Patent ID: 11957536
Assignee: SWIFT HEALTH SYSTEMS INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 14:
15. An orthodontic appliance configured to move teeth of a patient using sliding and non-sliding mechanics, the orthodontic appliance comprising:
a first plurality of orthodontic brackets configured to be positioned on a first portion of a dental arch of the patient;
a second plurality of orthodontic brackets configured to be positioned on second portions of the dental arch of the patient; and
a hybrid archwire configured to move teeth of the patient using sliding and non-sliding mechanics, the hybrid archwire comprising:
a first section of archwire configured to move teeth of the first portion of the dental arch of the patient using sliding mechanics, the first section of archwire configured to couple to the first plurality of orthodontic brackets such that the first section of archwire slides relative to the first plurality of orthodontic brackets; and
two second sections of archwire configured to move teeth of the second portions of the dental arch of the patient, the two second sections of archwire comprising a plurality of male connectors and a plurality of interproximal structures, the plurality of male connectors configured to mate with the second plurality of orthodontic brackets to prevent sliding in a mesial and distal direction relative to the second plurality of orthodontic brackets, wherein at least one of the plurality of interproximal structures is configured to exert a force on an adjacent orthodontic bracket of the second plurality of orthodontic brackets to move one or more teeth of one of the second portions of the dental arch of the patient;
wherein the first section of archwire is positioned between the two second sections of archwire, the two second sections corresponding to posterior teeth of the dental arch of the patient.