ORTHODONTIC SELF-LIGATING BRACKET

Abstract

An orthodontic bracket has a base configured for attachment to a tooth surface, a bracket element with an arch wire slot attached to one side of the base, and a clip for securing the arch wire in the slot. The bracket element has a wall portion extending upward along one side of the arch wire slot. This wall portion has three indentations in a line parallel to the mesiodistal direction, separated by two side walls having free ends with flanges extending parallel to the mesiodistal direction. The clip is substantially U-shaped and has two protrusions shaped to fit within the two outer indentations of the wall portion, and two diverging central fingers that fit within the central indentation, and a locking element. The clip is securable to the bracket by placing the protrusions and central fingers into the indentations of the bracket element until they engage the flanges.

Claims

1. An orthodontic bracket comprising: a base configured for attachment to a tooth surface; a bracket element attached to one side of the base, the bracket element comprising: an arch wire slot formed in a labial side of the bracket element and running along a mesiodistal direction of the bracket element, said arch wire slot being configured for supporting an arch wire therein; a wall portion of the bracket element extending upward along one side of the arch wire slot, the wall portion having three indentations in a line parallel to the mesiodistal direction, forming outer indentations and a central indentation, the wall portion having two side walls separating the indentations from one another, each of the side walls having free ends configured with flanges that extend into the central and outer indentations parallel to a mesiodistal direction; and a channel running entirely through the bracket element underneath the arch wire slot and in a gingival-occlusal direction of the bracket; and a substantially U-shaped clip having a first end with two protrusions shaped to fit within the two outer indentations of the wall portion, and two central fingers shaped to fit within the central indentation of the wall portion, and a second end in the shape of a J and having a locking element at a tip thereof; wherein the clip is securable to the bracket by placing the second end through the channel and engaging the locking element and placing the protrusions and central fingers into the indentations of the bracket element, wherein the protrusions and central fingers are held in the indentations by the flanges, and wherein the clip is releasable by sliding the protrusions out of the indentations with a force sufficient to cause the protrusions and central fingers to clear the flanges to expose the arch wire slot.

2. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the locking element is formed by a bend in the tip in a lingual direction of the bracket, wherein the channel is formed from two stepped sections, and wherein the locking element on the clip engages a wall of one of the sections to maintain the clip in the channel.

3. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the fingers are constructed so as to diverge outward toward the adjacent side walls and engage a rear surface of the flanges on the adjacent side walls when the clip is in a locked position.

4. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions have ends that bend inward toward the adjacent side walls and engage a rear surface of an the flanges on the adjacent side walls when the clip is in a locked position.

5. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the clip is made of a Ni—Ti alloy.

4. The bracket according to claim 2, wherein the clip coated with a material selected from the group consisting of Au/Rh, Pt/Rh and Pd/Rh, with Rh being an outermost layer.

6. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the bracket element and base are formed of ceramic.

7. The bracket according to claim 1, further comprising an aperture in the clip for receiving a tool to slide the clip between an open and a closed position.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0020] In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a top view of the bracket according to the invention;

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the bracket according to the invention;

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a top view of the clip for use with the bracket;

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the clip;

[0025] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view along line V-V of FIG. 4;

[0026] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view along line VI-VI of FIG. 1; and

[0027] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the bracket according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0028] Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a self-ligating orthodontic bracket 10 comprising a base 11 and a bracket element 12, as well as a U-shaped ligating clip 20, shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. Bracket element 12 has a mesial-distal slot 13 to accept an arch wire. Three cavities 14, 15, 16 are made at the gingival wall 17 of slot 13 (see FIG. 5). Clip 20 has a first end with two protrusions 21, 22, and a central element comprising central fingers 23, 24, which engage indentations 14, 15, 16 when the clip 20 is in the closed position. These protrusions and fingers in combination with the indentations secures the clip firmly when it is subjected to force in the mesial-distal direction, providing an even distribution of forces on the arch wire during the active ligation stage.

[0029] The clip 20 is made of a superelastic material. The bracket element and base can be made of ceramics, metals, or polymeric materials.

