US 11,529,216 B2 · Dental appliances, systems and methods

Abstract

An orthodontic appliance and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the present technology includes a positioning member configured to position an orthodontic appliance during installation in the patient's mouth. The positioning member may comprise a first portion configured to be coupled to the patient's teeth and a second portion extending away from the first portion. The second portion may be configured to be detachably coupled to the orthodontic appliance. While the positioning member is coupled to the orthodontic appliance, the positioning member is configured to be positioned in the patient's mouth and coupled to the patient's teeth, thereby positioning the orthodontic appliance at a desired location adjacent a patient's oral anatomy.

Claims23

Dependent claims

An orthodontic appliance for applying a force between a patient's upper dental arch and lower dental arch, the orthodontic appliance comprising:

a single, unitarily-formed member formed of a single sheet of a metal, the member comprising:
a first attachment portion configured to be secured to a first bracket on a first tooth in the patient's upper arch or lower arch;
a second attachment portion configured to be secured to a second bracket on a second tooth in the other of the patient's upper arch or lower arch;
and
a resiliently deformable elongate portion extending between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion, the elongate portion including one or more biasing elements disposed along the elongate portion and comprising a curved portion of the elongate portion, wherein, at least some of the one or more biasing elements are formed of generally U-shaped regions of the elongate portion, each of the U-shaped regions having a closed end portion and an open end portion, and wherein, when the elongate portion is in a passive state, a width of the U-shaped region at the closed end portion is greater than a width of the U-shaped region at the open end portion.

2 more elements

An orthodontic appliance for applying a force between a patient's upper dental arch and lower dental arch, the orthodontic appliance comprising:

a single, unitarily-formed member formed of a single sheet of a metal and having a substantially constant thickness, the member comprising:
a first attachment portion configured to be secured to a first bracket on a first tooth in the patient's upper arch or lower arch;
a second attachment portion configured to be secured to a second bracket on a second tooth in the other of the patient's upper arch or lower arch;
and
a resiliently deformable elongate portion extending between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion and including one or more biasing elements disposed along the elongate portion and comprising a curved portion of the elongate portion, wherein the elongate portion has a longitudinal axis extending between the first and second attachment portions, and wherein the elongate portion has a shape that is customized for a particular patient based, at least in part, on data characterizing a desired amount and direction of movement of the upper arch and/or lower arch, the elongate portion including a plurality of looped regions, the looped regions comprising alternating first looped regions and second looped regions, wherein each of the first looped regions comprises at least two loops extending gingivally away from the longitudinal axis of the elongate portion and each of the second looped regions comprises at least two loops extending occlusally away from the longitudinal axis of the elongate portion.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Dental appliances, systems and methods

Life of this patent

Dental appliances, systems and methods

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23