Patent ID: 7247018

Claim:
An edgewise orthodontic bracket comprising: a body comprising gingival and occlusal tie wings defining a labially opening archwire slot therebetween, each of the gingival and occlusal tie wings having a mesial/distal extent, said gingival wing comprising a gingivally-extending center leg and gingivally-extending mesial and distal wing tip portions, wherein said gingivally-extending center leg extends a greater distance from said archwire slot than each of said gingivally-extending mesial and distal wing tip portions, said occlusal wing comprising an occlusally-extending center leg and occlusally-extending mesial and distal wing tip portions, wherein said occlusally-extending center leg extends a greater distance from said archwire slot than each of said occlusally-extending mesial and distal wing tip portions; a first set of gingival and occlusal notches, the gingival notch being disposed within the mesial/distal extent of said gingival tie wing and the occlusal notch being disposed within the mesial/distal extent of said occlusal tie wing; a second set of gingival and occlusal notches, the gingival notch being disposed within the mesial/distal extent of said gingival tie wing and the occlusal notch being disposed within the mesial/distal extent of said occlusal tie wing, said first set of notches being disposed on a mesial side of said bracket and said second set of notches being disposed on a distal side of said bracket; and a base interconnected to said body, said base having a substantially continuous pattern of characters and intermediate space, said base including a discontinuous perimeter rail; and at least one auxiliary slot, said at least one auxiliary slot including said pattern of characters.