Patent ID: 11872101
Assignee: LIGHTFORCE ORTHODONTICS, INC.
Field: Materials, metallurgy (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A  B  C | IPC A  B

Claim 0:
1. A method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by additive manufacturing, said method comprising:
based on dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of the patient's teeth;
generating a 3D bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure based upon said 3D model of the patient's teeth, wherein generating the 3D bracket structure model comprises:
generating a first 3D bracket model having a base surface that is contoured to a shape of a tooth of the patient based on the 3D model of the patient's teeth; and
generating the 3D bracket structure model based on the first 3D bracket model by forming a cavity within the base surface, thereby producing a wall at the base surface and a plurality of retentive structures within the cavity, with the plurality of retentive structures arranged interior to the wall, wherein each retentive structure is a three-dimensional figure with a positive draft angle greater than 0°, wherein a surface of each retentive structure is contoured to the shape of the tooth of the patient, and wherein the wall includes a full perimeter around the 3D bracket structure model that is contoured to the shape of the tooth of the patient;

importing data related to the 3D bracket structure model into an additive manufacturing machine; and
directly producing the bracket, with the base having the wall and the plurality of retentive structures, with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.