[0030] Lingual side 25 of clip 20 is inserted into a gingival-occlusal channel 19 of bracket element 12, as shown in FIG. 6, and the labial side 26 is used for locking and unlocking the arch wire slot 13. The two sides are connected by a bend 27 at the occlusal side. The lingual side 25 and the bend 27 are narrower than the width of the channel 19, so that the clip 20 can be easily inserted.

[0031] At the labial side 26, the clip 20 expands to cover the full length of the arch wire slot towards its gingival end. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, two cut-outs 31, 32 are made at free gingival end of the clip to form the two parallel protrusions 21, 22, and central fingers 23, 24. Central fingers 23, 24 are angled outwardly toward a respective adjacent protrusion, so that the ends of each finger 23, 24 and protrusion 21, 22 abut the adjacent side wall 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d of the bracket. The sides walls 18a-18d each have distal ends with flanges 17a-17d that protrude parallel to the mesial-distal direction, and act as stop surfaces for protrusions 21, 22 and central fingers 23, 24 when they are inserted into the indentations 14, 15, 16 and are locked in place behind flanges 17a-17d, as shown in FIG. 5. The protrusions 21, 22 and fingers 23, 24 are angled so that they extend substantially parallel to the lingual side 25 of the clip 20, and exert a downward pressure on the surface of the bracket with the indentations, to add extra resistance to movement when in the locked position.

[0032] Clip 20 can be slid open and closed with the aid of an aperture 35 disposed behind protrusions 21, 22 and fingers 23, 24. A user can slide clip 20 open and closed by inserting a tool through aperture 35 and moving the tool back and forth. Due to the interaction of the ends of protrusions 21, 22 and fingers 23, 24 with the flanges 17a-17d, the user must exert sufficient force to bend the protrusions and fingers so that they clear flanges 17a-17d to release clip 20 from bracket element 12.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the lingual side 25 of the clip is in the shape of a J, having a hooked end with a tip 28. Tip 28 is bent in the lingual direction to serve as a locking tab so that clip 20 will not separate from the bracket element 12 after being inserted into the channel 19. Channel 19, as shown in FIG. 6, has two stepped sections: the section 33 at the gingival side has a higher clearance to allow the tip 28 to slide freely and the other section 34 with a lower clearance, forming a stop surface, to stop the tip 28. The location of the stepped divide between the two sections is determined so as to minimize the length of the lingual side portion of the clip and not extend far beyond the bracket base boundary.

[0034] The base 11 is bonded to the tooth enamel by applying adhesives between the base and enamel. A structured bottom surface of the base 11 can be formed such as shown in FIG. 7. No adhesion promoter is applied on the surface of the base 11 to enhance bonding chemically, and the bonding to the base is completely mechanical by anchoring solidified adhesives at undercuts on the base, formed either by embossed protrusions or particles glued to the base. As shown in FIG. 7, protrusions 40 are embossed over the surface of the base 11. Undercuts can be formed by stamping the protrusions 40 right after the molding process, simplifying the manufacture process and lowering its cost.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the clip 20 is made of Ni—Ti alloy. Due to the superelastic property of the alloy, the elastic modulus of the clip remains unchanged even after extended use in oral cavity. This is a big advantage compared with other spring materials such as Co—Cr—Mo alloys. In addition, the clip can be coated with dual layers of Au/Rh, Pt/Rh or Pd/Rh, all with Rh in the outermost layer. Preferably, the thickness of the Rh is between 0.5 μm and 3 μm to maintain the integrity of the coating during long exposure in oral cavity. This coating can minimize Ni from leaching and improve the esthetics when used along with a ceramic bracket body.

[0036] In another preferred embodiment, the bracket body is manufactured by injection molding. The molded green bodies are converted to transparent ceramics through binder burnout, sintering and/or hot isostatic pressing. The materials can be high-purity alumina, zirconia or other compounds that can be densified to full density and high translucency, such as sialon or spinel. Preferably, the body is polished chemically to produce a fine surface finish. The smoothly polished surface, combined with a chamfer 36 at the edge of the arch wire slot (FIG. 2), make friction of arch wire over the slot extremely small. The frictional force can be comparable to or even smaller than that over a polished metallic bracket.

[0037] In a further embodiment, the bracket body can be manufactured by 3D printing, in particular using a DLP (digital light processing) or SLA (stereolithography) printer.

[0038] Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.