Appliance with bilayer base

• US 6,746,242 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2002
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2002
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: TP Orthodontics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: TP Orthodontics Incorporated
• Inventors: Kesling, Andrew C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, Ralph A.
• Application Number:
  US10/285,742
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 433/8, 433/9
• US Class Current: 433/9
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 2202/01 Packaging for light-curable material
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 5/00 Filling or capping teeth
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 7/146 Positioning or placement of brackets; Tools therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 7/16 specially adapted to be cemented to teeth
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/30767 Special external or bone-contacting surface, e.g. coating for improving bone ingrowth
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30535 Special structural features of bone or joint prostheses not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0058 Additional features; Implant or prostheses properties not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A bilayer base for attaching appliances selected from the group consisting of a component of a dental appliance, an orthodontic appliance, or an orthopedic appliance to a bony part of the human body wherein the appliance part to be attached to the bony part of the body may be made of metal, ceramic, or plastic. The base permits the appliance to be ready for mounting and includes a cured layer of polymer resin mounted on the appliance and an uncured layer of substantially the same polymer resin over the cured layer which when cured becomes integral with the cured layer in attaching the appliance to a bony part of the body.

Claims

1. The combination of a factory-made orthodontic appliance and a laminated base for shipment to a user for ready mounting of the appliance on a tooth, said base comprising:

a first layer of cured polymer resin, and

a second layer of uncured polymer resin of substantially the same family as the first layer defining a tacky surface for ready mounting of the appliance on a tooth.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said appliance is a bracket or a tube.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said appliance is of metal, ceramic, or plastic material.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein said polymer resin is light, chemical, or heat-curable.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein said polymer resin is from the group of acrylic, epoxy, or acrylic-based epoxy resins.

6. The combination of claim 1, wherein said polymer resin is transparent or translucent.

7. The combination of a factory-made appliance and a base thereon for shipment to a user and ready mounting of the appliance on a bone of a person, said base comprising,

a first layer of cured polymer resin, and

a second layer of uncured polymer resin of substantially the same family as the resin of the first layer defining a tacky surface for ready mounting of the appliance on a bone of a person that engages the bone and is cured thereafter to be integral with the first layer and attach the appliance to the bone.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the appliance is an orthopedic appliance of metal, ceramic or plastic material, and the polymer resin is from the group of light, chemical, or heat-curable resins.

9. A factory-made bilayer base for an appliance for shipment to a user and mountable on bones and/or teeth of the human anatomy, said base comprising:

a first layer of a polymer resin in a cured state, and

a second layer of a polymer resin in an uncured state superposed over the first layer defining a tacky surface for ready mounting of the appliance on a tooth,

said polymer resins of both layers being of substantially the same type, whereby application of the appliance to a selected part of the human anatomy and curing of said second layer causes said second layer to be integral with the first layer, and firmly mounts the appliance to said selected part.

10. In a factory-made appliance selected from the group consisting of a component of a dental appliance, an orthodontic appliance, or an orthopedic appliance for shipment to a user, wherein the appliance includes means thereon for attaching at least part of the appliance to a bony part of the human body, and which component includes a part made of metal, ceramic or plastic and said attaching means is a base secured to the part,

the improvement being in the attaching means which comprises a cured layer of polymer resin mounted directly on said part, and an uncured layer of polymer resin over at least a part of the cured layer defining a tacky surface for ready mounting of the appliance on a bony part of the human body and which when cured becomes integral with the cured layer and attaches the part to said bony part.

11. In an appliance according to claim 10, wherein the polymer resin of the uncured layer is of the same family of resins as the polymer resin of the cured layer.

12. In an appliance according to claim 10, wherein the polymer resin of said layers is of a type that is curable by heat energy, chemical energy, or light energy.

13. In an appliance according to claim 10, wherein the polymer resin of said layer is transparent or translucent.

14. In an appliance according to claim 10, wherein the polymer resin of the uncured layer is light-curable and the polymer resin of the cured layer is transparent or translucent, whereby the cured layer functions to wick or transmit light energy to the entire uncured layer and produce complete curing of the uncured layer.

15. The combination of a factory-made orthodontic appliance and a laminated base for shipment to a user for ready mounting of the appliance on a tooth, said base consists of:

a first layer of cured polymer resin, and

a second layer of uncured polymer resin of substantially the same family as the first layer defining a tacky surface for ready mounting of the appliance on a tooth.