Single-stage implant system

Abstract

A single stage dental implant for implantation in living jawbone having overlying gingiva comprises a generally cylindrical body section having an exterior surface for confronting the jawbone and a head section attached to the body section for extending through the overlying gingiva when the body section is confronting the jawbone. The head section has an end portion which is generally near an outer layer of the gingiva. The implant further includes a bore within the head section extending to an opening at the end portion of the head section. The bore is defined by first, second, and third walls. The first wall has internal threads. The second wall has a larger diameter than the first surface and is substantially cylindrical. The second wall extends from the first wall toward the end portion. The third wall extends from the second wall to the opening and flares toward the opening to a diameter that is wider than a diameter of the second wall. The implant is delivered to the site in the patient's mouth with a carrier that is expanded into the second wall of the bore thereby developing a tight engagement capable of withstanding the insertion torque. The implant can be fitted with posts which extend above the upper portion of the implant. The post can be fitted with gingival forming components and temporary posts.

1 . A dental implant for implantation in living jawbone having overlying gingiva, comprising: 
 a generally cylindrical body section having an exterior surface for confronting said jawbone;    a head section attached to said body section for extending through said overlying gingiva when said body section is confronting said jawbone, said head section having an end portion which is generally near an outer layer of said gingiva; and    a bore within said head section extending to an opening at said end portion of said head section, said bore being defined by first, second, and third walls, said first wall having internal threads, said second wall having a larger diameter than said first surface and being substantially cylindrical, said second wall extending from said first wall toward said end portion, said third wall extending from said second wall to said opening, said third wall flaring toward said opening to a diameter that is wider than a diameter of said second wall.    
     
     
         2 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said second wall is fitted with at least one thread groove separated by lands on said second wall such that said bore has two distinct internally threaded sections.  
     
     
         3 . The dental implant of  claim 2 , wherein said lands preserve a major portion of said second wall.  
     
     
         4 . The dental implant of  claim 2 , wherein said thread grooves form a multi-lead thread.  
     
     
         5 . The dental implant of  claim 4 , wherein a pitch of said thread grooves is approximately one millimeter.  
     
     
         6 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said head section flares outwardly from said main body toward said end portion.  
     
     
         7 . The dental implant of  claim 6 , wherein said exterior surface of said main body section is threaded and said head section has a smooth external surface.  
     
     
         8 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said bore extends into said body section.  
     
     
         9 . The dental implant of  claim 8 , wherein said first wall is entirely within said body section.  
     
     
         10 . The dental implant of  claim 8 , wherein said third wall is entirely within said head section.  
     
     
         11 . The dental implant of  claim 10 , wherein said second wall is entirely within said head section.  
     
     
         12 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said end portion of said head section includes a generally annular surface that is at an angle with respect to a central axis of said implant, said angle being substantially less that 90°.  
     
     
         13 . The dental implant of  claim 12 , wherein said end portion further includes a non-round fitting adjacent to said annular surface.  
     
     
         14 . The dental implant of  claim 12 , wherein said angle is approximately 45° 
     
     
         15 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said exterior surface of said main body section is roughened and said head section has a smooth external surface.  
     
     
         16 . The dental implant of  claim 1 , wherein said flaring of said third wall is at angle suitable to provide a locking taper for engagement with a corresponding taper on a mating component.  
     
     
         17 . A system for delivering an implant into living bone comprising: 
 an implant having an exterior surface for confronting said living bone and including a bore that has an opening at an end portion of said implant, said bore being at least partially defined by a substantially cylindrical section;    a carrier device having an expandable portion and a non-round fitting, said expandable portion being inserted to said substantially cylindrical section of said bore of said implant, said non-round fitting being accessible near said end portion of said implant; and    means for expanding said expandable cylindrical segment into tight engagement with said substantially cylindrical section of said bore.    
     
     
         18 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said bore further includes a threaded section positioned below said cylindrical segment.  
     
     
         19 . The implant delivery system of  claim 18 , wherein said bore further includes a flared section positioned above said cylindrical section.  
     
     
         20 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said substantially cylindrical section has an uninterrupted circular cross-section.  
     
     
         21 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said expandable portion includes a plurality of fingers having radial extremities which reside on a generally circular locus.  
     
     
         22 . The implant delivery system of  claim 21 , wherein a diameter of said generally circular locus is slightly less than a diameter of said substantially cylindrical section prior to the actuation of said expanding means.  
     
     
         23 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said carrier has a hollow section within said expandable portion, said expanding means includes a structure inserted into said hollow section.  
     
     
         24 . The implant delivery system of  claim 23 , wherein said hollow section includes internal threads and said structure has outer threads for threadably engaging said internal threads of said hollow structure.  
     
     
         25 . The implant delivery system of  claim 24 , wherein said hollow section includes wedge blocks for engaging an end of said structure.  
     
