US3119182A - Orthodontic appliance - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 28, 1964 F. R. MILLER ETAL ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 Filed April 25, 1961 www..

Jan. 28, 1964 F. R. MILLER ETAL 3,119,182

oRTHoDoNTIc APPLIANCE Filed April 25, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Oiitice 3,ll9,l82 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 fornia Filed Apr. 25, 196i, Ser. No. 105,361 4 Claims. (CI. 32-14) The present invention relates generally to an improved orthodontic appliance, and it relates more particularly to an improved buccal tube which is intended to be fastened to a tooth band, or directly to a tooth, to provide an attachment for an arch wire, or similar member, used in orthodontic treatment.

As is well known, the buccal arch is employed in accordance with orthodontic practice on the exterior or buccal side of the patients teeth. The buccal arch usually comprises a spring wire which is curved to conform approximately to the normal dental arch of the patient. The ends of the buccal arch wire are fastened to buccal tubes, which, in turn, are welded or soldered to tooth bands which surround selected molars of the patient and which serve as terminals of the arch wires. One or more oi the intermediate portions of the arch wire may be attached to intermediate teeth.

The buccal arch spring wire is secured to the anchoring molars in the following manner. First, a tooth band is positioned on each of the selected molars. A buccal tube is then soldered, or otherwise attached, to each of the tooth bands on the buccal side of the dental arch of the patient. These tubes receive the ends of the buccal arch spring wires, as mentioned above, and they serve to support the arch wires on the anchoring molars.

The buccal arch described brieiiy in the preceding paragraphs is used in orthodontic treatment for straightening teeth in either the lower or upper dental arches of the patient, or both.

The present invention, as noted above, is concerned particularly with the mounting tubes which are used to support the ends of the arch wires on the molars. These tubes have been referred to above, and will be referred to subsequently herein, as buccal tubes to distinguish them from similar tubes which are used on the inner or lingual side of the dental arch.

One of the types of buccal tubes to be described herein is constructed to include a body portion which is formed of sheet metal, and which is adapted to receive and accommodate a variety of diiierent inserts. These inserts dene passageways with the body portion of the tube, and these passageways receive the ends of the arch wires. By utilizing different sizes of inserts with a single body portion, a large variety of sizes and shapes of arch wires may be accommodated by a buccal tube constructed in accordance with one of the embodiments of the invention.

It has been usual in the art to mount buccal tubes on the tooth bands encircling the molars, and then to bend the ends of the arch wires to align the ends with the passageways in the buccal tubes. This bending of the arch wires, although considered essential in the prior art, adds materially to the difficulty of itting the orthodontic corrective equipment into the mouth of the patient.

The buccal tubes constructed in accordance with the present invention in one of its aspects are conceived and constructed in such a manner that there is no need to bend the arch wire, as is the case with the prior art buccal tubes, in order to enable the ends of the arch wire to be inserted into the passageways of the buccal tubes.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an improved buccal tube which is conceived to facilitate to a large extent the litting of orthodontic equipment into the mouth of a patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an improved buccal tube which is constructed and congured to permit the end of the arch wire to be inserted directly into it without the need for bending the wire when the tube is mounted on an anchoring molar.

The appliance of the invention in one of its embodiments to be described comprises a single piece of sheet metal formed into a tubular configuration, and an insert which is adapted to iit into the tubular sheet metal body portion to provide at least one longitudinal Wire receiving passage in the resulting buccal tube assembly. This passage is open at its ends so as to permit the passage of the end arch wire through it. A portion of the sheet metal forms the mounting wall of the buccal tube assembly, and this wall is adapted to lie against and to be soldered or welded to the tooth band on which the buccal tube is to be mounted. Mounting tabs may be provided at each end of the buccal tube assembly to lie in an essentially common plane with the mounting wall, as will be described, and these tabs may be bent to conform to the curved surface of the tooth band. The insert and body portion of the buccal tube of the present invention, in the embodiment to be described, are so formed that the wire receiving passage deiined thereby is inclined with respect to the mounting wall.

