Polythetics, Inc.

Ralph W Colpitts

Kurt C Frisch

Adolfas Damusis

Jens H Wendt

An artificial denture of composite construction is provided which comprises a tooth-holding portion fabricated from a hard non-polyurethane polymer having a hardness of not less than about Shore D40 integrally chemically bonded to a mouth-engaging portion fabricated from a soft non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer having a hardness of not greater than about Shore A65, said polyurethane being the reaction product of a polyether polyol and an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aralkyl di- or polyisocyanate in which the isocyanate groups are directly bonded to the aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or alkyl moieties thereof.

Composite denture combining soft polyurethane and hard polymer components

A hard, substantially non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer denture is disclosed in which the elastomer possesses a hardness of not less than about Shore D60 and preferably not greater than about Shore D100. The polyurethane elastomer is prepared from a polyether polyol and an aromatic polyisocyanate in which the isocyanate groups are bonded directly to the aromatic nucleus. The aforesaid hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer can constitute the entire material of which the denture is made, including the teeth if so desired, or it can be employed as the tooth-holding portion of the denture in combination with a soft, substantially non-hydrophilic elastomer as the mouth-engaging portion of the denture. The hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer possesses superior resistance to thermal distortion under the conditions prevailing in the mouth.

Prosthetic denture prepared from polyurethane elastomer

A denture comprising teeth consisting essentially of hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer imbedded in and chemically bonded to a gum member consisting essentially of soft non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer is prepared from a model assembly consisting of a wax replicate denture (artificial teeth imbedded in a wax pattern) mounted on a mouth model, which assembly is usually provided by a dentist or dental technician after a series of dental impressions, bites, and trials with the patient. A female mold is prepared from the model assembly having a cavity conforming to the wax replicate denture which, together with the mouth model after the wax replicate denture has been removed, forms a denture mold. The hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer teeth are first cast in the cavity of the mold. The casting is then removed and trimmed of its flash down to the gum line to delineate the shape of that portion of the teeth to be imbedded in the gum portion of the denture and replaced in the mold. The gum portion of soft non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer is then cast in and around the teeth with the mouth model in place, thereby forming a denture having exactly the same shape and configuration of the wax replicate denture originally provided.

Dentures and process for making the same

A denture consisting of teeth anchored in a gum member composed of a unitary mass of non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer, the tooth-holding portion of which is hard and the mouth-engaging portion of which is soft is prepared by first casting the teeth-holding portion about the teeth and then casting the gum holding portion onto the tooth-holding portion and curing the denture during which the gum-engaging portion and the tooth-holding portion become integrally chemically bonded into a unitary mass.

Dentures

A denture comprising teeth consisting essentially of hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer imbedded in and chemically bonded to a gum member consisting essentially of soft non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer is prepared from a model assembly consisting of a wax replicate denture (artificial teeth imbedded in a wax pattern) mounted on a mouth model which assembly is usually provided by a dentist or dental technician after a series of dental impressions, bites, and trials with the patient. A female mold is prepared from the model assembly having a cavity conforming to the wax replicate denture which, together with the mouth model after the wax replicate denture has been removed, forms a denture mold. The hard non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer teeth are first cast in the cavity of the mold. The casting is then removed and trimmed of its flash down to the gum line to delineate the shape of that portion of the teeth to be imbedded in the gum portion of the denture and replaced in the mold. The gum portion of soft non-hydrophilic polyurethane elastomer is then cast in and around the teeth with the mouth model in place, thereby forming a denture having exactly the same shape and configuration of the wax replicate denture originally provided.

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St. Louis, MO, United States of America

Ralph W Colpitts