JP2010263932A - Orthodontic bracket - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an orthodontic bracket which has simplified and diversified components, and therefore has reduced costs relating to manufacture or the like and has improved handleability (user-friendliness) and durability. <P>SOLUTION: In the configuration of the orthodontic bracket 1 which is to be fixed to the surface Tf of a tooth T to be corrected and holds an arch wire A, the orthodontic bracket 1 includes: a wire holder part 2 having insertion holes 2hp and 2hq into which the arch wire A is inserted; a holder support 3 fitted to the wire holder part 2 and bonded and fixed to the surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected; and a fixing part 4 for fixing the wire holder part 2 to the holder support 3 when the wire holder part 2 into which the arch wire A is inserted is fitted to the holder support 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an orthodontic bracket suitable for use in holding an archwire that is fixed to the surface of a tooth to be corrected and corrects the dentition.

  In general, orthodontic brackets are known that hold an archwire fixed to the surface of a tooth to be corrected and perform positional correction on the dentition by the elasticity of the archwire.

  Conventionally, various types of orthodontic brackets of this type are known. For example, in Patent Document 1, an archwire is slidably received in a slot of a bracket, and a ligature sheet is locked on a wing of the bracket. An orthodontic bracket that covers the bracket and the archwire is disclosed, and Patent Document 2 discloses a main body having an archwire slot and a fixing sliding member that can move to open and close the slot. A self-fixing orthodontic bracket is disclosed, and Patent Document 3 discloses an orthodontic bracket and a latch assembly each including a bracket and a latch coupled to the bracket. A body having a lingual surface attached to the tooth and forming an archwire slot, and access to the archwire slot An orthodontic bracket made up of a clip that moves between an open position that is capable of functioning and a closed position that makes it impossible to enter and exit the archwire slot is disclosed, and Patent Document 5 has an archwire slot. And a body portion adapted to be secured to the tooth and moved between an open position coupled to the body portion and allowing access to the archwire slot and a closed position preventing access to the archwire slot An orthodontic bracket having a clip that is possible is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-070943 JP-A-6-154244 Special table 2003-501202 gazette JP 2005-530598 A Special table 2007-527752 gazette

  However, the conventional orthodontic brackets described above have the following problems.

  First, since this type of orthodontic bracket is used by being fixed to the tooth surface, its size is as small as several millimeters. Therefore, it is desirable that the shape and structure be as simple as possible. However, conventional orthodontic brackets tend to be complicated in shape, including the structure, resulting in higher costs and ease of handling (ease of use). In addition to incurring a drop, there is also a difficulty in durability such as failure (breakage).

  Secondly, since the surface of the orthodontic bracket that comes in contact with the inner wall of the mouth needs to be as flat as possible because it is used by being fixed to the tooth surface, it is necessary to consider its feeling of use and appearance, The orthodontic bracket has a large surface irregularity and a feeling of complexity, and it cannot be said that the feeling of use and appearance during use are sufficient.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an orthodontic bracket that solves such problems in the background art.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides an insertion hole 2hp through which the archwire A is inserted when the orthodontic bracket 1 is fixed to the surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected and holds the archwire A. The wire holder part 2 having 2hq, the holder support part 3 that is fitted to the wire holder part 2 and is adhered and fixed to the surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected, and the wire holder part 2 through which the arch wire A is inserted are the holder support part 3 And a fixing portion 4 for fixing the wire holder portion 2 to the holder support portion 3 when fitted.

  In this case, according to a preferred aspect of the invention, the holder support portion 3 can be integrally provided with the position restriction portions 11 for the arch wire A. Moreover, the wire holder part 2 can be comprised in the shape which covers the front part 3f and the side part 3s of the holder support part 3 whole. Furthermore, the fixing part 4 is formed separately from the wire holder part 2 and the holder support part 3 and includes one or more pin parts 13 that are inserted or locked between the wire holder part 2 and the holder support part 3. 13 and a fixing member 12 having fixing means 14 and 14 for fixing when the pin portions 13 and 13 are inserted or locked between the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3 can be used. Alternatively, the locking claw 15 formed integrally with one of the wire holder 2 and the holder support 3 and the other of the wire holder 2 or the holder support 3 can be integrally formed and locked with the locking claw 15. It can also be configured by the locked portions 16.

