Orthodontic bracket and method of correcting malpositioned teeth

Abstract

An orthodontic bracket includes a bracket body and a ligating member. The ligating member retains an archwire in an archwire slot and includes archwire control structure including projecting portions spaced apart in a mesial-distal direction with a recessed area therebetween. The recessed area and the projecting portions overlie the archwire slot. The recessed area may include a flat or a curved surface in a mesial-distal direction. The recessed area and projecting portions may define a radius of curvature that is less than the radius of curvature of the archwire seated in the slot. The archwire contacts one or both the projecting portions resulting in a larger moment arm and better rotational control of the bracket with the force applied by the archwire.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An orthodontic bracket comprising:
 a bracket body that is adapted to be secured to a tooth and that includes an archwire slot and a ledge open to the archwire slot, and   a ligating slide that is movable between an opened position and a closed position and includes a curved leading edge to guide the archwire into the archwire slot as the ligating slide is moved toward the closed position, wherein the ledge receives the curved leading edge of the ligating slide in the closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The bracket of  claim 1 , wherein the leading edge is non-uniformly formed on the ligating slide. 
     
     
         3 . The bracket of  claim 1 , wherein the archwire slot includes a base surface and opposing side walls extending from the base surface and the ligating slide includes a recessed area that extends over the archwire slot and occlusal-gingivally beyond each opposing side wall when the ligating slide is in the closed position. 
     
     
         4 . The bracket of  claim 3 , wherein the recessed area separates the curved leading edge into a mesial portion and a distal portion. 
     
     
         5 . The bracket of  claim 3 , wherein the ligating slide further includes a pair of projecting portions that bound the recessed area, each projecting portion faces the archwire slot and has an asymmetric configuration relative to a longitudinal axis of the ligating slide so as to be unequally spaced relative to the mesial-distal dimension of the archwire slot and the projecting portions have different widths in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the archwire slot. 
     
     
         6 . The bracket of  claim 3 , wherein the recessed area comprises a recessed surface curved in a mesial-distal direction.