Application No. 0602272', 'art 33', 'arts 12', 'art 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'art 51', 'art 51', 'art 51', 'arts 24']

US8602773B2 - Dental impression tray for use in obtaining an impression of a dental structure - Google Patents
US8602773B2
US8602773B2 US12447461 US44746107A US8602773B2 US 8602773 B2 US8602773 B2 US 8602773B2 US 12447461 US12447461 US 12447461 US 44746107 A US44746107 A US 44746107A US 8602773 B2 US8602773 B2 US 8602773B2
US12447461
US20100075273A1 (en )
This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/SE2007/000925 designating the United States, filed on Oct. 18, 2007. The PCT Application was published in English as WO 2008/051142 A1 on May 2, 2008 and claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of Swedish Patent Application No. 0602272-7, filed on Oct. 27, 2006. The contents of PCT Application No. PCT/SE2007/000925, including publication WO 2008/051142 A1, and Swedish Patent Application No. 0602272-7, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIG. 5 a is a perspective view showing an embodiment where the handle of the dental impression tray can be removed from the tray portion.
FIG. 5 b is a front view of the tray portion shown in FIG. 5 a.
FIG. 5 c is a side view of the tray portion shown in FIG. 5 a.
FIG. 6 a is a schematic top view illustrating how the tray section of the dental impression tray may be placed in a scanner for a scanning operation, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 6 b is a side view of the scanning device shown in FIG. 6 a.
FIG. 13 a is a perspective view of an embodiment of a dental impression tray which is adapted for use in combination with an incisal pin, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 13 b is a perspective view of a dental impression tray being mounted on a holder, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 13 c is a perspective view of the holder shown in FIG. 13 b.
FIG. 13 d is a perspective view of the impression tray and the holder shown in FIG. 13 b, illustrating how the tray may be removed from the holder and turned 180°, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 14 a is a top view of another embodiment of a dental impression tray and a pad.
FIG. 14 b is a top view of another embodiment of a pad for use in the dental impression tray shown in FIG. 14 a.
FIG. 14 c is a top view of another embodiment of a dental impression tray and a pad.
FIG. 15 a is a side view of the embodiment of the pad shown in FIG. 14 a.
FIG. 15 b is a side view of an embodiment of a pad that is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 b.
FIG. 15 c is a side view of an embodiment of a pad that is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 c.
FIG. 16 is a schematic top view illustrating how the pad shown in FIG. 15 a can cooperate with a respective dental impression tray, according to an embodiment.
With reference to FIG. 2, it can be seen how the dental impression tray 1 has been placed in the mouth of a patient in order to create an impression of the patient's dentition. In FIG. 2, a patient is biting into the impression material placed in the tray portion 4 of the dental impression tray 1 while the handle 6 remains outside the mouth of the patient. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the tray portion 4 has an inner cavity 21 that may optionally be divided by a partition 30 into an upper cavity 21 a and a lower cavity 21 b.
It should be understood that, as used herein, the terms “upper cavity” and “lower cavity” refer to what is “upper” and “lower” when the tray portion 4 is located inside the mouth of a patient. The tray portion 4 may very well be designed such that both sides of the tray portion may be applied to both the upper and the lower dentition of a patient. The cavity that is regarded as the “upper” cavity or the “lower” cavity is thus arbitrary. The upper part of the tray portion 4 with its upper cavity 21 a can be used to make an impression of an upper dental structure 31, for example an upper dentition 31. A part of the tray portion 4 with its lower cavity 21 b can be used to make an impression of a lower dental structure or dentition 32. The partition 30 may be, for example, an elastic fabric such as a rubber fabric 30 or synthetic fabric 30. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the upper and lower cavities 21 a, 21 b of the tray portion 4 are filled with dental impression material 5 in which an impression is made when the patient bites into the tray section 4, as schematically indicated in FIG. 4.
When the patient has bitten into the tray portion 4, the tray portion 4 can be removed from the patient's mouth and placed in a scanning device, as shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b. In the scanning device, a scanning operation can be performed on the impression which is left in the impression material 5 that lies in the tray portion 4. The scanning can be used to create a virtual image or model of the dental structure of which an impression has been made. The scanning operation can be performed, for example, in the way that has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,198, incorporated herein by reference.
