LightForce

What LightForce does

LightForce Orthodontics, Inc. is a Burlington, Massachusetts-based medical device company that designs, manufactures, and sells fully customized 3D-printed orthodontic brackets and associated appliances to orthodontic practices and their patients in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2015 by Dr. Alfred Griffin (DMD, PhD, MMSc, Harvard) and Dr. Lou Shuman, the company pioneered the "generative braces" category — a paradigm in which the digital treatment plan is the input and the physical bracket is the output, with each appliance individually tailored to a patient's tooth anatomy and prescribed movement. The technology stack pairs a cloud-based treatment planning platform (LightPlan, with AI-generated tooth positioning and anatomy modeling) with direct 3D printing of functional medical devices using proprietary polycrystalline alumina (ceramic) and metal materials, including the Six-Dimensional Bracket Customization approach (base, slot, prescription, position, tie wings, hooks) at micron accuracy.

The commercial portfolio comprises LightBracket Ceramic (launched 2019), LightBracket Metal (launched April 2026), patient-specific LightTray indirect bonding trays, LightTray: Turbos bite correction aids, Custom Rebond IDB trays, the Face Map diagnostic tool, and the Doctor Portal. LightForce sells directly to orthodontic practices through field sales, the Doctor Portal, in-office training, and major industry events such as AAO Annual Session, with pricing positioned between traditional metal brackets and clear aligners (HSA/FSA eligible). Manufacturing is anchored at a 36,000 square-foot facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts — described as the world's largest site for directly 3D-printed functional medical devices by volume — with a 60-person quality-control team in Costa Rica and a 15-person software engineering team in Kiev, Ukraine. To date LightForce has disclosed approximately $200 million in total funding across a $50 million Series C (Kleiner Perkins, November 2021) and an $80 million Series D (Ally Bridge Group, August 2023), and reports more than 180,000 patients bonded and teaching relationships with 51 of 66 North American orthodontic residency programs.

Name

LightForce

Legal name

LightForce Orthodontics, Inc.

Website

https://lf.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

LightForce Orthodontics is a Burlington, Massachusetts-based medical device company that manufactures fully customized 3D-printed ceramic and metal orthodontic brackets for orthodontic practices in the United States and Canada, generating revenue primarily through per-case hardware sales bundled with its AI-enabled LightPlan treatment planning software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Orthodontic Devices

NAICS

Dental Laboratories (339116), Dental Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (339114)

SIC

Dental Equipment & Supplies (3843)

akta.pro primary industry

Orthodontic Appliances & Aligners Fabrication (HLABAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medical & Dental 3D Printing Services (patient-specific devices, dental labs) (IMAAADAG)

Keywords

• 3D-printed orthodontic brackets
• Digital orthodontic treatment planning
• Custom braces manufacturing
• Generative orthodontics systems
• Indirect bonding solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Custom 3D-Printed Brackets and Systems: Sale of patient-specific 3D-printed orthodontic brackets (ceramic and metal), indirect bonding trays, rebond trays, and related orthodontic appliances to orthodontic practices. Each bracket is made for one patient based on their digital treatment plan. Revenue is generated per case/patient treated.
2. Digital Treatment Planning Software: Cloud-based treatment planning software (LightPlan) integrated with bracket manufacturing. Included as part of the overall system offering for orthodontic practices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

LightForce manufactures and sells patient-specific, 3D-printed orthodontic brackets (ceramic and metal) generated from each patient's digital treatment plan, paired with its cloud-based LightPlan treatment planning software and patient-specific LightTray indirect bonding systems. Each bracket is fully customized across six dimensions (base, slot, prescription, position, tie wings, hooks) and is sold per patient case to orthodontic practices via a direct field-sales model.

