Ultra-slim dental implant fixtures

Claim 1

A dental implant fixture having an implant shaft for implantation in a specially prepared bore in a patient's jawbone, said prepared bore extending from a gingival apsect of said jawbone to an interior region within said jawbone, said shaft extending between a gingival region and an apical end which reaches to said interior region when said shaft is installed in said prepared bore with said gingival region located at said gingival aspect, said shaft having on its exterior screw thread means the root-to-peak depth of which is greater at said apical end than at said gingival end, the peaks of said screw threads being on the locus of a cylinder extending from said apical end toward said gingival region, said shaft being tapered over at least part of its axial length to a reduced diameter at its apical end, so as to provide a tapered make shaft at the roots of said threads having said exterior threads with peaks on a cylindrical locus, the wider end of said shaft being toward said gingival end, said fixture having a receiving bore opening through said gingival region and extending along the tubular axis of said fixture from said gingival region toward said apical end to terminate in a location between said gingival region and said apical end, for receiving prosthodontic support means, wherein the diameter of said cylindrical locus is less than 3.00 mm., the diameter of said shaft at the roots of said screw threads is in the range from about 2.2 mm. at said apical end to not substantially greater than said cylindrical locus toward said gingival end, the root diameter of said shaft at said location is about 2.5 mm., and the internal major diameter of said receiving bore is about 1.8 mm.