     
         26 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said carrier includes a radially extending flange between said non-round fitting and said expandable portion for engaging said end portion of said implant.  
     
     
         27 . The implant delivery system of  claim 26 , wherein said end portion includes a generally annular surface that is at an angle with respect to a central axis of said implant, said angle being less substantially less that 90°, said radially extending flange has a surface cooperating with said generally annular surface.  
     
     
         28 . The implant delivery system of  claim 17 , wherein said generally cylindrical wall includes thread grooves separated by lands on said generally cylindrical wall.  
     
     
         29 . The implant delivery system of  claim 28 , wherein said expandable portion has threads which mate with said thread grooves.  
     
     
         30 . The implant delivery system of  claim 28 , wherein said bore has a second threaded section of a different diameter than said first threaded region for engaging fasteners holding artificial dentition on said implant.  
     
     
         31 . A system for delivering an implant into living bone comprising: 
 an implant having an exterior surface for confronting said living bone and including a bore that has an opening at an end portion of said implant, said bore being at least partially defined by a threaded section;    a carrier device having an expandable threaded portion and a non-round fitting, said expandable threaded portion being threadably inserted into said threaded section of said bore of said implant, said non-round fitting being accessible near said end portion of said implant; and    means for expanding said expandable threaded segment into tight engagement with said threaded section of said bore.    
     
     
         32 . The implant delivery system of  claim 31 , wherein said threaded section is formed by multi-lead threads.  
     
     
         33 . The implant delivery system of  claim 32 , wherein a pitch of said threaded section is approximately one millimeter.  
     
     
         34 . The implant delivery system of  claim 31 , wherein a torque required to threadably insert said expandable threaded portion into said threaded section of said bore is less about 10 N-cm prior to actuation of said expanding means.  
     
     
         35 . The implant delivery system of  claim 31 , wherein said non-round fitting is capable of receiving about 40 N-cm of torque while said implant is held non-rotationally without significant movement of said expandable threaded portion relative to said threaded section due to said tight engagement of said expanding means.  
     
     
         36 . The implant delivery system of  claim 35 , wherein said non-round fitting is capable of receiving 100 N-cm of torque while said implant is held non-rotationally without significant movement of said expandable threaded portion relative to said threaded section due to said tight engagement.  
     
     
         37 . The implant delivery system of  claim 31 , wherein said expandable threaded portion is fully inserted into said threaded section in approximately one turn.  
     
     
         38 . The implant delivery system of  claim 31 , wherein said carrier has a hollow section within said expandable portion, said expanding means includes a structure inserted into said hollow section.  
     
     
         39 . The implant delivery system of  claim 38 , wherein said hollow section includes internal threads and said structure has outer threads for threadably engaging said internal threads of said hollow structure.  
     
     
         40 . A restoration system for fixing artificial dentition to edentulous living jawbone, comprising: 
 an implant including a body section with an exterior surface for confronting said jawbone and a head section attached to said body section for extending through said overlying gingiva when said main body section is confronting said jawbone, said head section having an end portion which is generally near an outer layer of said gingiva, said implant further having a bore within said head section extending to an opening at said end portion of said head section, said bore being defined by first, second, and third walls, said first wall having internal threads, said second wall having a larger diameter than said first surface and being substantially cylindrical, said second wall extending from said first wall toward said end surface, said third wall extending from said second wall to said opening, said third wall flaring outwardly at an angle toward said opening; and    a post including a first externally-threaded post section for engagement within said internally-threaded first wall of said bore, a second post section of larger diameter than said first post section to fit within said second wall of said bore, and a third post section for engagement with said third wall of said bore, said third post section flaring on substantially the same angle as said third wall for locking engagement with said third wall.    
     
     
         41 . The restoration system of  claim 40 , wherein said post further has, adjacent to said third post section, a support section for receiving said artificial dentition, said support section having a transverse dimension adjacent to said third post section which is generally the same size as a diameter of said bore at said opening.  
     
     
         42 . The restoration system of  claim 40 , wherein said support section has a remote end positioned distally from said third post section, said support section tapering to a smaller transverse dimension at said remote end.  
     
     
         43 . The restoration system of  claim 40 , further including a lubricant between said third post section and said third wall.  
     
     
         44 . The restoration system of  claim 43 , wherein said lubricant is solid lubricant.  
     
     
         45 . The restoration system of  claim 44 , wherein said solid lubricant is a plating on said third post section.  
     
