U.S. patent number 3,842,503 [Application Number 05/392,483] was granted by the patent office on 1974-10-22 for method for orthodontic treatment.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Silverado Industries Inc.. Invention is credited to Alexander J. Wildman.
United States Patent |
3,842,503 |
Wildman |
October 22, 1974 |
METHOD FOR ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT
Abstract
After securement of brackets to teeth of a patent to be treated,
an impression is taken of the mouth. The impression is removed,
replicas of brackets are inserted in the impression and a
simulation or model is made, as by positioning castings of the
teeth made in the impression, in ideal locations in the model. Arch
wires are then preformed to fit brackets on the ideal model and
after preforming, the arch wire is transferred to the brackets
previously mounted on teeth of the patient.
Inventors: |
Wildman; Alexander J. (Eugene,
OR) |
Assignee: |
Silverado Industries Inc.
(Napa, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
26729388 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/392,483 |
Filed: |
August 29, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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51411 |
May 27, 1970 |
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857351 |
Sep 12, 1969 |
3578744 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
433/24 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C
7/12 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
7/00 (20060101); A61C 7/12 (20060101); A61c
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;32/1,14A,71 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mancene; Louis G.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rosenblum; Jerald E. Schneck, Jr.;
Thomas
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of ser. no. 51,411 filed
May 27, 1970 for "Method and Apparatus for Orthodontic Treatment"
(parent) now abandoned. The parent application is a division of the
prior application, Ser. No. 857,351, filed Sept. 12, 1969, entitled
"Method and Apparatus for Orthodontic Treatment" which matured into
U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,744. A reissue application for said patent,
ser. no. 229,217 filed Feb. 24, 1972 is now pending.
Claims
We claim:
1. In a method of orthodontry for positioning teeth in desired
tooth positions the steps comprising,
affixing, to the teeth in a patient's mouth, brackets which are to
be fixed to arch wires,
making an impression of the teeth with the brackets thereon,
simulating the position of each tooth in an ideal model and the
position of the brackets thereon,
forming arch wires in said ideal model so as to conform to the
desired tooth positions on said model,
removing said arch wires from said model and attaching said wires
to the brackets on the teeth in a patient's mouth.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said brackets and arch wires are
applied to the lingual side of the teeth.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said brackets and arch wires are
applied to the labial side of the teeth.
4. The method of orthodontry which comprises,
affixing, to the teeth in a patient's mouth, bands and brackets
which are to be fixed to arch wires,
taking an impression of the teeth with the bands and brackets
thereon,
removing the impression from the mouth and inserting replicas of
the brackets into the impressions,
casting a replica of each tooth in said impression thereby to bond
said bracket replicas to the cast teeth,
separating the individual tooth castings,
mounting the separating tooth castings to form a model having the
teeth in the desired ideal location,
forming arch wires to the brackets on the teeth in said ideal model
so as to conform to the desired tooth positions on said model,
removing said arch wires from said model and attaching said wires
to the brackets on the teeth in the patient's mouth.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with what is known as the direct method of
orthodontic work, bands are positioned around the individual teeth
of a patient with brackets to permit connection of the bands to the
arch wire and various spring wires as are ordinarily utilized. This
technique requires considerable skill and judgment on the part of
an orthodontist in manipulating and forming the various force
applying wires so as to attain the desired movement of teeth.
In accordance with the so-called "indirect" method utilized
heretofore, bands and arch wires are formed in an ideal model and
then transferred to the patient. However, it is virtually
impossible to secure the bands on the patient's teeth in the same
location as on the model.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the method of the invention and utilizing the
apparatus of the invention, an orthodontist is enabled to perform
the difficult and intricate task of forming an arch wire so as to
obtain the desired tooth movement on an ideal model of the teeth of
the patient while the arch wire is out of the mouth. Thereafter,
the arch wire can be transferred to the patient's mouth and easily
and quickly secured to brackets on the individual teeth. The teeth
are then guided to the positions on the ideal model.
More particularly, in accordance with the method of the invention,
arch wire brackets are secured by bands to the teeth of a patient
after which an impression is made of the patient's mouth. After
removal of the impression, replicas of the brackets are inserted in
a corresponding position in the impression and a casting made of
the teeth in the course of which the brackets will become rigidly
attached to the tooth castings. Thereafter, the individual tooth
castings are separated and reset in an ideal model of the patient's
mouth whereupon an arch wire can be formed so as to conform to the
bracket locations of the teeth in the ideal model. After formation
of such wire, it is transferred to the patient's mouth, whereupon
the memory of the wire will apply corrective force to the teeth
causing them to move towards their ideal location.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In accordance with the method of the invention, the orthodontic
brackets are mounted on bands and are secured to the teeth of a
patient. An impression of the patient's mouth is taken so as to
obtain an impression of the position of the teeth with the brackets
attached thereto. The impression is removed from the mouth and an
ideal model of the patient's mouth is made. For example, replicas
of the brackets are inserted in the corresponding apertures formed
in the impression. Thereafter, a casting is made in the impression
so as to obtain a model of the patient's teeth with the bracket
replicas attached to the cast teeth. Next, the individual tooth
castings are separated by cutting or other suitable means and reset
in their ideal locations in a model. Next, an arch wire is formed
so as to fit the brackets of the ideal model and upon its
completion this arch wire is removed and attached to the brackets
on the teeth in the patient's mouth, the memory of the wire will
apply the desired pressure to the teeth in the mouth to cause them
to rotate or tip or otherwise move as desired towards the ideal
location. It may be preferred to start the treatment with a wire
applying only a small amount of force and to increase the force
applied as the treatment continues by changing the wire. In any
case, the orthodontist can go back to his ideal model for forming
the arch wire which is to be positioned in the patient's mouth.
