Abstract:
The invention has two main parts. First, there is an assembly of elements including a prefabricated precision stud, or male element, preferably made of metal, as stainless steel for example, securely anchored by a specially designed cap fitting onto a prepared matching outer end of a tooth, and a second assembly of elements including a prefabricated thimble, or female part, preferably made of plastic material. The thimble element is provided, at its outer upper region, with burrs, or projections, so that the thimble element may be rigidly held in the denture material, but the skirt or lower region of the thimble element does not contact the denture material and may thus flex, or stretch, circumferentially, and thus expand radially, to receive the stud element with a snap action, so that the two main parts are snap retained to each other. The thimble element should be made available in a tissue-resilient type, and somewhat more non-resilient type, to match the need, for example, in the tissue-resilient type it would be used when the denture is supported more by the gum than by the teeth, whereas in the non-resilient type it would be used when the denture is supported more by the teeth than by the gum. The anchor provided by this invention creates a favorable crown-root ratio where there is minimal inter-occlusal space, approximately 3 mm.