Manufacture of patient-specific orthodontic brackets with tooth-specific breakaway mechanism

A system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method comprising:
• accessing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an orthodontic bracket generated based at least in part on a 3D model of one or more of a patient's teeth, wherein the orthodontic bracket was generated to be placed over a region of a first tooth of the patient's teeth, the orthodontic bracket comprising:
• a mesial-distal slot configured to receive an archwire;
• and
• a stress concentrator groove arranged along an occlusal-gingival direction within a facial side of the orthodontic bracket, wherein:
• the stress concentrator groove comprises a geometric shape extending along the occlusal-gingival direction and in the facial side of the orthodontic bracket;
• the stress concentrator groove comprises a depth between (a) the geometric shape extending along the occlusal-gingival direction and in the facial side of the orthodontic bracket and (b) a corresponding surface along the occlusal-gingival direction within a base of the orthodontic bracket;
• and
• at least part of the geometric shape of the stress concentrator groove and a part of the corresponding surface along the base of the orthodontic bracket are contoured in the occlusal-gingival direction based on a surface curvature of the region of the first tooth over which the orthodontic bracket is to be placed so that the depth between the part of the geometric shape and the part of the corresponding surface is constant;
• and
• manufacturing an orthodontic bracket based on the 3D model of the orthodontic bracket using an additive manufacturing device.

An orthodontic bracket configured to be placed over a region of a first tooth of a patient, the bracket fabricated by:

• accessing a three-dimensional (3D) model of the orthodontic bracket based at least in part on a 3D model of one or more of a patient's teeth, the orthodontic bracket comprising:
• a mesial-distal slot configured to receive an archwire;
• and
• a stress concentrator groove arranged along an occlusal-gingival direction within a facial side of the orthodontic bracket, wherein:
• the stress concentrator groove comprises a geometric shape extending along the occlusal-gingival direction and in the facial side of the orthodontic bracket;
• the stress concentrator groove comprises a depth between (a) the geometric shape extending along the occlusal-gingival direction and in the facial side of the orthodontic bracket and (b) a corresponding surface along the occlusal-gingival direction within a base of the orthodontic bracket;
• and
• at least part of the geometric shape of the stress concentrator groove and a part of the corresponding surface along the base of the orthodontic bracket are contoured in the occlusal-gingival direction based on a surface curvature of the region of the first tooth over which the orthodontic bracket is to be placed so that the depth between the part of the geometric shape and the part of the corresponding surface is constant;
• and
• producing, by an additive manufacturing machine, the orthodontic bracket according to data related to the 3D model of the orthodontic bracket, wherein the orthodontic bracket is produced by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.