Muscle wire appliance tutorial (a.k.a. Inman aligner, Bowman consolidator)

[Teofil]

Hello
This post is about making NiTi powered aligners.
Most popular name for this appliance is "Inman aligner" - I am sure you are familiar with it, but there are few more versions and names for this type of appliance.
One of them is "Bowman consolidator" that is promoted by Great Lakes too. It is basically the same appliance but has a different name.Great Lakes Orthodontics, LTD.- Labratory Appliances - New Appliances
This means that you can make appliance with this type of mechanics and sell them but you need to obtain a licence to use name Inman or Bowman.
The name we use in my country for this type of appliance is "Muscle wire appliance".
Muscle wire technique generally relates to use of NiTi coil springs to power different versions of labial bow and lingual plate in combination with many types of orthodontic appliances.
Muscle wire is also used in combination with open type screw to close gaps. It prevents screw from backing-up and adds additional stability.Somewhat like this



Anyway...here's a few photos from my tutorial how to make an incisor aligning Muscle-Wire appliance. I do not use any preformed parts or IPC to adjust preasure, everything is made by hand.
I will provide a link to complete tutorial by PM to interested contributing members of this forum


TUTORIAL REVOKED, see below for more info.

[labdude]

Outstanding post Teofil! Well done.

[Inman Labs]

Hello All:

I respectfully ask you to honor my patents for this design, you must be licensed by Inman Orthodontic Labs to make this appliance.

I really apologize my first post here is not more friendly, I promise future posts will be.

I hope to contribute to everything you are doing here.

Don

[Teofil]

Hello Don
I am sorry I used the name of Inman appliance in the name of the thread.
I just used names of Inman Aligner and Bowman consolidator to describe what type of appliance it is.
Members of this forum are mostly located in US so I used the names that are most relevant to this type of appliance in US and Canada. If you find that use of your name or any part of this post is infringement of your patent rights it would be best that this thread is erased
I never said that this appliance was my patent, I am just a technician who makes them. Appliances with this kind of mechanics and use of NiTi springs are used in my country for over 4 years and does not use IPC's or any parts other than wire and acrylic,so I think that we here in eastern Europe don't really need any kind of license to make them. This is just a technique of making them I developed for my self, there 2 or 3 more ways of making this kind of appliance.
This DOESN'T mean that I don't support licensing technicians in US and honoring your patent in all the countries you hold a license.
I am sorry if I sounded rude but my English is not that good.
Again,I had no intention of disrespecting your patent and your hard work and if you think that this thread should be erased I ask moderator to do that.

P.S. I am sorry for being such a pain, but I would like to ask about dr.Jay Bowman's consolidator and how it is related to Inman aligner?
As far as I can see it's the same type of appliance but uses a different name and it's promoted by GL too. How come?
Thanx

[labdude]

Hi Don and Teofil,
Now it gets interesting. Don, how much is your license, what are the requirements for it??
Is Great Lakes licensed to make it?? Or have they changed the components or design by 10% or so.
While I appreciate your licencing for a design, invention, does it bring you that much income?? I have as well come up with a few things over the years and never asked for licensing or created a patent on a design or idea.
I found that enforcing a patent or licensing to be to much trouble and instead spent the effort making the product. Others took up on things and produced them as well. I don't know, maybe I could have pulled in some more bucks. Just busy making things and not worrying about who copies or who I copy.
I can understand a patent or license requiremnet for items that are difficult to produce. Items that require special materials researched and manufactured by someone. Drugs being one of those things. Safety issues and such for drugs or products.
I maybe think it is to easy to come up with new designs for appliances to move teeth, as it were. I'm not trying to be disrespectful, just interested in your thoughts.
Teofil, you can delete your post if you like. Or ,Don, if you like I could delete the thread for you if you feel it infringes to much.
Mike.

[Inman Labs]

Teofil..No worries

I am your friend........

The design as you have shown it is protected by my patent, the Inman Aligner is independent from the IPC. In Europe the Inman Aligner is protected by Trade Mark and soon patent protection.

I spent a ton of money to protect these ideas and I hope you all respect my efforts.

Labdude.....

The royalties I earn hopefully will help me put my 2 boys through school, I understand your position of sharing knowledge but the Inman Aligner was so different in my opinion that was worth the patent effort.

The Bowman is a version I designed to close bicuspid extraction relapse space, it is part of my patent.

If any of you come up with a truly unique design...patent it!

This is a tough business and if we can earn extra income from our ideas why not?

With all that said I really..really believe in sharing knowledge......

To prove this consider what I have spent the last year working on...

This year at the AAO there will be a presentation titled "Orthodontic Appliances a team Approach" This is a 4 hour course I organized with 5 laboratories working together to teach attendees Herbst, expansion, Ipc appliances, proper impressions and clinical appliance adjustments.

Think about it...5 competing labs working together for the better of the industry!

Money is not my God...know that

I love what I do and I am here to share it with all of you....I will retire when I die!

We have a group of labs that get together at the AAO every year, we call our meeting the WKE. WKE stands for and not seriously WE KNOW EVERYTHING, it is a joke but it is amazing how productive this meeting is. We insist that if you attend you must bring pearls to share with all......this is a very special group!

