Sad but true: Dr Vashi applied for the patent in May 2000 in India and the US. While he has got the US patent, the Indian patent is yet come. When Dr Nikhil Vashi, an Andheri-based orthodontist, got a US patent for his 'home-made' dental bracket in June, he became the only doctor in the country with two US patents. Brackets are the metallic appliance which are attached to the tooth through which the wire runs to make up the dental brace. For his first patent, called Universal Ribbon Arch Appliance, in which the wire is used in the side of the brackets for the teeth get more movement, he had to go to the United States patent office in Washington, fill an application form and wait for over two years. For the second one, the Automatic Self Locking Bracket (ASLB), all he had to do was move his mouse and use his keyboard from his clinic. Dr Vashi says thank you to the internet. Like all innovations, the idea behind the product is simple. The brackets being used at present have rubber rings to hold the wire. On an average, the wire is replaced four times during the two-year treatment. With ASLB, the wire can be locked without any need for the rubber ring. Removing the wire is also easy. "The rubber ring has to be changed every time. Food particles may get collected near the rubber ring and the tooth may get infected," said Dr Vashi. He now has the sole right to manufacture and sell the product in the United States. "In the States there are lots of companies manufacturing dental equipment. It is a billion dollar industry with over 10,000 practicing dentists. An average American visits dentists much more than anyone else in the world," he says.
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