Patent ID: 6964566

Claim:
A spreading and uprighting device that is adapted to fit within an edentulous space between a pair of teeth in the mouth of a dental patient, and comprising: a hollow outer body; a hollow inner body being received within and slidable axially through said hollow outer body; a compression spring disposed within said outer and inner hollow bodies, said compression spring having a compressed condition when said inner body slides inwardly through said outer body, and said compression spring having an expanded condition to exert a pushing force for causing said inner body to slide outwardly through said outer body, whereby to hold said outer and inner bodies against the pair of the patient's teeth so as to prevent a misalignment thereof, and a pair of flexible, generally U-shaped retainers respectively connected to opposite ends of said device at each of said hollow outer and inner bodies thereof and aligned relative to one another so as to be capable of engaging the opposing interproximal axial walls of respective ones of the pair of teeth at opposite ends of the edentulous space, said pair of flexible retainers being bent so as to conform to the shape of and surround the opposing interproximal axial walls of the pair of teeth between which said spreading and uprighting device is extended.