The sheet metal from which the body portion of the buccal tube of the above mentioned embodiment of the invention is made may be relatively thin, but sturdy and bendable so that it may be formed into the desired configuration. T he tooth band on which the buccal tube assembly is mounted is usually formed, for example, of soit stainless steel. The body portion of the buccal tube assembly of the above mentioned embodiment of the present invention may be formed, for example, of relatively hard stainless steel of the order of l2 mils thickness, and the tooth band may be of the order of 6 mils thickness.

The features of the invention which are believed to be new are set forth with particularity in the claims. The invention itself, however, may be best understood by considering the following description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of the upper dental arch of a patient, and of a buccal arch and face bow arch assembly tted onto the upper dental arch for orthodontic treatment;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic showing of a portion of the upper dentaal arch of a patient, and the manner in which a combination buccal tube constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention may be supported on an anchoring molar to receive the ends of the arch wires;

FIGURE 3 is a view, similar to FIGURE 2, but showing a portion of the lower dental arch of the patient, and the manner in which a buccal tube constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention may be used;

FIGURE 4a is an enlarged perspective disassembled View of an upper combination buccal tube constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; this view showing the body portion of the buccal tube and an insert which is received in the body portion;

FIGURE 4b is an enlarged perspective view of the buccal tube of FIGURE 4a assembled and fastened to the tooth band of an anchoring molar;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower buccal tube constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a top View of the tube of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a side View of the tube of FIGURE 5;

FIGURES 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the tube of FIGURE 5 taken along the lines S-S and 9 9, respectively;

FIGURE 10 is an end view of the tube tube of FIG- URE and FIGURE 11 illustrates an integral piece of sheet metal from which the tubel of FIGURE 5 may be formed.

The assembly of FIGURE 1 is mounted on the upper dental arch of the patient, and as noted above, the view is taken looking up at the upper jaw. The assembly of FIG- URE 1, in addition to incorporating an inner buccal arch wire 10, includes a face bow inner arch wire 12. The ends of both the buccal arch wire and the face bow inner arch wire are supported in combination buccal tubes 14 which are constructed in accordance with one of the embodiments of the invention. As best shown in FIGURE 4b, each buccal tube 14 is soldered or welded, as at 16, to a tooth band 18.

The tooth bands 18 surround the selected niolars of the patient. The ends of the buccal arch wire extend into the buccal tubes 14 and are anchored therein. The anchoring of the arch wires 10 in the buccal tubes 14 may be in accordance with usual orthodontic techniques. At least one intermediate portion of the arch wire 1t) is locked to a tooth, such as the tooth 20, of the patient. This tooth is to be straightened in accordance with usual orthodontic practice, by the buccal arch and by the face bow arch.

The inner face bow arch wire 12 is securely attached,

as at 22, to an outer face bow arch 24. A neck strap 26 extends around the head of the patient, and the neck strap is attached to the outer face bow arch through suitable resilient couplers, such as springs 28. A The inner face bow arch 12 is removable from the buccal arch tubes 14, and the entire face bow assembly can be removed by the patient. Suitable stops (not shown) are mounted on the inner face bow arch 12, and Athese stops bear against the buccal tubes 14 to exert the desired force on the buccal tubes 14, when the face bow assembly is in place.

In accordance with the concepts of the present invention, and as mentioned above, the buccal tubes 14 are so constructed that the passageways which receive the arch wires 10 and 12 extend at a mesial-distal or rotation angle to the respective tooth bands 18 to which the buccal tubes are attached. This mesial-distal or rotation angle is chosen so that the arch wires 1t) and 12 can be inserted 'without any need to provide a sharp bend therein which was previously required to align the ends of the arch wires with the passageways in the prior art buccal tubes; and in fact without any need to provide any bend whatever in the arch wires.

The angle referred to in the preceding paragraph, and

to be referred to hereinafter, as the rotation or mesialdistal angle, is defined by axes lying in the plane of the paper in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. This angle is not to be confused with tip-back angles or torque angles formed by axes lying in other planes.

The feature of the invention described in the preceding paragraph not only facilitates the orthodontic fitting of the buccal arch 10, but also permits the face bow assembly to function with greater precision than was possible in the prior art arrangements. This latter feature is realized, because the prior art face bows did not provide optimum force angles with respect to the arch wire l1f).

