3M Unitek Low Profile Lingual Cleats for Bands
A low profile cleat welded onto orthodontic bands, providing a lingual attachment point for ligatures or elastic wear without adding excess bulk.
Unitek Low Profile Lingual Cleats are small attachments welded onto the lingual surface of an orthodontic band, giving the clinician a defined point to tie a ligature or attach an elastic on the tongue-facing side of the tooth. The low profile design keeps the cleat sitting close to the band surface rather than protruding significantly, which is intended to reduce the bulk the patient feels against the tongue during normal speaking, eating and swallowing, an important comfort consideration for any attachment placed on the lingual side where patients are more likely to notice it than a labial or buccal attachment.
This cleat is used whenever treatment mechanics require an engagement point from the lingual aspect of a banded tooth, a need that arises in various anchorage and elastic wear strategies throughout fixed appliance treatment. This product line is transitioning from the Unitek Low Profile Lingual Cleats name to the Solventum Low Profile Lingual Cleats line as the manufacturer continues rebranding its orthodontic accessory range.
Practices banding molars and using lingual mechanics as part of their treatment approach keep cleats like this in stock as a standard, low-cost band accessory.
