Bite-type orthodontic device

Abstract

The present invention concerns a bite-type orthodontic device comprising an arched (2) elastic main body, in a single body, comprising: an occlusal end wall (5) of arched shape comprising an outer arched perimeter and an inner arched perimeter; - at least one of: • an arched outer wall (10), projecting from the occlusal wall (5) along said outer perimeter; • an arched inner wall (11), projecting from the occlusal wall (5) along said inner perimeter; characterized by the fact that each inner (10) and / or outer (11) wall has a pair of notches (20) positioned in such a way as to divide said wall into a central zone 25 of said arch, also called the premaxilla zone, and two peripheral zones (30) of said arch, also called the maxilla zones.

Description

[0001] Title : bite-type orthodontic device .

[0002] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[0003] DESCRIPTION

[0004] The present invention concerns a bite-type orthodontic device , that is , one that can be worn freely by the user by simple restraint between the mandible and maxilla placed in the natural closed-mouth position, and equally freely removable in the open-mouth position, so as to be usable at only certain times of the day .

[0005] PRIOR ART

[0006] One-piece bite-type orthodontic devices modeled after those originally devised by Soulet and Besombes and described in patents FR67616 and FR1104897 are known in the industry .

[0007] Following, the inventor of this patent application greatly improved and speciali zed these devices , introducing new features , customi zed to the patient , as per the subj ect matter of related patent applications .

[0008] For example , he made the devices more functional and personali zed :

[0009] - through the use of dilator inserts that allow customi zation of active zones , as described in the Italian patent 102014902228172 ;

[0010] - through the use of protuberances at customi zed points of tooth thrust in the hori zontal direction, as in the Italian patent 102014902305641;

[0011] - through the use of different materials in the occlusal plane as described in the Italian patent 102016000044898; by the use of elastic occlusal planes, a bounding wall on the labial side, and a tongue stimulus on the lingual side as described in the Italian patent 202016000084930;

[0012] - by means of a notch on the lingual ramp as described in the Italian patent 202018000002440;

[0013] - by means of inclinations of the occlusal plane as described in the Italian patent 102019000018518;

[0014] - by means of a tilting plane as a result of the bite as described in the Italian patent 102020000022246.

[0015] All of these, and other functionalities, are useful in designing orthodontic devices specifically tailored to the different needs of each patient, so depending on the specialization they are valuable in diversifying each specialized orthodontic device from others. For this reason, we will denote these features, and other known or future features, as specializing or first-type features.

[0016] However, the inventor realized that it is possible to further improve devices with specializing functionalities through the addition of universal functionalities, that is, functionalities that are common to all, regardless of the functionality of the device and the patient's specific problem. Such universal functionalities are also called second-type functionalities and, as mentioned, they are intended to be able to be common to devices that instead di f fer in their specializing functionalities .

[0017] The technical problem that the present invention seeks to solve may be well understood by analyzing the need to consider the biomechanics of the palate in the design of an orthodontic device of any kind .

[0018] The palate is subdivided at the bony level into premaxilla and maxilla, the boundaries of which are shown by the incisor-canine suture that runs from the canine to the beginning of the median palatine suture .

[0019] These two areas have profoundly di f ferent embryonic origins , particularly the premaxilla, which i s the nasal area, has a vertical origin, while the maxilla has a hori zontal origin .

[0020] This makes their action generally di f ferent .

[0021] In order to understand what action we are talking about , it is necessary to understand that these two zones are not static with each other, but are to be considered as zones of both postural and growth freedom because of the sutures between them .

[0022] It will therefore be understood that the premaxilla requires a natural freedom of movement in the vertical direction with respect to the maxilla, and the latter in turn has an elective action in the hori zontal direction .

[0023] Therefore , there remains latent in the industry the need to enable the design of bite-type orthodontic devices respecting the biomechanical principles o f freedom of movement between premaxilla and maxilla .

[0024] Therefore , a general purpose of the present invention is to solve all or part of the problems of the prior art .

[0025] A preferred purpose of the present invention i s to provide an orthodontic device that allows natural biomechanical movement between premaxilla and maxilla .

