Pliers for removing bracket and bracket removing device having same

Abstract

The present invention relates to pliers for removing a bracket adhered to teeth. In one embodiment, the pliers comprise: a first main body (110) having a first gripping unit (111) and a first handle (112); a second main body (120) having a second gripping unit (121) and a second handle (122); a connection pin (105) coupling the first main body (110) and the second main body (120), the two bodies intersecting each other; and a laser module (140) installed at the front end of the first gripping unit (111) to output laser light.

Description

Pliers for removing brackets and a bracket removal device equipped with the same

[0001] The present invention relates to a bracket removal device for removing dental brackets, and more specifically, to a dental bracket removal device that weakens the adhesive force between a tooth and a bracket by irradiating a laser.

[0002] Dental brackets are commonly used for orthodontic treatment. Dental brackets are bonded to the surface of each tooth with adhesive and connected by wires to perform orthodontic treatment.

[0003] When teeth are straightened, the brackets attached to each tooth must be removed one by one after the wires are taken out. In this process, dentists often use pliers to forcibly detach the brackets. However, this forced removal can damage the tooth surface or cause the bracket to break if force is applied incorrectly, resulting in parts of the bracket remaining in place. Furthermore, removing brackets one by one is time-consuming, making it a difficult procedure for both the doctor and the patient.

[0004] The present invention was devised to solve the above problem and aims to provide pliers capable of safely and quickly removing brackets attached to teeth, and a bracket removal device equipped with the same.

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a bracket removal pliers for removing a bracket attached to a tooth is disclosed, comprising: a first body (110) having a first gripping portion (111) and a first handle (112); a second body (120) having a second gripping portion (121) and a second handle (122); a connecting pin (105) that crosswise connects the first body (110) and the second body (120); and a laser module (140) installed at the tip of the first gripping portion (111) to output a laser light.

[0006] In one embodiment, the laser light output from the laser module (140) can be configured to be irradiated in a direction toward the second gripping part (121).

[0007] In one embodiment, an optical fiber transmitting laser light from an external laser light source can be configured to be introduced into the first handle (112) side end of the first main body (110), penetrate the first handle (112) and the first gripping part (111), and be connected to the laser module (140).

[0008] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a bracket removal device for removing a bracket attached to a tooth is disclosed, comprising: a bracket removal pliers (100) described above; and a device body (200) having a laser generating module and transmitting a laser generated by the laser generating module to the pliers through an optical fiber.

[0009] At this time, the device body may further include a pedal connected to the device body via a wired or wireless connection, and may be configured to control the on / off of the laser transmitted to the flyer depending on whether the pedal is pressed.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, by irradiating a laser light precisely and for a short period of time toward the adhesive layer between the tooth and the bracket, the adhesive strength of the entire adhesive layer is weakened, allowing the bracket to be removed. This prevents damage to the tooth or breakage of the bracket, thereby providing a technical effect of enabling the bracket to be removed quickly and safely.

[0011] In addition, since the present invention is configured with a laser module mounted on pliers similar to conventional ones, it is convenient to use as it is familiar to the user's hand, and has the advantage of being easy to remove brackets attached to the patient's molars.

[0012] In addition, since the present invention is equipped with only one laser output unit for irradiating laser light, device costs can be reduced, and the risk of tooth damage can be lowered by irradiating laser light from only one direction to weaken the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dental bracket removal device according to one embodiment,

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flyer according to one embodiment,

[0015] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a gripping portion of a plier according to one embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating the internal configuration of a flyer according to one embodiment,

[0017] FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the state of using a plier according to one embodiment,

[0018] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the laser irradiation angle according to one embodiment.

[0019] The above objects, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be easily understood through the following preferred embodiments associated with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. The embodiments described below are exemplary embodiments provided to sufficiently convey the concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0020] In this specification, when a component is referred to as being 'above' (or 'below', 'right', or 'left') another component, it means that it may be located directly above (or below, to the right, or to the left) the other component, or that a third component may be interposed between them.

[0021] Furthermore, expressions such as 'top,' 'bottom,' 'left,' 'right,' 'front,' and 'rear,' used in this specification to describe the positional relationships between components, may refer to directions or positions based on absolute standards; however, in some cases, they may be relative expressions used for convenience of explanation based on the relevant drawings when describing the invention with reference to each drawing. Additionally, the lengths, thicknesses, or widths of the components in the drawings of this specification are exaggerated for the effective explanation of the technical content, and the relative sizes of any one component to another may vary depending on the specific embodiment.

