US-12616555-B2 - Dental crown and method of use

US12616555B2US 12616555 B2US12616555 B2US 12616555B2US-12616555-B2

Abstract

A dental crown and method of use thereof. According to the method provided herein, a dental crown is selected having an appropriate size and shape and an internal contour. The tooth to which the crown is to be applied is prepared to have an external contour. Composite material is injected into the internal contour of the dental crown. The dental crown is placed over the prepared tooth and the deposited composite material is cured using light.

Inventors

Arun Prasad
Ron Fishell
Steven Turley
David Verity
Gaurav Agarwal

Assignees

Arun Prasad
Ron Fishell
Steven Turley
David Verity
Gaurav Agarwal

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210908

Claims (20)

1 . A method of preparing a dental crown to restore a tooth during a procedure time less than or equal to one hour, the method comprising: selecting, during the procedure time, a dental crown from among an assortment of dental crowns in accordance with one or more tooth measurements of the tooth to receive selected dental crown, the selected dental crown having a contact adjuster feature that is at at least one of mesial contact or distal contact areas and is a physical profile feature that includes a physical indentation defined by a ridge at an external surface of the dental crown with the external surface forming a base surrounded by the ridge to hold material; preparing, during the procedure time, the tooth to have an external contour that passively fits an internal portion of the selected dental crown; depositing, during the procedure time, composite material in the physical indentation of the contact adjuster feature to define an outer contour of the at least one of mesial contact or distal contact and to adjust a space between the at least one of mesial contact or distal contact areas of the selected dental crown and a tooth adjacent to the tooth that has been prepared during a trial fit of the selected dental crown on the tooth that has been prepared; depositing, during the procedure time, composite material into the internal portion of the selected dental crown; placing, during the procedure time, the selected dental crown on the tooth that has been prepared to define an internal contour of the selected dental crown that conforms to the tooth that has been prepared; and at least partially curing, during the procedure time, the composite material deposited at at least one of the contact adjuster feature or the internal portion of the selected dental crown using light.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the selected dental crown or the composite material deposited at the contact adjuster feature and at the internal portion of the selected dental crown has antimicrobial properties to reduce at least one of bacteria, virus, or secondary decay.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring, during the procedure time, the one or more tooth measurements of the tooth to receive the dental crown.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more tooth measurements of the tooth include at least one of a measurement along mesial-to-distal direction on occlusion, a measurement along a facial-to-lingual direction, or a measurement from clinical-to-crown height.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a solution having antimicrobial properties to the prepared tooth.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a solution having antimicrobial properties to the selected dental crown after the at least partially curing of the composite material.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising placing a physical barrier over the prepared tooth prior to the selected dental crown having the composite material deposited in the internal portion.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a solution having noble metal to the prepared tooth prior to the trial fit of the selected dental crown.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the solution is a nano-particle solution defined by water, alcohol, and the noble metal, the noble metal including at least one of silver, gold, platinum, or palladium.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an impression process, a scanning process, a model defining process, and a temporization process is excluded during the procedure time.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contact adjuster feature has a positive dimension from the external surface of the dental crown.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contact adjuster feature includes a hashtag at the base.
13 . A method of preparing a dental crown to restore a tooth within a procedure time, the method comprising: selecting, during the procedure time, a dental crown from among an assortment of dental crowns in accordance with one or more tooth measurements of the tooth to receive selected dental crown, wherein each dental crown among the assortment of dental crowns has a contact adjuster feature that includes a physical indentation defined by a ridge at an external surface of the dental crown with the external surface forming a base surrounded by the ridge to hold material and is at at least one of mesial contact or distal contact areas; preparing, during the procedure time, the tooth to have an external contour that passively fits an internal portion of the selected dental crown; performing, during the procedure time, a trial fit of the selected dental crown, the trial fit further including: placing the selected dental crown onto prepared tooth; depositing composite material in the physical indentation of the contact adjuster feature of the at least one of mesial contact or distal contact areas of the selected dental crown to define an outer contour of the at least one of mesial contact or distal contact and to adjust a space between the at least one of mesial contact or distal contact areas and a tooth adjacent to the prepared tooth; and removing the selected dental crown from the prepared tooth; depositing, during the procedure time, composite material into the internal portion of the selected dental crown; placing, during the procedure time, the selected dental crown on the tooth that has been prepared to define an internal contour of the selected dental crown that conforms to the tooth that has been prepared; and at least partially curing, during the procedure time, the composite material deposited at at least one of the contact adjuster feature or the internal portion of the selected dental crown using light.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the selected dental crown or the composite material deposited at the contact adjuster feature and at the internal portion of the selected dental crown has antimicrobial properties to reduce at least one of bacteria, virus, or secondary decay.