[0026] Another preferred purpose of the present invention is to enable the construction of orthodontic devices that are diverse from each other in terms of first speciali zing functionality and share at least a second universal functionality o f natural biomechanical freedom of movement between premaxilla and maxilla .

[0027] Another additional preferred purpose of the present invention is to provide a bite-type orthodontic device that allows natural biomechanical movement between premaxilla and maxilla that is easy and inexpensive to implement .

[0028] GENERAL INTRODUCTION

[0029] The purposes are achieved by a bite-type orthodontic device as shown in the attached claims .

[0030] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Further features and advantages of this utility model will best result from the following detailed description of its preferred forms of embodiment , made with reference to the attached drawings and given for illustrative and non-limiting purposes . In said drawings : figure 1 illustrates a bite-type orthodontic device according to the present invention, in plan-view from above ;

[0032] - figure 2 is a side view of the device in figure 1 ;

[0033] - figure 3 is a plan view from the bottom of the device in figure 1 ;

[0034] - figure 4 is a front view of the device in figure 1 ;

[0035] - figure 5 is a rear view of the device in figure 1 ; figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of the device in figure 1 , from two di f ferent vantage points ;

[0036] - figures 8 through 12 represent alternative forms of implementation in which notches according to the present invention are applied to bite devices with di f ferent speciali zing characteri stics than the one in the previous figures .

[0037] With reference to figure 1 , a bite-type orthodontic device according to the present invention, referred to as a whole by reference number 1 , and called in the following for brevity an orthodontic device or device , is illustrated .

[0038] We initially describe below some universal features of the invention, although with reference to figures 1 through 7 which refer to a first form o f implementation .

[0039] Orthodontic Device 1 is bite-type in that it is intended to be retained in a user ' s mouth solely by clamping between the mandible and maxilla in their natural position . For this purpose , orthodontic device 1 is devoid of means of anchoring to the dental arches , such as by way of example means o f bonding, screwing, or clamping to them .

[0040] Orthodontic device 1 comprises an arch-shaped elastic main body 2 comprising :

[0041] - an occlusal back wall 5 of arched shape and developed substantially according to an occlusal plane PO, configured to be interposed between the dental arches of a patient ; in said occlusal plane PO said occlusal back wall 5 has an outer arched perimeter and an inner arched perimeter ;

[0042] - at least one of :

[0043] • An arched outer wall , also called labial 10 , proj ecting from the occlusal wall along said outer perimeter in a direction orthogonal to the PO occlusal plane ;

[0044] • An arched inner wall , also called a palatal or lingual wall , proj ecting from the occlusal wall along said inner perimeter in a direction orthogonal to the PO occlusal plane ; (not present in the example of figures 1 to 7 , but present in the implementation forms of the following figures and numbered with reference 11 ) wherein at least one inner wall 10 and / or outer wall has a pair of notches 20 positioned in such a way as to subdivide said wall into a central zone 25 of said arch, hereafter conventionally called the premaxilla zone , and into two peripheral zones 30 of said arch, hereafter called the maxilla zones . Preferably each inner and / or outer wall has one of said pairs of notches and its subdivision into a central zone 25 and two lateral zones 30 .

[0045] In general , said orthodontic device 1 is made of elastic material , so that said notches accentuate its bending capacity . Speci fically, the notches are configured to accentuate the bending capacity of the central zone 25 in a direction orthogonal to the occlusal plane PO with respect to the peripheral zones 30 .

[0046] Said notches are basically in a direction orthogonal to the occlusal plane PO .

[0047] As best seen in figure 5 , each inner wall 10 and / or outer wall (not present in the example of figures 1 to 7 , but present in the implementation forms of the following figures ) includes a ridge 12 distal from the occlusal end wall 5 and a point of union 14 to the occlusal end wall 5 , and said notches 20 start from said distal ridge 12 and extend toward said point of union, where preferably they extend to said point of union 14 .

[0048] The features shown above are features that allow freedom of biomechanical movement between maxilla and premaxilla and are universal , i . e . , common to all embodiments of the invention .

[0049] It is noted that the at least one inner and / or outer wall 10 preferably extends along the entire inner or outer perimeter of the occlusal end wall 5 , respectively, so as to delimit together with the occlusal end wall 5 at least one housing channel of a dental arch .

