Orthodontic instrument for applying elastic ligatures

Claim 1

An orthodontic instrument for applying annular elastic ligatures to brackets on the teeth of a patient for retaining the arch wire on the brackets, said instrument comprising: an elongated housing having a forward end and a rear end; an elongated dispenser member received in said housing for reciprocal movement therein along the longitudinal axis thereof, said dispenser member having an enlarged end at the forward end of the housing; a plurality of annular elastic ligatures stacked adjacent to one another on said dispenser member in coaxial relationship therewith, a pusher member slidably mounted in said housing in coaxial relationship with said dispenser member and in position to engage the rear ligature of the stack on said dispenser member; resilient means biasing the pusher member toward the forward end of the housing to move the forward ligature of the stack partially along the enlarged end of the dispenser member; manually operable release means engaging the forward ligature to force the forward ligature along the enlarged end of the dispenser member and over the extremity thereof, said release means comprising a plurality of push rods extending axially along the dispenser member under the ligature therein toward said enlarged end of said dispenser member, and manually operable means for moving said dispenser member axially with respect to the housing towards the rear end of the housing to cause said push rods to move forward relative to said dispenser member so as to move the forward ligature along the enlarged end of the dispenser and over the extremity thereof.