PLACEMENT APPARATUS FOR LINGUAL AND BUCCAL BRACKETS

摘要

PLACEMENT APPARATUS FOR LINGUAL AND BUCCAL BRACKETSAbstractApparatus for accurately placing orthodonticbrackets on the lingual or labial surfaces of a model of apatient's maloccluded teeth in conjunction with an indirectbonding procedure or the like. A model support incorporatesan immovable base forming a spherical surface segment whichreceives a complimentary spherical surface segment of amovable model platform thus providing for rotation of theplatform in all planes of space about a centroid region. Themaloccluded model is placed on the movable platform with aselected tooth thereof located at the central region of asphere of which the spherical surface segments form a part. Atooth orienting template is releasably supported in fixedrelation to the base structure and is selected according tothe centrally positioned tooth of the model. The optimumposition of the selected tooth relative to an optimum dentalarch at the labial surface thereof is identified for bracketattachment to the labial surface. For attachment of bracketsto the lingual surface of the tooth the labial bracketposition is translated to the lingual surface of the toothsuch that the lingual archwire slot position corresponds tothe optimum labial archwire slot position. Bracket holdingand release apparatus is employed to accurately position abracket on the selected labial or lingual surface fortemporary attachment thereof to the model. With all of thebrackets attached to the model a conventional indirectbonding procedure may be carried out to accomplish bonding ofthe brackets to the enamel surfaces of the teeth of thepatient.