Patent ID: 8591233

Claim:
A denture attachment, comprising: a magnetic device provided in a denture base and having a permanent magnet embedded therein to exert magnetic attractive force; and a keeper made of a soft magnetic material and provided in an abutment, wherein: the magnetic device and the keeper are configured to be abutted and joined to each other by the magnetic attractive force; the magnetic device includes a cylindrical portion having a cylindrical outer shape and provided with the attractive surface for the keeper in a top end of the cylindrical portion, and a flange portion projected radially outward in a rear end of the cylindrical portion, opposite the top end; the cylindrical portion is mounted with a flexible sleeve having elastic deformability and is formed in a cylindrical shape; the sleeve is removably mounted to the cylindrical portion by relative movement in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion; the sleeve has an outer peripheral concavo-convex portion projected radially outward or dented radially inward on an outer peripheral surface, an axial length longer than the cylindrical portion such that, when the sleeve is positioned on the cylindrical portion to abut the flange portion, one end part of the sleeve projects axially beyond the attractive surface of the magnetic device, in a direction away from the flange portion, to define a keeper housing recess covering part of the keeper when the magnetic device and the keeper are abutted and joined to each other at the attractive surface by the magnetic attractive force; the sleeve is configured to be axially applied to and removed from the top end of the cylindrical portion.