Denture trays and method of fitting dentures

Claim 1

A denture tray comprising a body of thermoplastic methyl-methacrylate material which is malleable at a temperature which is mouth tolerable and which is substantially rigid at body temperature and a plurality of tooth moulds removably mounted in said tray in a predetermined rotation.

Claim 5

A method of manufacturing a denture tray comprising the steps of: a) thoroughly mixing, by volume, fifteen parts methyl-methacrylate polymer containing 5% plasticizer with one part methyl-methacrylate monomer and two parts ethyl-methacrylate soft curing monomer; b) allowing the mixture to stand for about eleven minutes; c) again thoroughly mixing the mixture; d) allowing the mixture to stand for about six minutes; e) forming the mixture to the required configuration of a denture tray; f) curing the thus formed tray by heating it to a temperature of about 170°F (76°C) for forty five minutes.

Claim 6

A method of manufacturing a denture tray comprising the steps of: a) thoroughly mixing, by volume, fifteen parts methyl-methacrylate polymer containing 5% plasticizer with one part methyl-methacrylate monomer and two parts ethyl-methacrylate soft curing monomer; b) allowing the mixture to stand for about eleven minutes; c) again thoroughly mixing the mixture; d) allowing the mixture to stand for about six minutes; e) forming the mixture to the required configuration of a denture tray; f) curing the thus formed tray by heating it to a temperature of about 170°F (76°C) for forty five minutes.

Claim 13

A method of manufacturing and fitting a denture including an upper denture plate and a lower denture plate comprising the steps of: a) selecting an upper denture tray and a lower denture tray from a set of denture trays each of which is formed from a thermoplastic material which is malleable at a temperature which is mouth tolerable and which is substantially rigid at body temperature, each tray having a plurality of tooth moulds releasably mounted therein; b) heating a first of said selected trays to a mouth tolerable temperature at which it is malleable; c) inserting the heated first tray into the mouth of a patient and hand-forming and customising the selected first tray around the alveola ridge of the patient's mouth while malleable; d) allowing the selected tray to cool to a temperature at which it is stabilised and no.longer malleable and thereafter removing the selected tray from the patient's mouth; e) border moulding or muscle moulding the selected tray to fit the patient's mouth; f) lining the selected tray with final impression material and reinserting the selected tray into the patient's mouth to form a final impression of the denture base area and thereafter removing the selected tray from the patient's mouth; g) heating a second of said selected trays to a mouth tolerable temperature at which it is malleable; h) inserting the heated second tray into the mouth of a patient and hand-forming and customising the selected second tray around the alveola ridge of the patient's mouth while malleable; i) allowing the selected second tray to cool to a temperature at which it is stabilised and no longer malleable and thereafter removing the selected second tray from the patient's mouth; j) border moulding or muscle moulding the selected second tray to fit the patient's mouth; k) lining the selected second tray with final impression material and reinserting the selected second tray into the patient's mouth to form a final impression of the denture base area and thereafter removing the selected second tray from the patient's mouth; 1) forming a stone model of the final impression in the first and second selected trays; m) mounting the stone models and their associated first and second selected trays in an articulator and adjusting the articulator to duplicate the function of the patient's maxilla and mandible; n) marking the stone model to provide an indication of the required vertical dimension and the centre line of the anterior teeth; o) removing the first and second selected trays bearing the final impression from the stone model to expose the moulded area of the stone model; and p) forming a wax model of the required denture on each moulded area and inserting the required tooth moulds into each wax model in a conventional manner.

Claim 14

A method of manufacturing and fitting a denture including an upper denture plate and a lower denture plate comprising the steps of: a) selecting an upper denture tray and a lower denture tray from a set of denture trays each of which is formed from a thermoplastic material which is malleable at a temperature which is mouth tolerable and which is substantially rigid at body temperature, each tray having a plurality of tooth moulds releasably mounted therein; b) heating a first of said selected trays to a mouth tolerable temperature at which it is malleable; c) inserting the heated first tray into the mouth of a patient and hand-forming and customising the selected first tray around the alveola ridge of the patient's mouth while malleable; d) allowing the selected tray to cool to a temperature at which it is stabilised and no.longer malleable and thereafter removing the selected tray from the patient's mouth; e) border moulding or muscle moulding the selected tray to fit the patient's mouth; f) lining the selected tray with final impression material and reinserting the selected tray into the patient's mouth to form a final impression of the denture base area and thereafter removing the selected tray from the patient's mouth; g) heating a second of said selected trays to a mouth tolerable temperature at which it is malleable; h) inserting the heated second tray into the mouth of a patient and hand-forming and customising the selected second tray around the alveola ridge of the patient's mouth while malleable; i) allowing the selected second tray to cool to a temperature at which it is stabilised and no longer malleable and thereafter removing the selected second tray from the patient's mouth; j) border moulding or muscle moulding the selected second tray to fit the patient's mouth; k) lining the selected second tray with final impression material and reinserting the selected second tray into the patient's mouth to form a final impression of the denture base area and thereafter removing the selected second tray from the patient's mouth; 1) forming a stone model of the final impression in the first and second selected trays; m) mounting the stone models and their associated first and second selected trays in an articulator and adjusting the articulator to duplicate the function of the patient's maxilla and mandible; n) marking the stone model to provide an indication of the required vertical dimension and the centre line of the anterior teeth; o) removing the first and second selected trays bearing the final impression from the stone model to expose the moulded area of the stone model; and p) forming a wax model of the required denture on each moulded area and inserting the required tooth moulds into each wax model in a conventional manner.