Patent attributes
A positioning appliance adapted to facilitate an orthodontics procedure in which a bracket or other orthodontic component is placed at a desired site on the surface of a tooth and affixed thereto. The appliance comprises a hand-held tubular wand that has a protective sleeve section and a camera section telescoped in the sleeve section. A window is mounted at the front end of the sleeve section and a finger projecting therefrom is adapted to hold the bracket at a position abutting the tooth surface. A camera is housed in the camera section to capture through the window an image of the bracket on the surface of the tooth. One or more light sources are housed in the camera section, for irradiating the bracket and the tooth surface with light detectable by the camera. Additional one or more light sources are housed in the camera section and are capable of irradiates light at a wavelength that can cure an adhesive used for affixing the bracket or other orthodontic component to the surface of a tooth.