DENTURE BASE MANUFACTURING METHOD, CUTTING APPARATUS, AND WORKPIECE MATERIAL
FIG10 is a plan view of a partial denture according to still another embodiment of the present invention
FIG10 is a plan view of a partial denture 40 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. The partial denture 40 is used for the upper jaw of a patient with many missing teeth. The partial denture 40 has an approximately semicircular shape in the plan view. The partial denture 40 includes a denture base 42 and artificial teeth 45. The denture base 42 is fabricated by cutting the workpiece material 2. The artificial teeth 45 are secured to the denture base 42. The denture base 42 includes a first base 421, a second base 422, a third base 423, and a palate cover 42m. The first base 421 is located in the lower left portion of FIG10. The second base 422 is located in the lower right portion of FIG10. The third base 423 is located in the upper central portion of FIG10. The first, second, and third bases 421, 422, and 423 include securers (not illustrated), fitted portions 44, and protrusions 46. The artificial teeth 45 are disposed in the securers . The fitted portions 44 are each provided in the form of a clasp. The protrusions 46 are each provided in the form of a rest. When the workpiece material 2 is cut into the denture base 42, the cutting data creating step S20 preferably involves creating cutting data in accordance with three-dimensional data indicative of the shape of the denture base 42 including the palate cover 42m, the securers, the fitted portions 44, and the protrusions 46. This enables the cutting step S30 to fabricate the denture base 42 integral with the palate cover 42m, the securers, the fitted portions 44, and the protrusions 46. The manufacturing method described above involves using the circular plate workpiece material 2 so as to fabricate the denture base 20. The workpiece material 2, however, is not limited to a circular plate shape. For example, suppose that the circular plate workpiece material 2 is cut into the denture base 42 for use in the partial denture 40 illustrated in FIG10. In this case, a portion of the workpiece material 2 where the palate cover 42m is to be formed needs to be cut more deeply than portions of the workpiece material 2 where the first to third bases 421 to 423 are to be formed. Shavings created by cutting the workpiece material 2 are typically discarded without being recycled. Accordingly, a workpiece material highly similar in shape to the denture base 42 is preferably used from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of waste and cost of disposal.
plan view
422
second base
45
artificial teeth
40
partial denture
42
denture base
423
third base
46
protrusions
['1. A denture base manufacturing method, comprising: an apparatus preparing step (S10) involving preparing a cutting apparatus (60), including: a retainer (66) to retain a workpiece material (2, 4) composed mainly of thermoplastic resin, a cutter (63, 78) to cut the workpiece material (2, 4), and a controller (110) communicably connected to the retainer (66) and the cutter (63, 78); a cutting data creating step (S20) involving creating cutting data in accordance with three-dimensional data indicative of a shape of a denture base (20, 32, 42) including a fitted portion (24, 34, 44) to be fitted to an abutment tooth (A1, A2) of a patient; and a cutting step (S30) involving cutting the workpiece material (2, 4) using the cutting apparatus (60) in accordance with the cutting data.']