DALMAN ORTHODONTIC BRACKET

Abstract

An orthodontic bracket assembly comprising a bracket base having a mounting portion for attachment to a patient's tooth; an upper retention element; a lower retention element wherein said upper retention element and said lower retention element form a slot adapted to receive an archwire; and a customizable bracket cover having a width an upper lip; and a lower lip wherein the customizable bracket cover is removably couplable to said bracket base.

Claims

1. An orthodontic bracket assembly comprising: (1) a bracket base having: (a) a mounting portion for attachment to a patient's tooth; (b) an upper retention element; (c) a lower retention element wherein said upper retention element and said lower retention element form a slot adapted to receive an archwire; and (2) a customizable bracket cover having (a) a width (b) an upper lip; and (c) a lower lip wherein the customizable bracket cover is removably couplable to said bracket base.

2. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 further comprising a locking mechanism to restrict axial movement of said customizable bracket cover in said bracket base.

3. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 2 wherein the locking mechanism comprises at least one set of complementary notches and projections on the bracket base and customizable bracket cover to restrict movement of the customizable bracket cover on the bracket base.

4. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein the customizable bracket cover upper and lower lips slides or snaps and locks into the bracket base upper and lower retention elements thereby frictionlessly securing the archwire onto the bracket base.

5. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein the bracket base and the customizable bracket cover are coupled mechanically or magnetically.

6. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein said customizable bracket cover further comprises at least one of a hook and an inner surface projection adapted to touch the archwire when the customizable bracket cover is coupled to said bracket base thereby exerting pressure on the archwire.

7. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein the bracket base further comprises a secondary slot adapted to receive at least one of a secondary archwire, a removable hook, and a torquing spring.

8. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein the width of the customizable bracket cover is one of a narrow width or a wide width for a control of an archwire stiffness.

9. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein said customizable bracket cover further comprises a slit or an opening to facilitate a coupling and decoupling of the bracket base to the customizable bracket cover.

10. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein said assembly further comprises a hook.

11. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 1 further comprising a coupling tool and an indentation on a face of the customizable cover, said indentation adapted to connect to said tool to facilitate a coupling and decoupling of said bracket base to the customizable bracket cover.

12. An orthodontic bracket assembly comprising: (1) a bracket base having: (a) a mounting portion for attachment to a patient's tooth; (b) an upper retention element; (c) a lower retention element wherein said upper retention element and said lower retention element form a slot adapted to receive an archwire; and (2) a customizable bracket cover having (a) a customizable face; (b) an adjustable width; (c) an upper lip; (d) a lower lip; (e) an adjustable inner surface wall; and wherein the customizable bracket cover is removably couplable to said bracket base.

13. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 further comprising a locking mechanism to restrict axial movement of said customizable bracket cover in said bracket base and wherein the locking mechanism comprises at least one set of complementary notches and projections on the bracket base and customizable bracket cover.

14. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 13 wherein the bracket base and the customizable bracket cover are coupled mechanically or magnetically.

15. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 wherein the customizable bracket cover slides or snaps, and locks onto the bracket base thereby frictionlessly securing the archwire onto the bracket base.

16. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 wherein the customizable bracket cover's width is one of either a narrow width or a wide width wherein said width controls flexibility of the archwire.

17. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 wherein the customizable bracket cover's inner surface wall angle controls torquing of a tooth treatment.

18. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 wherein said upper lip and said lower lip form an adjustable extended slot adapted to controls a stiffness and a torquing of the archwire thereby controlling a tooth treatment.

19. The orthodontic bracket assembly of claim 12 wherein the customizable bracket cover's face, width, a length of the extended archwire slot; and an angle of the inner surface wall are changed throughout an orthodontic treatment to deliver a customized orthodontic treatment.

20. An orthodontic treatment system comprising a plurality of orthodontic bracket assemblies of claim 12 wherein the customizable bracket covers are changed individually and throughout a course of an orthodontic treatment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a front view of a bracket base.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bracket base shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the bracket base shown in FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a top elevational view of another embodiment of a bracket base.

[0017] FIG. 5 is another view of the bracket base shown in FIG. 4.

[0018] FIG. 6 is a side view of customizable bracket cover.

