Splints for treating jaw fractures

An orthodontic appliance comprising a bar that provides a splint for setting broken jaws or other facial bones. Upper and lower bars are attached to the patient's teeth with ligature wires and interconnected with the elastic bands to allow the jaw to set properly. The elastic bands are mounted within a prong that provides a base surface to receive the elastic band and has a movable tab member to thereby provide an enclosed opening to receive and hold each band. After the bands are positioned the associated movable tab is bent over the elastic band to hold it in place and provide a rounded contour that matches the tissue of the gum. The prongs can be easily bent for attachment of ligature wires from any direction to support other facial bones which are to set.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
(1) Field of the Invention 
This invention pertains to an orthodontic or dental device sometimes called 
a fracture splint that may be attached to a person's upper and lower teeth 
and interconnected in order to provide for setting and proper healing of 
fractures of the mandible and/or maxilla, otherwise known as a broken jaw. 
(2) Description of the Prior Art 
The prior art discloses several splints for treating fractures of the jaw. 
The fractured splint is closed in the Adderer, U.S. Pat. No. 1,638,006 
(1927), showing a typical splint which is widely used by orthodontists. 
The Adderer device discloses a number of upwardly disposed loops 15 that 
are used as attachment points for elastic bands. Loops 15 are attached 
outwardly of the associated band 11 and extend vertically when positioned 
in a person's mouth. This arrangement is effective yet can be 
uncomfortable because the loops 15 do not conform to the natural contours 
of teeth or gums and can create a feeling of having a foreign member in 
one's mouth. Further, these loops present a danger of irritating open 
lacerations which often accompany facial injuries. The loops also present 
a number of crevices that can harbour food particles which can create 
bacteria and necessitate unusual number of cleansing operations during the 
day in order that infections or offensive tastes do not develop. Further, 
loops 15 of Adderer are extremely rigid and cannot be bent easily backward 
to hold the elastic band in place which may be required when used on 
children or others who are inclined to remove the bands. 
Other limitations are encountered with prior art devices when it becomes 
necessary to utilize wiring between facial bones and one of the fracture 
splints. For example, when horizontal fractures occur it oftentimes 
becomes necessary to wire facial bones to the teeth attached fracture 
splints. Because common splints attached to upper teeth have loops 
extending vertically upward, it is difficult to loop wires around the lugs 
and sometimes makes it necessary to remove the splint, and re-attach it 
with the lugs extending downwardly because the lugs cannot be bent in a 
different direction. The splint disclosed herein provides lugs which may 
be utilized in a multitude of applications and solves the problems 
associated with prior devices. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention pertains to an orthodontic device and in particular to a 
so-called splint that is used in setting broken jaws or broken facial 
bones. 
In use, splints are attached to the upper and lower teeth of the person 
having a broken jaw to set. Each splint is wired by ligature wires to a 
person's teeth and, subsequently, interconnected by short elastic bands 
which extend over prongs and thus draw the upper and lower teeth together 
to allow the broken jaw to set in a natural position. After the elastic 
bands are positioned over the associated prongs, tabs are bend backwards 
to provide a smooth contoured member that not only holds the elastic bands 
in place but also provides a smooth contour tab that matches the contours 
of the teeth and surrounding gums to prevent irritation of adjacent 
tissue. 
In the event facial bones are broken in such a manner that it is necessary 
to wire the bones to a teeth attached splint, it is not necessary to 
remove the splint and turn it upside down in order to orient prongs in 
such a direction to receive the home setting wires. With use of the splint 
disclosed herein, the prongs may be bent in a direction to provide for 
attachment of wires as needed. 
It is thus an object to disclose an improved orthodontic appliance or 
fracture splint that is easy to attach to a person suffering from a broken 
jaw or broken facial bones and which can be interconnected to an 
associated splint with an elastic band so that they are firmly held in 
place when movable tabs are positioned over the elastic bands. 