  According to the orthodontic bracket 1 according to the present invention having such a configuration, the following remarkable effects can be obtained.

  (1) The wire holder portion 2 has insertion holes 2hp and 2hq through which the arch wire A is inserted and is fitted to the holder support portion 3 that is bonded and fixed to the surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected. Therefore, the parts including the fixing part 4 can be simplified and diversified. Therefore, it is possible to reduce costs related to manufacturing and the like, and it is possible to improve handling (ease of use). Further, failure (breakage) is unlikely to occur and durability can be improved.

  (2) According to a preferred embodiment, if the holder support portion 3 is integrally provided with the position restricting portions 11 for the arch wire A, the position of the arch wire A with respect to the tooth T to be corrected can be accurately positioned.

  (3) If the wire holder portion 2 is configured to cover the entire front surface portion 3f and the side surface portion 3s of the holder support portion 3 according to a preferred embodiment, the entire unevenness including the front surface portion of the orthodontic bracket 1 in particular. In addition, the feeling of use and appearance during use can be dramatically improved.

  (4) According to a preferred embodiment, one or more of the fixed portion 4 is formed separately from the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3 and is inserted or locked between the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3. And a fixing member 12 having fixing means 14 and 14 for fixing the pin portions 13 and 13 when the pin portions 13 and 13 are inserted or locked between the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3. As a result, the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3 can be reliably fixed, and various fixing means 14 and 14 can be selected.

  (5) According to a preferred embodiment, the fixing part 4 is integrally formed on the other of the wire holder part 2 or the holder support part 3 and the locking claw part 15 ... integrally formed on one of the wire holder part 2 or the holder support part 3; In addition, if it is configured by the locked portion 16 that can be locked to the locking claw portion 15, a separate fixing member is not required, and therefore the cost can be reduced and the handling (ease of use) can be further simplified. ) Can be improved and can contribute to further improvement in the feeling of use and appearance.

A cross-sectional side view of an orthodontic bracket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A partially broken front view of the orthodontic bracket, A perspective view of a wire holder part used for the orthodontic bracket, A perspective view of a holder support used for the orthodontic bracket, Use explanatory diagram of the orthodontic bracket, Other usage explanatory diagrams of the orthodontic bracket, Other usage explanatory diagrams of the orthodontic bracket, Front view showing the use state of the orthodontic bracket, The front view and side view of the fixing part used for the orthodontic bracket according to the modified embodiment of the present invention, The front view of the fixing | fixed part used for the orthodontic bracket which concerns on other modified embodiment of this invention, Side surface sectional drawing which clarifies the fixing | fixed part used for the orthodontic bracket which concerns on other modified embodiment of this invention,

  Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be given and described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the orthodontic bracket 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7.

  The orthodontic bracket 1 includes, as basic components, a wire holder portion 2 having insertion holes 2hp and 2hq through which the arch wire A is inserted, and the front surface of the tooth T to be corrected, which is fitted in the wire holder portion 2 (Surface) A holder support portion 3 that is bonded and fixed to Tf and a fixing portion that fixes the wire holder portion 2 to the holder support portion 3 when the wire holder portion 2 through which the arch wire A is inserted is fitted to the holder support portion 3. 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the wire holder portion 2 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and is formed into an internal hollow having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and one surface (rear surface) opened. Accordingly, the wire holder portion 2 includes a rectangular front surface portion 2f and a rectangular frame-shaped side surface portion 2s extending in a direction perpendicular to the four sides of the front surface portion 2f. Further, the side surface portion 2s is shown in FIG. Thus, in the use position, it has the upper surface 2su, the lower surface 2sd, the right surface 2sp, and the left surface 2sq. In addition, as a forming material of the wire holder part 2, a metal material, a ceramic material, etc. may be sufficient. Moreover, the outer surface of the wire holder part 2 uses a flat surface and a curved surface, and eliminates the unevenness | corrugation and complicated feeling of the whole. Further, insertion holes 2hp and 2hq through which the arch wire A is inserted are formed at the upper and lower central positions on the right surface 2sp and the left surface 2sq, respectively, and fixing members which will be described later are disposed at left and right spaced positions on the upper surface 2su and the lower surface 2sd, respectively. Are formed as two pairs (two sets) of insertion holes 21u, 21d,.

