Patent ID: 7674110

Claim:
An orthodontic bracket for coupling an archwire with a tooth, the orthodontic bracket comprising: a bracket body including a lingual surface configured to be mounted to the tooth, a labial surface, and an archwire slot in the labial surface; a hinge pin; and a latching member coupled by the hinge pin with the bracket body for movement about an axis of rotation defined by the hinge pin, the latching member movable about the axis of rotation between an opened position in which the archwire is insertable into the archwire slot and a closed position in which the latching member retains the archwire in the archwire slot, wherein the latching member and a first shaft portion of the hinge pin are movable relative to the bracket body in a non-collinear direction relative to the axis of rotation when the latching member is in the closed position, and the hinge pin is formed from a material having a flexibility sufficient to impart a spring bias to the latching member that opposes movement of the latching member in the non-collinear direction.