Orthodontic Bracket with Dual Slots and Rounded Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthodontic bracket systems either function as purely passive or interactive, lacking a combination of both features, which limits their versatility and comfort for patients, and often have designs that compromise hygiene due to tie-wing structures and bulkiness.
Innovation Solution
A bracket system with a rounded shape featuring two slots that can be fully exposed, allowing for both interactive and passive functionality, reducing discomfort and plaque accumulation, and incorporating a secondary slot for elastic retention and torque adjustments for Class II and III corrections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a conventional bracket system with tie-wings is used, then the bracket can securely hold the orthodontic wire, but it causes discomfort to the patient's mucosa and accumulates plaque
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the tie-wing structures from the bracket design, extracting the harmful elements that caused patient discomfort and plaque accumulation. The bracket body is redesigned without protruding tie-wings, eliminating the source of mucosal injury and food trapping while maintaining wire retention through alternative mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is designed with completely rounded contours and smooth surfaces, eliminating sharp edges and protruding elements. This curved design reduces patient discomfort by preventing mucosal injury and improves hygiene by minimizing plaque accumulation sites, while the rounded shape maintains structural integrity for wire retention.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a bracket system is designed to be purely passive, then it simplifies the mechanism, but it reduces the versatility of tooth movement options
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a dynamic clip mechanism that can transition between passive and interactive modes. The clip is designed to be manually movable, allowing it to engage with the archwire for active tooth movement control or disengage for passive alignment, providing versatility without requiring a permanently complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is designed with dual functionality to serve both passive and interactive purposes. The same bracket structure can accommodate different treatment stages and tooth movement requirements by adjusting the clip position, eliminating the need for multiple specialized brackets and simplifying the overall system.
3Ease of operation
If a bracket system uses a rigid circular clip design, then it provides passive self-ligation, but it becomes bulky and limits control over teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is divided into distinct functional components: a compact bracket body and a separate clip mechanism. This segmentation allows the bracket body to remain small and unobtrusive while the clip provides the necessary ligation function, reducing overall bulkiness and improving tooth control precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip is designed with changed physical parameters compared to traditional rigid circular clips - it uses a more flexible material composition and optimized geometric parameters that allow it to function effectively in a smaller size, reducing bracket bulkiness while maintaining or improving tooth control capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Interactive/passive bracket system developed to provide orthodontic treatment in a more comfortable, efficient and faster manner. Its function with the orthodontic wire may be determined by an orthodontist in order to make it interactive or only passive. It is something innovative because no bracket system can provide these two features in the same bracket. The presence of two convertible slots which is also a significant differential feature will simplify the tooth movement in the class I, II and Angle III relations. Besides, the rounded design makes the Revolution systems more comfortable and traps less food, thus facilitating brushing.