Patent ID: 7578671

Claim:
An orthodontic device for positioning the lower dental arch of a patient relative to the upper dental arch, the lower arch including a lower molar adapted to receive a first fastener, the upper arch including an upper molar adapted to receive a second fastener, the orthodontic device comprising: a telescoping rod defining a longitudinal axis and including at least two substantially coaxial sections movable relative to each other along said longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the upper and lower arches are closed and a second position wherein the upper and lower arches are open, said telescoping rod having a first end and a second end; a first attachment member rigidly coupled to said first end of said telescoping rod and having a first eyelet adapted to receive the first fastener to couple said first end to the lower molar, said first attachment member offset from said longitudinal axis in a first direction generally orthogonal to said longitudinal axis and further offset from said first end in a second direction substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis, wherein the first direction generally corresponds to a gingival-occlusal direction and the second direction generally corresponds to a mesial-distal direction when the orthodontic device is installed in the patient's mouth; and a second attachment member rigidly coupled to said second end of said telescoping rod and having a second eyelet adapted to receive the second fastener to couple said second end to the upper molar, said second attachment member offset from said longitudinal axis in the first direction and on the same side of said telescoping rod as said first attachment member; wherein said first eyelet has a center offset from said longitudinal axis in the first direction by a first distance and said second eyelet has a center offset from said longitudinal axis in the first direction by a second distance, said second distance being greater than said first distance so that said telescoping rod is substantially parallel to an occlusal plane when in the first position.