Patent ID: 7249949

Claim:
A dental implant comprising: a body having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end and a distal end; implant retaining means provided on an external portion of said body; an internal bore provided within a portion of said body, said internal bore having a proximal end at the proximal end of said body and a distal end; an internally facing surface having a proximal end and a distal end, said surface extending from near the proximal end of said internal bore toward the distal end of said internal bore, said surface being beveled inwardly toward its distal end; an internally facing drive region positioned within said internal bore between the distal end of said surface and the distal end of said internal bore, said drive region including a plurality of concave lobes and a plurality of convex lobes alternating with said concave lobes, the radially outermost points of each of said convex lobes lying on a circle defining a major diameter and the radially innermost points of each of said concave lobes lying on a circle defining a minor diameter, wherein at least a portion of each of said concave lobes has a circular configuration and at least a portion of each of said convex lobes has a circular configuration; a cylindrical accommodation region positioned within said internal bore and between the distal end of said drive region and the distal end of said internal bore, said accommodation region includes an inwardly facing cylindrical surface defining an accommodation region diameter no greater than said minor diameter; and an internally threaded portion positioned within said internal bore and between said accommodation region and the distal end of said body, said threaded portion having a diameter less than said accommodation region diameter.