Patent ID: 8109764

Claim:
A method of delivering energy for securing an oral prosthesis onto a dental implant, comprising: positioning a housing sized for insertion within a mouth of a subject such that a first portion and an apposed second portion which is spaced from the first portion at a distance is placed around the oral prosthesis which is positioned upon an abutment inserted within an oral cavity, the oral prosthesis and the abutment being securable to the dental implant; applying energy to at least one first conductor positioned within the first portion and to at least one second conductor positioned within the second portion such that an inductive current is created between the first portion and second portion; and, heating one or more shape memory elements positioned between an outer surface of the abutment and the oral prosthesis between the first portion and second portion via the inductive current such that shape memory elements reconfigure between a radially extended locking configuration relative to the abutment and a retracted low-profile configuration relative to the abutment, where the one or more shape memory elements retract to the low-profile configuration upon application of the inductive current in order to position the oral prosthesis upon the abutment and where the one or more shape memory elements are able to be reconfigured into the radially extended locking configuration upon removal of the inductive current.