Custom Ceramic Orthodontic Brackets via Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing methods for orthodontic brackets are inefficient and inaccurate, particularly for custom ceramic brackets, leading to increased treatment time and cost due to misplacement and aesthetic concerns, with no effective solution for creating patient-specific labial or lingual ceramic brackets.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing ceramic slurry-based additive manufacturing (AM) technologies like digital light processing (DLP) and laser photopolymerization stereolithography to directly produce customized labial/lingual orthodontic brackets with precise tooth-matching retentive features, allowing in-office fabrication and improved accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional injection molding is used to manufacture ceramic brackets, then production efficiency is maintained, but manufacturing precision and customization capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical injection molding with a digital additive manufacturing process. A 3D scanner captures tooth morphology, CAD software designs custom brackets, and a stereolithography apparatus fabricates them layer-by-layer using photopolymerization. This substitution of mechanical manufacturing with digital processes enables precise customization while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through automated digital workflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental manufacturing parameters from batch injection molding to sequential additive fabrication. Each bracket is manufactured with unique geometric parameters based on individual patient tooth morphology, allowing precise control of bracket position, orientation, and retention features. The layer-by-layer construction enables complex geometries that would be impossible with traditional molding.
2Manufacturing precision
If custom metal lingual brackets are fabricated using selective laser melting, then customization is achieved, but resolution and surface finish are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material state and processing parameters from metal powder sintering to ceramic slurry photopolymerization. The slurry contains ceramic particles suspended in a photopolymerizable binder that cures layer-by-layer under UV or laser exposure. This produces smooth surfaces with high resolution directly, eliminating the need for post-processing that would be required after selective laser melting of metals.
3Manufacturing precision
If off-the-shelf brackets are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but bracket placement accuracy decreases due to clinician error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary digital planning and customization of brackets before manufacturing. The 3D scan of the patient's dentition allows virtual placement and optimization of bracket positions, and custom brackets are fabricated in advance with precise positioning features. This preliminary digital preparation eliminates placement errors during clinical procedures and reduces the need for adjustments or repositioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates accurate digital copies of the patient's tooth morphology through 3D scanning. These digital models serve as the basis for designing and manufacturing custom brackets that perfectly match the individual patient's dentition. The copying process captures all relevant geometric features, enabling precise bracket fabrication without requiring manual measurement or adjustment.
4Strength
If ceramic brackets are manufactured with complex retentive features, then bond strength is improved, but traditional manufacturing methods cannot create undercuts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical constraint-based manufacturing (injection molding) with photopolymerization-based additive manufacturing. This substitution allows the creation of complex three-dimensional retentive features, including undercuts and interlocking geometries, that would be impossible to mold. The layer-by-layer curing process builds complex shapes without requiring mold cavities or complex tooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite slurry material consisting of ceramic particles (such as alumina or zirconia) suspended in a photopolymerizable binder resin. The ceramic particles provide the desired aesthetic properties and mechanical strength, while the polymer binder enables the additive manufacturing process. After fabrication, the binder is removed and the ceramic structure is sintered to achieve final strength and stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient, accurate, and aesthetically pleasing custom ceramic brackets with reduced treatment time and cost, enhancing bracket placement accuracy and patient satisfaction.
Implementation Method 1
a light-polymerizable material is polymerized by illumination on at least one horizontal platform, the platform having a pre-specified geometry
Implementation Method 2
laser photopolymerization stereolithography to directly produce customized labial/lingual orthodontic brackets
Data Source
AI summary
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.