[0050] The form of implementation illustrated shows the compatibility and application of said universal features to more speci fic functional features , called in the following speciali zing features , and which may be worthwhile to diversi fy said form of implementation from others of the same invention, such as those in figures 8 to 11 .

[0051] Speci fically, the orthodontic device in figures 1 to 7 is characteri zed by the following speciali zing features :

[0052] - includes two outer walls 10 and no inner walls ; the two outer walls 10 in particular extend on opposite sides of the occlusal end wall 5 ;

[0053] - the occlusal end wall 5 illustrated supports , in the center of the outer arched perimeter, a ashlar 40 , e . g . , spherical , with the function of tongue stimulation;

[0054] - the occlusal end wall 5 illustrated also has preferably two surfaces of arched shape 6 and 7 opposite to each other with respect to said occlusal plane PO . They are configured to receive the dental arches in support . As shown in figure 5 , said surfaces 6 and 7 are inclined by respective angles A and B less than or equal to 10 ° with respect to said occlusal plane PO .

[0055] In practice , any bite-type orthodontic device equipped with one or more of these inner 10 or outer walls can be built in various si zes so as to present said notches 20 at the points where the canine incisor suture is most commonly located . Further forms of implementation for this invention will be described and illustrated below, where elements equal or similar to the previous ones will be denoted by the same numbers, or by the same numbers increased by 100 or multiples thereof.

[0056] The orthodontic device in figure 8 is denoted as a whole by reference number 101 and differs from device 1 mainly because it comprises two arched canals (13) on opposite sides of the occlusal end wall (5) each bounded by a respective outer wall (10) and inner wall (11) and closed at the bottom by the occlusal end wall (5) . The two inner walls 11 also extend on opposite sides of the occlusal end wall 5, as do the two outer walls 10.

[0057] Each wall, outer 10 and inner 11, includes a pair of notches 20.

[0058] The presence of the two channels, by itself, is to be considered a specializing feature, which can be used as a single specializing feature or in combination with other specializing features. These can also be used on their own or in combination with other specializing features .

[0059] In the example in figure 8, in addition to the channels 13 there is also the specializing deformability feature for insertion into the main arch body of at least one dilator insert 50, such as a wedge or shim, a symbolic representation of which has been given in figure 8. The main arch body of the orthodontic device 101 may comprise a plurality of reference marks 51 that indicate to the dentist some predetermined preferred deformability points where to apply the inserts according to the patient ' s needs .

[0060] It will be clear to an expert in the industry that deformability can be adopted with or without the presence of the channels 13 bounded by both internal and external walls . For example , deformability by inserts is also applicable to the implementation form of figures 1 to 7 .

[0061] The orthodontic device in figure 9 is referred to as a whole with reference number 201 and di f fers from device 1 mainly in that it too includes both an inner wall pair 10 and an outer wall pair 11 like device 101 in figure 8 . It also includes a lingual ramp 60 , configured to accommodate in support the lower part of a patient ' s tongue , where said lingual ramp includes a central notch 62 .

[0062] Central notch 62 is basically in the orthogonal direction to the occlusal plane PO, so it is also called "vertical . " Said vertical central notch 62 of the lingual ramp is configured to accentuate the bending capacity in shrinkage of the arch of the main body, e . g . it is a V-section notch .

[0063] The orthodontic device in figure 10 is referred to as a whole with reference number 301 and di f fers from device 1 mainly in that it too includes both an inner wall pair 10 and an outer wall pair 11 like devices 101 and 201 . It also includes at least one notch 70 on the outer perimeter of the occlusal end wall 5 . It i s essentially parallel to the occlusal plane PO, so it is also called "horizontal."

[0064] Said horizontal notch 70 allows mutual tilting of the opposite surfaces 6 and 7 of the occlusal back wall 5, or at least several of them, as a result of a user's bite .

[0065] The orthodontic device in figure 11 is shown as a whole with reference number 401 and differs from device 1 mainly in that it too includes both a pair of inner walls 10 and a pair of outer walls 11 arranged to delimit respective canals 13 housing the two dental arches of a user's teeth, respectively, where the canals are closed at the bottom by the occlusal end wall 5. Only one of the two canals is visible in figure 11. It also includes, at least one protuberance 80 projecting within said canal 13 so as to provide a predetermined point of thrust, in a direction substantially parallel to the occlusal plane PO, against a patient's dental arch inserted into said canal 13. This allows for the correction of misalignments between the mandible and maxilla, also known as malocclusions.

