ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE WITH ENCODED INFORMATION FORMED IN THE BASE
The present disclosure is directed, at least in part, to a self ligating orthodontic bracket having a rotatable member for securing an archwire within a slot of the bracket. Embodiments of the orthodontic bracket disclosed herein include a bracket body containing the archwire slot as well as tie wings for attaching various orthodontic devices (e.g., elastomeric bands) to the bracket. The rotatable member is rotatable in a first direction (e.g., counter clockwise) relative to a body of the bracket for securing or locking the archwire within the slot, and for rotating in an opposite direction (e.g., a clockwise direction) relative to the bracket body for unsecuring or unlocking the archwire so that it is substantially unrestrained from exiting the slot.
1 . An orthodontic bracket, comprising:
a body having a front and a back, the back for facing a tooth when the bracket is operably attached thereto, and the front having at least one archwire slot therein, the slot having a length with at least a bottom, opposing sides, and an opening for providing an archwire therein, wherein the opening extends the length;
a rotatable member for rotating relative to the body from an open position wherein the opening provides archwire access to operably positioning the archwire within the slot, to one of a plurality of closed positions wherein for each closed position, at least a portion of the rotatable member inhibits the archwire from moving through the opening;
wherein a first portion of the rotatable member is secured within a recess of the body, and rotates therein when the rotatable member rotates between the open and closed positions;
wherein the first portion includes at least one projection, and the recess includes a wall therein having a ledge, wherein the ledge and the projection interact for preventing the first portion from detaching from the recess;
wherein upon rotation of the rotatable member, the first portion contacts predetermined discrete notches within the recess for positioning the rotatable member at corresponding predetermined angular orientations about an axis of rotation through the body;
wherein the rotatable member includes a slot cover external to the body so that in the open position the slot cover provides archwire access for positioning the archwire within the slot, and in the closed position the slot cover inhibits the archwire from moving through the opening;
wherein the slot cover includes a side facing the front of the body, the side tapering away from the front;
wherein in a first of the closed positions, a first extent of the opening is covered by the slot cover, and in a second of the closed positions, a second extent of the opening is covered by the slot cover, wherein the second extent is at least 40 % more than the first extent;
a base having a side for facing a surface of a tooth when the orthodontic appliance is affixed to the tooth via an adhesive, the side of the base having a plurality of surfaces for facing the tooth, including an outer surface for contacting the tooth, and a plurality of recessed surfaces offset from the tooth when the orthodontic appliance is affixed to the tooth;
an embedded encoding of information in the side of the base wherein there are walls defining each symbol of the encoding, wherein substantially all of the walls span an extent between at least two of the recessed surfaces of the side of the base, and a total surface area of the side of the base, including an area of the walls, for bonding of the orthodontic appliance to the tooth with the adhesive is greater than what the total surface area would be without the encoding of information in the side of the base;
wherein the area is at least 29% of the total surface area of the side of the base for contacting the adhesive and affixing the base to the tooth; and
a discontinuous perimeter rail attached substantially entirely as a perimeter of the side of the base and projecting away from the body, wherein the discontinuous perimeter rail includes the outer surface, so that when the discontinuous perimeter rail contacts the tooth for attaching the orthodontic appliance thereto, substantially all of the total surface area of the side of the base within the discontinuous perimeter rail is offset from the tooth so that a thickness of the adhesive between substantially an entirety of the total surface area of the side of the base within the discontinuous perimeter rail, and the tooth can be controlled by excessive adhesive escaping from substantially all of the total surface area of the side of the base within the discontinuous perimeter rail via discontinuities in the discontinuous perimeter rail.