| abstract |
The present invention relates to a one-piece dental implant having a threaded shaft which is tapered on one end and has a non-circular abutment on the other end, and a ball-shaped head mounted on said non-circular abutment. The inventive dental implants are advantageous in that they are of one-piece design, and, therefore, do not have multiple parts which can loosen over time. The present invention further relates to a keeper cap for use with the inventive dental implants, which is adapted to retain either O-ring-shaped inserts or plastic inserts. The inserts can be switched easily at any time without the need to remove the keeper cap from the denture or to form a new denture around new caps. The inventive dental implant and keeper cap make up a kit along with the O-ring-shaped inserts and the plastic inserts, which kit is useful in connection with the formation of fixed or removable prostheses. |