The present disclosure provides high strength, self-ligating appliances with orthodontically desirable dimensions. The appliances of the present disclosure incorporate a door slidably engaged to a channel in the body; one that can be opened or closed depending on the equilibrium position of an integral protrusion on the door. Cooperating grooves and rails on the body and the door can guide the door between the open and closed positions, and mitigate against unintentional detachment.

An instrument for facilitating opening of a ligating member for an orthodontic bracket. The instrument includes one tip designed to engage an opening feature on a labial side of a ligating door of the orthodontic bracket, and another tip designed to sit underneath a tie wing formed on a body of the orthodontic bracket. When the instrument is in position against the orthodontic bracket, squeezing together the handles results in the tips applying a reciprocal force on the ligating door and the bracket body to open the ligating door along the occlusal direction.

An orthodontic bracket for coupling an archwire with a tooth includes a bracket body that has an archwire slot adapted to receive the archwire. A movable member is engaged with the bracket body and is movable between an opened position and a closed position. The bracket body and movable member are made from a transparent or translucent ceramic for improved aesthetics. The bracket body may include one or more stop surfaces that limit movement of the moveable member in the gingival direction. The bracket body may include a support surface that is positioned lingually of a labial edge of the archwire slot. The moveable member may include a bracket-engaging portion having a first surface confronting the bracket body and a slot-covering portion having a second surface confronting the archwire slot, the first and second surfaces being offset from one another.

A self-ligating bracket include a bracket body with an arch wire slot. A mesial recess is located at a mesial side of the bracket body and extends into the bracket body from the arch wire slot. A distal recess is located at a distal side of the bracket body and extends into the bracket body from the arch wire slot. A central ridge defines a ridge surface separated from the lateral ledges respectively by mesial and distal walls. A clip includes a first arm and a second arm connected by a U-shaped portion. The first arm terminates in a mesial arm, a distal arm, and a middle arm. The clip is moveable between an open position in which the arch wire slot is accessible and a closed position in which the arch wire slot is occluded.

An orthodontic bracket has at least one base configured for attachment to a tooth surface and at least one bracket element arranged at one side of the at least one base, the at least one bracket element comprising—at least one arch wire slot—two wall portions wherein the orthodontic bracket comprises at least one one-piece covering door having at least one first free end which is shaped to fit within at least one indentation of a first wall portion. The at least one indentation comprises at least one locking elevation and the at least one covering door comprises at least one locking deepening. The at least one bracket element and/or the at least one base comprises composite material such as polyurethane material, and/or the at least one covering door comprises composite material such as polyurethane material, and/or comprises ceramic material.

A self-ligating orthodontic bracket. The self-ligating orthodontic bracket comprises a bracket body and a movable closure member, and the bracket body includes a first body portion, a second body portion and an archwire slot therebetween, running through the bracket body. The movable closure member is engaged with the second body portion and movable relative thereto between an opened position and a closed position; the first body portion and/or the movable closure member include, at the inward end thereof, a tool receptacle having a receptacle top and a receptacle bottom, and the tool receptacle is adjacent to the archwire slot, the archwire slot and the first body portion co-form a first side surface, while the archwire slot and the second body portion co-form a second side surface, the tool receptacle includes a smooth surface that slopes downwardly to the first side surface.

A ligating clip for a self-ligating orthodontic bracket includes: a labial arm having a free end and a further end; a lingual arm having a free end and a further end; a connecting arm connected to the further ends of the labial arm and the lingual arm the labial arm, wherein the connecting arm and the lingual arm each have a distal side and a mesial side, the labial arm and the lingual arm extend generally in a gingival-occlusal direction and the connecting arm extends generally in a lingual-labial direction; and a locking element in form of a hook arranged at the free end of the lingual arm, wherein the hook protrudes in a lingual-labial direction. At least one cutout is arranged at the free end of the lingual arm, the at least one cutout being open at either the distal or the mesial side of the lingual arm.

An orthodontic appliance and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the present technology includes a positioning member configured to position an orthodontic appliance during installation in the patient's mouth. The positioning member may comprise a first portion configured to be coupled to the patient's teeth and a second portion extending away from the first portion. The second portion may be configured to be detachably coupled to the orthodontic appliance. While the positioning member is coupled to the orthodontic appliance, the positioning member is configured to be positioned in the patient's mouth and coupled to the patient's teeth, thereby positioning the orthodontic appliance at a desired location adjacent a patient's oral anatomy.

A dental bracket can be used to generate a force profile corresponding to a target tooth movement (e.g., for moving and aligning the teeth of an orthodontic patient). The dental bracket includes a base and a cover. The base is configured to be attached to an anterior surface of a tooth, and the cover is removably attached to the base. The cover includes a slot configured to receive a wire. In some implementations, at least one of the size, shape, or orientation of the slot corresponds to a force profile corresponding to a target tooth movement. Example target tooth movements include a mesial root movement, a distal root movement, a mesial crown movement, a distal crown movement, an intrusion movement, an extrusion movement, a mesial crown rotation, a distal crown rotation, a buccal root movement, or a lingual root movement.

One aspect of the present invention is a self-ligation type orthodontic bracket which has a simple structure and in which a shutter can be reliably opened and closed, and fixed. The orthodontic bracket is provided with: a bracket body having a slot to which a wire is attached and an introduction port connected to the slot; a shutter provided between the slot and the introduction port to be able to move forward and backward; and a stopper wire which is attached to the bracket body and prevents the shutter from detaching. The stopper wire is elastic. Both end parts of the stopper wire are supported by the bracket body. When the shutter is closed, the central part of the stopper wire is located at a position which blocks the path along which the shutter moves forward and backward.