[0019] FIG. 7 is a rear view of the customizable bracket cover shown in FIG. 6.

[0020] FIG. 8 is a rear view illustrating two different embodiments of a customizable bracket cover with different widths.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a top elevational view of a customizable bracket cover with a slit and projection for a locking mechanism.

[0022] FIG. 10 is another top elevational view of a customizable bracket cover with a hook.

[0023] FIG. 11 is a rear view of a customizable bracket cover with a slit.

[0024] FIG. 12 is a front view of an orthodontic bracket assembly showing a bracket base and a bracket cover coupled to one another and an archwire secured to the bracket base.

[0025] FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view of the orthodontic bracket assembly shown in FIG. 12.

[0026] FIG. 14 is a side view of another embodiment of an orthodontic bracket assembly.

[0027] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of an orthodontic bracket assembly with a ball hook.

[0028] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of an orthodontic bracket assembly with a T-hook.

[0029] FIG. 17 is a front view of an orthodontic bracket assembly with a primary and secondary archwire.

[0030] FIG. 18 is a front view of another embodiment of an orthodontic bracket assembly with a primary and secondary archwire and a T-hook.

[0031] FIG. 19 is an illustration of a row of teeth with an orthodontic bracket assembly and an archwire.

[0032] FIG. 20 is an illustration of a tooth with an orthodontic bracket assembly with a hook and archwire attached to the tooth.

[0033] FIG. 21 is an illustration of a tooth with an orthodontic bracket assembly with a hook and archwire attached to the tooth and a tool used to couple and decouple bracket cover to bracket base.

[0034] FIG. 22 is side view of another embodiment of a customizable bracket cover with round edges.

[0035] FIG. 23 is a rear perspective view of another embodiment of a customizable bracket cover with an inner surface projection for customized orthodontic treatment.

[0036] FIG. 24 is a rear view of the bracket cover shown in FIG. 23.

[0037] FIG. 25 is a rear view of another embodiment of a bracket cover with an adjustable extended slot.

[0038] FIG. 26 is front view of another embodiment of a bracket cover with interchangeable faces.

[0039] FIG. 27 is an illustration of a row of teeth with an orthodontic bracket assembly, an archwire, fixed hooks and removable hooks.

[0040] FIG. 28 is an illustration of a row of teeth with an orthodontic bracket assembly, an archwire, hooks and torquing springs.

[0041] FIG. 29 illustrate an example of improved torque control using the orthodontic system of FIG. 28.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] Referring now to the drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, FIG. 12 shows a simplified diagram illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed orthodontic bracket assembly 100, including a bracket base 200 and a customizable bracket cover 300.

[0043] FIGS. 1 through 5 show various embodiments of the bracket base 200 including a mounting portion 201 for attachment to a patient's tooth. The bracket base also includes an upper retention element 202 and a lower retention element 203. In some embodiments, the upper and lower retention elements are in the form of a wing or a lip. The upper and lower said lower retention elements 202 and 203 form a slot 204 where an archwire can be secured.

[0044] FIGS. 6 through 11 show various embodiments of a customizable bracket cover 300. The bracket cover 300 has a width 301, an upper lip 302 and a lower lip 303. In some embodiments, the upper and lower lip 302 and 303 of the customizable bracket cover 300 can be coupled or attached to the bracket base 200. In a preferred embodiments, the bracket cover lips slide onto a bracket base retention elements, and the bracket covers secures an archwire 211 onto the bracket base.

[0045] In some embodiments the customizable bracket cover 300 is removably couplable the bracket base 200. The bracket cover can be easily attached or removed from the bracket base. In order to ensure that the archwire is secured between the bracket base and the bracket cover, without causing friction, the orthodontic bracket assembly 100 includes a locking mechanism to restrict axial movement of the customizable bracket cover 300 to the bracket base 200. This locking mechanism can be the sliding of the bracket cover onto the bracket base thanks to the complementary bracket cover lips and bracket base retention elements or can be an additional locking mechanism such as sets of complementary notches 209 on a bracket base and projections 210 on the bracket base. The notches can be either on the bracket base or the bracket cover, and the complementary projections can be on the bracket base or the bracket cover as well, so long as they are complementary, and so long as either a notch or projection in on the bracket cover and the complementary projection or notch is on the bracket base.

