ORTHODONTIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TREATING MALOCCLUSIONS

摘要

A dental apparatus for use with a connecting member coupled to a jaw in a patient's mouth. The apparatus includes an orthodontic device (10) and a connecting device (22, 24, 140, 180) carried by the orthodontic device (10). The connecting device (22, 24, 140, 180) includes a receptacle (48) adapted to partially receive the connecting member (50) and a blocking member (88, 146, 196). The blocking member (88, 146, 196) is moveable relative to the receptacle (48) between an opened position in which the connecting member (50) may be disengaged from the receptacle (48) and a closed position in which the connecting member (50) is captured within the receptacle (48) for pivotally engaging the orthodontic device (10) with the connecting member (50). The orthodontic device (10) may further include a biasing member (112) selectively activated to provide a spring-biased force to the jaw. A method of using the dental apparatus includes moving the blocking member (88, 146, 196) to capture/release the connecting member (50) in the receptacle (48) and activating/deactivating the biasing member (112) to operate the apparatus in a different mode.