Patent ID: 7780443

Claim:
A self-ligating bracket having: a mounting base for attachment to a tooth surface; an archwire slot formed upon said base and sized for receiving an orthodontic archwire; a rotary ligating cover selectively rotatable between an open position permitting access to said archwire slot and a closed position covering said archwire slot, said rotary ligating cover comprising a plate eccentrically rotatably mounted on an axial member journalled into said base; a pair of cutouts on said rotary ligating cover oriented transverse to said archwire slot for manipulation of said rotary ligating cover to expose or cover said archwire slot thereunder; one or more locking features adjacent said archwire slot for holding said rotary ligating cover in a closed position, wherein said one or more locking features comprise one or more locking tabs formed upon one of said rotary ligating cover and said base, said one or more locking tabs aligned in coplanar relation to said rotary ligating cover and cooperatively mating with cutout portions in the other of said rotary ligating cover and said base; one or more concentric circular recesses formed upon either said lower surface of said plate or said outward surface of said base within which a rotational stop formed upon the other of said lower surface of said plate or said outward surface of said base track when said plate is rotated, said one or more concentric circular recesses and said rotational stop, in combination, defining an opening direction and a closing direction of said plate; and one or more detents associated with each of said one or more concentric circular recesses and configured to receive said rotational stop thereby holding said plate in an open or closed position.