Another embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 a-11. With reference to FIG. 6 a and FIG. 6 b, the dental impression tray 1 can be placed in a scanning device having a chamber 34 where an impression can be scanned. The scanning can be performed by, for example, a laser device such as a line laser device. In FIG. 6 b, a laser scanning device is shown schematically that has a laser light source 35 and a detector 36. The tray portion 4 together with an impression of a dental structure (for example a dentition) can be placed on a table, carrier or platform 37 that can perform a rotating movement while the scanning is performed.
With reference to FIG. 5 a, an embodiment is schematically illustrated where the handle 6′ may be removably secured to the tray portion 4. As shown in FIG. 5 a, the handle 6′ may have one or several fastening elements 16, 17 adapted to fit one or several corresponding fasteners 18 that may be areas of the tray portion 4 that have been shaped as one or more recesses. The fastening element or elements 16, 17 may be projections, for example, pegs or some other male elements. If the fasteners 18 on the tray portion 4 are shaped as recesses, they may be formed as holes or openings. By pressing the fastening element(s) 16, 17 into such recesses in the tray portion 4, it is possible to secure the handle 6′ to the tray portion 4. Of course, the handle 6′ can also be removed from the tray portion 4. This can be achieved by removing the fastening element(s) 16, 17 from the recess or recesses in the tray portion.
In FIG. 5 a, an embodiment is shown where the fasteners 18 are formed by recess(-es) in a projecting part 33 on the tray portion 4. Of course, it should be understood that such recesses could also be formed elsewhere on the tray portion 4. It should also be understood that, as an alternative, the fasteners 18 on the tray portion 4 may also be formed as projections on the tray portion 4 and be adapted to fit one or several recesses on the handle 6′. The fastening elements 16, 17 would then be formed by areas defining one or more recesses.
Embodiments are possible where the handle 6 is made in one single piece. However, the handle 6 can also be made in more than one piece as indicated in FIG. 5 a where the handle 6′ comprises two separate parts 12, 13. It should also be understood that the handle 6 may comprise more than two parts.
An embodiment where the handle 6 comprises two separate parts will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 a-5 b and 7-10. As shown in FIG. 5 a, the handle 6′ for the tray portion 4 may comprise a first and a second part 12, 13 that may be separated. The separate handle parts 12, 13 can be adapted to be connected to each other such that the separate handle parts 12, 13 overlap each other partially, but not completely. This is best seen in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.
As shown in for example FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, each of the separate handle parts 12″, 13″ may be provided with fastening element 16″, 17″, for example, some kind of projection/male element that can cooperate with a complementary fastener 18 on the tray portion 4, e.g., a part shaped to define a recess as explained previously with reference to FIG. 5 a. When the separate handle parts 12″, 13″ are connected to each other by a snap connection, the handle 6″ is locked to the tray portion 4 as long as the separate handle parts 12″, 13″ are connected to each other. The handle parts 12″, 13″ may be held together by the snap connection and the fastening elements 16″, 17″ that connect the handle 6″ to the tray portion 4 will thus be held in place until the first and second handle parts 12″, 13″ are separated from each other.
The idea of using a tray portion with a removably secured handle, e.g., 6′ or 6″ in FIGS. 5 a and 7, may also be defined in terms of a method in which a dental impression is made, the handle 6′ or 6″ removed from the tray portion 4 and the tray portion 4 placed in the scanning device and scanned.
Another embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG. 13 a. In some cases, the person handling the dental impression 1 tray may prefer to keep the handle 6 on the tray portion 4. This may be the case, for example, if the dental impression tray 1 is used to cast a plaster model of the impression. The same situation applies if the handle is not detachable. In such cases, the dentist or dental technician may want to use the dental impression tray 1 together with existing equipment that may interfere with the handle 6 v. One way of solving this problem may be to provide a slot in the handle 6 v.
As can be seen in FIG. 13 a, the handle 6 v may be shaped to define a slot 20 v. Components of existing equipment may include, for example, an incisal pin 50 for an articulator. An incisal pin in an articulator is typically used to adjust the distance between an upper and a lower model of a dentition. Incisal pins for articulators may typically have a diameter of up to 10 mm and it should be possible to move the handle relative to such objects at least 20 mm. Therefore, the length of the slot 20 v may be chosen such that it extends at least 30 mm in a direction from the second end 8 v of the handle 6 v towards the first end 7 v of the handle 6 v.