[0022] In this specification, the singular form of a component includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text. Expressions used in this specification such as “comprising,” “consisting of,” and “consisting of” do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components.

[0023] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In describing the specific embodiments below, various specific details have been included to explain the invention more specifically and to aid in understanding. However, a reader with sufficient knowledge in the art to understand the invention will recognize that it can be used without these various specific details. In some cases, it is noted in advance that commonly known parts that are not significantly related to the invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in describing the invention.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dental bracket removal device according to one embodiment.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, a bracket removal device according to one embodiment may be composed of pliers (100) and a device body (200). The pliers (100) are tools that a doctor holds in their hand and uses during orthodontic treatment, and the pliers (100) can be used to remove brackets attached to a patient's teeth. The device body (200) may be equipped with, for example, a laser light source (i.e., a laser generating module) and can transmit laser light generated from this laser light source to the pliers (100) through a wire (220). The wire (220) may be, for example, an optical fiber.

[0026] In addition, if it is necessary to supply electrical signals or power from the device body (200) to the flyer (100) in addition to the transmission of laser light, the wire (220) may be composed of optical fibers and one or more wires. For example, if a camera (not shown) is installed at the tip of the flyer (100), the image captured by the camera is transmitted to the device body (200) through the wire (220), and in this case, the image may be output through a display (210) attached to the device body (200).

[0027] In one embodiment, a switch (or button) for turning on / off the laser light emitted from the flyer (100) may be installed on the flyer (100) or on the device body (200). As another example, a pedal (not shown) for controlling the on / off of the laser of the flyer (100) may be connected to the device body (200) via a wired or wireless connection. In this case, when a user (doctor or nurse) steps on the pedal, the laser light is emitted from the flyer (100), and when the foot is removed, the laser light is not emitted. Now, a flyer (100) according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plier according to one embodiment, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the gripping portion of the plier, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the plier according to one embodiment.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the pliers (100) are tools for removing orthodontic brackets attached to a patient's teeth and have a shape similar to conventional pliers. In one embodiment, the pliers (100) may be composed of a first body (110), a second body (120), and a connecting pin (105) connecting them. The first body (110) may be composed of a first gripping part (111) and a first handle (112), and the second body (120) may be composed of a second gripping part (121) and a second handle (122), and the connecting pin (105) may be hinge-connected by crossing the middle portion of the first body (110) and the second body (120).

[0030] In one embodiment, the first gripping part (111) and the second gripping part (121) may each include a locking projection at their respective ends. The first locking projection (113) protrudes from the front end of the first gripping part (111) in a direction toward the second gripping part (121), and the second locking projection (123) protrudes from the front end of the second gripping part (121) in a direction toward the first gripping part (111). Thus, the first locking projection (113) and the second locking projection (123) are configured to face each other, and when a user grips the handle (112, 122), the two gripping parts (111, 121) come closer together so that the front ends of the first locking projection (113) and the second locking projection (123) can come into close contact with each other.

[0031] In one embodiment, the pliers (100) further include a laser module (140) that outputs laser light. In the illustrated embodiment, the laser module (140) is installed at the tip of the first gripping part (111). More preferably, the laser module (140) is installed on the tip surface (115) facing forward among the tip portions of the first gripping part (111). In this specification, the 'front' of the pliers refers to the direction facing the gripping part (111, 121) in the longitudinal direction of the pliers (100), and the 'rear' refers to the direction facing the handle (112, 122).

[0032] A laser module (140) installed at the tip of the first gripping part (111) has one or more laser output terminals (141) that irradiate laser light in a direction toward the second gripping part (121). In the illustrated embodiment, two laser output terminals (141) are shown, but a plurality of laser output terminals (141), such as one or three, may be provided.

[0033] More preferably, the laser output unit (141) is positioned at an angle such that it can irradiate laser light toward the adhesive layer between the tooth and the bracket attached thereto, and accordingly, the laser light is irradiated toward the adhesive layer for a predetermined time to soften the adhesive layer and reduce the adhesive force, thereby allowing the bracket to be easily removed from the tooth. The wavelength, amount, and duration of the laser light may vary depending on specific embodiments, such as the composition of the adhesive.

