US2807264A - Instruments for contouring bones - Google Patents

Description

p 1957 A. c. TUCK 2,807,264

INSTRUMENTS FO R CONTOURING BONES Filed Sept. 10, 1953 FIGZ) INVENTOR ALBERT C. TucK |7 BY MYM ATTORNEY States atet ffice Patented Sept. 24, 1957 INSTRUMENTS FOR CONTOURING BONES Albert C. Tuck, Thomasville, Ga. Application September 10, 1953, Serial No. 379,396 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-403) My invention relates to instruments suitable for contouring and removing certain existing bony protuberances and abnormalities in the mouth, and to instruments suitable for use in connection therewith. It has heretofore been necessary to prevent contact between the bone contouring instruments and the surrounding soft tissues or muscles in order to avoid trauma. Rongeurs or chisels have been commonly used in the initial stages of such operations, the bone being subsequently smoothed with files. According to my method the bone is much more satisfactorily smoothed by means of rotary grinders, the tips of which are so formed that they may be used to retract the surrounding tissues from the bone at the same time that it is being ground. By using my new method and instruments practically all trauma may be eliminated and the operating time cut in half, which is invaluable to the patient as well as to the surgeon.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of my three instruments;

Figure 2 shows one of these instruments in use in a patients mouth; and 4 Figure 3 shows the results which have been achieved through use of my new method and instruments.

Like reference characters refer to like elements throughout the several views.

My three instruments comprise shafts 10a, 10b and 10c, adapted to fit in a dental handpiece, straight or contraangle. These shafts carry elongated grinding elements 11a, 11b and 110, to which coatings of small diamond particles 12a, 12b, and 12c have been fused to form a grinding surface. The instruments are made of stainless steel and the ends 13a, 13b and 13c of the cylinders pposite the shafts are rounded, smoothed and highly polished so that they are incapable of causing trauma when they are brought gently into contact with the soft tissues of the mouth while the grinding surfaces formed by the diamond particles contour the bone, -as best illustrated in Figure 2. In this figure the grinding surface 120, is in contact with the mandible 14 of the lower jaw, while the tip 13a presses back a portion of the gum 15. The handpiece 16 in which the instrument is mounted lies across the lower lip 17.

The grinding surface of each instrument has a distinctive shape enabling it to best perform certain spe cific contouring operations. The grinding elements 11a, 11b and 110, and their grinding surfaces are long and longer than the width of the jaw bone, Figure 2. The grinding surface 12a is cylindrical. The grinding surface 121) tapers from its outer ends to its center, is longi tudinally curved. and circular in cross section. grinding surface 120 tapers toward its forward end and is circular in cross section. The end 130 has a larger diameter than the reduced end of the grinding surface 12c. The grinding surface 12b is designed for contouring the torus linguli growths on the mandible and other abnormalities in this area of the mandible. The end 13b with the polished surface retracts the tissue in the floor of The.

the mouth. The grinding surface 12b gives the desired shape. The grinding surface 12c is designed to automatically contour the mylohyoid line area of the mandible, and the smooth head 13c retracts the tissue of the mylohyoid muscle. The cylindrical surface 12a can be used generally in the surgical preparation of the mandible or maxilla for prosthesis. The polished end 1311 retracts the tissue during the procedure.

In order to carry out my invention, after the diagnosis has been completed, it is imperative to make an adequate incision for the field of operation, for by doing so much trauma will be eliminated in manipulating and retracting tissue. The periosteum in the field of operation must be completely retracted to permit the desired access. Along the internal oblique ridge of the mandible it is necessary to retract and lay this tissue back at least onefourth of an inch below the sharp line of bone to be re moved. When visibility is clear, I proceed to remove the amount of bone necessary to obtain the desired results. Ordinarily there is enough seepage of blood for lubrication, but if there is not, a small stream of sterile saline water must be used. An aspirator will readily eliminate the excess fluids as well as the small particles of bone.

The bald, smoothly rounded stainless steel tip of the instrument may come in contact with muscles or soft tissue, retracting it from the area of operation and causing no trauma while the instrument is rotating at great speed contouring the bone to the desired form. The finish on the bone will be smooth and substantially more suitable for receiving dentures than one in which bone was removed by rongeurs or chisels, before smoothing with a file. The different designs of my instruments atford the operator a simple approach, resulting in a smooth surface with a minimum of trauma during the entire operation.

After such an operation the patient is able to wear immediate dcntures with much more comfort, effectiveness and satisfaction, and lower dentures may be worn with proper retention without having such bony protuberances present as are commonly caused by rongeurs, improper filing, and improper preparation of the ridge.

After each operation the instruments should be scrubbed with a brush and water to remove all blood clots and fragments. They should then be boiled in a concentrated soap solution for ten minutes. Any remaining particles may then be removed with a brush. With proper care, the instruments should last a lifetime.

lclaim:

An instrument for use in contouring the mylohyoid ridge of the human jaw without traumatizing the mylohyoid muscle fibers comprising an elongated rotatable grinding element having a grinding surface which tapers slightly in a uniform manner throughout its entire length from its rear end to its forward end, said element being circular in cross section, said element and grinding sur face being considerably longer axially than the width of the mylohyoid ridge, whereby reciprocation of the element upon its longitudinal axis while the element is arranged transversely of the mylohyoid ridge wili not cause the element to move entirely off of said ridge, a highly polished smoothly rounded convex end piece secured to the forward end of the grinding element and being circular in cross section and tapering forwardly to form a forward extremity which is rounded but much smaller in diameter than the rear portion of said end piece and the forward end of said grinding element, the diameter of the rear portion of said end piece being considerably larger than the diameter of the grinding ele ment near its forward end, so that the end piece extends radially beyond the forward end of the grinding element for a substantial distance, the arrangement being such that the polished end piece engages the fibers of the nally 0r transversely of the mylohyoidwidge for contouring the same, anda shank secured to therear end ofthe,

grinding element and: extending axiallyi thereof. for connectionwith the chuck of a dental hand piece or the. like.

References Cited-n1 the-file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,099,984 Kirsten June 16, 1914 4 FOREIGN PATENTS 379,200 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1932 500,538 Germany June 21, 1930 OTHER REFERENCES A Special Technique for Reduction of the Mylohyoid Ridge, by Julius G. Godwin; Dental Digest, March 1946, pp. 133435. (Copy in Division 55.)

The Iota Catalogue, page 6, The Tartar Bur, No. 151,

10 01' Iota Works, Funke Bros. Ltd, Dusseldorf, 32-48.

(Copy in Div. 55.).

Images