In a different embodiment shown in FIG. 20, the slot 20 vi extends all the way to the edge 9 vi of the second end 8 vi of the handle 6 vi such that the slot 20 vi divides the edge 9 vi in two parts. As a result, the handle 6 vi can more easily be made to fit such objects as the rod 50 shown in FIG. 13 a. The handle 6 vi has a first end 7 vi and a male element 14 vi.
Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 13 b and FIG. 13 c. In FIG. 13 b, it is shown how the handle 6 has been removed from the tray portion 4 as a preparation for a scanning operation. The tray portion 4 has been placed on a holder 39. As shown in FIG. 13 c, the holder 39 has a part 51 with a shape that is complementary to the in shape to the fasteners 18 on the holding section 33 of the tray portion 4.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 b and 13 c, the holding section 33 is formed by a projecting part on the tray portion 4. The part 51 of the holder 39 that is complementary in shape to the fasteners 18 maybe shaped to define male elements such as pegs. Such male elements or pegs can fit the corresponding fasteners 18 on the holding section 33 when these fasteners 18 are areas of the holding section 33 shaped as recesses. When the male elements of the holder 39 are pressed into the recesses of the holding section 33, the tray portion 4 is secured to or held by the holder 39. The holder 39 can be placed in a scanning device and support the tray portion 4 during the scanning operation. The holder 39 together with the tray portion 4 can then be placed on, for example, such a carrier 37 as is indicated in FIG. 6 b. Since the holder 39 is designed to cooperate with the same holding section 33 as the handle 6, the equipment according to the embodiment of FIG. 13 b and FIG. 13 c is versatile and easy to use. It is not necessary to have any separate recess or other element on the tray portion 4 to fasten it to the holder 39. The part 51 of the holder 39 that is complementary in shape the fasteners 18 on the tray portion 4 may thus be male elements having a shape that is similar to or identical to the shape of the fastening elements 16 iv, 17 iv shown in FIG. 12.
With reference to FIGS. 13 b-13 d and FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, yet another embodiment and further variations will now be explained in the following. A possible method for making a dental impression of an upper and a lower dental structure and scanning the impression may be as follows. A tray portion 4 is provided that is contoured to fit over at least a part of an upper and lower structure of a patient. The tray portion may have a holding section 33 which may be projecting from the rest of the tray portion 4 as in FIG. 5 a, but could also be designed in other ways such that it does not project from the rest of the tray portion. The holding section 33 has a first side 61 (see also FIGS. 5 b and 5 c) facing in a first direction and a second side 62 (see FIGS. 5 b and 5 c) opposite to the first side 61 and facing in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. Each of the first and second side 61, 62 of the holding section 33 has at least one fastener 18 that may be an area of the holding section 33 that is shaped as a recess. The fasteners 18 on both sides 61, 62 of the holding section 33 have the same form. A handle 6′ may be provided that can be secured to and removed from the tray portion 4. The handle 6′ has fastening elements 16, 17 that are complementary to the fasteners 18 on at least one of the opposite sides 61, 62 of the holding section 33. The handle 6′ is secured to the tray portion 4 by means of one or several of the fasteners 18 on the holding section 33 and one or several fastening elements 16, 17 on the handle 6′. The tray portion 4 is loaded with impression material, either before or after the handle 6′ is secured to the tray portion 4.
The tray portion is then removed from the holder as indicated symbolically by arrow S in FIG. 13 d and turned 180° as symbolically indicated by arrow C in FIG. 13 d. The tray portion 4 is then once again secured to the holder 39 by means of connecting the second side of the tray portion to the holder 39. After this, the second side of the tray portion 4 is scanned to obtain a scanning of the second dental impression as well as a further scanning of the tray portion 4. This method entails that a scanning can easily be obtained of both the upper and the lower dental structure of a patient and, at the same time, of the tray portion 4. The fact that the tray portion 4 itself is also scanned can be used to match the scannings of the dental impressions with each other as will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 17.
As previously explained with reference to FIG. 5 a, the holding section 33 may optionally be formed by a projecting part on the tray portion 4 while the fasteners 18 on the opposite sides 61, 62 of the holding section 33 may be shaped by parts of the holding section 33 that define recesses in the holding section 33.
