Orthodontic anchor appliance

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Skeletal anchors have been used in maxillo-facial surgery for a number of years in the form of semiflexible titanium anchors with multiple screw holes. The screws are attached to various bone components so that the bones can be attached together either because of accidental fractures or man-made surgical adjustments. These types of anchors are now being used in orthodontics with modifications so that forces are applied to objects other than teeth such that the equal and opposite reactions of Newtonian physics is avoided. In orthodontics, these anchors are termed skeletal anchors and attach to cortical bone beneath the apices of the teeth. Often, two or three such anchors are placed in a particular arch for movement of selected teeth.

At times, the skeletal anchor is not able to be positioned in an ideal location or a need arises for the point of force application to be at some distance from the emergence of the skeletal anchor. The skeletal anchors are always made of titanium while any attachment is always made of a stainless steel alloy. The advantage of stainless steel is that soldering and welding can occur with ease which is not possible with titanium. This allows for the attachment of orthodontic fixtures to extend force applications to teeth positioned remote from the anchor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An orthodontic anchor appliance having an elongated anchor plate with multiple apertures formed therein for attachment to bone by means of screws and the like, an anchoring tab formed on the emerging end of the anchor plate and having an aperture formed therein, an elliptical slot formed in the anchor between the anchor plate and anchoring tab, a pair of shoulders formed on the periphery of the anchor in general alignment with the elliptical slot, a sleeve positioned over the anchoring tab, and an elongated bar attached to the sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the orthodontic anchor appliance according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded partial perspective view of the appliance; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged perspective views showing details of the anchoring tab.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the drawings and with particular reference to FIG. 1, the numeral 1 designates the anchor plate having multiple apertures 2 formed therein. In an orthodontic application, anchor plate 1 is placed adjacent the teeth and secured to cortical bone by means of screws inserted through apertures 2, as is well known.

As best shown in FIG. 2, anchoring tab 3 is integrally joined to the emerging end of anchor plate 1 with elliptical slit 5 disposed therebetween. Also, shoulders 6 and 7 are formed at the outer periphery of the junction between the emerging end of anchor plate 1 and anchoring tab 3 at the opposite ends of elliptical slot 5 and in general alignment therewith. In order to adapt anchor plate 1, which is made of titanium, for use in orthodontics, means are necessary to direct force vectors at various distances to selected teeth. In order to accomplish this result, sleeve 8 is made of stainless steel or other like material and is adapted to engage anchoring tab 3. In practice, hollow sleeve 8 is placed over anchoring tab 3 whereby the lower edge of sleeve 8 comes into abutting contact with shoulders 6 and 7 thereby preventing further downward movement of sleeve 8.

Since sleeve 8 is made of stainless steel, elongated bar 9 is attachable thereto by soldering, welding and the like. In order to ensure that sleeve 8 is secured in position, wire 10 can be looped around elongated bar 9 and through aperture 4, formed in anchoring tab 3, and tightened by means of an appropriate knot. Alternatively, a short section of wire can be placed through aperture 4 and twisted so as to prevent disengagement of sleeve 8.

With elongated bar 10 in place, elastomeric bands 11 are placed anywhere along elongated bar 9 and then extended to the desired location on archwire 12, which is attached to the patient's teeth by means of brackets, as is well known.

At times it is desirable to reorient the position of elongated bar 9 with respect to anchoring plate 1. In FIGS. 3 and 4, anchoring tabs 3 are shown to be bendable at an angle of 45° in FIG. 3 and 90° in FIG. 4 with respect to anchoring plate 1. The bending of anchoring tab 3 is facilitated by elliptical slot 5 due to the reduced amount of metal material at the junction of the bend.

Therefore, by this invention, an orthodontic anchoring appliance is provided using a titanium anchor plate such that tension can be applied to a patient's teeth and, at the same time, eliminating the necessity to apply tension from one tooth to another.