Orthodontic bracket having a biased slide member

An orthodontic bracket for coupling an archwire with a tooth, comprising:

• a bracket body configured to be mounted to the tooth, the bracket body including an archwire slot configured to receive the archwire therein and separating the bracket body into a gingival side and an occlusal side, and the bracket body defining an aperture positioned on either the gingival or occlusal side of the bracket body and having a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions being separated by a pinch point;
• a slide member slidable relative to the archwire slot between an opened position and a closed position;
• and
• a resilient member coupled to and being slidable with the slide member and being configured to engage the first portion of the aperture without engaging the second portion of the aperture when the slide member is in the closed position, the resilient member being configured to impose a biasing force on the slide member in the direction of movement of the slide member and toward the archwire slot when the slide member is in the closed position.

An orthodontic bracket for coupling an archwire with a tooth, comprising:

• a bracket body configured to be mounted to the tooth, the bracket body including an archwire slot configured to receive the archwire therein and defining an aperture having a continuous sidewall;
• a slide member slidable relative to the archwire slot between an opened position and a closed position;
• and
• a resilient member extending into the aperture and being coupled to and slidable with the slide member, the resilient member being configured to impose a biasing force on the slide member in the direction of movement of the slide member and toward the archwire slot when the slide member is in the closed position,
• wherein the continuous sidewall forms a closed loop and at least a portion of the resilient member remains within the closed loop during movements of the slide member between the opened and closed positions.

A method of moving a tooth to effect orthodontic treatment using an orthodontic bracket having a bracket body defining an aperture having a first portion and a second portion, comprising:

• inserting an archwire into an archwire slot in the orthodontic bracket, the archwire slot being defined at least in part by a base surface and opposed slot surfaces extending from the base surface;
• closing a slide member of the orthodontic bracket to capture the archwire within the archwire slot, the slide member being capable of being moved from an opened position and a closed position in which at least a portion of the slide member forms a surface of the archwire slot;
• and
• imposing a force on the slide member that biases the slide member in the direction of movement of the slide member and toward the archwire slot when the slide member is in the closed position,
• wherein imposing the force includes engaging the slide member with a resilient member, the resilient member being received in a bore in the slide member and extending from the bore and into the aperture and being configured to engage the first portion of the aperture when the slide member is in the opened position and the second portion of the aperture when the slide member is in the closed position, and wherein an archwire slot in the bracket body separates the bracket body into a gingival side and an occlusal side, the aperture being positioned on either the gingival or occlusal side of the bracket body.