Yet another embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 14 a-17. Some patients may lack teeth completely. If a patient has been without teeth for a long period, the jawbone itself may regress. If the patient is then asked to bite in the dental impression tray 1, the patient may fail to bite together completely since the regression of the jaw bone has gone too far. As a consequence, the dental impression obtained may be insufficient. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 a-17 has been designed to deal with that problem.
With reference to FIG. 14 a, the tray portion 4 has a shape that defines a cavity 21 with an inner wall 22. The dental impression tray 1 further comprises at least one pad 23 that fits into at least a part of the cavity 21 of the tray portion 4. A side view of the at least one pad 23 is presented in FIG. 15 a. Optionally, the inner wall 22 may be provided with a first guide structure 24 and the pad 23 can be provided with a second guide structure 25 that fits the first guide structure 24. The first and second guide structures 24, 25 may then cooperate with each other in a way that permits that the pad 23 is pressed down into the tray portion 4 in a movement guided by the cooperating guide structures 24, 25. The at least one pad 23 is then held securely by the cooperating guide structures 24, 25. A side view of the pad 23 is presented in FIG. 15 a.
The first guide structure 24 may comprise projecting parts forming rails 24 and the second guide structure 25 may comprise grooves 25 adapted to receive the projecting parts of the first guide structure 24. This embodiment is shown in FIGS. 14 a and 15 a. Alternatively, the pad 23 may have projecting elements that fit grooves in the inner wall 22 of the tray portion 4. The guide structures 24, 25 can cooperate with each other (engage each other) as indicated in FIG. 16.
In FIG. 14 b, an embodiment is illustrated where not one pad 23 is used, but three separate pads 23′. A side view of such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 15 b. In some embodiments, one pad is used for taking an impression of the upper jaw whereas several pads are used for taking an impression of the lower jaw. Hence, greater flexibility is achieved.
With reference to FIG. 14 c, an embodiment is shown that is basically similar to the embodiment of FIG. 14 b. However, this embodiment is without the projecting parts 24 and grooves 25 A side view of such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 15 c.
It will be noted that, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 15 b and FIG. 15 c, the different pads 23′ or 23″ are of different heights. For example, in FIG. 15 b, the pad 23′ that is located in the middle (the second pad from the left) is lower than the first pad from the left. The reason for this will be explained in the following.
When a pad 23 is placed in the cavity 21 of the tray portion 4, the dental impression tray 1 will be more suitable for a person whose jaw bone has regressed. FIG. 17 presents a cross-sectional schematic illustration of a dental impression tray applied to a patient completely lacking teeth and having suffered regression of the jaw bone. A first pad 23 a and a second pad 23 b have been placed in the tray portion 4 and secured in the tray portion in such a way that they reach the partition 30.
In FIG. 17, the first pad 23 a is placed in an upper part of the tray portion 4 while the second pad 23 b is placed in a lower part of the tray portion 4 (in this context, it should be understood that “upper” and “lower” refers to how the tray portion is placed in the mouth of a patient). As indicated in FIG. 17, the upper dental structure 31 lacks teeth. This is also the case with the lower dental structure 32. In spite of this, the patient is still able to bite together properly thanks to the pads 23 a, 23 b that have been placed in the tray portion 4. The impression material 5 has been placed over the pads 23 and the patient can now bite directly into the impression material 5 which he or she might have been unable to do without the pads 23. In FIG. 17, an embodiment with two pads 23 a, 23 b is illustrated (an upper pad 23 a and a lower pad 23 b). It should be understood that embodiments with only an upper pad 23 a may be possible or embodiments with only a lower pad 23 b. This may be dependent on the dental structure of the individual patient. As can be seen in FIG. 17, the partition 30 separates the upper part of the tray portion 4 from the lower part of the tray portion 4. It should be understood that, as an alternative to the guide structures 24, 25 that are illustrated in FIGS. 14 a and 16, the pads 23 can be held in the tray portion 4 by an adhesive material, such as an adhesive tape or glue, that secures the pads to the partition 30 or the inner wall 22 of the tray portion. The adhesive tape could be a double-sided adhesive tape.