15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising measuring, during the procedure time, the one or more tooth measurements of the tooth to receive the dental crown.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more tooth measurements of the tooth include at least one of a measurement along mesial-to-distal direction on occlusion, a measurement along a facial-to-lingual direction, or a measurement from clinical-to-crown height.
17 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising applying a solution having antimicrobial properties to at least one of the prepared tooth prior to the trial fit or the selected dental crown after the at least partially curing of the composite material.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the solution is a nano-particle solution defined by water, alcohol, and a noble metal, the noble metal including at least one of silver, gold, platinum, or palladium.
19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein an impression process, a scanning process, a model defining process, and a temporization process is excluded during the procedure time.
20 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the contact adjuster feature includes a hashtag at the base.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to dental crowns and methods for using dental crowns. BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE Currently there exists a large market for adult crowns to address the needs of uninsured, under-insured and dental clients travelling abroad to restore teeth for financial reasons. Many senior citizens and cancer patients have difficulty justifying the expense of paying for restoration of their teeth. According to public reports, tens of thousands of Americans travel out of the U.S. each year for the specific purpose of securing dental care at a reasonable cost. According to The National Association of Dental Plans, roughly 114 million Americans have no dental coverage at all, and approximately 46.3 million Americans over age 65 are uninsured. The large market indicated above is not limited only to the United States. It exists globally. The conventional procedure currently used to restore a weak or diseased tooth requires at least two dentist visits and a one- to three-week wait for the crown to be made either in-house laboratory or at a contracted dental laboratory. A crown is a cap made to cover the decayed tooth. To prepare for crown, in the first visit, after X-ray examination and proper anesthetic application, dentists prepare to remove the decayed portion and shape the tooth for the crown. Dentists then take the impression of the prepared tooth and proceed with fabrication and cementation of temporary crown to protect the tooth until the permanent crown id available. Either the impression or the model poured in the impression is sent to the laboratory for the fabrication of crown from the desired materials. The second visit will include removal of temporary, anesthetic application, bonding and cementation of the permanent crown. Depending on the dentists and the location, a traditional crown can cost $800 to $2000 or more. In addition, in the current pandemic situations, there is a great need to minimize contacts between the patients, dental practitioners and their staff. There is also a need to introduce new features in dental devices and offices to address bacteria, viruses and odor. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is intended to address the above needs by providing functional, strong, biocompatible, prefabricated adult crowns at an affordable cost to the dental patients while at the same time increasing dentists' income. The disclosure is intended to enable dental practitioners to restore a tooth in single seating, one appointment and in less than 40 minutes. The present teachings may be provided in the form of a kit including an assortment of specially designed zirconia crowns of different sizes and shades per tooth with other optional products such as try-in crowns of different colors, FDA approved bonding agents and luting cement. Such a kit may further include specially designed tooth preparation and cementation guides, devices and tools, antimicrobial coatings, endodontic sealing and filling materials, and related components. According to the present disclosure, and as set forth in detail herein, the dentist prepares the tooth to closely match the internal profile of the selected prefabricated crowns from the kit and continues for bonding and cementation using recommended procedures. A “try-in” crown may be used to determine the size of the crown required for the patient and to assist in tooth preparation, so as to procure clinically acceptable passive seating. A try-in crown also helps eliminate contamination and autoclaving of actual crowns to be cemented, as only the try-in crown needs to be autoclaved for future use. Depending on the particular embodiment, the present disclosure may provide numerous advantages over the traditional methods. It may be completed in a single appointment. This means less chair time for dentists and patients, restoring a tooth in a single seating appointment of less than 40 minutes. The process involves little to no capital outlay for equipment and tools. It requires no impressions, scanning or models. The expense for anesthetics is reduced. The crowns and related materials are made of clinically-proven materials having long life and high biocompatibility. From a financial side, the patient's cost may be reduced while a dentist can see more patients per day. Further, the crown and its method of use may provide additional advantages to address bacteria, viruses and reduction of secondary decay. Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing disclosure will be best understood and advantages thereof made most clearly apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description in combination with the drawing f