Ceramic self-ligating bracket with high labial pull strength
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsMing-Lai Lai, Laurent Eap, William E. Wyllie, II, David D. Lindeman
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Abstract
A high-strength, self-ligating appliances with orthodontically desirable dimensions. The appliances incorporate a door slidably engaged to a channel in the body; one that can be opened or closed depending on the equilibrium position of an integral protrusion on the door. Cooperating grooves and rails on the body and the door can guide the door between the open and closed positions, and mitigate against unintentional detachment. Appliances including rails that result in improved labial pull strength are disclosed.
Claims17
An orthodontic appliance comprising
- a base having a bonding surface;
- a body extending outwardly from the base, the body including a mesial-distally extending arch wire slot having a bottom wall and a channel oriented generally perpendicular to the wire slot;
- and
- a door slidably coupled to the body, the door moveable between an open state in which an archwire can be ligated in the archwire slot and a closed state in which an archwire can be retained in the archwire slot, wherein the door includes a strut extending from a lingual surface, wherein the strut is slidably received in the channel, and wherein the strut includes a first rail, the first rail having a first rail height h1 of 0.0254 mm to 0.200 mm, the first rail extending along a mesial or a distal side of the strut, and wherein the channel includes a first concave recess, and wherein the first rail is slidably engaged in the first concave recess.
The orthodontic appliance of embodiment 11, wherein the beam is deflectable in directions toward the bottom of the channel to allow the door to transition between the open state and the closed state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.