  The wire holder portion 2 formed in this way has a shape that covers the entire front surface 3f and side surface 3s of the holder support portion 3 described later. In this way, if the wire holder part 2 is configured in a shape that covers the entire front surface 3f and side surface 3s of the holder support part 3, in particular, the entire unevenness including the front surface of the orthodontic bracket 1 and a complicated feeling are eliminated, There is an advantage that a feeling of use and appearance at the time of use can be dramatically improved.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the holder support portion 3 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and the entire outer shape is fit in a rectangular parallelepiped so as to fit inside the wire holder portion 2. To form. Therefore, the holder support portion 3 has a front surface portion 3f and a side surface portion 3s corresponding to (facing to) the front surface portion 2f and the side surface portion 2s in the wire holder portion 2, and further, the side surface portion 3s is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, at the use position, it has an upper surface 3su, a lower surface 3sd, a right surface 3sp, and a left surface 3sq. In addition, as a forming material of the holder support part 3, a metal material, a ceramic material, etc. may be sufficient.

  Further, the rear surface portion 3r located on the opposite side of the front surface portion 3f serves as a fixing surface for bonding and fixing to the front surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected. Therefore, it is desirable that the fixed surface (rear surface portion 3r) is formed of a curved surface or the like so that it can come into surface contact with the front surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected as necessary. Further, a holding groove 22 is formed along the left-right direction at the vertical center position of the front surface portion 3f. Thereby, the convex position restricting portions 11 and 11 for the arch wire A are integrally formed above and below the holding groove 22. The holding groove 22 can accommodate the archwire A. Therefore, the position of the arch wire A with respect to the tooth to be corrected T is accurately positioned by such position restricting portions 11. In addition, locking slits 23p and 23q are formed at intermediate positions in the front-rear direction of the right surface 3sp and the left surface 3sq, respectively. The upper and lower ends of each locking slit 23p, 23q face a pair of insertion holes 21u, 21u, 21d, 21d provided in the wire holder portion 2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a fixing member 12 formed separately from the wire holder portion 2 and the holder support portion 3 is used for the fixing portion 4. The fixing member 12 is formed by bending a single wire member 25 into a U-shape. Therefore, a pair of pin portions 13 and 13 facing each other are provided on both sides. The wire member 25 is formed of a metal material that can be bent relatively easily by a human finger or the like, that is, can be plastically deformed. Thereby, the front end side of the pin parts 13 and 13 becomes the fixing means 14 and 14 which can be bent. The pin portions 13 and 13 can be inserted into insertion holes 21u, 21u and 21d and 21d provided in the wire holder portion 2 and can be accommodated (locked) in the locking slits 23p and 23q. By using such a fixing member 12, there is an advantage that the wire holder part 2 and the holder support part 3 can be reliably fixed and various fixing means 14 and 14 can be selected.

