How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers • Hacker News Board

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#131

Post by rancar2 » Sun, Mar 22, 2026, 6:19 PM UTC

ivan_gammel wrote: post #122

rancar2 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn’t the case with 3D printed bracket systems. Studies have shown that the 3D personalized bracket system from LightForce will cut down treatment time over 40%. The refinement phase is also spot on and finishes much faster, and recent studies have shown further improvements. Also, the more complex the case, the larger the delta on the performance. Not all orthos are practicing this way but this is where the fut…

LightForce still requires a lot of visits to the doctor. Nice source of revenue for orthos. Aligners may become more accessible to patients, because that tech is more scalable by design.

Ivan worked at Align and was CTO of European DTC competitor. I agree with Ivan that both technologies have their sweet spot. I disagree with the scale piece and the frequency of visits as there are practices doing both those things differently using the placement and remote monitoring technology.

For younger patients that haven’t had braces before which is the majority of historical patient populations and future ones, 3D printed personalized braces systems are better as the tooth movement needed is more clinically substantial at tougher angles. Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

That said: what is chosen should be what for the whole person at multiple levels.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#132

Post by jmalicki » Sun, Mar 22, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

joe_mamba wrote: post #129

jmalicki wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that, shouldn't you be even more concerned about people YOLOing it, if even highly trained orthodontists are regularly screwing this up?

Absolutely. I'm sure some high-IQ high-functioning autists like John Carmack or Palmer Luckey could fix their teeth at home with some alligners they 3d printed in their garage better than a sloppy orthodontist, but that obviously doesn't scale to gen-pop.

It's not even just 3d printing skill, but understanding the physiology of how the bone and teeth will restructure themselves over time to know the right amount of pressure to apply to encourage that remodeling, without so much pressure to cause damage - there is a huge amount of scientific research there! (That I'm sure some orthodontists probably pay more detailed attention to than others).

I don't doubt a high-IQ high functioning autist could self-teach this, but there's a ton of background there.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#133

Post by ivan_gammel » Sun, Mar 22, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

rancar2 wrote: post #131

ivan_gammel wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LightForce still requires a lot of visits to the doctor. Nice source of revenue for orthos. Aligners may become more accessible to patients, because that tech is more scalable by design.

Ivan worked at Align and was CTO of European DTC competitor. I agree with Ivan that both technologies have their sweet spot. I disagree with the scale piece and the frequency of visits as there are practices doing both those things differently using the placement and remote monitoring technology. For younger patients that haven’t had braces before which is the majority of historical patient populations and future one…

This sounds like AI-written comment, at least in the first part. What I do not get is why are you dismissing the argument about number of visits. 3D printed braces are still braces. They require manual adjustment for each treatment stage. Aligners do not need that - they may need a check-up in the middle of the treatment, maybe one or two mid-course corrections, maybe an appointment for installation of attachments, but that's it. You change aligners at home without visiting doctor.

>Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

They can get a new one easily by post.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#134

Post by silisili » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 4:53 AM UTC

pipe2devnull wrote: post #127

silisili wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had really bad teeth as a kid, so had braces. Periodically I'd have to go in to get them tightened, and remember the worst whole head pain for a day. Just curious is switching Invisalign molds is a similar process?

No it’s like a mild pressure on some teeth for maybe a day or two but then doesn’t really feel like much

Nice! I hope no kid today has to go through that. It's easy to say it's worth it now that I'm 30 years removed and have straight teeth, but still have vivid memories of those awful days.

Re: How Invisalign became the biggest user of 3D printers

#135

Post by mayukh » Tue, Mar 24, 2026, 2:49 AM UTC

chaboud wrote: post #67

mayukh wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes this. Either have a moat or be a commodity. Commodities are cost plus

In a market with perfect price discovery, sure. However, over the years I have learned that even the best products for the job can (and will) lose without the right marketing, sales, distribution, etc. Sometimes the entrenched default that collects an inertial premium doesn't get disrupted... But, yes, anyone without a moat who operates with a presumption of retention runs the risk of being knocked off of their perch…

marketing, sales, distribution, branding, supply chain, intangibles... can all be moats.. as long as the owner of that moat gets it and others dont