摘要：
Abstract In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by additive manufacturing may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three-dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a virtual 3D CAD bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure based upon said 3D CAD model, importing data related to the 3D CAD bracket structure model into an additive manufacturing machine, and directly producing the bracket with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.
权利要求：
1. A method of manufacturing a custom ceramic orthodontic bracket, said 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; and
using at least one furnace 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.
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2. The method of claim 1 wherein a first height of the arch wire slot at a first end of the slot walls proximate to the bracket pad is greater than a second height of the arch wire slot at a second end opposite the first end.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein dimensions of the bracket body of the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket and/or of the arch wire slot of the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket are programed to cause at least one of a prescribed tip or a prescribed torque of a tooth.
4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the bracket pad is configured for placement on a lingual surface of a tooth and/or a labial surface of tooth.
5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the model includes error compensation data that accounts for at least one of:
over polymerization when printing the green body such that the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket is formed with prescribed dimensions to effect an orthodontic treatment; and shrinkage of the green body to the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket at prescribed dimensions to effect an orthodontic treatment.
6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the additive manufacturing machine utilizes at least one of lithography-based manufacturing, inkjet printing, slip casting, laser lithography additive manufacturing, direct light processing, and selective laser melting.
7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the wall comprises a fracture wall extending around a perimeter of the bracket pad.
8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein each retentive structure has a cross-section that is substantially trapezoidal and wider at a first side oriented toward the tooth surface than a second side proximate to the bracket body.
9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the model is sliced into layers and each layer has a thickness of at least one of:
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about 5 gm to about 100 gm; and
about 20 gm to about 50 gm.
10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein a manufacturing accuracy of the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket is about 5 gm to about 60 gm.
11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein each retentive structure of the plurality comprises a rectangular surface.
12. 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 photoreactive slurry-based additive manufacturing machine using a three-dimensional computer model for the custom ceramic orthodontic bracket that includes data
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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.
13. The custom ceramic orthodontic bracket of claim 12 wherein a first height of the arch wire slot of the model at a first end of the slot walls proximate to the bracket pad is greater than a second height of the arch wire slot at a second end opposite the first end.
14. The custom ceramic orthodontic bracket of claim 12 or 13 wherein each retentive structure of the plurality comprises a rectangular surface.
15. 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;
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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.
16. A method for use in manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by additive manufacturing, the method comprising:
based on dentition data of a profile of a patient’s teeth, generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of the patient’s teeth;
generating a 3D model of a labial/lingual bracket structure based on the 3D model of the patient’s teeth, wherein:
the labial/lingual bracket structure includes a base comprising a base surface that is contoured to a shape of a tooth of the patient,
generating the 3D model of the labial/lingual bracket structure comprises performing a Boolean difference operation between a first bracket model and at least a portion of the 3D model of the patient’s teeth to define the base surface that is contoured to the shape of the tooth of the patient, and
the labial/lingual bracket structure comprises a fracture groove that extends in an occlusal-gingival direction from a topmost surface of the base of the labial/lingual bracket structure to a bottommost surface of the base of the labial/lingual bracket structure, wherein the fracture groove has a depression and the depression is curved along the occlusal-gingival direction matching a contour of a surface of the tooth of the patient; and
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transmitting data indicating the 3D model of the labial/lingual bracket structure to an additive manufacturing machine for production of a bracket using the 3D model of the labial/lingual bracket structure.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the labial/lingual bracket structure comprises:
a bracket body comprising a slot;
wherein the fracture groove is disposed in relation to the slot.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein:
the bracket body comprises a mesial tie wing pair and a distal tie wing pair; and
the bracket body comprises an arch wire slot comprising slot walls formed at least partially by the mesial tie wing pair and the distal tie wing pair.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the slot is an auxiliary slot between the mesial tie wing
pair and the distal tie wing pair.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the fracture groove:
is at least partially aligned with the auxiliary slot; and/or
is located in a middle-vertical third of the 3D model of the labial/lingual bracket structure; and/or
comprises a weakened area of the labial/lingual bracket structure; and/or has a negative draft angle.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the weakened area of the labial/lingual bracket structure comprises a depression within the labial/lingual bracket structure in an occlusal-gingival direction.
22. The method of any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the additive manufacturing machine is configurable to produce the bracket from an inorganic material;
wherein the inorganic material optionally comprises at least one of a ceramic or a metal; and
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wherein the ceramic is optionally a polymer-derived ceramic, and the metal is a polymerderived metal.
23. The method of any one of claims 16 to 22, wherein the labial/lingual bracket structure comprises a bracket pad configured to oppose a tooth surface, wherein the bracket pad comprises the fracture groove.
24. The method of any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the fracture groove has a depth from a surface of the tooth of the patient that is approximately constant throughout the fracture groove.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the constant depth is in a range of approximately 0.10 millimeters to 1.2 millimeters.
26. The method of any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the fracture groove extends across a length of the base of the bracket structure.
27. The method of any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the fracture groove is formed within the base surface that is contoured to the shape of the tooth of the patient.
28. A customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket comprising:
a base comprising a base surface that is contoured to a shape of a tooth of a patient to which the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket is to be bonded; and
a fracture groove that extends in an occlusal-gingival direction from a topmost surface of the base of the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket to a bottommost surface of the base of the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket, wherein the fracture groove has a depression and the depression is curved along the occlusal-gingival direction matching a contour of a surface of the tooth of the patient;
wherein the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket is produced by additive manufacturing using a 3D model of a labial/lingual bracket structure and a 3D model of a patient’s teeth.
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29. The customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket of claim 28, further comprising:
a slot, wherein the fracture groove is disposed in relation to the slot; and/or
a mesial tie wing pair and a distal tie wing pair and an arch wire slot comprising slot walls formed at least partially by the mesial tie wing pair and the distal tie wing pair.
30. 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 customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket, the method comprising:
importing a 3D model of a labial/lingual bracket structure generated based on a 3D model of a patient’s teeth, wherein the 3D model includes data representing a fracture groove and a base comprising a base surface that is contoured to a shape of a tooth of a patient; and
using an additive manufacturing machine to form, based on the 3D model of the labial/lingual bracket structure, the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket with the fracture groove and the base,
wherein the fracture groove extends in an occlusal-gingival direction from a topmost surface of the base of the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket to a bottommost surface of the base of the customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic bracket, and wherein the fracture groove has a depression and the depression is curved along the occlusal-gingival direction matching a contour of a surface of the tooth of the patient.