Patent ID: 6869283

Claim:
An implant hole guide for use in drilling a hole in an edentulous area of a jaw bone in preparation for receiving a dental implant in the jaw bone, comprising: an elongated metal bone engagement bar having first and second opposite ends, a first surface adapted to engage a jaw bone ridge area adjacent a site on a patients jaw bone ridge for receiving the hole, and an opposite second surface; a cylindrical drill guide bore extending through the bar from the first to the second surface and adjacent the first end for guiding a drill for drilling a hole into the jaw bone; a first guide post fixed to the bar and extending outwardly from the first surface of the bar adjacent the second end of the bar; and a second guide post fixed to the bar and extending outwardly from the second surface of the bar adjacent the second end of the bar and coaxial with the first post; the first and second posts being parallel to the axis of the bore and spaced from the bore by a minimum center-to-center implant distance which is sufficient maintain at least 3 mm of jaw bone between adjacent implant receiving holes in the jaw bone; each of the posts having a different diameter that is no larger than the diameter of a selected hole to be drilled into the jaw bone so that with the first post in a first selected hole in the jaw bone and the first surface engaging the jaw bone, the guide bore can be used to guide a drill for drilling a second selected hole in the jaw bone that is spaced from the first selected hole by at least 3 mm; and a stabilizing extension extending from the second end of the bar and including an end surface which is concave and is spaced from an axis of the coaxial first and second guide posts, by about 3 to 8 mm for maintaining a spacing between an adjacent tooth or implant and the first and second guide posts.