GB2451460A - Orthodontic hand tool - Google Patents

Abstract

The tool for placing and aligning an orthodontic bracket onto a patient's tooth comprises a pair of substantially parallel elongate legs 10, 12 extending from a common root or pivot point 14. The distal end of each leg has a gripping portion 16, 18 which cooperate to hold the orthodontic bracket. Each gripping portion being provided with a recess 20, aperture or slot to allow the gripping portions to engage the side faces of the bracket on either side of an archwire receiving clip. The tool may also comprise a scissor arrangement of a cross-over tweezer design.

Description

* 2451460 1 Orthodontic Hand Tool The present invention relates to an orthodontic hand tool for placing and aligning an orthodontic bracket onto a patient's tooth, and in particular to an orthodontic hand tool for placing an aligning a self-ligating bracket having archwire receiving clips provided on side faces of the bracket, in particular those sold by 3M under the Registered Trade Mark "SmartClip", as disclosed in International patent application No. WO 2006/0147868 Al.

Self ligation is an orthodontic term used to describe a bracket with a sliding or rotating mechanism to ligate an archwire. This type of bracket replaces elastic ligatures that are traditionally used. Self ligation typically cuts orthodontic appointment time drastically as they do not require the application to elastic ties to place a ligating force on the teeth.

Orthodontic braces are a device used in orthodontics to correct alignment of teeth and their position with regard to bite. Braces are often used to correct malocclusions such as underbites, overbites, cross bites and open bites, or crooked teeth and various other flaws of teeth and jaws, whether cosmetic or structural. Orthodontic braces are often used in conjunction with other orthodontic appliances to widen the palate or jaws, create spaces between teeth, or otherwise shape the teeth and jaws.

The typical arrangement for braces requires placement of a series of brackets upon a patient's teeth. Most brackets have a base portion that is affixed to a patient's tooth surface and a wing portion, which extends away from the base and forms a channel into which a connecting wire is placed.

A connecting wire is placed between the channels of the braces and applies pressure upon the teeth so as to straighten the teeth and achieve a desired result and guides movement of the teeth to the desired positions The correct placement of the brackets upon a patient's teeth is critical.

The height of the bracket on the tooth is especially important. Each type of tooth may have a different ideal bracket placement height. For example, canines require a different bracket than incisors.

A known method of placing the brackets on the patient's teeth is to use a pair of long handled curved tweezers to grasp a portion of the bracket and to place the back portion of the bracket onto adhesive glue that has been pre-applied to the enamel of the teeth.

After each bracket has been oriented to the desired position and orientation on the respective tooth, the adhesive is cured by means such as a light source or ultrasonic waves to bond the bracket to the tooth.

The correct placement of brackets upon a tooth can be awkward or difficult for the person placing the brackets. As a result, the process of placing and aligning brackets on the teeth can be long and tedious.

Typically prior art brackets are flat sided, at least one two opposite sides, so that the bracket can be gripped by tweezers. A particular problem occurs with the self-ligating brackets of the type referred to above due to the presence of the archwire receiving clips on the side faces of each bracket, whereby none of the side faces of the bracket present a smooth face to enable the bracket to be readily gripped by typical known tweezers or forceps. Therefore there is a risk that the clip can be dropped, potentially down the patient's throat. However, these brackets have become very popular due to their ease of use and effectiveness and thus there is a need for a simple yet effective means for holding such brackets to permit placement and alignment of the brackets on the teeth.

According to the present invention there is provided an orthodontic hand tool for placing and aligning an orthodontic bracket onto a patient's tooth, the tool comprising a pair of substantially parallel elongate legs extending from a common root or pivot point, a distal end of each leg having a gripping portion whereby the gripping portions of the legs are arranged to cooperate to allow an orthodontic bracket to be held therebetween, each gripping portion being provided with a recess, aperture or slot to allow the gripping portions to engage the side faces of the bracket on either side of an archwire receiving clip.