[0046] This locking mechanism can be mechanic, fluid or magnetic, so long as the customizable bracket cover locks into the bracket cover thereby securing an archwire to the orthodontic bracket assembly, and so long as movement of the customizable bracket cover on the bracket base is restricted. In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover upper and lower lips slide or snap and lock into the bracket base upper and lower retention elements. This locking of the bracket base on the bracket cover is used to ensure that there is no friction on the assembly while securing the archwire 211 onto the bracket base 200.

[0047] In other embodiments, the orthodontic bracket assembly 100 is secured, that is, the bracket cover is secured onto the bracket base and the archwire is also secured in the assembly through either a mechanical or magnetic locking mechanism.

[0048] In some embodiments as shown in FIGS. 10, 15, 16, 18 through 21, and 27 through 29, the orthodontic bracket assembly also includes hooks 305 and removable hooks 207. The hook can either be a fixed hook 205 onto one side of the orthodontic bracket assembly and either fixed on the bracket base 200 or the bracket cover 300, or a removable hook 207 which can inserted into the secondary archwire slot 205 of the assembly.

[0049] As illustrated in FIG. 27, the removable hook 207 can be inserted to a secondary slot 205. In some embodiments, the removable hook, either ball hook or T-hook includes an extension arm which can be twisted onto the assembly to ensure that the hook is safely secured onto the assembly, as shown in FIG. 27.

[0050] In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover 200 is frictionlessly secured onto a bracket base 300 as shown in FIG. 14. This allows a clinician to exert less force in the course of the orthodontic treatments.

[0051] However, in some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover can further include an inner surface projection 306 to exert pressure on the archwire 211. The inner surface projection can be of any shape, can be at one angle or slanted for a specific desired pressure on the archwire and for specific desirable treatment results.

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the bracket base 200 can also include a secondary slot 205. This secondary slot 205 formed by an extension of the bracket cover mounting portion 201 and an upper or lower retention element 202 or 203 serves as an additional and secondary slot where a secondary archwire 215 can be inserted and secured for faster teeth movement. In some embodiments, the secondary slot 205 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, can receive a secondary archwire 215, a removable hook 207 as shown in FIG. 27, a torquing spring 208 as shown in FIG. 28 or a combination of archwire, hook and spring.

[0053] A few features make the bracket cover 300 truly customizable from one tooth to the next and throughout the course of an orthodontic treatments. In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover 300 has a width 301 which can vary from one assembly to the next from one tooth to the next and throughout the course of a treatment. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 the width of a bracket cover 300 can be of a narrow width 310 or a wide width 311. The width of the cover controls an archwire stiffness for a customizable treatment.

[0054] In some embodiments and as shown in FIGS. 9 through 11, the customizable bracket cover can include a slit or an opening to facilitate the coupling and decoupling, sliding and removal of the bracket base 200 on the customizable bracket cover 300.

[0055] FIGS. 14, 20 show an indentation on a face of the customizable cover 308. The indentation 308 is used to facilitate the sliding and removal of the bracket cover 300 onto a bracket base 200. In some embodiments, the assembly also includes a tool 213 as shown in FIG. 21 which is adapted to connect to the indentation and which facilitates the coupling and decoupling of the bracket base 200 to the customizable bracket cover 300.

[0056] In other embodiments, the orthodontic bracket assembly 100 includes two main components: a bracket base 200 and a customizable bracket cover 300. During orthodontic treatment, a clinician attaches the bracket base 200 to a patient's tooth as shown in FIG. 20 with an adhesive or other suitable bonding material. The bracket base 200 includes a mounting portion 201 or mounting face which is suitable for attachment to the patient's tooth. In some embodiments, the mounting portion 201 can be a rugged, smooth or meshed surface as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to make sure that the bracket base 200 adheres to the patient's tooth for the entire duration of a treatment without having the reattach the bracket base.