While the technique described herein will work with almost any
bracket, this technique has been previously described with
reference to a bracket of my design in U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,744 to
A. J. Wildman, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
Because of the simplicity of the model making method described
herein, the arch wires may be mounted on the lingual side of the
teeth as well as the labial side, as presently done. This is
possible because brackets may be secured directly to teeth without
bands. Thus, for cosmetic reasons, or otherwise, it may be desired
to mount a lingual arch wire.
In order to mount brackets to the lingual side of the teeth, the
brackets are preferably mounted on the teeth without bands. Two
methods for doing this are as follows:
In the first method, brackets are adhesively mounted on the
patient's teeth and the brackets are covered with elastomeric caps.
An impression is then taken of teeth with the brackets covered. The
mounted covers are then removed from the teeth and are
discarded.
Next, a replica of each tooth is made or obtained, as by casting,
and a bracket is mounted on each replica in the space provided by
the caps. The replicas are then placed in ideal positions
simulating an ideal position for all the teeth relative to each
other and an ideal arch wire is formed. The ideal arch wire is then
removed from the ideal model and mounted in the brackets on the
patient's teeth.
In the second method, an impression of a patient's teeth is made,
which is duplicated in investment, a heat resistant material used
in dental castings. Next, a thin layer of wax is placed on the back
sides of the duplicate teeth so that a wax shell is formed thereon.
Then wax replicas of the desired brackets are placed on the wax
shell at locations corresponding to desired locations on the actual
teeth. Next thin wax tubes are radially connected from each wax
bracket to an upward sprue, and above that is connected a
reservoir. The whole assembly is placed in a crucible and the
plenum of the crucible filled with investment so that no empty
space exists, except in the tubes. Next the wax is dissolved and
molten metal, i.e., bracket and base material, is poured in. The
hot investment is quenched in water, causing it to shatter, leaving
brackets mounted on bases which fit onto individual teeth on the
lingual side thereof. The brackets and bases are cleaned, as by
sandblasting, so that no mark left by the tubes is apparent. The
individual bases and brackets are then separated. The individual
bases have a contour matching the shape of each tooth, with each
base extending from one side of the back of a tooth to the other
side so that each base indexes the position of the corresponding
bracket on one tooth.
The individual teeth of the original impression are now separated
with the new base and bracket castings temporarily mounted on each
one. The teeth are then placed in ideal positions relative to each
other, forming an ideal model, and an ideal arch wire is formed
using the brackets thereon. Next each bracket integrally connected
to a custom fitting base, is mounted on a corresponding tooth of a
patient and the ideal arch wire is mounted thereon.
In summary, the method disclosed herein includes the steps of
affixing brackets to the teeth of a patient. The brackets are of a
conventional type for holding arch wires. Next an impression is
made of the teeth with brackets thereon. The impression is then
used in setting up a simulation or model of an ideal position for
the teeth. One way to set up such an ideal model is to insert
replicas of the brackets into the impression and cast a replica of
each tooth and bracket, then separate the castings and mount the
teeth to form a model. Another way to accomplish the same thing is
to position brackets on a tooth simulator corresponding to the
position brackets have been mounted on the patient's teeth. In
either instance, the position of the brackets on the patient's
teeth is used in the model process thereby overcoming the prior art
problem of attempting to fix the brackets to the teeth after the
arch wire is formed.
The next step involves removing the arch wire or wires from the
model and attaching the arch wires to the brackets on the teeth in
a patient's mouth. The arch wire or wires then urge the patient's
teeth to their ideal position.
One advantage of the present method is that it will greatly
simplify the practice of orthodontic dentistry in the following
manner. A practitioner will mount brackets directly on a patient's
teeth and make an impression. He can then send the impression to a
laboratory where precision arch wires are formed. The laboratory
will use the impression to make an ideal model by simulating ideal
positions for the patient's teeth and the position of brackets
thereon. The bracket position is known exactly relative to the
tooth because the impression gives the exact position. Thus, the
arch wire or wires formed in the laboratory will correspond to the
ideal positions determined in the laboratory.
* * * * *