Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080233528 | INDIRECT BONDING TRAYS FOR ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT AND METHODS FOR MAKING THE SAME - An indirect bonding tray places orthodontic appliances in precise, predetermined positions on the teeth of a patient. The indirect bonding tray includes a first matrix material that extends over a set of appliances and a second matrix material that extends over the first matrix material. The indirect bonding tray also includes at least one occlusal stop member that is connected to the second matrix material for firm, relatively hard contact with the occlusal tips of the patient's teeth when the tray is received in place over the patient's dental arch. | 09-25-2008 |
20080233531 | METHODS AND ASSEMBLIES FOR MAKING AN ORTHODONTIC BONDING TRAY USING RAPID PROTOTYPING - Indirect bonding trays for orthodontic treatment are made from a model of the patient's dental arch that is manufactured using digital data and rapid prototyping processes. The model includes one or more guides for orienting an orthodontic appliance in a desired position on a model tooth of the dental arch model. A holder is connected to the archwire slot of the appliance and is brought into contact with the guide in order to move the appliance to its intended position for subsequent manufacture of the indirect bonding tray. | 09-25-2008 |
20100196840 | ORTHODONTIC SYSTEMS WITH RESILIENT APPLIANCES - Systems for moving teeth of a patient's dental arch from a first tooth arrangement to a second tooth arrangement include a plurality of resilient appliances such as positioning trays or elongated arch members that are used in sequence. Each appliance of the systems includes a row of spaced apart couplings for connection to respective teeth of the dental arch. The appliances have certain geometric characteristics that match the geometric characteristics of other appliances of the system, and at least one appliance has a stiffness that is greater than the stiffness of at least one other appliance. | 08-05-2010 |
20120231408 | ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE WITH LOW PROFILE CLIP - Provided is an improved self-ligating orthodontic appliance and methods of assembling the same. The improved orthodontic appliance uses at least one resilient clip to releasably couple an archwire to the body, where a portion of the clip is rigidly coupled to the appliance body in a position and orientation that minimizes the overall profile of the appliance. The appliance is assembled by combining a press fit coupling between the clip and appliance body with an interference fit coupling between the clip and retaining structure located on the body. Advantages include a greater freedom to select a bonding pad location, lower bracket profile, decreased engagement force, enhanced clip fatigue life, and ease of assembly. | 09-13-2012 |
20140038120 | SELF-LIGATING ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE AND RELATED METHODS - The appliances and methods provide a tab on a āUā-shaped clip having a labial (i.e. toward the patient's lips or cheek) section and a lingual (i.e. toward the patient's tongue) section. The tab is located in a position that facilitates access by a practitioner and also reduces the moment applied to the clip when the clips is opened and closed. Advantageously, the tab can be positioned to account for the varying degree of resistance encountered by different sections of the clip and minimize the likelihood of either distorting the clip or torquing the appliance. The tab can be positioned coplanar with the sliding mechanism. Advantageously, these appliances can provide improved ease of use, reduced clip distortion over time, and greater patient comfort. | 02-06-2014 |
20140065566 | LOW PROFILE SELF-LIGATING ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE WITH CLIP - An orthodontic appliance includes a body ( | 03-06-2014 |
20140272749 | ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCES WITH TAPERED ARCHWIRE SLOTS - Provided are orthodontic appliances and related methods in which at least one region of at least one sidewall of an archwire slot is tapered relative to an opposing sidewall. This feature can allow the archwire slot to conform to the slight twist that occurs in the archwire when the archwire is placed in asymmetric torque. Advantageously, this feature can distribute the contact stress between the archwire and appliance over a much larger surface area compared with conventional appliances, leading to a dramatic and surprising increase in torque strength and providing other ancillary benefits. | 09-18-2014 |
20140272750 | SELF-LIGATING ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE - Provided are orthodontic appliances including a bonding base, a body extending outwardly from the base and an elongated slot thereon extending along a generally mesial-distal direction, and first and second protrusions disposed on the body on opposite sides of the slot. A clip is slidably engaged to the body and movable between open and closed positions. When operating the clip, the first protrusion extends into the clip to retain the clip to the body in an interference fit while the second protrusion extends into the clip when in its closed position. Optionally, the clip comprises at least one deflectable portion aligned along a reference plane extending over the slot, where the deflectable portion resiliently bends out of the reference plane to traverse the second protrusion as the clip moves between open and closed positions. | 09-18-2014 |
20150044625 | Flexible Orthodontic Splint - Provided is an orthodontic splint and related methods, which use two or more bonding pads and a flexible connector beam that deflects in response to stress, effectively reducing the amount of stress felt by the adhesive. The connector beam has a non-uniform cross-section along its length, thereby shifting the maximum stress away from the ends of the beam and toward the mid-point of the beam. Further, the connector beam attached to each base along locations remote from the outer edge of the base. These splint configurations can decrease the likelihood of bond failure and improve fatigue performance by causing stress, and associated strain, encountered during treatment to be spread more evenly along the length of the beam. | 02-12-2015 |