Inbraket Launches World's First Dual-Expert Co-Branded Lingual Orthodontic System Following Tens of Millions RMB Series A Funding

VCBeat has learned that Inbraket, a well-known brand in clear aligner therapy (hereinafter referred to as “Inbraket”), has announced the completion of its Series A financing round, raising tens of millions of yuan. The round was led by Yushan Capital, and the proceeds will be used to expand into overseas markets, enhance academic capabilities, and develop digital software solutions.

It is no surprise that clear aligner brands continue to attract capital interest, as the market size for clear aligners keeps growing despite the current cyclical downturn in consumer spending and the periodic chill in investment funding.

However, what sets this round of financing apart is that Yinbei is actually a pioneer in lingual braces, rather than being “closely tied” to clear aligners as a type of bracketless orthodontic appliance. This has sparked VCBeat’s curiosity: What unique qualities of lingual braces have captured the attention of the capital market? And how has Yinbei earned the favor of investors?

Broad Indications, Short Treatment Duration: Lingual Orthodontics Is in a Period of Rapid Development

In a broad sense, lingual braces, like clear aligners, also fall under the category of invisible orthodontics and have an equally long history.

Lingual orthodontic treatment involves bonding appliances to the lingual (posterior) surfaces of the teeth. By applying corrective forces through archwires to the brackets, teeth are gradually moved into their ideal positions, thereby achieving the desired orthodontic outcomes.

In the 1980s, pioneering lingual orthodontists, represented by Dr. Craven Kurz from the United States and Dr. Kinva Fujita from Japan, successively developed lingual brackets with horizontal and vertical slots, respectively, sparking a surge in lingual orthodontic treatment that lasted for over a decade. However, constrained by the orthodontic techniques and materials available at the time, this boom quickly ended, leading to a period of decline.

In the 1990s, with the emergence of indirect bonding techniques and the refinement of biomechanical theories for lingual orthodontics, the STB bracket system—invented by second-generation lingual orthodontists represented by Dr. Giuseppe Scuzzo from Italy and Dr. Kyoto Takemoto from Japan—propelled the development of lingual orthodontic technology into a new phase. However, technological advancement remained relatively slow, and market awareness was comparatively low.

Lingual orthodontics truly ushered in a period of rapid development after entering the 21st century. Leveraging computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), 3D scanning, and robotic archwire forming technologies, third-generation lingual orthodontists, represented by Dr. Dirk Wiechmann from Germany, introduced the Incognito lingual bracket system. Since then, lingual orthodontic technology has entered a phase of accelerated advancement.

Even so, the market share of lingual braces is indeed lower than that of clear aligners. This is largely due to factors such as market education and marketing strategies. However, it is important to emphasize that this does not imply inferior clinical outcomes for lingual braces. In fact, lingual braces offer numerous advantages: they have a relatively broad range of indications, suitable for both simple and complex malocclusion cases; treatment duration is relatively short, with teeth alignment typically achieved within 9–18 months; and they do not interfere with patients’ daily toothbrushing and oral hygiene practices.

In response, besides clear aligners, a number of Chinese companies are also exploring lingual braces and have achieved encouraging results. Yinbei is a representative example among them.

Personalized Lingual Self-Ligating Braces Drive Over 100% Sales Growth for Two Consecutive Years

Specifically, Yinbei's personalized lingual self-ligating appliances feature two main characteristics: first, they enable rapid insertion and removal of archwires via a self-ligating mechanism; second, they offer fully customized fabrication.

Inbraket Personalized Lingual Self-Ligating Brackets

According to Luo Qiao, CEO of Yinbei, conventional personalized lingual braces are secured using ligature wires or elastic bands. For clinicians, this ligation method is not only highly cumbersome but also typically requires 2–3 hours of chairside time.

When used in conjunction with its digital bonding positioning system, Yinbei’s self-ligating brackets enable full-arch installation in a single session. This not only reduces chairside operation time from nearly two hours to just 20 minutes, but also lowers the complexity of chairside procedures and shortens the learning curve for dentists.

Moreover, for patients, lingual orthodontics not only achieves a high success rate and a shorter treatment duration, but its self-ligating design also enhances comfort and provides a better experience. Meanwhile, patients do not need to worry about common issues associated with clear aligner therapy, such as appliance loss and enamel demineralization.

In addition to its self-ligating design, the Yinbei lingual orthodontic appliance also enables personalized customization. These advantages have allowed Yinbei to achieve over 100% year-on-year growth in both sales revenue and case volume for two consecutive years, even amidst the post-pandemic counter-cyclical economic downturn.