     
         46 . A restoration system for fixing artificial dentition to edentulous living jawbone, comprising: 
 a dental implant having a body for confronting said jawbone and a head section terminating in an end portion accessible outside said jawbone, said implant having a bore with an opening at said end portion, said end portion including a generally annular surface and non-rotational engagement means outside of said bore and adjacent to said annular surface, said non-rotational engagement means is capable of interlocking with complementary engagement means of said artificial dentition; and    a post for supporting said dentition, said post having a first part extending into said bore for axially retaining said post to said implant and a second part extending beyond said end portion of said implant on which said artificial dentition is mounted, said second part having a transverse dimension adjacent to said opening that is smaller than a transverse dimension of said end portion such that said non-rotational engagement means is exposed when said post is fixed to said implant.    
     
     
         47 . The restoration system of  claim 46 , wherein said non-rotational engagement means is a boss of non-round cross-section.  
     
     
         48 . The restoration system of  claim 47 , wherein said boss has “n” sides and the cross-sectional shape of said complementary engagement is adapted to provide at least “2n” fixed orientation positions of said artificial dentition around said post.  
     
     
         49 . The restoration system of  claim 48 , wherein said boss has a hexagonal cross-sectional shape.  
     
     
         50 . The restoration system of  claim 47 , wherein said boss is directly adjacent to said annular surface.  
     
     
         51 . The restoration system of  claim 47 , wherein said annular surface is at approximately 90° with respect to a central axis of said implant.  
     
     
         52 . A transition component for converting a dental implant lacking a non-round fitting at its uppermost surface into a modified dental implant having an external non-round boss, said dental implant having bore that extends to an opening in an end portion, said bore being defined by first, second, and third walls, said first wall having internal threads, said second wall having a larger diameter than said first surface and being substantially cylindrical, said second wall extending from said first wall toward said end portion, said third wall extending from said second wall to said opening, said third wall flaring toward said opening to a diameter that is wider than a diameter of said second wall, said transition component comprising: 
 a lower threaded segment for engaging said internally threaded first wall;    a tapering segment for engaging said third wall, said tapering segment tightly engaging said third wall in response to said lower threaded segment being fully threaded into said first wall; and    a protruding non-round fitting being positioned above said end portion of said dental implant.    
     
     
         53 . The transition component of  claim 52 , further including a registering section above said protruding non-round fitting for ensuring alignment of a mating component on said protruding non-round fitting.  
     
     
         54 . The transition component of  claim 52 , wherein said tapering segment and said third wall provide a locking taper.  
     
     
         55 . The transition component of  claim 52 , wherein said tapering section includes a lubricant.  
     
     
         56 . The transition component of  claim 52 , wherein said end portion of said implant includes a generally annular surface at an angle with a central axis of said implant that is substantially less that 90°, said protruding section being directly below said annular surface.  
     
     
         57 . The transition component of  claim 52 , wherein said second wall is substantially cylindrical and said transition component includes a generally cylindrical portion between said threaded segment and said tapering segment, said generally cylindrical portion of said transition component and said second wall of said implant being substantially the same diameter.  
     
     
         58 . The transition component of  claim 57 , wherein said second wall and said generally cylindrical portion provide an alignment of said transition component on said implant.  
     
     
         59 . The transition component of  claim 52 , further in combination with an abutment for supporting an artificial tooth, said abutment including a skirt portion which rests on, said end portion of said implant and a non-round socket for receiving said protruding non-round fitting, and means for axially retaining said skirt portion on said end portion.  
     
     
         60 . The combination of  claim 59 , wherein said transition component includes an internally threaded hole and said retaining means is a screw that is threaded into said internally threaded hole.  
     
     
         61 . The combination of  claim 59 , wherein said transition component and said abutment include means for registering said transition component relative to said abutment.  
     
     
         62 . A set of transition components for converting a generally-cylindrical, subgingival type of dental implant having a non-round fitting at its uppermost surface into a single-stage dental implant having a body section for confronting said bone and a head section attached to said body section for extending through said overlying gingiva, said head section flaring outwardly and including an end portion with an annular surface at predetermined angle with respect to a central axis of said single stage implant, said set comprising: 
 a tubular transition component with a non-round socket to mate with said non-round fitting of said subgingival implant, said transition component having an exterior surface that flares outwardly in substantially the same size and shape as head section of said single-stage implant; and    means for axially retaining said tubular transition component on said implant.    
     
     
         63 . The transition components of  claim 62 , wherein said predetermined angle is substantially less than 90°.  
     
     
         64 . The transition components of  claim 62 , wherein said predetermined angle is about 45°.  
     
     
         65 . The transition components of  claim 62 , wherein said exterior surface flares outwardly from a lowermost end to a maximum diameter forming a first conical surface and then flares inwardly to a smaller diameter near an uppermost end to form a second conical surface.  
     
     
         66 . The transition components of  claim 65 , wherein said annular surface is along said second conical surface.  
     