I hope this explains my position, I hope you welcome me and I am here to stay....I love what you are doing here but I respect if I am not welcome.

regards,
Don

[labdude]

Also, what about the Inman Invisible Aligner?? IS that licensed to Great Lakes???

I would hope this site stays as an informative site. A place to share ideas and techniques along with types of appliances. While an "item" like the IPC is clearly a well researched and costly to produce and market item. An "appliance" made by a lab may sometimes resemble another made by someone else, without prior knowledge. An appliance made of readily available components can be concieved by a competent lab worker, just by realizing the components they use can do other things in other ways.

[labdude]

Don,
Your welcome here. Always will be.
Just what does a lab do in the case of the aligner?? Should they refer their business to you??? Should they send you a portion of their profit for the aligner?? I understand the need to put children through school etc.
Problem possibly with a group of labs. Nice to see your 5 labs sharing info with each other. I would hate to see it try to control the making of appliances, or anything, by the forming of anm alliance. Nice you guys are at the AAO together. The AAO is not an attainable meeting for most labs to attend. Way to costly. For myself, I have slowed down considerably in my work. Like yourself I will never retire. I enjoy the work to much and it comes easy and naturally. Like the making of an appliance that may resemble another, that I came up with on my own. My interest here is truly sharing of all I know. I will never put a patent on something that is so easily designable, I will share it freely.
Mike.

[Inman Labs]

Mike:

No alliance...just 5 labs sharing what they do best.

Inman Labs will teach how to fabricate IPC appliances
Specialty Appliances will teach Herbst Appliances
Accutech Labs will teach expansion appliances
New England Ortho will teach appliance adjustments
and your favorite lab Space Maintainers SW is teaching the importance of good impressions.

No political agenda at all

email me and I will give you more personal thoughts regarding the Aligners

don@inmanortho.com

Have a great Monday,
Don

[Teofil]

Hello again
I decided to stop giving link to this tutorial.
It's not like there was too much demand for it.
Only 2 people asked for a link. So i decided not to provoke any further negative discussion about whether using NiTi coil springs in mobile appliances can be limited by license or patent rights.
My humble opinion is that limiting labs or technicians with patent or trade mark name for this type of appliance will simply not work. Labs in my country produce many types of appliances, among them are Twin bocks, Herbst appliance, Hyrax RPE appliances...
Some of them use prefabricated components that we have to buy . I never heard of labs here having to pay any royalties for installing these components. That would be silly, i mean first giving money for prefabricated parts and than giving more money to use the name they are sold by. Should i pay royalties for using NiTi coil springs to Dentaurum every time i buy them?
And there is Adams clasp too, I don't even know who Adams is but I certainly never received any license to bend wire this way. Same applies to labial bow.
What I am trying to say is that if I would, for example start to produce soft carbonated drink i could paint it black and call it Coca-Whatever but I could never use name of Coca Cola. Same applies to producing steam engine or internal combustion engine - the mechanics are commonly known, it's just the QUALITY that makes the buyer decide to use or buy certain product. BRAND NAMES mark the quality and their power is achieved by marketing the product.
I think that Don can protect use of BRAND NAME INMAN ALIGNER, but can't prevent technicians from making NiTi driven mobile appliances worldwide. God knows 10 or more labs here won't, they will produce it by the name that is known it their respectful region.

Don: I will revoke this tutorial because I do respect your efforts ,money and hard work you have put to marketing Inman aligner.
I do understand that licensing labs to use Inman aligner brings your money back and I certainly do not mean to cause ANY trouble but I can not lie to you that I and my colleagues will stop producing appliances we were taught to create long before we ever heard of Inman aligner.
Anyway I don't think that 10 or 15 of us producing appliances with similar mechanics in distant eastern European country pose any real treat to Inman aligner and you collecting rewards for your work.
Good luck and all the best
Teofil

P.S. I am very sorry IPC are not available in my country, I think they are AWESOME and I would like to try applying them very much ...
I hope dental material distrubutors here will offer them for purchase soon.

[labdude]

Nice to know the labs from the AAO.
Those teachings they are offering would be welcome here. In placing their teachings here, they would be sharing with labs that are not attending the AAO. There are several small labs out there that would benefit along with those that attend the AAO this year.
This is a small site, but, it is less than 1 year old. It will grow.

Thoughts regarding the aligners, can be shared here, and not privately.
And really should be.
You came here with your first post asking for all to respect your patent.
You were asked quite openly what your requirements are.
Now you don't want to respond??? Except in private???
Seems you don't want anyone making the aligner at any price (royalty) to you.

As teofil explained, most all of us feel. The IPC he didn't mention, is a more sensible patent. A patent can be had for almost anything however.
Holding thoughts about the aligner close to the vest may be what you want to do, but it raises suspicion of intentions.

Another thought is maybe sending off shore to Teofil for the manufacture of a Musle Wire Appliance.
Mike.

