Patent ID: 9149344
Filing Date: 2015-10-06
Classification: A61C

Abstract:
1. A method of producing a customized arch wire device for orthodontic alignment of teeth, said method comprising: obtaining a model of a patient's mal-aligned teeth, said model having a plurality of teeth surfaces; attaching a plurality of brackets to said teeth surfaces, each bracket having a width and a wire slot to accommodate said arch wire; wherein adjacent brackets are spaced apart by a plurality of inter-bracket distances; determining how said brackets move from their mal-aligned position to their aligned position in a simulated desired aligned stage of said patient's teeth; obtaining an arch wire device comprising a customized wire length; outside a patient's mouth, positioning said customized arch wire device into a geometric form that corresponds to the position and orientation of said plurality of brackets on said teeth surfaces in said simulated desired aligned stage; wherein said customized arch wire device's length is comprised of a combined width of said brackets and combined inter-bracket distances between each set of adjacent brackets; wherein said customized arch wire device further comprises multi-dimensional bends such that said customized arch wire device passes passively through each bracket affixed to said teeth surfaces of said simulated desired aligned stage; and wherein said multi-dimensional bends are further configured so that when a corresponding plurality of brackets are affixed in said patient's mouth at the same position and orientation as in said model, and said customized arch wire device is secured in place in said wire slots of said plurality of brackets with ties, clips, stops, adhesive or a combination of these, there is minimal movement between said customized arch wire device and said plurality of brackets.