A set of orthodontic brackets is provided in combination with an archwire extending over an arc when fitted to the set of orthodontic brackets. The archwire has at least one radius of curvature over the length of its arc, and each one of said brackets in the set has an archwire slot. Each slot has at least one surface supporting the archwire which is contoured to have a radius of curvature that matches the radius of curvature along the arc of the archwire at that point. A round archwire is preferred and the archwire slots may be formed as tubular channels to provide better torque action for the archwire.

The present disclosure is directed, at least in part, to a self ligating orthodontic bracket system that includes a rotatable member for securing an archwire within a slot of a bracket. Embodiments of the orthodontic bracket system disclosed herein include a bracket body containing the archwire slot as well as tie wings for attaching various orthodontic devices (e.g., elastomeric bands) to the bracket. The rotatable member is rotatable in a first direction (e.g., counter clockwise) relative to a body of the bracket for securing or locking the archwire within the slot, and for rotating in an opposite direction (e.g., a clockwise direction) relative to the bracket body for unsecuring or unlocking the archwire so that it is substantially unrestrained from exiting the slot. Other embodiments include an orthodontic appliance and method of producing and using the same, and preferably employed in a lingual orthodontic system, that includes friction reducing features between an interior of an archwire slot portion of the appliance and an archwire placed within the archwire slot.

A method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by digital light processing, said method comprises measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, wherein measuring dentition data is performed using a CT scanner or intra-oral scanner, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth using reverse engineering, and saving the 3D CAD model on a computer, designing a 3D CAD bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure, importing the 3D CAD bracket structure model into a Digital Light Processing (DLP) machine, directly producing the bracket by layer manufacturing.

Disclosed herein is a slide-type self-ligating orthodontic bracket assembly including: a bracket body block (10) including a base portion (11) configured to be attached to the surface of a tooth, and a body portion (12) formed on the base portion 11 and provided with a wire slot (120), into which the arch wire (W) is inserted, between a first wall (130) and a second wall (140); a cover block (20) configured to slide between an open position for opening the wire slot (120) and a closed position for closing the wire slot (120); and a restraining unit configured to restrain the cover block (20) in the closed position and the open position; wherein a guide protrusion (132), both sides of which are flat surfaces parallel to each other, is formed on the flat top surface of the first wall (130).

An orthodontic appliance, includes a main body having an archwire groove and a movable part, and further includes a fixing structure for fixing the movable part at least in the closed position. The fixing structure includes an elastic member and a movable element which are located in one of the main body or the movable part. The movable element includes at least one protruding end, which is received in another of the main body and the movable part, the movable element cooperates with the elastic member to fix the movable part at least in the closed position, and the movable element acquires a moving space by squeezing the elastic member. During the opening and closing of the movable part, the wear-resistant movable element replaces the elastic element to cause friction with the movable part, which improves the wear resistance and service life of the appliance.

A lingual bracket includes a bracket base (1), a bracket wing (2), and a spring (3), the bracket base (1) has an upper surface with an end provided with a fixed wing (11) and the other end provided with an auxiliary tube (12), and a bottom face provided with a non-skid bonding face (13); the bracket wing (2) has an insertion leg (21) and a wing portion (22), and can be positioned on the fixed wing (11) by the spring (3) sleeved on the insertion leg (21); a longitudinal groove (111) is provided along a central axis of the fixed wing (11) of the bracket base (1), and a transverse groove (112) is provided at a rear end face of the fixed wing (11); and the insertion leg of the bracket wing (2) has the width equivalent to that of the longitudinal groove (111), and can be placed in the longitudinal groove (111), a joint of the insertion leg (21) and the wing portion (22) is provided with a wide extension part (23), and when the insertion leg (21) is placed in the longitudinal groove (111) and pushed forward by the spring (3), the wide extension portion (23) can be interposed into the transverse groove (112) to form a positioning structure. The two crisscrossed grooves in the bracket base (1) are utilized to form the constraint for the bracket wing (2), enabling the features of an ingenious design, a simple structure, easy machining, and a convenient clinical operation.

A lockable orthodontic appliance, comprising a main body. An arch wire groove is formed on the main body, the main body is provided with a movable accessory, the accessory comprises a traction portion and a space occupying portion, the accessory can move between an available position and an unavailable position, and during the movement, the traction portion can drive the space occupying portion to enter the arch wire groove; or a traction member and a space occupying member are provided on the main body, the traction member can move, and during the movement, the traction member drives the space occupying member to enter the arch wire groove. The orthodontic appliance may have a plurality of states, the first is a locked state, the second is a traction state, the third is a traction locked state, and the fourth is a non-locked and non-traction state.

A method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by digital light processing, said method comprises measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, wherein measuring dentition data is performed using a CT scanner or intra-oral scanner, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth using reverse engineering, and saving the 3D CAD model on a computer, designing a 3D CAD bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure, importing the 3D CAD bracket structure model into a Digital Light Processing (DLP) machine, directly producing the bracket by layer manufacturing.

The invention relates to a bracket for correcting the position of a tooth, comprising a bracket base of a bracket body, which bracket base can be fastened to a tooth, and which bracket body has a slot, extending in the mesiodistal direction, and also a fourth slot portion that narrows by a predetermined amount in a predetermined region, so as preferably to form a snug fit for an inserted archwire, wherein the fourth slot portion is designed running in the longitudinal direction substantially parallel to the bracket base.