| abstract |
An arch wire is provided with one or more sleeves, each of which is a close fit on the wire and in turn fits closely into the bracket slot in which it is inserted. The wire/sleeve combination and the bracket cooperate to produce the desired rotation and tipping of the tooth while, if required, the sleeve/bracket combination can slide freely along the wire. This permits the use of very light moving forces and the use of a wire of uniform cross-section along its length while permitting changes of the wire cross-section for each and any bracket to provide the desired orthodontic action. Preferably the wire and sleeve cross-sections cooperate to hold the sleeve against rotation about a mesial-distal axis. The ends of the sleeve may be splayed to limit its endwise movement in the bracket slot. A sleeve may extend over more than one bracket. The sleeve may be a continuous tube, or it may be slit mesially-distally along its lingual face that is within the slot. |