It is another object to disclose an improved splint having an arch bar that 
may be fitted about a person's teeth and provide a number of outwardly 
extended tabs. The bar can be adjusted to provide a contour that is 
unobtrusive and conforms with the adjacent gums and teeth of the patient. 
It is yet another object to disclose an improved fracture splint having 
prongs which may be bent as required for attachment of wires used to set 
broken facial bones. 
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those 
having ordinary skill in the art with reference to the following drawings, 
description and claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
In setting broken jaws or other broken facial bones, the bones are manually 
manipulated back into a correct position for setting. However, because of 
comfort problems a cast cannot be placed upon the head and face area for 
holding bones in place for setting and because a jaw cannot accurately be 
set by use of a cast alone, it becomes necessary to wire an injured 
person's teeth together to allow the jaw or other broken facial bone to 
set in a natural manner. After the teeth are locked together, the jaw 
bones and facial bones assume their natural position and setting of the 
bones can and should occur. The device described herein is attached to 
teeth in a highly efficient and safe manner and has prongs that can be 
easily bent to accommodate interconnection with another splint or 
connection with wires used to hold broken facial bones in place. 
Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, we are shown a 
pair of splints 10 adapted and attached to the upper and lower teeth by 
ligatures or wires 11. In such a position, the splints 10 are firmly held 
to the wearer's teeth because the wires 11 are woven around and about the 
wearer's teeth and over an adjacent area of the splint 10. Elastic bands 
12 are interconnected to each splint to firmly urge the teeth together in 
position to provide for a natural setting of a broken jaw. 
Each splint 10, as shown in FIGS. 3-5, comprises a so-called arch bar 14 
which is made for a malleable dental metal or other suitable material that 
is easily curved to conform with the contour of the wearer's teeth. Bars 
14 are in the order of 145 mm in length. As shown in FIG. 4, the bars 14 
have a flat back section 16 which is adjacent to the wearer's teeth and is 
in the order of 3 mm in height. Extending from the upstanding back 16 is a 
short bottom 18 approximately 1 mm. A curved front 20 interconnects the 
extreme portion of the back 16 and the bottom 18. 
Prong 22 extends from the lower portion of bar 14 and generally in a plane 
with the bottom 18. Prong 22 has a movable tab 24 and a base section 26 
having a length of about 1.5 mm. Prong 22 is in the order of 3 mm in 
length. 
The tab 24 of prong 22 has a triangular shape as viewed in FIG. 3 which 
allows elastic bands 12 and ligature wires 11 to be easily attached. 
Similarly, when bent downwardly, the triangular shape makes attachment of 
suspensary wires 28 easier to accomplish. 
Splint 10 may be formed from a single bar to which a number of prongs 22 
are attached as by soldering, or may be formed as a single unit having 
prongs 22 formed integrally therewith. 
As shown in FIG. 5, after the splints are wired to the wearer's teeth, 
elastic bands 12 are located over tabs 24 in such a fashion as to be 
seated on their associated base 26. Once in this position, the tabs 24 may 
be turned or bent towards the wearer's teeth in contact with curved front 
20 to prevent the elastic bands from being removed. Tabs 24 may be bent 
back to provide a small opening between tabs 24 and the curved front 20 in 
such a manner as to provide a smooth contour yet allow the elastic bands 
12 to be easily removed. It is contemplated that all the tabs 24 are bent 
backwards to some degree, in order to provide a smooth contoured member 
within the wearer's mouth that does not cause irritation to adjacent 
tissue. 
As shown in FIG. 1, prongs 22 may be bent away from the curved front 24 in 
such a manner to allow for attachment of so-called suspensary wires 28 to 
hold upper facial bones in position for setting. Thus splint 10 provides 
prongs which may be disposed or bent in various directions and used in 
interconnecting splints 10 or used in attaching suspensary wires 28. 
The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the 
invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the 
appended claims are so limited, as those who are skilled in the art and 
have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and 
variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.