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LightForce Explained: From Digital Planning to Chairside Delivery
Orthodontic brackets have looked essentially the same for decades. Same material, same manufacturing process, same standard prescription applied to teeth that are anything but standard. LightForce launched in 2019 with a simple premise: build every bracket from scratch, for every patient, every tooth, every time.
The Hardware
The Brackets
LightForce produces fully custom polycrystalline alumina brackets printed individually for each tooth based on a digital treatment setup. The bracket base is contoured to match that tooth's specific anatomy, and the slot prescription is optimized for the planned movement rather than a standard off-the-shelf value. Available in 0.018", 0.020", and 0.022" slot sizes with bidimensional configurations and optional distal hooks on upper lateral incisors, lower canines, and lower premolars.
The system extends to fully custom buccal tubes for first and second molars, completing a full 7-7 fixed appliance designed around the individual patient rather than population averages.
LightTray: Indirect Bonding
Every case ships with a LightTray, a 3D-printed indirect bonding tray pre-loaded with brackets in their planned positions. The tray transfers brackets from the digital setup to the patient's teeth with positional accuracy that chairside bonding cannot consistently replicate. Where state law permits, initial bonding and rebonding can be delegated to trained clinical staff.
Turbos
LightTray for Turbos takes bite turbo placement out of the realm of chairside guesswork. Turbos are digitally designed before fabrication to open the bite to a precise planned amount, preventing unintended overbite changes. Placeable on incisors, canines, or molars depending on what the case requires.
Rebond Trays
Included with every case. When a bracket breaks mid-treatment, the custom rebond tray allows accurate reattachment to the exact planned position without manual repositioning. Pre-segmented by tooth, labeled with palmer notation, functional at any stage of treatment. Rebonding becomes delegatable rather than a doctor-down appointment.
The Software
LightPlan
LightPlan is a cloud-based treatment planning platform requiring no software installation. Cases are built, adjusted, and approved entirely in the browser. Planning tools include 3D tooth and segment controls, archwire deflection, occlusal contacts, IPR and spacing, Bolton analysis, bracket and turbo positioning, and superimposition.
The core philosophy is that every tooth movement is planned digitally before a single bracket is manufactured. The bracket prescriptions, IDB trays, and rebond trays are all generated as outputs of the same setup, keeping the entire system integrated from planning through delivery.
The Iteration Advantage
One underappreciated aspect of 3D-printed brackets is how quickly the design can improve. Traditional bracket manufacturing takes months or years to implement meaningful changes. LightForce can design, test, and deploy updates within weeks. For a field where material science typically moves slowly, that iteration speed represents something genuinely new.
For a deeper look at how LightForce performs clinically, see our research review on the 2023 JCO efficacy study.