US1386762A - Artificial tooth - Google Patents

Description

w. H.. BOWMAN.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

ED NOV l APPLICA 1919- I I l,386,?6% PatentedAug. 9, 1921.

FIG? 21 Show;

PATENT FFHQ.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

menace.

Specification 01 Letters Patent.

Patented Au 9, 1921.

Application filed November 1, 1919. Serial No. 335,001.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. BOWMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented cerlain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Teeth, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates particularly to that class of artificial teeth that are adapted to be mounted on a plate or mounting of vulcanite, metal or other suitable material, which may be retained in the mouth of the wearer by any of the well-known means, as, by suction, adhesion or otherwise, and is especially directed to teeth in which the retaining anchor members are formed of metal and attached to the tooth body after the biscuited tooth has been baked or fired, and reduced to a porcelain state.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an artificial tooth so formed that its anchor or attaching member may be applied at the time of setting up the denture embodying the teeth, and be separately supplied by the manufacturer, so as to be interchangeably engaged, one with the other, by the operator and be capable of replacement without the necessity of revulcanization.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an artificial tooth whose anchor or attaching member is capable of being formed of an inexpensive metal or alloy, and, therefore, may be relatively larger and consequently stronger than the baked-in platinum pins commonly employed.

My invention further comprehends an artificial tooth having its anchor or attaching member so disposed and extended within the tooth body as to distribute the strains onthe'porcelain, which are incident to biting or chewing, and which tend to fracture teeth at the region of engagement with their attaching members.

My invention includes an artificial tooth having an attaching member arranged to yieldingly expand within the tooth body and be thereby frictionally engaged therewith and held firmly against the walls thereof.

My invention further includes an artificial tooth having an anchor or attaching member arranged to be inserted within a suitably formed recess in the tooth body and be automatically locked and retained therein, and thereby prevented from accidental displacement.

The form of my invention as hereinafter described, comprehends an artificial tooth having a recess extending longitudinally therein toward its incisive edge, and having its lateral and incisive walls undercut to receive an anchor or attaching member which is preferably of I-beam cross section, having a central web terminating along its opposite edges in oppositely extended flanges, the flanges along one side of said web being arranged to extend behind the undercut walls of the recess in the tooth body and being extended longitudinally beyond the web so as to project incisively behind the pin guard of the tooth body, said extension being provided with a spring tongue bent backwardly and arranged to frictionally engage the labial wall of said recess, to thereby hold the flange frictionally engaged against the lingual wall of said recess, and said tongue being arranged to engage a notch orshoulder in said recess to prevent the accidental displacement of the attaching member from the body of the tooth.

My invention also includes all of the various novel features of construction and arrangement as hereinafter more definitely specified.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional view of a tooth adapted to receive an attaching anchor member constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the attaching anchor member applied thereto; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of said tooth and attaching anchor member taken on the line 33 in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of said attaching anchor member; and Fig. 5 is a longi-- tudinal sectional view showing the tooth engaged with a vulcanite plate by the attaching anchor memberwhich, for convenience of illustration, is shown in elevation.

In said figures, the tooth body 1 comprises the bite 2, which is curved to simulate a natural human tooth, a ridge-lap 3, and a plane lingual surface forming the shut l intersecting the ridge-lap 3 at its linguo-gingival termination, and terminatreduced to the porcelain state.

ing linguo-incisively in the pin guard 5, which forms the linguo-gingival termination of the bite 2.

The tooth body 1 is provided with an undercut retaining recess 6 which extends .into the tooth body through the gingivalsurface or ridge-lap 3, and which is connected with a relatively narrow slot 7, opening through the lingual wall or shut 4L, and

as clearly shown in the drawings, extends in is cisively behind the pin guard 5 to form the pocket 9. v

The tooth body formed as shown, is adapted to be provided with an attaching member, which may be engaged therewith after the tooth has been baked or fired, and

member, as best shown in Fig. 4, is preferably in the form of an I-beam, and may be conveniently cut from lengths of wire of I-beam' cross section, and comprises-the web 10, terminating lingually in the laterally ex- @curely engaged with the denture ;tended flange l1 and labially in a similar flange 12,:which not only extends laterally in opposite directions from the web 10, but also projects incisively into the pocket 9,

andretu-rned upon itselfto form the spring tongue 13, which. may be preferably curved away fromthe flange 12 at its free end 15,

to engage a suitably formed notch or shoulderflfl in the labial wall ofthe recess" .6, asshown in Fig. 5.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the mounting 17 ofvulcanite or other suitable material may be packed into the recess 6 between the flange 12-and tongue 18, and around the flange 11, so that, as will be obvious, when the denture is vulcanized, the tooth body 1 will be sethe attaching anchor member. 7

It may be here noted that the spring tonguel13 tends to maintain" the surface of theflangelQ in contact with the undercutsurfaces of the recess 6, and not only frictionally retains said anchor member with the tooth, but prevents the material of which the denture plate 17 is formed from entering between the flange and the tooth surface.

It will be obvious that a tooth thus formed may be provided with anchor membersformed of different metals, and the tooth stockinay be maintained in various shades and separately sold as required, being ap- 7 plied by the operator at the time when the tooth is set up for vulcanization.

Furthermore, any invention is advanta- :geous in that should the porcelain tooth become broken, it maybe readily replaced by slipping another tooth into its place with 1 essential features of my Said anchor plate cement in the recess 6 to form a cemented connection with the attachment remaining, embedded in the denture plate 1, sothat it is unnecessary in case of a broken tooth to revulcanize the denture plate whereby a replacement of the tooth may be accomplished within a few minutes which otherwise would require several hours time should revulcanization be necessary.

I do not desire to limit my invention to the precise details of construction and'arrangement as herein set forth, as it is obvious that various modifications may be .to frietionally engage said member with the surfaces ofsa1drecess.

2. An artificial tooth comprising an attaching anchor ineinberengageable with a suitably formed recess therein after it hasbeen reduced to the porcelainwstate, said anchor member having a flanged web arranged" to project lingually from said tooth, and having a yielding projection arranged to extend incisively into the body of saidtooth, and to frictional'ly engage said anchor member with the walls of said recess.

A tooth-attaching anchor member. in the form of an l-beam, ihavingcone of'its flanges extended longitudinally beyond its web portion, and returned upon itself to form aspiring tongue. Y r

' 4;. In combination with a base plate, an artificial tooth, said tooth being provided with a T-slot extending longitudinally thereof along its shut surface, an; attaching anchor extending from said T-slot lingually into the body of the base. plate, said anchor being provided at its labial end with an incisively projecting resilient element bent backwardly upon itself. 1

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set myhand and seal this 27th day of October, A.D.1919. r

"WALTER H. BOWMAN. [L.S.] Witnesses:

Jiissm E; MARTIN, GEO. H. NOTTAGE.

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