Ceramic orthodontic appliance
US4954080A · kind A · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 21, 1988 |
| Grant date | Sep 4, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 21, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61C7/12
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An orthodontic bracket or similar orthodontic appliance is made of a polycrystalline ceramic having a translucency which minimizes visibility of the appliance when mounted on a tooth. The ceramic is formed by pressing a powder material, such as high purity aluminum oxide, and sintering to yield a single phase appliance having substantially zero porosity and an average grain size preferably in the range of 10 to 30 microns. The substantially color-free ceramic appliance has desirable strength and other mechanical properties combined with a translucency which permits the natural color of the tooth to diffusely show through in a fashion tending to make the appliance blend with and disappear against the tooth.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.