Patent ID: 7252505

Claim:
An orthodontic appliance comprising: a base; a body extending outwardly from the base; an archwire slot extending across the appliance in a generally mesial-distal direction; a latch for releasably retaining an archwire in the archwire slot, wherein the latch comprises a clip with a region next to the archwire slot for receiving an archwire, wherein the clip includes a first section, a second section and a third section interconnecting the first section and the second section, wherein the first section and the second section are movable away from each other to admit an archwire into the region, and wherein the clip also includes a recess at least partially defined by the first section, the second and the third section; and a post extending outwardly from the body along a reference axis and into the recess for coupling the clip to the body, the post including an outermost head and a neck interconnecting the head and the body, wherein the head extends outwardly past the neck a certain distance when considered in reference planes perpendicular to the reference axis, wherein the certain distance decreases as the third section of the clip is approached and wherein the first section and the second section are movable away from each other a distance sufficient to clear the head and enable the clip to be coupled to the body while moving the clip in a direction parallel to the archwire slot.