Orthodontic appliance
OwnerTodd Evan Dickersoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An orthodontic appliance has a post attached to a first upper tooth, and a button with a recess attached to a second upper tooth. An elongated arm has an eye at one end through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, and a tip at the other end for removable insertion into the recess of the button. The length of the elongated arm is selectable to maintain a desired spacing between the first and second upper teeth (e.g., by cutting the tip of the elongated arm). An elastic extends from either the post or button to an attachment point on the patient's lower dental arch to exert a force between the patient's maxilla and mandible.
Claims8
A method of orthodontic treatment of a patient having an upper dental arch and a lower dental arch with a plurality of teeth, said method comprising:
- attaching a post to a first tooth in a first of the dental arches;
- attaching a button to a second tooth in the first dental arch, said button having a recess extending partially into the button;
- providing an elongated arm with a selected length between opposing first and second ends, said elongated arm having:
- (a) an eye at the first end through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, thereby providing articulation at the first end of the elongated arm;
- and
- (b) a tip at the second end;
- inserting the tip at the second end of the elongated arm into the recess of the button to maintain a fixed spacing between the first and second teeth;
- and
- extending an elastic from at least one of the post and button to the patient's other dental arch to exert a force between the patient's maxilla and mandible to bias the mandible in a desired direction with respect to the maxilla while maintaining a fixed spacing between the first and second teeth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.