Preferably a distal region of each leg including said gripping portion is acutely angularly disposed with respect the remainder of the respective leg.

Preferably each of said gripping portions includes an axially extending slot extending from a distal end of the gripping portion for receiving an archwire receiving clip of the bracket.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a 3M "SmartClip" � orthodontic bracket; Fig. 2 is perspective view of a hand tool according to an embodiment of the present invention for placing and aligning the bracket of Fig. 1 onto the surface of a tooth.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the gripping portion of the hand tool of Fig. 2.

A shown in the drawing, a known self-ligating bracket 1 is provided with archwire receiving clips 2 provided on side faces of the bracket. Such brackets are sold by 3M under the Registered Trade Mark "SmartClip".

The archwire receiving clips 2 and their associated mounting lugs 3 lead to difficulties in holding the bracket in conventional orthodontic tweezers.

While the bracket can be held by engaging the gripping portions of the tweezers on the side faces 4 orthogonal to the clips 2, such action requires the tweezers to be oriented in a horizontal manner for the bracket to be located in the correct orientation with the archwire receiving slot 5 transverse to the tooth. Furthermore, the side faces 4 are not themselves flat, leading to an increased risk of dropping the bracket, potentially down the patient's throat.

As illustrated in Figs, 2 and 3, an orthodontic hand tool according to an embodiment of the present invention is similar to known orthodontic tweezers in so far as it comprises a pair of substantially parallel elongate legs 10,12 extending from a common root 14, a distal end of each leg having 10,12 a gripping portion 16,18 whereby the gripping portions of the legs are arranged to cooperate to allow an orthodontic bracket to be held therebetween. The gripping portions 16,18 extend at an acute angle to the remainder of the legs 10,12 to enable the tool to be held in a comfortable position with a bracket located between the gripping portion in the correct orientation for placement on a patient's tooth.

In order for the gripping portions 16,18 to grip opposite sides of the bracket perpendicular to the archwire receiving slot 5, each gripping portion is provided with a slot of cut-out 20 extending from a distal end thereof such that the gripping portion defines a forked end whereby the slot 20 can receive a respective archwire receiving clip ? and its associated mounting lug 3, the remainder of the gripping portion engaging the bracket on either side of the clip 2.

Various modifications and variations to the described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific preferred embodiment, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiment.

For example, the tool may comprise a scissor arrangement with the two legs being pivotally joined to one another at a central location.

Alternatively the tool may comprise a cross over tweezer design wherein the legs cross over one another such that the gripping portion are biased towards one another, rather than away from one another, a squeezing force being applied to the legs to separate the gripping portions.

Rather than a slot, each gripping portion may be provided with an aperture or recess for receiving an archwire receiving clip and its associated mounting lug.

Claims (6)

1. Claims 1. An orthodontic hand tool for placing and aligning an orthodontic bracket onto a patient's tooth, the tool comprising a pair of substantially parallel elongate legs extending from a common root or pivot point, a distal end of each leg having a gripping portion whereby the gripping portions of the legs are arranged to cooperate to allow an orthodontic bracket to be held therebetween, each gripping portion being provided with a recess, aperture or slot to allow the gripping portions to engage the side faces of the bracket on either side of an archwire receiving clip.
2. 2. An orthodontic hand tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein a distal region of each leg including said gripping portion is acutely angularly disposed with respect the remainder of the respective leg.
3. 3. An orthodontic hand tool as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each of said gripping portions includes an axially extending slot extending from a distal end of the gripping portion for receiving an archwire receiving clip of the bracket.
4. 4. An orthodontic hand tool as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the tool comprises a pair of elongate legs in a scissor arrangement with the legs being pivotally joined to one another at a central location.
5. 5. An orthodontic hand tool as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the tool comprises a pair of elongate legs in a cross over tweezer design such that the gripping portions are biased towards one another.
6. 6. An orthodontic hand tool as substantially herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.