[Teofil]

No need to be hostile, I am sure that Don is very busy person and just just forgot to announce the price of licensing in US
You can find info for UK courses on Inman Aligner site.
The Inman Aligner Hands-on Course
It says :
UK£ 585 = 1 146.366 US$
I understand that this price is for UK only?
Does taking this course provide you with a license for making Aligners?

Mike, I hope outsourcing was just a joke because I would not be interested in provoking any conflict with Inman laboratories, they are too big for me to handle. I am just one simple technician with no interest in massive production of any type of Inman, Bowman or Muscle appliances.
I am happy with providing appliances to limited number of orthodontists here.
I am not interested in pushing Muscle wire as a patent, not even here. It is not my invention and I was just taught how to make it. This tutorial was just a demonstration of my procedure of making NiTi powered appliance.
If Inman Labs came to my country I would actually pay for a course in making Inman Aligner. I think i could only benefit from comparing techniques and marketing that Inman Labs could provide for their licensed technicians.

[Teofil]

Heh, me again
Don:
I have no intention in questioning originality of Inman Aligner "revolutionary" mechanic design but as long as we are talking about alleged borrowing of ideas take look at this, can you honestly tell that similar mechanical solutions are not possible by more people or more at the same time? ( or earlier, this design is used here and good part of Europe for many years)




It is caled "Labial spring bow plate according to Bandulet"
This is taken from O-atlas by Dentaurum-Germany
If anyone interested in taking a look at it and finding out more you can find it at
o-atlas - Chapter 3 - Labial spring bow plate according to Bandulet

O atlas is a great reference book and should be seen as many orthodontic technicians as possible.
I do have a printed edition too and I recommend you to go out and buy it.

[labdude]

Hi Teofil,
I'm not being hostile toward Don or yourself. I agree with yours thoughts on patents.
I would think that Don would be willing to post here, rather than a private e-mail, his thoughts on the aligner. He is the one who asked for respect of his patent. Now he isn't willing to share more??? Unless as you stated, he is very busy. Still, he has time to respond to simple questions, maybe just not right now.
Of course out sourceing was a joke. Just trying to get some response from Don. I'm sure that remark about out sourceing put a smile on a few faces.
Of course I would also enjoy taking an Inman course on aligners. Thing is, I'm like yourself, I have all the work I need and am not interested in expanding. So, attendance of that course would probably not happen for me. I have taken courses at Great Lakes in the past. Those were very informative and helpful in my business. Now at my age, slowing down a little is where I'm at.
The forums here are an interesting diversion for me. Interesting at the moment is how this thread takes me back several years. It reminds me of going to the AAO and PCSO meetings and all the games that were played there. It's always been tough to get some people to talk about some things. Especially if those things were closely related to them, as the aligner is to Don. Just amuzing for me.
Really, what is the big secret about what he would like as a royalty, or what he has for a training course, or any of the other simple questions we have asked??
Fun to watch people make a mountain from a small hill in this way.
I very much enjoy your input and discussion of appliances and ideas hereTeofil!!
Your an asset to this site, your lab and your country, and to all you come in contact with.
Mike.

[labdude]

Teofil, about the link you provided. You only got a couple of requests as this site is still young, and also the lab people are busy or not on line everyday. Great link and great job you did setting it up. Took time and effort on your part that was appreciated by all, even if only 2 got to see it.
Thanks again for sharing,
Mike.

[Inman Labs]

Mike sorry I did not post this quicker, I am not looking to fight with anyone.

Great Lakes has exclusivity in the US for 2.5 more years so there was no reason to discuss licensing fees for US Labs. I can tell you it is only a small percentage of each appliance sold and there was not any up front fee. My contract also makes me legally responsible to protect or enforce the patent hence the original post to begin with.

I understand everything both you and Teofil are saying about your feelings toward my patent. I did not copy any other appliance and never saw anything close to its design.
When I developed it I showed an orthodontist, his name is Dr. Greenfield from the Greenfield Molar Distalizer or GMD. He told me to patent it and license it, he explained how he has done it… the rest is history.

Teofil make the appliances and sell the hell out of them no license needed, I will never come looking for you. I am not a “get my lawyer type” of guy but please don’t sell them in the UK or use the name Inman. I have a partner in London and we have Trade Marked the Inman Aligner in the UK and are in the process to do so for all of Europe.

The course you are talking about is put on by my partner and is a wonderful; it is for dentists to learn how to clinically manage the appliances. I am coming over this October to attend the course and spend some time with our UK licensed lab (Nimrodental).
Where are you in Europe, were should I plan to visit? I will be there for 9 days and plan to visit France but so far have not made other plans.

The IPC is available world wide through me; I will send you a handful of them if you pick up the shipping costs.

I have heard about the Atlas before, any idea on where I can purchase a copy?

Lastly:
This is a passionate discussion and I understand and appreciate your feelings.
I will not post here (at least on this topic again) because nothing I say will help my position. There are tons of patented appliances that can be made from on the bench supplies, I was not the first and I will not be the last to try to profit from a unique idea.

I do love this website however, I wish you all well…keep up the great work!

Regards,
Don

[labdude]

Hi Don,
Deal. Enough said. Life goes on as usual.