Orthodontic Appliance

This invention relates to an orthopedic modular assembly for application to one side of a patient's mouth and to a dento-facial orthodontic applicance comprising two such assemblies.

It is one object of the invention to provide a modular assembly comprising a pre-formed housing components which forms a fixed support for other adjustable or removable components of the assembly.

It is another object of the invention to provide two modular assemblies deformable and adjustable to fit opposite sides of a patient's mouth and slidably connectable to the housing assemblies to form an orthodontic appliance which can be modified as treatment proceeds.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an orthodontic appliance which can be readily assembled with preferred components to suit the requirements of a particular patient and is adjustable after assembly to suit the changing requirements of an individual patient, consequent upon the continuing growth of the individual's jaw. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and improved orthodontic appliance capable of modifying the dento-facial development in a growing individual and more specifically, or correcting dental malocclusion and improving facial appearance resulting from a lack of forward growth of the mandible.

One or more of the aforesaid objects are achieved by the provision of an orthopedic modular assembly comprising a housing component of rigid material providing a first vertically spaced pair of parallel passages and a second horizontally spaced pair of parallel passages extending substantially at right angles to said first pair, a second component in the form of a lingual pad support having a pair of parallel arms adapted to form a snug sliding fit within said first pair of housing passages and a further arm extending substantially at right angles to said pair of arms and adapted to conform to the line of one side of a patient's mouth and a third component having a pair of parallel prongs adapted to fit within said second pair of housing passages and a portion extending upwardly at an angle to said prongs for supporting a member designed to act on the cheek at said one side of the patient's mouth.

One or more further objects of the invention are achieved by the provision of an orthodontic appliance comprising two modular assemblies adjusted to the shape of the left-and-right-hand sides respectively of a patient's mouth, a layer of synthetic plastics material formed to the shape of the patient's mouth and serving to fix said assemblies in position relative to one another and in correct relationship to the patient's mouth, and a plurality of components designed to act on selected parts of the patient's face and adjustably supported by said assemblies and said plastics layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a right-hand modular assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the assembly;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the assembly looking from left to right in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of an orthodontic appliance in accordance with the invention designed for use in the upper part of a patient's mouth and incorporating two modular assemblies of the kind shown in FIGS. 1 to 4; and

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the appliance shown in FIG. 5.

The right-hand assembly shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is designed for use in combination with a left-hand assembly which is a mirror-image of itself, in the construction of the orthodontic appliance shown inverted and mounted on a shaped base in FIGS. 5 and 6.

This assembly includes a housing component comprising parallel tubes 3, 5 of stainless steel connected together by silver solder 4 which also serves to secure two further parallel tubes 7, 8, also of stainless steel which extend at right angles to the tubes 3, 5. Instead of soldered stainless steel the entire housing component may be in one piece or moulded from synthetic plastics material. The tubes 3, 5 form passages to slidably receive the parallel arms 2, 6 of a support 1, made of stainless steel wire, for a lingual pad 10 (FIG. 5). The tubes 7, 8 form passages to slidably receive parallel prongs on a member 18 of stainless steel wire. Synthetic plastics material may be added to form a side screen 22 (FIG. 5).

In constructing an orthodontic appliance of the kind shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 for use in the upper part of the mouth to correct dental malocclusion resulting from a lack of forward growth of the mandible in an individual patient, a right-hand modular assembly 20 of the kind illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 and a left-hand modular assembly 19 constructed as a mirror-image of the assembly 20 are arranged so that, in use, the tubes 7, 8 extend transversely of and beneath the upper back teeth of the patient and the member 18, arranged in the outer ends of the tubes, form slidable supports for a pair of detachable left-and-right-hand side screens 21 and 22 respectively, preformed from stainless steel or synthetic plastics material to act on the patient's cheeks. The components 1 of the assemblies 19, 20 are deformed to conform to the sides of the patient's mouth and support a pair of left-and-right-hand lingual pads 9, 10 in positions to stimulate forward posturing of the mandible in the individual patient, and the free ends of the arms are bent to form hooks 23 which enter blind bores in the pads. The slidable mounting of the arms 2, 6 in the tubes 3, 5 enables the pads 9, 10 to maintain stimulation by forward adjustment as jaw growth proceeds.

Each of the side screens 21, 22 is formed with a bore 11 to receive one end of an elongate support 24 formed from wire or synthetic plastics material, for a pair of pre-formed lip pads 12 formed from synthetic plastics material and designed to act on the lip muscles of the patient.

A preformed torque spring 13 is provided at the front of the appliance to control movement of the roots of the upper front teeth and to retain the appliance in place on the teeth. An expansion screw 14 whereby the appliance can be adjusted in width is attached to the central portion of the appliance. The modular assemblies 19, 20 are embedded in a plastics former 25 which follows the lines of the teeth and also carries mountings 15 for a pair of sockets 16, 17 which are adapted to receive the inner ends of a demountable face bow (not shown) designed to allow applications of force from outside the mouth.