Orthopedic corrector and method of correction of Class II malocclusion
First Claim
1. An orthopedic appliance for correcting a Class II, Division I, malocclusion comprising:
- a. a posterior segment having contoured sides for mating and longitudinally fixed engagement with the interior sides of a person'"'"'s upper molars;
b. an anterior segment having a contoured leading edge for mating engagement with the inside of the frontal arch of the person'"'"'s mandible, the leading edge being a ramp which extends angularly outward in a direction from the bottom of the mandible to the top of the mandibular frontal arch, andc. an expansion screw assembly connecting the posterior and anterior segment for longitudinally expandible movement between the anterior segment and the posterior segment.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved orthopedic appliance for correcting a Class II malocclusion comprising an acrylic anterior segment molded to fit the lower mouth and dentition and two acrylic posterior segments molded to fit the upper mouth and dentition of a patient and an expansion screw connecting each posterior segment to the anterior segment for expandible movement between the anterior segment and the posterior segments. A method of correcting a Class II Division 1 malocclusion using an expandable but otherwise conventional orthopedic appliance. The appliance is expanded in stages to maximize the utilization of corrective lower jaw movements which result from the anchoring of the orthopedic appliance in the patient'"'"'s upper mouth.
-
Citations
8 Claims
-
1. An orthopedic appliance for correcting a Class II, Division I, malocclusion comprising:
-
a. a posterior segment having contoured sides for mating and longitudinally fixed engagement with the interior sides of a person'"'"'s upper molars; b. an anterior segment having a contoured leading edge for mating engagement with the inside of the frontal arch of the person'"'"'s mandible, the leading edge being a ramp which extends angularly outward in a direction from the bottom of the mandible to the top of the mandibular frontal arch, and c. an expansion screw assembly connecting the posterior and anterior segment for longitudinally expandible movement between the anterior segment and the posterior segment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)
-
-
7. A method of influencing the mandible of a human patient to move from a Class II, Division I, malocclusion to a Class I occlusion which comprises:
-
forming an orthopedic appliance molded to fit the mouth and dentition of the patient to be treated while the patient'"'"'s lower jaw is held in a construction bite position, said orthopedic appliance comprising an anterior segment and a posterior segment, the posterior segment being expandably connected along a longitudinal line to the anterior segment by an expansion screw assembly, the posterior segment having contoured sides for mating and longitudinally fixed engagement with the interior sides of the patient'"'"'s upper molars, and the anterior segment having a contoured leading edge for mating engagement with the inside of the frontal arch of the patient'"'"'s mandible, the leading edge being a ramp which extends angularly outward in a direction from the bottom of the mandible to the top of the mandibular frontal arch; inserting the orthopedic appliance in the patient'"'"'s mouth in the minimally expanded position for a period of three months; removing the appliance and expanding it by use of the expansion screw assemblies approximately one millimeter and reinserting it in the patient'"'"'s mouth for one week and therafter repeating this process each successive week for a total of five weeks; and after expanding the appliance each successive week for a total of five weeks, wearing the appliance in the patient'"'"'s mouth for approximately 12 months until the result of a Class I occlusion is achieved.
-
Specification