Method and apparatus for bonding orthodontic brackets to teeth
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsRandall E. Adam, Leonard A. Preston
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An orthodontic bracket includes a base with a central opening, and a body with a passage aligned with the opening. A curing light assembly includes an outer end portion that is removably received in the passage for curing adhesive beneath the central section of the bracket body. Once the adhesive beneath the central section of the bracket body has cured to temporarily tack the bracket base to the patient's tooth, adhesive extruded from the peripheral edge of the bracket base can be readily removed without dislodging the bracket from its intended position.
Claims46
The combination of an orthodontic bracket and a curing light assembly comprising:
- an orthodontic bracket having a base with an outer surface for direct bonding to a tooth, said base including a central portion with at least one opening, said bracket having a body extending from the base in a direction away from said outer surface, said bracket also including at least one tiewing extending outwardly from the body and the slot next to said at least one tiewing for receiving an archwire, said body including a central section having a passage aligned with said at least one opening;
- and
- a curing light assembly having a housing with an outer end portion of a size sufficient for reception in said passage, said curing light assembly including a source of light connected to said housing for emitting light from said outer end portion in order to cure bonding adhesive in contact with said central portion of said base when said outer end portion is received in said passage.
An orthodontic bracket comprising:
- a base having an outer surface for direct bonding to a tooth, said base including a central portion with at least one opening;
- a body extending from the base in a direction away from said outer surface;
- at least one tiewing extending outwardly from said body;
- and
- a slot next to said at least one tiewing for receiving an archwire, said body including a passage extending through said body and aligned with said at least one opening for receiving a source of light to cure light-curable bonding adhesive in contact with said central portion of said base.
An orthodontic curing light assembly comprising:
- an elongated housing having an outer end portion of a size sufficiently small to fit within a passage of an orthodontic bracket;
- a source of light connected to said housing and operable to direct light in a direction along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said housing;
- and
- at least one tab coupled to said housing and extending outwardly from said housing in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said housing for limiting the depth of insertion of said housing in the passage of the bracket.
An orthodontic light curing assembly comprising
- a housing with an outer end portion;
- a source of light connected to the housing and operable to emit light in a direction away from said outer end portion;
- and
- a coupler for detachably connecting said outer end portion to an orthodontic bracket.
The method of bonding an orthodontic bracket to a tooth comprising the steps of:
- providing an orthodontic bracket having a bracket body that is opaque to the passage of actinic radiation;
- placing the orthodontic bracket on a surface of a tooth and in contact with a quantity of light-curable adhesive located between the bracket and the tooth;
- directing light through a passage extending through a central section of a body of the bracket in order to cure adhesive located between the central section and the tooth;
- and
- directing light toward a periphery of the bracket in order to cure remaining portions of the adhesive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.