[0057] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the bracket base 200 does not change throughout the duration of the treatment, and only the removable and customizable bracket cover 300 is changed throughout the treatment. In most embodiments, the bracket base 200 includes an upper retention element 202 and a lower retention element 203. These upper and lower retention elements serve a few purposes in the orthodontic treatment disclosed herein. The upper and lower retention elements 202 and 203 serve as arms or wings or retention elements for the customizable bracket cover to attach to. In addition, the upper and lower retention elements 202 and 203 form a slot 204 where an archwire 211 is positioned. The archwire 211 is secured onto the bracket base 200 thanks to the customizable bracket cover 300.

[0058] To simplify and optimize the orthodontic treatment of the present disclosure, only the customizable bracket cover 300 is changed throughout the treatment, and the bracket base which is attached to the patient's tooth remains the same.

[0059] In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover 300 has customizable faces 307. These faces can vary in color, material and shape as shown in FIG. 26. In addition, the shape of the customizable bracket cover 300 can change. In some embodiments, the bracket cover has round corners as shown in FIG. 22. The rounder edges create less friction with the inside of patient's lips, thereby making the treatment more comfortable.

[0060] In other embodiments as shown in FIG. 8, the width of the bracket cover can be changed from one tooth to another and throughout different stages of an orthodontic treatment. The bracket cover can be narrow or wide or vary in width.

[0061] In yet another embodiment, the upper and lower lips 302 and 303 of the bracket cover 300 can vary in size and shape, so long as they are couplable to the bracket base 200.

[0062] To further customize the orthodontic treatment, the inner surface wall 309 is adjustable. The wall can be at a 90 degree angle as shown in FIG. 6 or be at various angles and slanted for torquing and angular displacement of teeth in an orthodontic treatment (not depicted here). In some embodiments, the orthodontic bracket assembly and customizable bracket cover's inner surface wall angle controls torquing of a tooth treatment.

[0063] In yet another embodiment, the customizable bracket cover 300 includes an adjustable extended slot adapted 312 as shown in FIG. 25 to control the stiffness and a torquing of the archwire and for controlling the tooth treatment.

[0064] In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover's face 307, a width 301, a length of the extended archwire slot; and an angle of the inner surface wall 309 are changed throughout an orthodontic treatment to deliver a customized orthodontic treatment.

[0065] In other embodiments, the orthodontic treatment system includes a plurality of orthodontic bracket assemblies where the customizable bracket covers 300 are changed individually from tooth to tooth and over a period of time throughout a course of an orthodontic treatment.

[0066] The current disclosure is a versatile orthodontic bracket assembly designed to provide the practitioner with customized applications for an efficient orthodontic treatment. Such a bracket assembly is composed of two separate parts: a bracket base and a bracket cover.

[0067] In some embodiments, the bracket base 200 with an archwire slot 204 and a narrower upper horizontal auxiliary recessed slot 205. The bracket base includes two vertical projections, wings and/or retention elements extending upwards and downwards from the upper & lower edges of the bracket base.

[0068] In other embodiments, the bracket base 200 also includes one or more 2 notches (female parts) and/projections for coupling the bracket base 200 to a bracket cover 300. In a specific embodiment as depicted in FIG. 3. One on the left aspect of the dorsal (posterior) surface of the upper vertical extension and another on the right aspect of the dorsal surface of the lower vertical extension. In this embodiment, the mounting portion 201 is a mesh secured to the bracket base to allow for mechanical bonding to the tooth surface using a dental adhesive.

[0069] In yet another embodiment, the removable/detachable sliding locking customizable bracket cover or sleeve is C-shaped in cross section, ending with a horizontal & a vertical lip. In this embodiment, the bracket cover 300 is made to slide sideways over the bracket base 200 to maintain the archwire 211 in place as its vertical lips 302 and 303 engage the posterior surface of the retention members of the bracket base 200. Such positive engagement prevents facial (anterior/frontal) demounting of the sleeve, which also has a projection near the end of the inner surface of one its vertical lips (male part) that engages or locks into one of the bracket notches (female part) situated on the inner surface of the upper or lower wings, depending on the direction of insertion of the sleeve. This positive engagement prevents lateral demounting of the locking sleeve. This engaging mechanism can be magnetic in case of a metal bracket base and a metal locking sleeve combination.

[0070] In other embodiments, the customizable bracket cover also features a horizontal slit 304 on the same vertical lip that bears the projection to provide it with flexibility to slide over the bracket until it engages the bracket base notch.

