Orthodontic bracket assembly and process of manufacturing orthodontic bracket assembly

An orthodontic bracket assembly comprising:

• a bracket portion including a body comprising a first side and a second side, an archwire slot formed in the body, and
• a base portion having been constructed separately from the bracket portion by additive manufacturing, the base portion comprising a first side and a second side, the bracket portion being affixed to the base portion with the first side of the bracket portion facing away from the first side of the base portion, and the second side of the base portion comprising a base contour configured to contact a surface of a patient's tooth,
• an orthodontic prescription for the patient's tooth incorporated into the orthodontic bracket assembly, the orthodontic prescription comprising a torque angle, at least a portion of the torque angle being incorporated into the bracket portion or the base portion,
• wherein at a cross-section of the bracket assembly along an occlusal-gingival direction through a centroid of the second side of the base portion and viewed along an axis of the archwire slot:
• any torque angle incorporated in the bracket portion is measured between first line and a fourth line, the first line being along floor of the archwire slot, the fourth line being within a plane resting on at least three points of a facial-most surface of the first side of the body of the bracket portion, and
• any torque angle incorporated in the base portion is measured between a second line and the fourth line, the second line both intersecting and orthogonal to a third line at the centroid of the second side of the base portion, at the centroid of the second side of the base portion the third line being normal to at least both a mathematical best fit curve of the base contour along a first direction across the base contour and a mathematical best fit curve of the base contour along a second direction across the base contour, wherein the first direction is different from the second direction.

A process of manufacturing an orthodontic bracket assembly, the process comprising:

• forming a base portion by an additive manufacturing process, the base portion comprising a first side and a second side, the additive manufacturing process structuring the second side of the base portion to contact a surface of a patient's tooth;
• providing a bracket portion including a body comprising a first side, a second side, and an archwire slot formed into the first side, and
• affixing the second side of the bracket portion to the first side of the base portion,
• the orthodontic bracket assembly including an orthodontic prescription for the patient's tooth to which the bracket assembly is configured to be attached, the orthodontic prescription comprising a torque angle.