METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORTHODONTITIS

摘要

A method for treating orthodontitis (i.e., gingivitis caused by malpositioned teeth). The process includes evaluating improper morphologies of alveolar bone in the horizontal dimension (i.e., orthodontosis) caused by displaced root(s) of a tooth, uprighting the root of the malpositioned tooth utilizing an orthodontic bracket system thereby causing the alveolar bone to be restored, which in-turn alleviates the orthodontitis. An orthodontic bracket is provided for use with an arch wire to apply corrective forces to a tooth. The bracket includes a vertical member having a slot formed therein for receiving the arch wire and a wide base horizontal member connected to the vertical member. The vertical member is positioned gingivally with respect to the horizontal member. The horizontal member includes opposing first and second ends that extend away from the vertical member and define a pair of spaced-apart wire engaging points engageable with the arch wire during treatment.

主权项

1. A method for treating and alleviating orthodontitis in a patient, using an orthodontic bracket with an arch wire for correcting the position of a tooth to restore an improper morphology of alveolar bone, the bracket having a substantially vertical element having a slot formed therein for receiving the arch wire, and a substantially horizontal element connected to the vertical element with the vertical element being positioned gingivally with respect to the horizontal element, the horizontal element having opposing first and second ends extending away from the vertical element and defining a pair of spaced-apart wire engaging points engageable with the arch wire for enabling proper rotational control of the bracket during use, the slot in the vertical element being vertically spaced apart from the horizontal element to limit contact between the arch wire and the horizontal element and wherein the ratio of the distance between the wire engaging points to the length of the slot is approximately 3.5:1, the method comprising the steps of:
applying the bracket to the tooth; installing the arch wire within the slot in the bracket; and attaching a force transmitting member to the bracket for applying a force to the bracket initially causing the crown of the tooth to tilt relative to a vertical axis through the tooth and thereby causing the arch wire to contact one of the wire engaging points and a part of the vertical element defining an upper portion of the slot that is distal to the one wire engaging point such that further force applied by the force transmitting member causes a reverse tilt of the root of the tooth relative to the vertical axis, thereby correcting the position of the tooth and restoring said morphology of alveolar bone.