[0071] In some embodiments, the locking mechanism is attained by sliding the bracket cover onto a bracket base. In this embodiment, the archwire 211 is not bound to the orthodontic bracket assembly 100 as in the case of steel and elastic ligatures, thus reducing frictional forces that are undesirable during tooth movement.

[0072] However, in other embodiments, the customizable bracket cover can further include an inner projection 306 on the bracket cover's inner surface that comes in juxtaposition with the main archwire when the ligating bracket cover is locked. This inner projection 306 exerts pressure on the anterior surface of the archwire, thus the bracket becomes actively ligated, when required.

[0073] In some embodiments, a small rectangular or square depressed area 308 is found in the middle of the facial surface of the bracket cover and on the outside of the bracket cover 300. A separate instrument or wrench resembling bracket tweezers 213 can be used to facilitate insertion and removal of the bracket covers from the proximal aspect (sideways), if desired. The middle member of the wrench fits into the square or rectangular depression on the facial surface of the locking sleeve while the upper and lower members grip the edges of the locking sleeve as shown in FIG. 21.

[0074] In some embodiments, the disclosed orthodontic bracket assembly 100 is made to meet the needs of the orthodontic profession and improve the quality of the resulting orthodontic treatment in view of the following updated and customizable features. The sliding bracket covers that are used can be made narrow, standard or wide so they can be used as deemed necessary during the various stages of treatment e.g. a narrow sleeve is used during leveling & aligning to increase arch wire flexibility and reduce force levels for a faster physiologic tooth movement. Then, the bracket covers 300 can be changed with a wider bracket cover for better rotational and tip control during the later stages of treatment as required during canine retraction, space closure & finishing. In fact, customizable bracket covers 300 of different widths 301 can be variably selected for different teeth to plan individualized tooth movements or prevent unwanted side effects (versatile action).

[0075] The bracket assembly of the present disclosure obviates the need for steel or elastomeric ligatures; hence no frictional forces to overcome during tooth movement, so reducing the undesired loss of anchorage, whereby the teeth used as anchors resist the forces necessary for retraction of protruded teeth.

[0076] The bracket assembly of the present disclosure is also easier to clean than the conventional bracket of the prior art that uses steel or elastic ligatures for ligation of the archwire as other bracket assemblies can include intricate passageways for their sliding covers which get filled with plaque and calculus during the course of treatment.

[0077] In some embodiments, the customizable bracket cover can be made in bright colors or can be tooth colored to hide the metallic braces for improved esthetics in order to fit every patient demands and needs. The use of interchangeable customizable bracket covers eliminates the need to replace the whole bracket, and only the bracket cover is changed throughout the course of the treatment.

[0078] In some embodiments, hooks 207 (Ball or T-shaped) can be added to the upper surface of a bracket cover; centrally or peripherally so that they are used only when needed unlike integral bracket hooks that remain during the whole length of treatment. Such hooks can be both irritating to the patient lips & cheeks and unhygienic as they can trap food debris behind them. This helps to reduce the risk of cervical enamel demineralization or white spot lesions.

[0079] In other embodiments, the hooks and brackets covers and/or bracket bases are inverted when bonded on the teeth to attain a reverse angulation of the bracket slot relative to tooth to effect the desired inclination, as seen required by the clinician without having the integral hook impede the patient's bite, which sometimes necessitates its removal by the clinician.

[0080] In some embodiments, the orthodontic bracket assembly is made of stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, titanium or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, the bracket base and bracket cover are made of the same materials, while in other embodiments, the bracket cover and bracket base are made of different materials. In yet another embodiment, the bracket cover can be made of the same material or nitinol as the bracket base to allow for easy placement & removal (flexibility).

[0081] In yet another embodiment, a recessed area in the bracket base becomes a secondary slot 205 as shown in FIG. 2 when the bracket cover 300 is attached to the bracket base 200. This slot can receive a secondary archwire which could be employed to provide additional corrective forces to the tooth, if necessary. It can also receive a torquing auxiliary such as a spring 208 or a hook 207 or 305.

[0082] In other embodiments a design cover in the shape of a heart, diamond, flower or else can be affixed to the facial surface of the bracket cover in order to motivate younger patients or adults and make their orthodontic treatment more enjoyable.

[0083] Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.