[0066] The orthodontic device in figure 12 is denoted as a whole by reference number 501 and differs from device 1 mainly because it comprises two arched canals (13) on opposite sides of the occlusal end wall (5) each bounded by a respective outer wall (10) and inner wall (11) and closed at the bottom by the occlusal end wall (5) . Also the two inner walls 11 also extend on opposite sides of the occlusal end wall 5, as do the two outer walls 10.

[0067] Each wall, outer 10 and inner 11, includes a pair of notches 20. This form of implementation shows that even j ust the presence of the two channels , in itsel f , is to be considered a speciali zing feature, which can be used as the only speciali zing feature as mentioned with reference to figure 8 .

[0068] It is clear, then, that in general universal speciali zing features become synergistic with each other, as the universal ones enhance the speciali zing ones .

[0069] Generally, speciali zing features perform a pushing action on at least one portion of the mouth, such as between the teeth, palate , and tongue , in response to a biting action .

[0070] The expert in the industry wil l consider all combinations among the speciali zing features described as possible .

[0071] Finally, returning to figure 1 , it will be now described a speciali zing feature that is particularly useful in accentuating the natural biomechanical motion ef fect between premaxilla and maxilla and applicable to all of the described implementation forms .

[0072] As visible in figure 1 , preferably, said main occlusal wall 5 of arched shape comprises at least one central zone 75 and two peripheral zones 78 of said arched shape , distinguished at least by a di f ferent elasticity, for example due to di f ferent materials .

[0073] Preferably, said central zone and said two peripheral zones of said main occlusal wall 5 are at said central zone 25 and said two peripheral zones 30 of said at least one inner wall 10 and / or outer arched wall 11 defined by said notches 20 , respectively . Even more preferably each inner 10 and / or outer arched wall 11 is divided into a central 25 and two peripheral zones 30 by a respective pair of notches 20 and where all said central and peripheral zones of the inner and outer walls, and the central and peripheral zones of the occlusal walls, are aligned with each other.

[0074] GENERAL MEANING OF TERMS

[0075] In understanding the purpose of the present invention, the term "comprising" and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended as open-ended terms specifying the presence of the declared characteristics, elements, components, groups, integers and / or phases, but not excluding the presence of other undeclared characteristics, elements, components, groups, integers and / or phases. The above also applies to words with similar meanings such as the terms "including", "having" and their derivatives. In addition, the terms "part", "section", "portion", "member" or "element" when used in the singular may have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts. As used herein to describe the form(s) of implementation mentioned above, the following directional terms "forward", "backward", "above", "below", "vertical", "horizontal", "underneath" and "transverse", as well as any other similar directional terms refer to the form of implementation described in the operative position. Finally, grade terms such as "substantially", "about" and "approximately" as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modi fied term such that the end result is not signi ficantly changed .

[0076] While only selected implementation forms have been chosen to illustrate the present invention, from this description it will be clear to those expert in the field that various modi fications and variations may be made without departing from the purpose of the invention as defined in the attached claims . For example , the si ze , shape, position or orientation of the various components may be modi fied as needed and / or desired . Components shown directly connected or in contact with each other may have intermediate structures interposed between them . The functions of one element can be performed by two and vice versa . The structures and functions of one form of implementation can be adopted in another one . It is not necessary that all advantages are present in a particular form of implementation at the same time . Each characteristic that is original compared to the prior art , alone or in combination with other characteristics , should also be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant , including structural and / or functional concepts incorporated by those characteri stics . Therefore , the previous descriptions of implementation forms according to the present invention are provided for illustrative purposes only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the attached claims and their equivalents .