[0034] The laser module (140) is connected to the device body (200), for example, through an optical fiber. That is, the optical fiber is contained within the wire (220), and this optical fiber can connect the laser generating module (not shown) of the device body (200) and the laser module (140) of the flyer (100).

[0035] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, an optical fiber (145) connecting the laser module (140) and the device body (200) is installed to penetrate the interior of the first body (110). That is, the optical fiber (145) transmitting laser light from an external laser light source (e.g., a laser generating module of the device body (200)) can be configured to be introduced into the first handle (112) side end of the first body (110), penetrate the interior of the first handle (112) and the first gripping part (111), and connect to the laser module (140). In an alternative embodiment, the optical fiber (145) may be installed along the outer surface rather than the interior of the first body (110).

[0036] FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the state of using pliers (100) according to one embodiment. For convenience of explanation, only one patient's tooth (300) is shown. A bracket (320) is attached to the tooth (300). A user (e.g., a doctor or nurse) can grip the bracket (320) by inserting the locking projections (113, 123) of the pliers (100) into the concave part of the bracket (320). Then, the user presses a switch to irradiate laser light to output laser light from the laser output terminal (141). At this time, the laser irradiation switch may be located, for example, on the pliers (100) or the device body (200), or alternatively, a pedal connected to the device body (200) may serve as the switch. FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining the laser irradiation angle according to one embodiment, schematically showing the patient's tooth (300), the adhesive layer (310), and the bracket (320).

[0037] In FIG. 6, the arrow indicates the path of the laser light emitted from the laser output terminal (141). It is important to accurately irradiate the laser light onto the adhesive layer between the patient's tooth (300) and the bracket (320) for a short period of time. In one embodiment for this purpose, it is preferable that the laser light be infrared, but the inventors have discovered that the higher the wavelength, the more applicable it is to various types of adhesives. Accordingly, it is preferable to use infrared light of 1400 nm to 1900 nm instead of conventional infrared light in a relatively short wavelength range, and in this case, it has an excellent effect of softening the adhesive layer and weakening the adhesive strength for various types of adhesives.

[0038] In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the laser module (140) is not installed on both the first gripping part (111) and the second gripping part (121), but can be installed on only one side (i.e., the first gripping part (111)) to remove the bracket (320). In order to weaken the adhesive strength of the entire adhesive layer (310) by irradiating the laser onto the adhesive layer (310) from only one direction, it is preferable that the laser light be irradiated obliquely at a low angle to the surface of the tooth (300).

[0039] Accordingly, in one embodiment, the irradiation angle (θ) of the laser light on the surface of the tooth (300) is preferably greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 5 degrees, and more preferably greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 2 degrees. The laser power may be between 5W and 10W, and in this case, the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer (310) can be weakened by irradiating the laser light within 10 seconds. In this way, after weakening the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer (310) by laser irradiation, the user can pull the pliers (100) to separate the bracket (320) from the tooth (300) with a weak force.

[0040] As described above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations from the description in the specification above. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims set forth below as well as equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. As pliers for removing brackets bonded to teeth, A first main body (110) having a first gripping part (111) and a first handle (112); A second main body (120) having a second gripping part (121) and a second handle (122); A connecting pin (105) that crosswise connects the first main body (110) and the second main body (120); and A bracket removal pliers characterized by including a laser module (140) installed at the tip of the first gripping part (111) to output laser light.

2. A bracket removal pliers according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser light output from the laser module (140) is irradiated in a direction toward the second gripping part (121).

3. A bracket removal pliers according to claim 1, characterized in that an optical fiber transmitting laser light from an external laser light source is introduced into the first handle (112) side end of the first main body (110), penetrates the first handle (112) and the first gripping part (111), and is connected to the laser module (140).

4. A removal device for removing a bracket bonded to a tooth, Pliers for removing a bracket (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and A bracket removal device characterized by comprising: a device body (200) equipped with a laser generating module and transmitting a laser generated by the laser generating module to the pliers through an optical fiber.

5. In Paragraph 4, The device further includes a pedal connected to the main body of the device via a wired or wireless connection, A bracket removal device characterized by being configured to control the on / off of a laser transmitted to the pliers depending on whether the above pedal is pressed.

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