Orthodontic appliance with self-releasing latch

摘要

The present invention relates to an orthodontic appliance comprising a base for bonding the appliance to a tooth; a body extending from the base; an archwire slot extending across the body in a generally mesial-distal direction and having an occlusal side, a gingival side and a lingual side; and a latch connected to the body for releasably retaining an archwire in the archwire slot, wherein the latch is movable to a slot-open position to enable passage of the archwire into the slot by pressing the archwire against the latch in a direction toward the lingual side of the archwire slot, and wherein the occlusal side and the gingival side of the archwire slot are stationary relative to each other as the latch is moved to the slot-open position, and the latch comprising a shape-memory alloy.