Orthodontic bracket and method of correcting malpositioned teeth

A method of correcting malpositioned teeth, comprising:

• applying a plurality of orthodontic brackets to teeth of a patient, each bracket comprising:
• a bracket body including a mesial end, a distal end, a lingual side, a labial side, and an archwire slot extending generally from the mesial end to the distal end, the archwire slot including a base surface and an occlusal side wall and a gingival side wall, the occlusal side wall and the gingival side wall extending in a labial direction from the base surface, the archwire slot further including an opening on the labial side opposite the base surface for receiving an archwire, and
• a slide member slidably coupled to the bracket body between an opened position and a closed position, the slide member configured to retain the archwire in the archwire slot in the closed position, the slide member including a lingual side with archwire control structure including first and second projecting portions spaced apart in a mesial-distal direction and a recessed area between the first and second projecting portions, the recessed area extending outside of the archwire slot and the projecting portions extending toward the archwire slot,
• wherein, when the slide member is in the closed position, the first and second projecting portions overlie the archwire slot with the first projecting portion proximate the mesial end of the archwire slot and the second projecting portion proximate the distal end of the archwire slot, wherein at least one of the first or second projecting portions is adapted to contact the archwire when the slide member is coupled to the bracket body, and wherein the first and second projecting portions have an asymmetric configuration relative to a longitudinal axis of the slide member so as to be unequally spaced relative to the mesial-distal dimension of the archwire slot and the first projecting portion having a width that is different than a width of the second projecting portion;
• and
• retaining an archwire in the respective archwire slots of the orthodontic brackets such that the archwire contacts at least one of the first or second projecting portions and without contacting another portion of the slide member to thereby provide consistent points of contact between the archwire and the slide member to produce a substantially consistent moment arm between the archwire and the bracket during orthodontic treatment.