  Next, the usage method of the orthodontic bracket 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, a number of holder support portions 3... Corresponding to the number of teeth of the dentition Lt to be corrected are prepared, and as shown in FIG. 5, the holder support portions are placed at predetermined positions on the front surfaces Tf. 3... The rear surface portions 3 r... Are bonded and fixed with an adhesive J (see FIG. 1). Further, an arch wire A having a shape along the tooth row Lt and having a predetermined elasticity is prepared, and the arch wire A corresponds to the number of holder support portions 3 as shown in FIG. A number of wire holder portions 2 are loaded. That is, the arch wire A is inserted through the insertion holes 2hp, 2hq,.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the wire holder portions 2 are mounted on the holder support portions 3 that are bonded and fixed to the front surfaces Tf of the teeth T to be corrected. At this time, the archwire A is accommodated in the holding groove 22 as shown in FIG. Moreover, since each wire holder part 2 ... is supported by the arch wire A in this case, each wire holder part 2 ... can be easily mounted | worn with respect to each holder support part 3 .... Then, the prepared fixing members 12 are mounted in the insertion holes 21u and 21u from above the wire holder portions 2. That is, the tips of the two pin portions 13 and 13 in the fixing member 12 are inserted into the two insertion holes 21u and 21u located on the upper side, respectively. Thereby, the front end side of the pin portions 13 and 13 passes through the locking slits 23p and 23q and passes through the two insertion holes 21d and 21d located on the lower side, and as shown in FIG. Projects downward. Therefore, if the front end side of the pin portions 13 and 13 protruding from the wire holder portions 2 is bent at a substantially right angle as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the pin portions 13 and 13 are prevented from coming off, and the wire holder portion 2 is It can be fixed to the holder support 3.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the archwire A is supported by the orthodontic brackets 1 adhered and fixed to the respective teeth T to be corrected. Thus, if this state is continued for a certain period, the elasticity of the archwire A acts on the teeth to be corrected T ..., and the dentition Lt is corrected. Thus, according to the orthodontic bracket 1 according to the present embodiment, the holder support portion 3 that has the insertion holes 2hp and 2hq through which the arch wire A is inserted and is bonded and fixed to the front surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected. Since the wire holder portion 2 is fitted to the holder support portion 3 and the wire holder portion 2 is fixed to the holder support portion 3, the parts including the fixing portion 4 can be simplified and diversified. Can be. Therefore, it is possible to reduce costs related to manufacturing and the like, and it is possible to further improve the handleability (ease of use) of the orthodontic bracket 1. Further, failure (breakage) is unlikely to occur and durability can be improved.

  Next, an orthodontic bracket 1 according to a modified embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, all the modified embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 show modified examples of the fixing portion 4 used for the orthodontic bracket 1.

  The fixing part 4 shown in FIG. 9 is obtained by changing the number of the pin parts 13 in the fixing member 12 shown in FIGS. That is, the fixing part 4 of FIGS. 1 to 8 shows the fixing member 12 having two pin parts 13 and 13 (and fixing means 14 and 14), but the fixing part 4 of FIG. 13 shows a fixing member 12 having 13 (and fixing means 14). Accordingly, the wire holder portion 2 is provided with a pair of insertion holes 21u and 21d at its left and right central positions, and the holder support portion 3 has one through hole instead of the slits 23p at its left and right central positions. What is necessary is just to provide a hole. As described above, the fixing member 12 according to the modified embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be implemented in the same manner as the fixing member 12 of FIGS. 1 to 8 except that the pin portion 13 is integrated. The same effect can be enjoyed.

  Moreover, the fixing | fixed part 4 shown in FIG. 10 changes the fixing means 14 and 14 in the fixing member 12 shown in FIGS. That is, the fixing means 14 and 14 in FIGS. 1 to 8 use a metal material that is plastically deformed as a forming material of the fixing member 12, and can be bent at a substantially right angle when fixed. However, the fixing means 14 of FIG. 10 can be inserted by being narrowed when inserted into the insertion hole 21d, but is locked (fixed) to the wire holder portion 2 by expanding after insertion. The stopper claws 14s and 14s having elasticity are used. Therefore, in the case of the modified embodiment shown in FIG. 10, it is desirable that the entire fixing member 12 is formed of an elastic material having a certain elasticity such as a synthetic resin material. The cross-sectional shape of the fixing member 12 shown in FIG. 10 is a rectangle.

  Furthermore, the fixing | fixed part 4 shown in FIG. 11 shows the type which does not use the fixing member 12 shown in FIGS. That is, the fixing part 4 in FIGS. 1 to 8 is formed separately from the wire holder part 2 and the holder support part 3, but the fixing part 4 in FIG. 11 is the same as the wire holder part 2 or the holder support part 3. One constituted by a locking claw portion 15 integrally formed on one side and a locked portion 16 formed integrally on the other of the wire holder portion 2 or the holder support portion 3 and capable of being locked to the locking claw portion 15. It is. In this case, the locking claw portions 15 and the locked portions 16 may be one set or a plurality of sets. If comprised in this way, since the separate fixing member 12 becomes unnecessary, while being able to aim at the cost reduction and the handleability (ease of use) improvement by the further simplification of a structure, the use feeling and the further appearance improvement Can contribute. 9 to 11, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals to clarify the configuration, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The preferred embodiment (modified embodiment) has been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the gist of the present invention in the configuration, shape, material, quantity, and the like of details. Any change, addition, or deletion can be made without departing from.

