Patent ID: 7306461

Claim:
Apparatus for manipulating a dental device comprising: first and second gripping elements rotatably coupled to one another for movement between a gripping configuration in which a first gripping surface of the first gripping element is positioned adjacent a second gripping surface of the second gripping element to grip a dental device there between and a release configuration in which the first and second gripping surfaces are spaced from one another and wherein each of the first and second gripping surfaces includes a device receiving recess forming a portion of a sphere to accommodate a substantially spherical gripping portion of a device to be gripped by the apparatus; a first seating surface on the first gripping element and a second seating on the second gripping element wherein, when the first and second gripping elements are in the gripping configuration, the first and second seating surfaces are adjacent one another to form a seating recess shaped to accommodate a gripping portion of a device to be gripped by the apparatus, wherein the first and second seating surfaces are formed in portions of the first and second gripping elements substantially perpendicular to portions thereof in which the first and second gripping surfaces are formed; and a locking mechanism for locking the first and second gripping elements in the gripping configuration.