Moreover, while achieving phased results, Invisalign continues to devote substantial resources and capital through multiple initiatives to advance the development of lingual braces. For instance, in terms of digitalization, Invisalign has made significant investments to build a new digital healthcare platform. This platform aims to enhance medical quality and efficiency, optimize clinical diagnosis and treatment workflows, and improve clinical information management, while also supporting R&D and production on the brand side, thereby increasing product design precision and delivery speed, and reducing labor and production costs.

In establishing its technical training system, Yinbei targets all orthodontists and collaborates with top-tier and senior instructors worldwide to develop tiered technical training courses, thereby supporting the professional growth of lingual orthodontists.

All of the above constitute Yinbei’s core competitiveness and serve as key factors in attracting other industry partners. These “industry partners” include not only investment institutions that support Yinbei, but also leading clinical experts.

Partnering with Two Global Leading Experts in Lingual Orthodontics: Three Major Upgrades Make Lingual Treatment More Precise and Convenient

On February 24, Inbraket announced a project collaboration with internationally renowned lingual orthodontics experts, Professor Scuzzo and Professor Takemoto, regarding the new Inbraket 'S' series, formally establishing a strategic partnership among the three parties.

Signing Ceremony

Authorization Ceremony

Giuseppe Scuzzo, a world-renowned master of lingual orthodontics, currently serves as President of the World Society of Lingual Orthodontics (WSLO). He has previously held the presidency of the World Board of Lingual Orthodontics (WBLO), the European Society of Lingual Orthodontics (ESLO), and the Italian Association of Lingual Orthodontists (AIOL). Having delivered numerous lectures and published extensively on lingual orthodontics, he holds a pivotal position in the global orthodontic community, particularly in the field of lingual treatment, and is recognized as a leading figure in lingual orthodontic techniques worldwide.

Dr. Kyoto Takemoto holds a doctorate from Tokyo Dental College and is an Orthopedic Surgeon and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He is a founding member and former president of the World Society of Lingual Orthodontics, an expert in the European Society of Lingual Orthodontics, and an honorary member of the Japanese Society of Lingual Orthodontics. Dr. Takemoto is the inventor of the Lingual Straight Wire (LSW) technique and co-developed the STB Lingual System and the ALIAS Lingual Straight-Wire Square Slot System with Dr. Scuzzo of Italy. To date, workshops involving him have been held in more than 20 countries, with over 5,000 orthodontists in attendance.

After 1.5 years of development, more than 10 iterative versions, countless process validations, and over a hundred online meetings, the world’s first “dual-expert co-branded” lingual self-ligating orthodontic system—the Inbraket ‘S’ Series—has been officially launched. This landmark upgrade integrates the Inbraket personalized lingual orthodontic system with the Lingual Straight Wire Technique.

Inbraket ‘S’ Series Lingual Brackets

Specifically, this product series features three major upgrades: first, a comprehensive upgrade of the structural system, which reduces bracket volume by 30%–50% while introducing an enhanced arc-shaped design.

Second, the straight-wire appliance technique is employed, enabling personalized custom brackets and archwires to conform precisely to the patient’s dental anatomy, thereby delivering uniform orthodontic forces more accurately and allowing for effective prediction of tooth movement.

Third, the rectangular slot design provides a more predictable and effective biomechanical mechanism for closing extraction spaces, offering superior control of tooth torque.

Overall, the Inbraket 'S' series features precise control of tooth movement, ease of clinical operation for orthodontists, and enhanced aesthetics and comfort for patients. As an effective treatment modality in modern lingual orthodontics, it enables accurate and predictable achievement of ideal occlusion and aesthetic outcomes.

This collaboration not only marks Yinbei’s accelerated expansion into overseas markets and the strengthening of its global influence in lingual orthodontics, but also facilitates the integration of the entire value chain—from R&D and manufacturing to overseas systems and domestic and international training. This will enable more orthodontists to easily master lingual orthodontic techniques, provide higher-quality lingual products to orthodontists worldwide, and benefit more patients with lingual clear aligner therapy.

Furthermore, through collaboration with top international experts, the Yinbei team has broadened its horizons and enhanced its professional expertise and technical proficiency. In the future, it will introduce more advanced international lingual orthodontic techniques and concepts to provide clients with more comprehensive, efficient, and personalized medical services, thereby promoting the vigorous development of lingual orthodontics in China and aligning with global advancements in this field.