  For example, although the case where the holder support part 3 is integrally provided with the position restriction parts 11 for the arch wire A has been shown, if the insertion holes 2hp and 2hq provided in the wire holder part 2 are also used, the position restriction part 11 is not necessarily provided. It is not necessary to provide…. Further, the insertion holes 2hp and 2hq provided in the wire holder portion 2 may be formed by a notch-like recess shape. In this case, the orthodontic bracket 1 can be retrofitted when an additional orthodontic tooth T occurs with the archwire A attached. Therefore, the insertion holes 2hp and 2hq include both a case where a hole is formed in the wire holder portion 2 and a case where a concave shape is formed in the wire holder portion 2 and a hole is formed in combination with the holder support portion 3 side. .

  The shape of the wire holder portion 2 is arbitrary. For example, the illustrated front surface shape is formed in a rectangular shape, but may be formed in any other shape such as a heart shape or a star shape. Thus, by changing the shape of the wire holder part 2, diversity and design (hobby) can be further enhanced. Furthermore, although the case where it comprised in the shape which covers the front part 3f and side part 3s whole of the holder support part 3 as a form of the wire holder part 2 was shown, it is the shape which covers a part of front part 3f and side part 3s, Also good.

  On the other hand, in the illustrated embodiment, the case where the orthodontic bracket 1 is fixed to the front surface of the tooth T to be corrected has been shown, but may be fixed to the rear surface of the tooth T to be corrected on the lower jaw side. Therefore, the surface Tf of the tooth T to be corrected includes both the front surface and the rear surface. On the other hand, the number of the pin portions 13 in the fixing member 12 is arbitrary, and three or more pin portions 13 may be used as necessary. Moreover, various forms, such as rod shape, plate shape, and wire shape, are included in the form of the pin portions 13.

  The orthodontic bracket according to the present invention can be used when holding various archwires that are fixed to the surface of the tooth to be corrected and perform orthodontic correction.

  1: orthodontic bracket, 2: wire holder, 2hp: insertion hole, 2hq: insertion hole, 3: holder support, 3f: front surface of holder support, 3s: side surface of holder support, 4: fixed , 11...: Position restricting part, 12: Fixing member, 13: Pin part, 14: Fixing means, 15 ...: Locking claw part, 16 ...: Locked part, T: Corrected tooth, Tf: Corrected Tooth surface, A: Archwire

Claims (5)

  In an orthodontic bracket that is fixed to the surface of the tooth to be corrected and holds the arch wire, a wire holder portion having an insertion hole through which the arch wire is inserted, and fitted to the wire holder portion, and on the surface of the tooth to be corrected A holder supporting part for bonding and fixing, and a fixing part for fixing the wire holder part to the holder supporting part when the wire holder part through which the arch wire is inserted is fitted to the holder supporting part. A feature of orthodontic bracket.   The orthodontic bracket according to claim 1, wherein the holder support part integrally has a position restricting part for the arch wire.   The orthodontic bracket according to claim 1, wherein the wire holder portion is configured to cover the entire front surface and side surface of the holder support portion.   The fixing portion is formed separately from the wire holder portion and the holder support portion, and has one or more pin portions that are inserted or locked between the wire holder portion and the holder support portion, and The orthodontic bracket according to claim 1, wherein a fixing member having fixing means for fixing the pin portion when the pin portion is inserted or locked between the wire holder portion and the holder support portion is used.   The fixing part is integrally formed with one of the wire holder part or the holder support part and the other of the wire holder part or the holder support part, and can be locked to the locking claw part. The orthodontic bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the orthodontic bracket is configured by a fixed portion.

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