The fragmentary View of FIGURE 2 illustrates the mean inesial-distal or rotation angle at which the arch wires 10 and 12 are received in the buccal tube 14 with respect to the adjacent buccal surface of the tooth band 1S on the corresponding molar. This view is of the upper jaw of the patient, as noted above, and the usual jaw mesial-distal or rotation angle for most patients has been found to be of the order of 10 degrees, as shown. However, upper jaw mesial-distal or rotation angles in the range of substantially from 8 degrees to 20 degrees are desirable in conjunction with the upper jaws of difierent patients, for optimum operating efficiency.

The fragmentary view of FIGURE 3 shows the angles which the arch wires 10 is received in a buccal tube 15 with respect to the adjacent buccal surface of the tooth band 18 on the corresponding molar, the latter view being of the lower jaw of the patient. For most patients, the optimum lower rotation angle has been found to be of the order of 5 degrees, as illustrated. However, the lower rotation angles in the range of substantially from 3 degrees to 12 degrees are usually encountered for different patients for optimum effects.

IThe construction of the upper combination buccal tube 14 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURES 4a and 4b. This particular tube is a right hand unit, and is intended to be mounted on the right hand side of the patients upper jaw. It is evident, of course, that the -left hand unit may be similar in its construction to that illustrated in FIGURES 4a and 4b, and will complement the illustrated unit.

The combination upper jaw buccal tube 14 of FIG- URES 4a and 4b includes a clip-like body portion 13 which may be formed, as noted above, of sheet metal. The sheet metal body portion 13 has a first surface which 4forms the mounting wall 30 of the tube, and a plurality of tabs 32 are formed integral with the mounting wall 30. The tabs 32 and the mounting wall 30 of the body portion 13 are configured to conform with the surface of the tooth band v10 to which the buccal tube is to be attached, as by welding or soldering, as described above in conjunction with FIGURE 4b.

The sheet metal forming the body portion 13 of the buccal tube 1'4 is bent over into a clip-like configuration to define, in the illustrated embodiment of FIGURES 4a and 4b, two walls of a rectangular passage and a semicircular portion of the wall of a circular passage. The bent-over body portion of the buccal tube is shaped so that the walls of these passages extend at a selected longitudinal inclination to the rear wall, so that the passages themselves may have a desired rotation-angle inclination, for the purposes described above.

The body portion 13 of the buccal tube |14 may, for example, have a uniform size for a wide variety of applications, and it is adapted to receive one of a plurality of inserts 40. The inserts 40 may have different sizes to form different sized passa-ges in conjunction with the body portion `13. The insert 4G, as illustrated particularly in FIGURE 4a has a wedge-shaped configuration, and it serves to complete the definition of the inclined passages in the body portion 13, as shown in FIGURE 4b. The insert 40 is usually inserted into the body portion 13 in essentially coaxial relationship therewith, and it is soldered or welded to the body portion to hold it in place.

When the body portion 13 and the insert 40 are assembled in the manner shown in FIGURE 4b, the resulting combination buccal tube assembly defines passageways which are inclined to its mounting wall 30 and to the buccal surface yof the tooth band l1S to which it is attached. The inclinations :of the passageways define selected angles for the upper jaw, as mentioned above in conjunction with FIGURE 2.

The lower buccal tube -15 of FIGURE 3 may be formed of one integral piece of sheet metal 30 (FIGURE 11), and it may have the configuration shown in FIGURES 5-10.

The passageway in the lower buccal tube '15 as noted above, is usually constructed to define a rotation angle of the order of 5 degrees with the Abuccal side of the tooth to which it is attached. The illustrated unit defines a rectangular passageway to receive the lower buccal arch wire.

The lower jaw buccal tube of FIGURE 5 includes a pair of strips S0 and 52 which are integral with the body portion 54, as shown, and which are bent to conform with the tooth or tooth band to which the tube is attached. The body portion 54 has the illustrated shape to define the walls of the rectangular passageway which receives the ends of the lower buccal arch wire. This passageway, as illustrated and as mentioned above, extends at a preselected rotation angle to the side of the tooth to which the tube is attached. The tube 15 may be attached to a tooth band by Welding or soldering the stnips 50 and 52 to the band. A distal extension or hook, as indicated in FIGURES and 7, is provided at the forward end of the body portion 54. This hook is conven-ient for use by the orthodontist for elastics, coil springs, tie Wires, and the like. A similar hook is shown in the forward end of the wall of the buccal tube 14 in FIGURE 4a.

