Manufacture of patient-specific orthodontic brackets with improved base and retentive features

A custom ceramic orthodontic bracket, wherein the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket comprises:

• a bracket pad defining a plurality of retentive structures configured to oppose a tooth surface, wherein:
• adjacent retentive structures of the plurality are separated by a corresponding recess;
• and
• the bracket pad also defines a wall that extends around the plurality of retentive structures and corresponding recesses, wherein the wall extends further from a bracket body than at least some of the adjacent retentive structures;
• the bracket body including a mesial tie wing pair and a distal tie wing pair;
• and
• an arch wire slot defined in the bracket body comprising slot walls formed at least partially by the mesial tie wing pair and the distal tie wing pair, wherein the slot walls are substantially parallel;
• wherein the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket was formed from a green body formed by a photo-reactive slurry-based additive manufacturing machine, wherein:
• the photo-reactive slurry comprises a photo-initiator, an organic binder and a ceramic material;
• and
• the green body comprises a ceramic material held by a polymer formed by exposing the photo-initiator and the organic binder to a light source, wherein:
• slot walls of the green body are not substantially parallel due to the photo-reactive slurry-based additive manufacturing machine using a three-dimensional computer model for the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket that includes data representing the bracket pad, the bracket body, and the arch wire slot, wherein the arch wire slot of the model includes a dovetail cross section such that the slot walls of the model are not parallel,
• such that at least one furnace could be used to decompose the polymer and sinter the ceramic material to form the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket from the green body so that the slot walls of the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket are substantially parallel.

At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a plurality of computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, are operable to cause the one or more processors to perform a method for manufacturing a green body used to manufacture a custom ceramic orthodontic bracket, the method comprising:

• importing a three-dimensional computer model for the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket into a photo-reactive slurry-based additive manufacturing machine, wherein the photo-reactive slurry comprises a photo-initiator, an organic binder and a ceramic material, wherein the model includes data representing:
• a) a bracket pad defining a plurality of retentive structures configured to oppose a tooth surface, wherein:
• adjacent retentive structures of the plurality are separated by a corresponding recess;
• and
• the bracket pad also defines a wall that extends around the plurality of retentive structures and corresponding recesses, wherein the wall extends further from a bracket body than at least some of the adjacent retentive structures;
• b) the bracket body including a mesial tie wing pair and a distal tie wing pair;
• and
• c) an arch wire slot defined in the bracket body comprising slot walls formed at least partially by the mesial tie wing pair and the distal tie wing pair, wherein the arch wire slot includes a dovetail cross section such that the slot walls of the model are not parallel;
• using the additive manufacturing machine to form, based on the model, a green body comprising the ceramic material held by a polymer formed by exposing the photo-initiator and the organic binder to a light source, wherein slot walls of the green body are not substantially parallel,
• such that at least one furnace can be used to decompose the polymer and sinter the ceramic material to form the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket from the green body, wherein the slot walls of the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket are substantially parallel.