Patent Application
20070207435
This invention relates generally to the field of orthodontia, and more particularly to an orthodontic appliance adapted for efficient and non-injurious debonding.
One characteristic of ceramic orthodontic brackets is that they are typically bonded directly to a tooth surface as opposed to being welded to a tooth encircling band as was the case with prior stainless steel orthodontic brackets. Because the forces that are imposed on teeth during orthodontia are substantial the strength of the adhesive bond between a ceramic orthodontic bracket and the surface of the tooth to which it is secured must be very substantial. As is well understood by those skilled in the art, the very tight adhesion between a ceramic orthodontic bracket and the underlying tooth surface that is necessary for orthodontia inhibits removal, i.e., debonding, of the ceramic bracket from the tooth when the orthodontic procedure has been completed.
Referring specifically to
The present invention comprises a ceramic orthodontic bracket construction and a method of debonding ceramic orthodontic brackets which overcomes the foregoing and other difficulties which have long since characterized the prior art. In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention an otherwise conventional ceramic bracket has a layer of rigid epoxy secured to the undersurface thereof. The epoxy layer has a minimum thickness of 0.010 inches. The orthodontic bracket is secured to the surface of the tooth by bonding the undersurface of the epoxy layer to the tooth surface utilizing conventional orthodontic bonding techniques. At the conclusion of the orthodontic procedure, the jaws of a pair of conventional orthodontic debonding pliers are applied against the opposite sides of the rigid epoxy layer whereby the epoxy layer to caused to shatter thereby releasing the ceramic orthodontic appliance from the tooth surface. Any remnants of the epoxy layer which remain adhered to the tooth surface are easily removed utilizing conventional dental cleaning techniques.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in connection with the accompanying Drawings, wherein:
Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to
A layer 44 comprising rigid epoxy or equivalent is adhesively secured to the undersurface 42 of the bracket 40. The layer of rigid epoxy 44 may be applied to the undersurface 42 of the bracket 40 in liquid form in which case the layer of epoxy 44 self-adheres to the material comprising the bracket 40. Alternatively, the layer of rigid epoxy 44 may be secured to the undersurface 42 of the bracket 44 in solid form in which case an adhesive of the type commonly used in the practice of orthodontia is utilized to secure the layer of epoxy 44 to the undersurface 42 of the bracket 40.
Regardless of whether it is applied in liquid or solid form, the layer of epoxy 44 has a minimum thickness as represented by the arrows 46, it being understood that the arrows 46 do not necessarily designate the precise location of the minimum thickness of the layer of epoxy 44. The present invention comprises in part the discovery that the minimum thickness of the layer of epoxy 44 as represented by the arrows 46 must be at least 0.010 inches in order that the debonding method of the present invention can be successfully accomplished. In this regard, it is noted that layers of epoxy of various thicknesses have theretofore been applied to the undersurfaces of ceramic orthodontic brackets. However, it has not heretofore been realized that a minimum thickness of 0.010 inches of the layer of epoxy is critical in order to successfully accomplish the ceramic orthodontic bracket debonding method of the present invention.
The epoxy layer 44 has a tooth engaging undersurface 48 which may have a spherical configuration or any other surface configuration in accordance with particular applications of the invention. Regardless of how the epoxy layer 44 is secured to the undersurface 42 of the bracket 40 the undersurface 48 of the layer 44 is adhesively secured to the surface 50 of a tooth 52 utilizing conventional techniques for bonding orthodontic brackets to tooth surfaces. Thereafter conventional orthodontic techniques are utilized to straighten the tooth 52 by means of the bracket 40. Eventually the orthodontic procedure is completed at which time it is necessary to debond the bracket 40 from the tooth 52.
In accordance with the method of debonding orthodontic brackets of the present invention, the jaws 60 of a pair of orthodontic debonding pliers (represented diagrammatically in
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit of the invention.
