Patent ID: 7819661

Claim:
An orthodontic appliance for realigning one or more teeth in an intra oral cavity of a subject, comprising: a base having formed therein at least one guiding cell arranged to fit over a preselected tooth sought to be realigned from an initial position to a final position, said guiding cell having an upstream end surface and a downstream end surface, said guiding cell including: a guiding structure that comprises an alignment portion joined to the upstream and downstream end surfaces of the cell, the alignment portion comprising (a) a top wall for abutting a top of a cusp of the tooth and (b) side walls for guiding the tooth as the tooth is moved with respect to the side walls, from its initial position, closer to the upstream end surface, to its final position, closer to the downstream end surface, by the side walls laterally engaging the tooth; and a force providing element arranged within said guiding cell for urging the tooth to move from its initial position to its final position, wherein the guiding structure is configured to not deform during motion of the tooth from its initial position to its final position.