Claims

CLAIMS1. Bite-type orthodontic device comprising an arched (2) elastic main body, in a single body, comprising : an arch-shaped main occlusal wall (5) comprising an outer arch perimeter and an inner arch perimeter;- at least one of:• an arched outer wall (10) , projecting from the occlusal wall (5) along said outer perimeter;• an arched inner wall (11) , projecting from the occlusal wall (5) along said inner perimeter; characterized by the fact that at least one of said inner (10) and / or outer arched walls (11) has at least one pair of notches (20) positioned in such a way as to divide said wall into a central zone (25) of said arch, and two peripheral zones (30) of said arch.

2. Orthodontic device according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said occlusal wall (5) extends substantially parallel to an ideal plane called the occlusal plane PO which is conventionally assumed to denote as horizontal directions the directions parallel to said plane and as vertical directions the directions orthogonal to said plane, where; said inner and outer arched walls are projecting in respective vertical directions, and said notches extend substantially in respective verticaldirections, preferably throughout the height of the respective walls to the occlusal plane.

3. An orthodontic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that said at least one inner (10) and / or outer (11) arched wall includes a ridge (12) distal from said occlusal wall (5) and a union point (14) to said occlusal wall (5) , and said notches (20) start from said distal ridge (12) and extend toward said union point (14) , wherein preferably they extend to said union point ( 14 ) .

4. An orthodontic device according to any of the previous claims, characterized by the fact that said notches (20) have the function of increasing the bending of the central area (25) in an orthogonal direction to the occlusal wall (5) , and in addition the orthodontic device comprises specializing features having the function of exerting a thrust on at least one area of the mouth between a dental arch, the palate and the tongue in response to a biting action.

5. Orthodontic device according to claim 4, characterized by the following specializing features:- it comprises two outer walls (10) and no inner wall; the two outer walls (10) extend on opposite sides of the occlusal wall (5) and each has a respective pair of said notches (20)- the occlusal wall (5) supports, in the center of the outer arched perimeter, an ashlar (40) .

6. Orthodontic device according to claim 4 or a dependent thereof, characterized by the fact that: the occlusal wall (5) runs substantially parallel to an occlusal plane PO, and has two surfaces of arched shape (6, 7) opposite to each other with respect to said occlusal plane and configured to receive in support the dental arches, where said surfaces (6, 7) are inclined by respective angles A and B less than or equal to 10° with respect to said occlusal plane PO.

7. Orthodontic device according to claim 4, characterized by the following specializing features:- comprises two arched canals (13) on opposite sides of the occlusal wall (5) each delimited by a respective arched outer wall (10) and a respective arched inner wall (11) and closed at the bottom by the occlusal wall (5) , where each wall, outer (10) and inner (11) , includes the pair of notches 20.

8. Orthodontic device according to any claim from 4 to 7, characterized by the fact that it includes at least one dilator insert (50) inserted into the main arch body (2) to deform it.

9. Orthodontic device according to claim 8, characterized by the fact that the arched main body (2) includes a plurality of reference marks (51) indicating respective predetermined points of deformation where to apply the dilator inserts (50) .

10. Orthodontic device according to any claim from 4 to 9, characterized by the fact that it includes a lingual ramp (60) configured to accommodate in support the underside of a patient's tongue, wherein said lingual ramp includes a central notch (62) .

11. Orthodontic device according to any claim from 4 to 10, characterized by the fact that it includes at least one notch (70) on the outer perimeter of the occlusal wall (5) , substantially parallel to a main plane of occlusal wall development PO.

12. Orthodontic device according to claim 7 or a dependent thereof, characterized by the fact that at least one of the canals (13) includes at least one protuberance (80) projecting within said canal.

13. Orthodontic device according to any claim from 4 to 12, characterized by the following specializing features :- the main occlusal wall (5) of an arch shape includes at least one central zone and two peripheral zones of said arch shape, distinguished at least by a different elasticity.

14. Orthodontic device according to claim 13, characterized by the fact that said central zone and said two peripheral zones of said main occlusal wall (5) are at said central zone (25) and said two peripheral zones(30) of said at least one inner (10) and / or outer arched wall (11) defined by said notches (20) , respectively.

15. Orthodontic device according to claim 13, characterized by the fact that each inner (10) and / or outer arched wall (11) is divided into a central zone (25) and two peripheral zones (30) by a respective pair of notches (20) and where all said central and peripheral zones of the inner and outer walls, and the central and peripheral zones of the occlusal wall (5) , are aligned with each other.

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