The buccal tube assemblies of the invention may be fitted to different patients in such a manner that the arch Wires may be inserted therein Without any need to bend the ends of the arch Wires. This, as mentioned above, facilita-tes to a large extent the ease with which lthe orthodontic equipment can be fitted to the jaW of the patient and alsol renders the face bow assembly which may be used in conjunction lwith the buccal arch, more efficient.

The invention provides, therefore, an improved buccal tube assembly for use in orthodontic practice which is constructed in an improved and unique manner so as to facilitate the fitting of the yorthodontic equipment and to render the operation thereof more efficient.

What is claimed is:

l. An orthodontic appliance including: a body portion having a tubular configuration and defining a mounting wall and lfurther defining an opposite Wall having a longitudinally inclined relationship with said mounting wall, and a Wedge-shaped insert member received in said body portion, said member having a recessed surface to define therewith at least one arch Wire receiving passage through said body portion, said passage having an `axis inclined at an angle in a plane through both said walls.

2. An orthodontic appliance to be mounted on the surface of a tooth band including: a body portion formed of sheet metal having an open ended tubular configuration and defining a mounting wall adapted to face the surface of the tooth band on which the appliance is to be mounted and further defining mounting tabs in essentially co-planar relationship With the mounting wall and to be attached to the surface of the tooth band and further defining an opposite wall having a longitudinally mesialdistal incl-ined relationship with `said mounting wall, and a wedge-shaped insert portion supported in and by said body portion in substantially coaxial relationship therewith and defining with said body portion at least one arch wire receiv-ing passage having an axis inclined at a rotation angle to intersect the plane of said mounting wall,

3. An orthodontic appliance adapted to be mounted on the buccal suiface of a tooth band including: a body portion formed of sheet metal havinfr an open-ended tubular configuration and defining a mounting Wall adapted to face the surface ofthe tooth band on which the appliance is to be mounted and further defining mounting tabs in essentially co-planar relationship with the mounting Wall and :to be attached tothe surface of the tooth band and further defining an opposite Wall having a mesial-distal inclined relationship with said mounting Wall, said body portion defining at least one substantially fully enclosed and symmetrical arch Wire receiving passage inclined at a rotation angle with respect to said mounting Wall, such that the axis of said passage will interset the plane of said mounting Wall.

4. An orthodontic appliance comprising: a bracket having side mounting means lying in a plane and adapted for attachment to a tooth band; said bracket formed with internal Wall Asurfaces defining a substantially fuliy enclosed and `symmetrical socket; said socket having a longitudinal axis spaced from said plane and having an orientation such that extension thereof would intersect said plane of said mounting means; a removable insert residing in said socket, said insert having at least one Wall recess adapted jointly with said internal wall surfaces of said socket to define a through wire receiving passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 804,200 Barnes Nov. 14, 1905 986,076 Montag Mar. 7, 191-1 1,008,663 Montaque Nov. 14, 111911 1,044,764 Federspiel Nov. 19, 11912 1,481,861 Eaton Jan. 29, l192'4 1,976,141 Richardson Oct. 9, 11934 2,045,025 Richardson I une 23, 1936 2,236,042 Terwilliger Mar. 25, A1941 2,267,073 Boyd Dee. 2.3, 1941 3,076,265 Moore lFeb. 5, ill963 FOREIGN PATENTS 136,435 Australia Oct. 9, 1947 OTHER REFERENCES Orthodontists Research and Manufacturing Corp., Catalog No. 1 of January 1961 (page 5 relied upon). (Copy in Div. in 32/14.)

Claims (1)

1. AN ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE INCLUDING: A BODY PORTION HAVING A TUBULAR CONFIGURATION AND DEFINING A MOUNTING WALL AND FURTHER DEFINING AN OPPOSITE WALL HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY INCLINED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID MOUNTING WALL, AND A WEDGE-SHAPED INSERT MEMBER RECEIVED IN SAID BODY PORTION, SAID MEMBER HAVING A RECESSED SURFACE TO DEFINE THEREWITH AT LEAST ONE ARCH WIRE RECEIVING PASSAGE THROUGH

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