Patent ID: 8105079

Claim:
An orthodontic appliance for promoting development of a dental arch form in a patient who has an underdeveloped dental arch form, the appliance including: an arch-shaped base member that is made of a resiliently flexible material, in the form of a generally arch-shaped open frame structure defining a front region and two arm regions, each extending to a free end, the open frame structure including: a curved outer frame member and a curved inner frame member that are spaced apart from each other; a first pair of transverse frame members comprising one transverse frame member towards one side edge of the front region and an additional transverse frame member towards the other side edge of the front region, the one and the additional transverse frame members aligning respectively with the left and right outer incisors of a patient when the appliance is fitted to the patient; and a front transverse frame member intermediate the first pair of transverse frame members; and a teeth engaging member that encloses at least part of the base member and that defines at least one of upper and lower dental arch receiving channels, the teeth engaging member being made of a resiliently flexible material that is softer than the resiliently flexible material of the base member and that is deformable, wherein the appliance has a resting form in which the resilient materials of the base member and the teeth engaging member are in their resting condition, and the appliance can be flexed or deformed out of the resting form to fit the underdeveloped dental arch form into the dental arch receiving channel, and when deformed the appliance exerts a return force that is directed to returning it to its resting form which in use urges the underdeveloped dental arch to expand into a developed dental arch form.