Patent ID: 7686613

Claim:
An orthodontic bracket comprising: a mesial section; a distal section; a bridge section connecting the mesial section and the distal section, wherein the mesial section, the distal section and the bridge section comprise a ceramic material, and wherein the bridge section includes a line of weakness comprising a section having a reduced cross-sectional area and extending in a generally occlusal-gingival direction; and wherein the bridge section further includes a groove that extends along the line of weakness and interrupts the continuity of the lingual surface of the bridge section; an archwire slot extending across the mesial section and the distal section in a generally mesial-distal direction and located in a facial direction from the bridge section; a recess that extends in a generally occlusal-gingival direction and is located in a lingual direction from the bridge section; and a clip coupled to the bridge section for releasably retaining an archwire in the archwire slot, wherein at least a portion of the clip extends in the recess, wherein the clip has an opening facing the facial direction, wherein the bridge section extends through the clip, and wherein the clip surrounds the line of weakness, and wherein the line of weakness enables the bracket to be debonded from a tooth by pivoting one or both of the mesial and distal sections in directions toward each other.