Self-Ligating Orthodontic Bracket with Dovetail Slide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthodontic brackets require ligatures or ligating modules that are time-consuming to install, prone to hygiene issues, and can become detached, limiting the forces applied to teeth and causing archwire disengagement, while existing self-locking designs are often complex and costly.
Innovation Solution
A self-ligating orthodontic bracket with a mounting base, archwire slot, and a slideably retained ligating slide member featuring a resilient retention mechanism within a dovetail channel, allowing coplanar retention forces to securely hold the archwire without the need for ligatures, and including features for easy manipulation and improved patient comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ligatures or ligating modules are used to hold the archwire within the archwire slots, then the archwire can be secured to the brackets, but the installation time increases substantially and hygiene issues arise due to food particle trapping
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the ligature or ligating module from the bracket system by providing archwire slots that are inherently self-retaining. The archwire slot geometry itself provides the retention mechanism through friction and geometric interlocking, removing the need for separate ligature components entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The archwire slot is designed to automatically retain the archwire through its geometric configuration and friction characteristics. The slot provides self-retention without requiring external ligatures, and the system serves itself by using the archwire's own properties (flexibility, resilience) in combination with the slot geometry to maintain retention.
2Reliability
If ligatures or ligating modules are used to hold the archwire, then the archwire can be secured, but the ligatures may become detached allowing archwire disengagement
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the archwire slot and the retention function into a single integrated structure. The archwire slot itself provides both the guidance and retention functions that were previously separated into distinct components (slot plus ligature), eliminating the possibility of ligature detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes the ligature or ligating module from the system entirely, extracting the problematic component that could detach. The retention function is achieved through the archwire slot geometry and friction alone, without any separate ligature elements that could become disengaged.
3Force
If ligatures or ligating modules are used, then the archwire can be held in place, but the forces applied to teeth are limited by the ligature strength
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the ligature component that limited force application. By eliminating the ligature, the system allows forces to be applied directly to the archwire and transmitted through the archwire slot without being constrained by ligature strength, enabling greater force application to move teeth more effectively.
4Reliability
If complex self-locking designs are used to eliminate ligatures, then archwire retention is improved, but the design becomes prohibitively expensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by providing different archwire slot geometries for different retention needs. Some archwire slots are designed with higher friction characteristics for secure retention, while others provide more slideability for specific treatment requirements. This localized variation in slot geometry allows the system to achieve self-retention without complex overall design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes parameters of the archwire slot geometry (width, depth, angle, surface finish) to control retention characteristics. By varying these parameters, the system achieves different levels of friction and geometric interlocking to provide appropriate self-retention without requiring complex mechanical locking mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides secure archwire retention with enhanced force control and flexibility, reducing installation time, improving hygiene, and minimizing detachment issues, while maintaining a simpler and more cost-effective design compared to existing self-locking brackets.
Implementation Method 1
at least one resilient retention mechanism aligned in coplanar relation to said ligating slide member and capable of exerting retention forces in a direction coplanar said ligating slide member and, thereby, holding said ligating slide member in a dosed position
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides an improved self-ligating orthodontic bracket. According to one embodiment, the improved orthodontic bracket includes a mounting base for attachment to a tooth surface, an archwire slot formed upon the base and sized for receiving an orthodontic archwire, a channel formed upon the base and transversely oriented to the archwire slot, and a ligating slide member slideably retained within the channel and closeable over the archwire slot for retaining the orthodontic archwire therein, and wherein the ligating slide member includes at least one coplanar resilient retention mechanism for exerting retention forces coplanar with the ligating slide member for holding the ligating slide member in a closed position. In one embodiment, the improved orthodontic bracket comprises a bracket with a ligating slide member slideably retained within a dovetail shaped channel.