Orthodontic appliances and methods for making and using the appliances

摘要

An orthodontic appliance (10, 110, 132, 150, 152, 168, 210, 310, 410, 500) includes a shape memory alloy having a base alloy composition composed of at least two different metal elements, and the metal elements At least one of which includes a treatment region having a reduced alloy composition. The base alloy may include a nickel titanium alloy (NiTi), a copper chrome nickel titanium alloy (CuCrNiTi), or a copper aluminum nickel (CuAlNi) alloy. The treatment region may be reduced with respect to the base alloy composition by at least one of copper, aluminum, nickel, and titanium by exposing the base alloy to an energy source. The base alloy composition has a first austenite termination temperature, and the treatment region has an austenite termination temperature that can be different from the first austenite termination temperature. The treatment area can be part of the archwire (10), part of the stop (152), part of the hook (150), part of the crown (110), part of the band (132), or orthodontic. Part of the bracket (210, 310, 410, 500) can be formed.