Computer programmed system for orthodontic correction of malocclusions utilizing snap-on features

Abstract

A system for applying corrective leverage to teeth in the upper or lower dental arch without the use of brackets or ligation wires. The present invention employs prongs bonded onto the lingual surfaces of teeth and a compartmentalized, U-shaped arch tube into which the prongs are plugged by a snap-in process. Alignment takes place in a progressive sequence of steps produced by computer-prepared arches.

1  a system for correcting misaligned teeth in orthodontics comprising: 
 a. a set of prong units each having a base, a neck extending therefrom and terminating in a multi-sided head;  
 b. an upper and lower placement template frame which joins each respective prong unit at its base in a computer-oriented pattern and permits each base to firmly and accurately bond to the lingual side of it designated tooth in the upper and lower dental arches and also permits the template frame to be broken free of the now-bonded prong bases and discarded;  
 c. a U shaped arch made up of flexible material in a series of elastic entry compartments closed at one end with four flexible lips at the entry way permitting the insertion and retention of a prong head and its neck which creates a predetermined correction and retention force;  
 whereby, with the arch compartments snapped over their designated prong heads, corrective forces chosen from up-down, in-out, angulation, rotation, torque and side to side can be created on all misaligned teeth, and incremental motion achieved when a series of sequential arches are worn over a period of time with the total correction being attained at the end of the procedure.  
 
     
     
         2  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which said elastic entry compartments are in the shape of hollow chambers closed at one end and framed at their open ends by elastic lips whereby each compartment can be snapped over a multi-sided prong head and adjacent neck to hold it firmly and thus create unique forces which produces a small, incremental tooth movement in a predetermined direction.  
     
     
         3  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which the inteproximal material between said entry compartments may be chosen from semi flexible thin substances and semi rigid thick substances as desired.  
     
     
         4  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which the inteproximal material between said entry compartments may be a variety of contracting and expanding shapes to provide varied correctional forces on the prong heads and their respective computer generated chambers.  
     
     
         5  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which said U-shaped arches are constructed with various flexible interproximal materials to obtain up-down, in-out, side-to-side, angulation, rotation, torque forces to achieve position corrections of misaligned teeth.  
     
     
         6  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which the prong heads are of multi-sided shape to be inserted and firmly held by said elastic lips in their respective compartment and thus create leveraged forces on individual teeth.  
     
     
         7  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which said four flexible lips are replaced by a doughnut-shaped, elastic retaining ring for engagement of its prong head.  
     
     
         8  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which the prong necks provide leverage for tooth movement and the leverage can be varied by varying the length of the necks.  
     
     
         9  A system for correcting misaligned teeth as described in  claim 1  in which the said prongs are applied to the labial side of the teeth.