METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING CROWS, BRIDGES AND IMPLANTS FOR DENTAL USE

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING CROWS, BRIDGES AND IMPLANTS FOR DENTAL USE
European Patent Office
Patent number: WO2004098443
Publication date: 2004-11-18
Inventor: HOFMEISTER ANDREW [US]; HULTGREN BRUCE W [US]; LEDIN JAMES [US]; ISAACSON BOB [US]; MARSHALL MIKE [US]
Applicant: GEODIGM CORP [US];; HOFMEISTER ANDREW [US];; HULTGREN BRUCE W [US];; LEDIN JAMES [US];; ISAACSON BOB [US];; MARSHALL MIKE [US]
Classification:
- international: A61C13/00
- european: A61C13/00C1
Application number: WO2004US13236 20040429
Priority number(s): US20030429288 20030502
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture is disclosed for providing a dental crowns using electronic models, and more particularly to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for creating dental crowns using a lost-wax manufacturing process from electronic model files corresponding to patient teeth impressions and corresponding electronic models for tooth crowns. The system and method permit the electronic generation and specification of crown, bridge, and implant dental appliances that may be specified in an industry standard file specification. This specification is utilized in a rapid prototyping process to generate a wax impression for the appliance that may then be fabricated using standard lost-wax fabrication techniques.