     
         67 . A set of components for making a subgingival dental implant and a transgingival dental implant adapted for use with the same restoration component for supporting a dental prosthesis, said subgingival dental implant having a generally cylindrical body and a non-round fitting at an uppermost surface of said body, said transgingival dental implant having a body section for confronting said bone and a head section attached to said body section for extending through gingiva overlying said bone and flaring outwardly away from said body section, said transgingival type of implant having an internal bore extending into said head section, said set comprising: 
 a tubular component with a socket to mate with said non-round fitting of said subgingival implant, said tubular component having an exterior surface that flares outwardly in substantially the same size and shape as head section of said transgingival implant;    a fastener for axially retaining said tubular component on said subgingival implant, said fastener including a first projection protruding above said tubular transition component; and    a transition component for insertion into said internal bore of said transgingival type of implant, said transition component including a second projection for extending above said head section,    and wherein said first and second segments have substantially the same contour for mating with said restoration component.    
     
     
         68 . The conversion set of  claim 67  wherein said head section of said transgingival implant includes an end portion with an annular surface at predetermined angle with respect to a central axis of said single stage implant, said tubular component having a similar annular surface.  
     
     
         69 . The conversion set of  claim 68  wherein said annular surface of said transgingival implant and said annular surface of said tubular component are capable of engaging said restoration component.  
     
     
         70 . The conversion set of  claim 67  wherein said first and second projections each includes a non-round fitting for non-rotationally engaging said restoration component.  
     
     
         71 . The conversion set of  claim 70  wherein said first and second projections each includes an alignment region for registering said restoration component thereon.  
     
     
         72 . The conversion set of  claim 67 , wherein said bore of said transgingival implant terminates at an opening at an upper portion of said head section and is defined by first, second, and third walls, said first wall having internal threads, said second wall having a larger diameter than said first surface and being substantially cylindrical, said second wall extending from said first wall toward said end portion of said head section, said third wall extending from said second wall to said opening, said third wall flaring toward said opening to a diameter that is wider than a diameter of said second wall.  
     
     
         73 . The conversion set of  claim 72 , wherein said transition component includes a threaded stem for mating with said internal threads of said first wall.  
     
     
         74 . The conversion set of  claim 72 , wherein said transition component has a guiding section for mating with and fitting within said second wall.  
     
     
         75 . The conversion set of  claim 72 , wherein said transition component has a tapered wall for mating with said third wall.  
     
     
         76 . The conversion set of  claim 75 , wherein said tapered wall and said third wall form a locking taper.  
     
     
         77 . A temporary gingival forming component for a single stage implant having a body for confronting said jawbone and a head section terminating in an end portion at or below overlying gingiva, said head section flares outwardly away from said body to its maximum diameter near said end portion and said end portion includes an annular surface which is at an angle substantially less than 90° with respect to a central axis of said implant, said implant receiving a post for supporting artificial dentition that extends beyond said head section of said implant, said temporary gingival forming component comprising: 
 a hollow body section for fitting over said post; and  
 a lower section attached to hollow body section, said lower section having a first internal surface for engaging said annular surface and a second internal surface for contacting said head section at said maximum diameter, said lower section having a smooth rounded exterior surface extending upwardly from a lowermost extremity for engaging and forming said overlying gingiva.  
 
     
     
         78 . The temporary component of  claim 77 , wherein said lower section of said gingival forming component further includes a third internal surface extending below second internal surface.  
     
     
         79 . The temporary component of  claim 78 , wherein said third internal surface engages said head section below said maximum diameter.  
     
     
         80 . The temporary component of  claim 77 , wherein said lower section is capable of receiving a gingival forming chemical.  
     
     
         81 . The temporary component of  claim 77 , wherein said hollow body section is separated from an exterior surface of said post by a gap, said hollow body section being adapted to receive a cement within said gap to attach said gingival forming component to said post.  
     
     
         82 . A temporary support post for a single stage implant having a body for confronting said jawbone and a head section terminating in an end portion at or below overlying gingiva, said head section flares outwardly away from said body to its maximum diameter near said end portion and said end portion includes an annular surface which is at an angle substantially less than 90° with respect to a central axis of said implant, said implant receiving a post for supporting artificial dentition that extends beyond said head section of said implant, said temporary post for supporting a temporary dentition comprising: 
 a hollow body section for fitting over said post and including a plurality of perforations, said hollow body section being separated from said post by a gap, said gap being accessible through said plurality of perforations and receiving material that forms said temporary dentition; and  
 a lower section attached to said hollow body section, said lower section having a first internal surface for engaging said annular surface and a second internal surface for contacting said head section at said maximum diameter.  
 
     
     
         83 . The temporary component of claim  82 , wherein said lower section of said temporary post further includes a third internal surface extending below second internal surface.  
     
     
         84 . The temporary component of claim  83 , wherein said third internal surface engages said head section below said maximum diameter.  
     
     
         85 . The temporary component of claim  82 , wherein said hollow body section includes circumferential ribs extending along an outer surface thereof.