Orthodontic Bracket With Swappable Bodies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthodontic appliances require lengthy treatment times and complex clinical skills to achieve desired tooth movements, often resulting in prolonged patient treatment and potential negative impacts on bone and tissue due to the need for frequent archwire manipulation and bracket replacement.
Innovation Solution
The development of an orthodontic bracket system featuring a platform base that remains affixed to the tooth, allowing for the use of multiple bracket bodies that can be easily swapped without removing the base, enabling first, second, and third order movements without pre-bending archwires, thus simplifying tooth movement and reducing treatment duration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional orthodontic appliances with fixed brackets are used, then tooth movement control is achieved, but treatment time is prolonged and clinical skill requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is divided into two separable components: a base that remains fixed on the tooth and a body that can be removed and replaced. This segmentation allows the archwire slot geometry to be changed by swapping bodies while keeping the base in place, enabling precise control of tooth movement through different slot configurations without extending treatment time
Solution Approach 2:
The archwire slot cross-sectional dimensions are made selectively adjustable through the interchangeable body system. Different bodies provide different slot geometries that can be selected based on treatment stage and desired tooth movement, allowing dynamic adaptation of treatment forces without requiring manual archwire bending or prolonged treatment protocols
2Manufacturing precision
If archwire manipulation is performed to achieve desired tooth movements, then tooth positioning is improved, but clinical skill complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The desired archwire slot geometries are pre-configured into different bracket bodies during manufacturing. Instead of requiring clinicians to manually bend and shape archwires during treatment, the appropriate slot geometry is already prepared in the selected body, which is then attached to the base. This preliminary preparation eliminates complex clinical manipulation skills while maintaining precise tooth positioning control
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the archwire slot (cross-sectional dimensions, orientation) by replacing the bracket body rather than manipulating the archwire. Each body is manufactured with specific slot parameters that correspond to different treatment requirements, allowing clinicians to select the appropriate body without needing advanced wire bending skills
3Manufacturing precision
If frequent bracket replacement is performed to adjust treatment forces, then treatment control is improved, but patient discomfort increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the bracket into a permanent base and replaceable bodies, the invention allows adjustment of treatment forces through body replacement rather than complete bracket removal and reapplication. This reduces the frequency of invasive procedures on the tooth while maintaining precise control over treatment forces through different body geometries
Solution Approach 2:
The universal base design can accommodate multiple different bodies, each optimized for specific treatment phases or force requirements. This multi-functionality allows a single base to serve throughout treatment with different bodies attached as needed, reducing the need for repeated base removal and reapplication while maintaining precise treatment force control
Data Source
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AI summary
An orthodontic bracket is described and which includes a platform base having a posterior facing surface and which is matingly and releasably positioned adjacent to an anterior facing surface of a patient's tooth, and wherein the patient's tooth is subject to a multiple step orthodontic treatment regimen, and wherein the platform base remains affixed to the patient's tooth throughout the multiple step orthodontic treatment regimen selected by the treating clinician.