Patent ID: 7789664

Claim:
A method for capturing and preserving three dimensional orientation of the jaws of a patient requiring dental restoration in both the maxillary and mandibular arches, the method enabling restoration of both the maxillary and the mandibular arches pursuant to a single surgery, the steps comprising: a) in a patient having jaws comprising a maxillary arch and a mandibular arch, establishing at least three pairs of reference points in said maxillary and said mandibular arches, each of said at least three pairs of reference points comprising a maxillary reference point in said maxillary arch and a corresponding mandibular reference point in said mandibular arch; b) installing an apparatus interconnecting said maxillary reference point and said mandibular reference point of each of said at least three pairs of reference points, thereby capturing a planned vertical dimension of occlusion; c) fabricating an index against at least a portion of said apparatus capturing at least said planned vertical dimension of occlusion and said at least three pairs of reference points and indicating the planned plane of occlusion before surgery; d) placing at least one dental implant in each of said maxillary and said mandibular arch; e) after said placing step (d) forming an impression of each of said maxillary and said mandibular arch, said impressions capturing the positions of the implants, at least a portion of said apparatus, and the contiguous hard and soft tissues within said arches; wherein each of said establishing (a), said installing step (b), said fabricating step (c), said placing step (d,) and said forming step (e) are performed in a single surgical session; and f) using said formed impression of each of said maxillary and said mandibular arch in conjunction with said apparatus and said index to generate casts of said maxillary and mandibular arches and to accurately orient said casts in an articulator to enable fabrication of dental prostheses for each of said maxillary and said mandibular arch incorporating said planned vertical dimension of occlusion.