| 摘要 |
A thermoplastic vacuum formed active dental retainer and method of straightening teeth. The retainer of the invention is made by first making a plaster or other suitable model of the teeth and then forming a plastic overlay by means of vacuum forming a thin clear plastic material over the model. Secured to the surface of the oral cavity portion of the overlay is a tubular member which may either serve itself as a tensioning member or mount a wire spring-like tensioning member. The tubular member and tensioning member are positioned in such a manner as to be in proper alignment with the tooth to be straightened. A number of bends in the tubular member and the tensioning member allow for exertion of a force over a relatively long distance thus increasing the amount of work any given size wire can perform over what could be accomplished with a straight wire of the same size. The overall thickness of the overlay and tensioning member may thus be kept to a minimum thereby allowing for a retainer which can accomplish corrections of prior art devices yet does not violate freeway space, provides for precise positioning of the tensioning member, provides absolute anchoring of the teeth that are to remain stationary, may be used to correct a single tooth or two or more teeth simultaneously, may be used on either the upper or lower teeth, and is more aesthetically pleasing.
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