Abstract: A system for fabricating a customized appliance for the orthodontic treatment of teeth, comprising forming an appliance comprising plural cavities each shaped to conform to the crown of a tooth and customized extensions which are chemically bonded to thermoformed aligners in a dental repositioning system. These extensions facilitate rigid and precise attachment of aligners to auxiliary devices such as TADs (Temporary Anchorage Devices) or are used as a mechanism to strengthen the aligner in specific areas. This facilitates simultaneous wear of aligners and sectional braces for the treatment of dental malocclusions.

Abstract: Methods are provided for shape-setting hyperelastic, single-crystal shape memory alloy (SMA) material while preserving the hyperelastic properties of the material. A wire or rod of a single crystal shape memory alloy material is heated to an annealing temperature (Ta). While maintained at the annealing temperature, the wire or rod is shaped by driving the wire or rod and a shaping form together into contact with each other, and the shaped wire or rod is quenched in a quenching medium virtually simultaneously with the shaping.

Abstract: A self-ligating orthodontic bracket for ligating an archwire includes a bracket body defining an archwire slot configured to receive the archwire, a movable member movable relative to the archwire slot, and an actuator coupled to at least one of the bracket body and the movable member. The actuator includes a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy and is configured to move the movable member when exposed to a magnetic field. A method of orthodontic treatment using a self-ligating orthodontic bracket having an archwire slot configured to receive an archwire therein and including a ferromagnetic shape memory includes exposing at least a portion of the orthodontic bracket to a magnetic field such that the ferromagnetic shape memory alloy at least partially transforms to a martensitic phase from an austenitic phase, and at least one of inserting an archwire into the archwire slot and removing an archwire from the archwire slot.

Abstract: An orthodontic appliance includes a portion made of a shape memory alloy having a base alloy composition of at least two different metallic elements and a treated region having an alloy composition that is depleted in at least one of the metallic elements. The base alloy may include a nickel titanium alloy (NiTi), a copper chromium nickel titanium alloy (CuCrNiTi), or a copper aluminum nickel (CuAlNi) alloy. The treated region may be depleted in at least one of copper, aluminum, nickel, and titanium relative to the base alloy composition by exposing the base alloy to a source of energy. The base alloy composition has a first austenitic finish temperature and the treated region has an austenitic finish temperature that may be different than the first austenitic finish temperature. The treated region may form a part of an archwire, a stop, a hook, a crown, a band, or an orthodontic bracket.