Orthodontic bracket

Claim 1

A dental orthodontic bracket for use in orthodontic therapy, said bracket comprising: a body made from a material selected from the group consisting of ceramics, polymers and composites thereof, said body comprising: a base, a pair of upstanding opposed portions on said base defining a longitudinal slot for passage of an archwire therethrough, said longitudinal slot having an open top, a pair of facing side walls and a bottom surface joined to said side walls, each of said upstanding portions including a pair of wings extending laterally of said slot at opposite ends of said longitudinal slot and joined together by an intermediate portion having a curved, outer concave surface which smoothly merges with a rounded outer edge surface of each of said wings, each of said wings having a lower surface forming a clearance space with said base for passage of a ligature wire clamp therethrough, and an upper convex surface, said bottom surface of said slot being at a higher level than said lower surfaces of said wings, said lower surface of each wing being curved and extending downwardly towards said base in a direction away from said slot so that the lowest point of the wing is at the lateral extremity thereof, said wings each having a thickness measured between said upper and lower surfaces thereof, the thickness of each said wing diminishing as the wing extends, laterally away from said slot, said wings having a width measured in the longitudinal direction of said slot which decreases as the wing extends laterally away from said slot.