Orthodontic appliance
OwnerTodd Evan Dickersoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An orthodontic appliance has a post attached to a first upper tooth, and a button with a recess attached to a second upper tooth. An elongated arm has an eye at one end through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, and a tip at the other end for removable insertion into the recess of the button. The length of the elongated arm is selectable to maintain a desired spacing between the first and second upper teeth (e.g., by cutting the tip of the elongated arm). An elastic extends from either the post or button to an attachment point on the patient's lower dental arch to exert a force between the patient's maxilla and mandible.
Claims18
An orthodontic appliance for use on a patient having an upper dental arch with a plurality of upper teeth and a lower dental arch, said orthodontic appliance comprising:
- a post attached to a first upper tooth;
- a button attached to a second upper tooth and having a recess extending partially into the button;
- an elongated arm with opposing first and second ends, having an eye at the first end through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, and a tip at the second end for removable insertion into the recess of the button to maintain a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth, wherein the length of the elongated arm is selectable to maintain a desired fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth;
- and
- an elastic extending from at least one of the post and button to the patient's lower dental arch to exert a force between the patient's maxilla and mandible to bias the mandible in a desired direction with respect to the maxilla while maintaining a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth.
An orthodontic appliance for use on a patient having an upper dental arch with at least one upper anterior tooth, at least one upper posterior tooth and a lower dental arch, said orthodontic appliance comprising:
- a post attached to an upper posterior tooth;
- a button attached to an upper anterior tooth and having a recess extending partially into the button;
- an elongated arm with opposing first and second ends, having an eye at a first end through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, and a tip at the second end for removable insertion into the recess of the button to maintain a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth, wherein the length of the elongated arm is selectable to maintain a desired fixed spacing between the upper posterior tooth and the upper anterior tooth;
- and
- an elastic attached to the upper anterior tooth and extending to a posterior portion of the patient's lower dental arch to bias the patient's mandible forward with respect to the patient's maxilla to bias the mandible in a desired direction with respect to the maxilla while maintaining a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth.
An orthodontic appliance for use on a patient having an upper dental arch with a plurality of upper teeth and a lower dental arch, said orthodontic appliance comprising:
- a post attached to a first upper tooth;
- a button attached to a second upper tooth and having a recess extending partially into the button;
- an elongated arm formed from a piece of wire having a loop at one end to form an eye through which the post is inserted to allow the elongated arm to rotate about the post, and a tip for removable insertion into the recess of the button to maintain a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth, wherein the length of the elongated arm is selectable by cutting the second end to a desired length to maintain a desired fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth;
- and
- an elastic extending from at least one of the post and button to the patient's lower dental arch to exert a force between the patient's maxilla and mandible to bias the mandible in a desired direction with respect to the maxilla while maintaining a fixed spacing between the first and second upper teeth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.