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US 8,523,564 B2Granted
Orthodontic tooth retention system
OwnerEugene L. Dellinger, Aron E. Dellingerinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An orthodontic retainer system including retainer modules that are applied to adjacent teeth in a patient's mouth. The retainer modules may be provided in the form of mutually attracted members, such as magnets, that are temporary coupled on opposites sides of a delivery member for positioning and bonding to an adjacent pair of teeth. In one exemplary embodiment, the retainer modules have rounded and/or chamfered edges and sloped and curved lingual surfaces, and may include a magnet that is received and sealed within an enclosure or cover that has the same shape or profile as the magnet and is made of a wear-resistant biocompatible material.
Claims24
An orthodontic retainer system for use on teeth, comprising:
- a pair of retainer modules, said retainer modules separate from each other and movable with respect to one another, each said retainer module comprising:
- a cover member made of a biocompatible material and including an interproximal surface;
- a rare earth magnet disposed within said cover member and defining a substantially trapezoidal shape, said rare earth magnet comprising:
- a first interproximal surface, said first interproximal surface being substantially planar and having a generally semicircular shape;
- a second surface extending substantially perpendicularly from said first surface;
- a third surface extending between said first and second surfaces to form an acute angle with respect to each of said first and second surfaces;
- and
- a curved fourth surface extending between said first surface and said third surface, said curved fourth surface being curved around the entirety of the generally semicircular shape of said first interproximal surface,
- said first, second, third and fourth surfaces cooperating to define the substantially trapezoidal shape as viewed in a cross-section taken in a plane perpendicular to said first and second surfaces;
- wherein said system further comprises a delivery member including a strip of material disposed between said retainer modules, said retainer modules coupled to said strip by mutual magnetic attraction of said magnets.
7 more elements
An orthodontic retainer system for use on teeth, comprising:
- a pair of retainer modules, said retainer modules separate from each other and movable with respect to one another, each said retainer module comprising:
- a magnet defining a substantially trapezoidal shape, said magnet comprising:
- a first interproximal surface, said first interproximal surface being substantially planar and having a generally semicircular shape;
- a second surface extending substantially perpendicularly from said first surface;
- a third surface extending between said first and second surfaces to form an acute angle with respect to each of said first and second surfaces;
- and
- a curved fourth surface extending between said first surface and said third surface, said curved fourth surface being curved around the entirety of the generally semicircular shape of said first interproximal surface,
- said first, second, third and fourth surfaces cooperating to define the substantially trapezoidal shape as viewed in a cross-section taken in a plane perpendicular to said first and second surfaces;
- and
- each said retainer module further comprises a cover member having substantially the same profile as said magnet, such that respective walls of said cover member cover respective surfaces of said magnet without substantially altering the overall shape and profile of the retainer module when said magnet is disposed within said cover member, said cover member made of a biocompatible material and including an interproximal surface;
- and
- wherein said system further comprises a delivery member including a strip of material disposed between said retainer modules, said retainer modules coupled to said strip by mutual magnetic attraction of said magnets, wherein the second surface of the magnet of each said retainer module includes a tooth-facing bonding surface;
- wherein each said retainer module comprises a magnetic axis, said magnetic axes of said retainer modules substantially aligned, said alignment of said magnetic axes urging said retainer modules into respective rotational positions with respect to each other in which said tooth-facing bonding surfaces of said retainer modules are disposed substantially parallel to one another.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.