Dental implant assembly having tactile feedback

Claim 1

A dental implant assembly comprising: an implant for osseointegration in alveolar bone, said implant including an elongate body having a proximate end and a distal end, an axial threaded bore open at said distal end, an annular shoulder at said distal end, and a plurality of splines spaced from one another to define slots therebetween and disposed circumferentially about the opening of said threaded bore at said distal end and extending axially away from said shoulder, each of said splines having a curved outer wall lying on a common circle disposed radially inwardly of said shoulder; an abutment removably attached to said implant for supporting a tooth prosthesis, said abutment including a proximal end and a distal end and an annular end face at said proximal end of said abutment in engagement with the annular shoulder of said implant, an axial bore having an internal shoulder, a cylindrical recess disposed radially inwardly of said annular end face and receiving said splines of said implant therewithin, said cylindrical recess communicating with said axial bore of said abutment, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced axially extending splines defining slots therebetween disposed within said cylindrical recess, each of said splines of said abutment being received in a respective slot of said implant between adjacent splines of said implant, and each of said slots of said abutment receiving a respective spline of said implant between adjacent splines of said abutment, the splines of said abutment having proximal end faces and having an axial length, the proximal end faces being recessed axially from said annular end face by an amount less than one half the axial length of said splines of said abutment; and a screw received in said axial bore of said abutment and having a head engaging said internal shoulder of said axial bore of said abutment and having screw threads threadedly engaged with the threaded bore of said implant.