Product overview

LightForce is a digital orthodontic platform providing generative braces — a category of care where the treatment plan is the input and the bracket is the output. The system generates completely individualized sets of orthodontic appliances for each patient, available in both ceramic and metal materials. The platform combines LightPlan digital treatment planning software (using AI to generate accurate patient anatomy representations and optimal tooth positions) with 3D-printed custom brackets (LightBracket Ceramic and LightBracket Metal), patient-specific indirect bonding trays (LightTray), bite correction aids (LightTray: Turbos), and custom rebond trays. All products are 3D printed in the USA at the world's largest facility for directly 3D-printed functional medical devices by volume. The workflow spans from digital intraoral scan through treatment planning, 3D printing, indirect bonding, and treatment monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LightBracket Metal: First patient-specific 3D-printed metal bracket for orthodontics, part of the generative braces system.
• LightBracket
• LightTray
• LightTray: Turbos
• LightPlan

Products and services

• LightBracket Ceramic Patient-specific 3D-printed polycrystalline alumina ceramic orthodontic bracket system that pioneered the generative braces category. Each bracket is built at micron accuracy across six dimensions (base, slot, prescription, position, tie wings, hooks) and sold per patient case to orthodontic practices for fixed appliance treatment.
• LightBracket Metal First patient-specific 3D-printed metal orthodontic bracket, individualized for each patient across six dimensions (base, slot, prescription, position, tie wings, hooks) and available in three slot sizes. Targets the 65% of orthodontic patients who prefer metal braces and is sold per patient case to orthodontic practices.
• LightPlan (Treatment Planning Software) Cloud-based digital treatment planning platform used by orthodontists to design individualized treatment plans, review and approve bracket prescriptions, and generate AI-optimized representations of patient anatomy and tooth positions. Sold as part of the LightForce system to orthodontic practices and integrates with intraoral scanners including iTero and 3Shape.
• LightTray Indirect Bonding System Patient-specific 3D-printed indirect bonding tray system that optimizes the ease, speed, and accuracy of bracket placement and enables orthodontists to delegate bonding to staff where permitted by state law. Sold per patient case as part of the LightForce system to orthodontic practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% reduction in number of appointments compared to traditional braces
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Roger George (Board Member)coreOthers · 26 July 2022Former Senior Vice President of Global Legal and Regulatory Affairs at Align Technology (Invisalign). Appointed to LightForce Board of Directors to help drive second-wave of orthodontic digitization. Brings 15+ years of orthodontics industry experience and expertise in IP protection.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Align Technology: Align Technology (Invisalign) is the dominant player in the orthodontic treatment market with clear aligners. While it competes with LightForce for orthodontic patients and practice workflow mindshare, it serves a different modality (aligners vs braces) and operates at vastly greater scale with direct-to-consumer marketing.
• Dentsply Sirona (SureSmile): Dentsply Sirona's SureSmile offers custom orthodontic appliances and digital treatment planning, including robotic wire bending for fixed braces. It is a broad incumbent in dental equipment and orthodontic technology, overlapping with LightForce in the orthodontic practice workflow but at a different scale and modality.
• 3M Oral Care (Solventum): Solventum (spun off from 3M) includes the 3M Clarity and Incognito orthodontic bracket lines and is a major traditional braces and clear-aligner-adjacent supplier. Comparable to LightForce as an orthodontic appliance incumbent with established practice relationships.
• Ormco (Envista): Ormco, part of Envista, manufactures traditional orthodontic brackets (Damon System, Inspire ICE), wires, and clear aligner-adjacent products. It is a major incumbent fixed-appliance supplier directly comparable to LightForce's traditional competitors.

Others

• Stratasys: Stratasys is a leading 3D printing hardware and solutions provider with deep exposure to dental and orthodontic 3D printing applications. While not a direct competitor, it is an adjacent/ecosystem player whose technology underpins much of the dental 3D printing infrastructure that LightForce relies on.
• Henry Schein Orthodontics: Henry Schein is a major dental and orthodontic distributor supplying orthodontic practices with brackets, aligners, and related supplies. It is an ecosystem/distribution peer rather than a direct product competitor, but relevant to the orthodontic practice supply chain LightForce sells into.

Direct peers

• American Orthodontics: American Orthodontics is one of the largest traditional fixed-appliance (brackets and bands) manufacturers supplying orthodontic practices globally. It represents the incumbent stock-bracket approach that LightForce's custom 3D-printed brackets are designed to displace.

Emerging players

• uLab Systems: uLab Systems offers AI-driven orthodontic treatment planning software and in-office aligner printing systems, targeting similar digitally-enabled orthodontic practices. It is an emerging player with partial overlap in digital workflow and 3D printing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LightForceOrtho
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lightforceortho

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LightForce