Direct manufacturing method of selective laser melting of customized tongue-side orthodontic support grooves

Abstract

This invention has provided a direct manufacturing methodology of customized lingual orthodontic brackets by selective laser melting. The procedure is as follows. First of all, measure the dentition data and construct the 3D CAD model of the teeth through reverse engineering. Then a single soleplate of the lingual bracket contacting the tooth surface, as well as the ideal slot position is designed based on the teeth features. The designed models are later imported into the SLM machine and used to produce the brackets with desired materials directly. This method can actualize customized manufacture with highly accuracy, producing highly matched brackets all at once. The invention not only saves time and cost, but also has wide adaptation range and is able to adopt various raw materials. Different raw materials can be utilized in one step to accommodate specific capacity requirement of different parts of the brackets.