Other

Dental Education Laboratories, Inc.

Ormco Corporation

Earth City Technologies, Inc.

Buchanan, L. Stephen

L Stephen Buchanan

Carlos A Aloise

Gopikrishnan Soundararajan

Gary T Garman

William Du

Emanuele Maretto

Sorin Vasile Cora

Steven E Benson

Brenton C Lively

This invention relates to a negative pressure irrigation system including one or more negative pressure irrigation needles sized for insertion into a canal of a tooth, each needle having a closed distal end and two suction inlet ports located opposite one another immediately proximal to the closed distal end. The needles are placed in communication with a dental vacuum system by way of a suction manifold. An irrigant inlet tube supplies irrigant from an irrigant container into a pulp chamber or a tooth. The irrigant inlet tube may include a tapered end designed to tightly fit into a lateral irrigant supply port previously drilled into the pulp chamber. A light-cure polymer seals the inlet tube and needles when in use.

Multi-cannula negative pressure irrigation system

A training system for dental procedures having a training device and a self-assessment for use with the training device is described. The training device is printed with a 3D printer and includes a predetermined anatomic form of at least a portion of a human jaw structure and a predetermined anatomic form of at least one human tooth structure. Part of the printed human tooth structure is rooted in the printed human jaw structure, and both structures are designed to have at least one analogous physical property to their corresponding human structures. The self-assessment includes a pictorial array of procedural outcomes of a procedural step so that a user can identify which image in the pictorial array best represents the user's own procedural outcome of the procedural step performed by the user on the training device and at least one feedback instruction.

Anatomic apparatus and training system for remote and interactive hands-on surgical training for dentists

A self-heating electric plugger/syringe needle () with the conductive element () on the external surface of the needle () is described. The needle (), which can be divided into shank () and tip () portions, is hollow and is made of an electrically resistive material. A conductive element () located on the external surface of the needle runs along the length of its shank () and the length of its tip (). An insulating material () located between the conductive element () and the external surface of the needle runs along the length of the shank (). The conductive element () contacts the tip () of the needle, causing the needle to self-heat when electric current is supplied. A method for filling a root canal using the self-heating electric plugger/syringe needle () is also described.

Self-heating electric plugger/syringe needle for use in filling a root canal

Anatomic apparatus and training system for remote and interactive hands-on surgical training

This invention relates to a negative pressure irrigation system including one or more negative pressure irrigation needles sized for insertion into a canal of a tooth, each needle having a closed distal end and two suction inlet ports located opposite one another immediately proximal to the closed distal end. The needles are placed in communication with a dental vacuum system by way of a suction manifold. An irrigant inlet tube supplies irrigant from a irrigant container into a pulp chamber or a tooth. The irrigant inlet tube may include a tapered end designed to tightly fit into a lateral irrigant supply port previously drilled into the pulp chamber. A light-cure polymer seals the inlet tube and needles when in use.

Self-heating electric plugger/syringe needle for use in a root canal

Apparatus and methods for a fluted endodontic file are provided. The apparatus may include a fluted endodontic file defining a central longitudinal axis. The fluted endodontic file may include a working length extending along the central longitudinal axis. The working length may include a single flute. The working length may define an off-center cross-section having three vertices.

Fluted endodontic file

A 3D printing ink comprising a radio-opaque additive and a polymer ink and a method for 3D printing of anatomic replicas using the 3D printing ink are described. The radio-opaque additive is bismuth neodecanoate, and the amount of bismuth neodecanoate in the printing ink may range from about 6% to about 20% by weight. The polymer ink may be transparent or opaque. X-rays of anatomic replicas created with the 3D printing ink appear very similar to x-rays of organic hard tissues, thereby enhancing procedural training for health care professionals.

Radio-opaque 3D printing ink

A series of multi-tapered parabolic implements is disclosed for endodontic use. The instruments comprise different sections: a pilot tip, a first portion adjacent the pilot tip and a second portion adjacent the shank. The two portions have different tapers. The tapers of the two different portions blend into each other along a parabola-shaped surface. The pilot tip is radiussed for ease of entry into a root canal with increased safety.

Endodontic instruments with pilot tips and parabolic cutting flutes

A system for endodontic therapy includes a radio-opaque tray having three or more fiduciary markers embedded in the tray, a leveling device, and one or more bite stops arranged to ensure maintenance of adequate bite registration or impression material between opposing teeth to allow 3D reconstruction of occlusal surfaces.

Endodontic therapy system, apparatus and method making use of a disposable CT registration tray device with pre-set radiographic registration markers

Dental obturators are used in the preparation of root canals in teeth. The subject obturators are so constructed that they bind at a particular distance into the canal, thereby precluding possible damage at the end of the canal. The obturator is used for positioning of a sealing material placed on a carrier portion of the obturator into the root canal. Disclosed are a variety of structural configurations on a tapered surface of the carrier portion is disclosed.

Dental obturator

A tapered endodontic rotary file for shaping or cleaning a root canal in a tooth has one or more flutes spiraling along the length of the file. The diameters of the one or more flutes tapers in a non-uniform manner from a first diameter in a shank portion of the file to a smaller diameter in a tip portion of the file such that at least one flute region intermediate the shank portion and the tip portion has a diameter less than a straight line taper from the shank portion to the tip portion. The flutes can also be landed and the width of the lands can be varied along the length of the file. In particular, the width of the lands in the intermediate region are wider than the width in the tip or shank portion.

Variable land, multiple height flute contour design for endodontic files

An electronic device for locating the apex of a root canal within a tooth of a dental patient has a display screen on a display component to provide an image indicating when the apex of a root canal has been located. A free end of a first electrical lead is provided for placement within the root canal or in contact with an electrically conductive tool within the root canal. A free end of a second electrical lead is used to establishing a ground on a conductive portion of the dental patient such as a tissue surface within the mouth. The opposite ends of each of the leads is connected to the display component. Removeably attached to the display component is a lead carrier. The detachable lead carrier and the leads mounted thereon can be sterilized as a unit and then attached to the display component, which is bagged in a sterile barrier, for performing the apex locating procedure. The apex locator has one or more mounting structures for placing the display in a location adjacent the patients head, attached to adjacent instrumentation, or attached to the dental practitioner's hand or arm such that the display image is readily visible by the dental practitioner during the apex locating procedure.

Apex locator for endodontic procedures

An apparatus for use in positioning and obtaining of x-ray and other images of teeth and related structures, providing the practitioner with increased ease and accuracy of aiming, greatly simplified instrument configuration with significantly reduced number and complexity of the instruments employed, while providing patients with improved comfort and control during the imaging process.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America

L Stephen Buchanan