In FIGS. 14 a and 15 a, the pad 23 is shown as a single piece, i.e., a single upper pad 23 a or a single lower pad 23 b. However, it should be understood that, for both the “upper” part of the tray portion 4 (it should be understood that “upper” refers only to what is “upper” when the tray portion 4 is placed in the mouth of a patient) and the “lower” part of the tray portion 4, the pad 23 may be divided into several parts that are separate from each other as indicated in FIGS. 14 b, 14 c, 15 b, 15 c. On, for example, the upper dentition of a patient, it may be desirable to apply more than one pad 23.
With reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 a-c and FIGS. 13 b-c, it should be understood that fiduciary markers 26 may be placed on the holding section 33 of the tray portion 4. As previously explained, the holding section 33 may be shaped as a projecting part on the tray portion 4. When one or several fiduciary markers 26 are placed on such a projecting part, this may be helpful when an upper and a lower impression are have been scanned and the scannings are to be matched with each other. In FIG. 5 b, it is indicated how a fiduciary marker 26 has been placed on the holding section 33 of a tray portion 4. Some parts of the holding section 33 can be scanned both when the upper dental impression and the lower dental impression are scanned. In particular, one or several fiduciary markers 26 may be scanned in both scannings. Since also the tray portion 4 and the fiduciary marker (or markers) 26 thereon are scanned, this can be used to match the scannings of the dental impressions with each other.
Another embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 13 a. When a large number of impressions are made and/or handled, there is a risk that different impressions are mixed up, i.e. confused with each other. To prevent that, a dental impression tray 1 can be provided with a machine readable marking 29 or 29′. The machine readable marking comprises a coding that is unique for each patient. The coding can be applied at the same occasion as the impression is made and linked in, for example, a computer memory, to the patient from whom the impression has been obtained. The machine readable marking may be, for example, a bar code as indicated in FIG. 1. However, in another embodiment, the machine readable marking 29 comprises an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag 29′ as symbolically indicated in, for example, FIG. 13 a. An RFID tag provides for, inter alia, quick and reliable identification. An example of RFID technology is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,775, incorporated herein by reference. Another example of RFID technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,526, incorporated herein by reference. Yet another example of RPID technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,693,539, incorporated herein by reference.
US12447461 2006-10-27 2007-10-18 Dental impression tray for use in obtaining an impression of a dental structure Active 2027-12-23 US8602773B2 (en)
SE0602272-7 2006-10-27
US14963159 USRE46626E1 (en) 2006-10-27 2007-10-18 Dental impression tray for use in obtaining an impression of a dental structure
US14963159 Reissue 2015-12-08
US20100075273A1 true US20100075273A1 (en) 2010-03-25
US8602773B2 true US8602773B2 (en) 2013-12-10
US14963159 Active USRE46626E1 (en) 2006-10-27 2007-10-18 Dental impression tray for use in obtaining an impression of a dental structure
US12447461 Active 2027-12-23 US8602773B2 (en) 2006-10-27 2007-10-18 Dental impression tray for use in obtaining an impression of a dental structure
US (2) USRE46626E1 (en)
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International application No. PCT/SE2007/000925, issued on Apr. 28, 2009, in 7 pages.
International Search Report received in corresponding PCT Application No. PCT/SE2007/000925, mailed Feb. 6, 2008, 4 pages.
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for International application No. PCT/SE2007/000925, mailed on Feb. 6, 2008, in 6 pages.
JP2010507446A (en) 2010-03-11 application
WO2008051142A1 (en) 2008-05-02 application
EP2079392B1 (en) 2017-04-05 grant
ES2626114T3 (en) 2017-07-24 grant
USRE46626E1 (en) 2017-12-12 grant
KR101622624B1 (en) 2016-05-19 grant
WO2008051129A1 (en) 2008-05-02 application
US20100075273A1 (en) 2010-03-25 application
KR101495733B1 (en) 2015-03-04 grant
CN101534743A (en) 2009-09-16 application
CN101534743B (en) 2013-01-30 grant
EP2079392A4 (en) 2015-06-03 application
EP2079392A1 (en) 2009-07-22 application
KR20140019882A (en) 2014-02-17 application
JP5213870B2 (en) 2013-06-19 grant
KR20090077967A (en) 2009-07-16 application
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KARLSSON, PER-OLOF;FALDT, JENNY;REEL/FRAME:022865/0875