There are various orthodontic appliances that include select types of connectors, screws, pivots, and other installations that are integrated into the structure of the appliance, in order to facilitate its installation and usage. Many of these appliances require the application of connectors, that secure directly to the teeth and which have an alignment wire that extends through the various connectors, that can then support further parts of the appliance, such as biasing springs, that may be used to overcome an overbite, or for the application of a Herbst appliance, to attain movement of the jaw, particularly the mandibular jaw, in order to overcome an overbite condition. Frequently, when treating the patient, for a sustained period of time, it is a requirement that the entire assembly be disconnected, the wire freed from its locating through the connectors, for the purpose of installating perhaps a larger or smaller type of appliance, to attain the final finishing results for teeth or jaw movement, as may be required. In other words, if one Herbst appliance moves the jaw a certain distance, and to the extent that that Herbst appliance can achieve such, then it may be necessary to install a larger Herbst, to the patient, to attain even further shifting, and the type of jaw alignment as may be required for the treated patient. Or, if a spring mechanism is used, in order to provide for a shifting of teeth, or a collection of teeth, or to attain their better alignment, it may be that a different sized springs may be necessary to be installed in order to achieve such treatment. Heretofore, it was a requirement that usually the entire appliance must be removed, including its alignment and supporting wires, before a further sized appliance could be installed, to continue the treatment.
Examples of some of the components that may be used in the structure of the current invention can be seen in the United States patent of one of the inventors herein, Pat. No. Des. 749,737, that shows a Hybrid Screw for an Orthodontic Appliance, that may be applied to a post as used within the structure of this current invention, in order to achieve proper sustained usage of the appliance during the entire treatment procedure.
There are other types of appliances, and their methods of connections to the teeth, that are known in the art, for use in the orthodontic treatment of patients teeth.
Other types of snaps or screws that may be used in orthodontic appliances can be seen in the U.S. Pat. No. Des. 399,562. Pat. No. D531,015, shows a further threaded fastener.
Other examples of various types of orthodontic appliances that can be used to provide correction and treatment for malocclusions can be seen in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,382,783. 6,162,051, shows a further of correction appliance. These are all examples what exist in the prior art relating to this type of technology.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds