Dental intrusion device
OwnerRaymond P. Howeinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A dental intrusion device for intruding one or more teeth of a dental arch. Plural embodiments of the device are disclosed within the generic context of an intra-oral structure operatively related to the arch, an extra-oral structure, and a force-creating mechanism extending between the intra- and extra-oral structures. The co-action of these components results in intrusion forces being developed on teeth which are to be intruded. Various features within the generic aspect of the invention relate to particular forms of force-applying mechanism, particular forms of intra-oral structures and particular forms of extra-oral structures.
Claims33
A dental intrusion device for performing intrusion of one or more teeth of a dental arch into the gingiva comprising intra-oral means for mesio-distally spanning at least a portion of the dental arch and for joining certain of the teeth so spanned including at least those teeth which are to be intruded, force-creating means extending from said intra-oral means to an extra-oral means and acting in the same sense as the direction of intrusion, the force developed by said force-creating means being reacted by said extra-oral means and said intra-oral means in a manner causing intrusion forces to be developed on those teeth of the arch which are to be intruded, in which said intra-oral means is adapted for acting on teeth of the lower arch, and said extra-oral means comprises chin-engaging means, said force-creating means extending between said chin-engaging means and said intra-oral means.
Means for adapting a molar bracket having a pair of buccal tubes comprising an adapter element in the form of a U-shaped wire having a base and a pair of sides extending from the base, one of said sides fitting into one of the two buccal tubes of the molar bracket and the other of said sides being disposed in supported relationship on the other tube of the molar bracket, a further tube supported on the U-shaped wire externally of said buccal tubes and said other side including at its free end a bend which, when the adapter is assembled to the buccal tubes, is disposed mesially beyond the mesial end of the other buccal tube so as to be in an interference relationship with attempted distal displacement of the adapter.
In an orthodontic appliance having a face bow whose limbs are inserted into buccal tubes, the improvement which comprises the free end of at least one of the face bow's limbs comprising a segment which parallels and is exterior to the corresponding tube, a reverse bend at the distal end of said segment, and a mesially extending segment extending from said reverse bend removably engaged in the distal end of the corresponding tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.