Last Updated on August 10, 2026 by Dr. Adam Veit
LightForce 3D-Printed Custom Braces
LightForce® braces are ceramic brackets that are 3D-printed for a patient’s specific teeth, rather than picked from a tray of standard sizes. Dr. Adam Veit designs each bracket digitally from a scan of your own teeth, and the brackets are printed to match. Bright Orthodontics offers LightForce at all four of our Wisconsin offices.
Braces have looked broadly the same for decades. A bracket is removed from a box, and the orthodontist positions it on the tooth as precisely as a human hand can. It works, and it has worked for generations of Wisconsin families. LightForce changes one link in that chain: the bracket itself stops being a standard part and becomes a custom one, designed for your tooth before it is ever made.
That is the whole idea, and it is worth understanding before you make your choice. This page explains what LightForce braces are, how the treatment works from your first scan through your last visit, and how to consider whether they are right for you or your child. If you would rather just ask, request an appointment at any of our four offices, and Dr. Veit will walk you through the options in person.
What Are LightForce Braces?
LightForce is an orthodontic system built around patient-specific 3D-printed brackets. The brackets are made from tooth-colored polycrystalline alumina, a strong ceramic that blends with natural tooth color, and they are available in clear or white. The system is FDA cleared, and the brackets and bonding trays are 3D printed in the United States.
Conventional braces use prefabricated brackets. They come in a range of sizes and prescriptions, and the orthodontist compensates for the difference between a standard bracket base and the curve of your actual tooth by adjusting the wire over the course of treatment. A LightForce bracket is generated from the digital model of your tooth, so the base is designed to sit against that specific surface.
The manufacturer describes each bracket as built with micron-accurate control across six dimensions: base, slot, prescription, position, tie wings and hooks. In plain language, every feature of the bracket is defined in the plan before anything is printed.
LightForce also produces a patient-specific metal bracket, so the system is not limited to ceramic if a metal bracket suits the case better.
How LightForce Treatment Works
The process runs in five stages, and the first four happen before a single bracket touches a tooth.
- Scan. We take a digital scan of your teeth with an in-office scanner. There are no impression trays and no plaster models, which is a relief for anyone who remembers the putty.
- Plan. Dr. Veit builds your digital treatment plan from that scan, setting the target position for every tooth. This is the stage that matters most, and it is done by an orthodontist rather than by software alone.
- Print. LightForce 3D prints your brackets from that plan. Each bracket exists because of a decision Dr. Veit made about one specific tooth.
- Bond. Your brackets arrive pre-positioned in custom LightTrays, a technique called indirect bonding. Instead of placing each bracket by hand at the chair, the tray transfers all of them to your teeth in the positions the plan specified. Small 3D-printed bite turbos can be added where a case needs help keeping teeth from contacting during treatment.
- Check. You come in for regular visits so Dr. Veit can track progress against the digital plan and adjust as your teeth respond.
Are LightForce Braces Right for You?
LightForce works for the same broad range of cases as conventional braces: crowding, spacing, bite problems, and the mixed cases that make up most orthodontic practice. Because the brackets are fixed to the teeth, they work without any cooperation on your part, which makes them a sensible option for younger patients and for anyone who knows they would struggle to keep removable aligners in for twenty-two hours a day.
They are a particularly good fit if you want a less noticeable option but need fixed braces rather than aligners. Ceramic brackets in clear or white are far less visible than metal against tooth enamel.
Ceramic brackets do ask a little more of you. They need consistent brushing, and like any tooth-colored material, they can pick up staining from coffee, tea, red sauces, and tobacco. Our team will show you how to care for them, and our braces care guidance covers what to do if something breaks.
Where LightForce is not the answer, we will say so. Sometimes the right recommendation is standard metal or ceramic braces, and sometimes it is Invisalign® clear aligners. Those are different tools for different situations, not better and worse versions of the same thing. Fixed braces stay on the teeth and keep working; aligners come out to eat and brush but only work while you wear them. Dr. Veit will tell you which suits your case, your bite, and your life.
What LightForce Braces Cost
We quote your fee after Dr. Veit examines your teeth because the cost of orthodontic treatment depends on the case rather than the hardware. Published sources generally describe custom 3D-printed brackets as costing somewhat more than standard metal braces, which is worth knowing before you ask.
What we can promise is that the conversation will be concrete. You will get the fee, the monthly payment options, your likely insurance contribution and any family discounts you qualify for, all before treatment starts. See orthodontic financing for typical Wisconsin cost ranges, how orthodontic insurance benefits work and our published family discount schedule.
See Whether LightForce Is Right for Your Smile
The only way to know which system suits your case is to have an orthodontist look at your teeth. Dr. Adam Veit is board certified by the American Board of Orthodontics, and he will give you a straight recommendation, including when the simpler option is the better one.
Request an appointment at our Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon or Berlin office, or call Oshkosh at (920) 233-2222.
Reviewed by Dr. Adam J. Veit, DDS, MS, a board-certified orthodontist practicing in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon and Berlin, Wisconsin.
Frequently Asked Questions
LightForce braces use advanced technology and customization to improve the orthodontic experience. Below are answers to common questions to help you better understand how this treatment works and what to expect.
Are LightForce braces the same as ceramic braces?
Not quite. Conventional ceramic braces use prefabricated tooth-colored brackets. LightForce brackets are also ceramic, made from polycrystalline alumina, but each one is 3D printed for a single tooth on a single patient from a digital plan. The material is similar. The way the bracket is designed and made is not.
Are LightForce brackets clear or white?
Both are available. Clear brackets are more translucent and take on the shade of the tooth beneath them, while white brackets are opaque. Dr. Veit will show you both and recommend based on your tooth color.
Can adults get LightForce braces?
Yes, and adults are a meaningful share of the patients who choose them. A less visible fixed appliance is often exactly what an adult wants when aligners are not the right clinical answer. See adult orthodontics.
What foods should I avoid with LightForce braces?
The same list as any fixed braces. Chewy foods such as bagels and hard rolls, and hard crunchy foods such as pizza crust, hard nuts and thick pretzels, can bend wires and pop off brackets. Even apples, corn on the cob and raw carrots need cutting up rather than biting into. We give every patient the full list at bonding.
Which of your offices offers LightForce braces?
All four. Dr. Veit treats LightForce patients in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon and Berlin, so you can be seen wherever is closest to home.