Forestadent
German family-run manufacturer of orthodontic products with over 100 years of tradition
FORESTADENT – About usFORESTADENT, legally registered as Bernhard Förster GmbH, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of orthodontic products. Based in Pforzheim, Germany (Westliche Karl-Friedrich-Straße 151), the family-run business carries more than 100 years of tradition and is known for high-precision, innovative quality products.
The company was founded in 1907 by Bernhard Förster, initially producing spring rings and chain fasteners before expanding into watch components, movements, and complete timepieces under the brand name FORESTA. In 1974, amid structural change in the German jewellery and watch industry and competition from the Far East, the Förster family pivoted to the production of expansion screws, transforming FORESTA into FORESTADENT and entering the field of orthodontics — a field in which it now celebrates over 50 years of success.
FORESTADENT offers a full orthodontic portfolio, including brackets, bands and buccal tubes, wires and arches, aligners, skeletal anchorage, and expansion screws. As a manufacturer in a precision-driven, technology-intensive medical field, innovation is central to its identity and competitive positioning. It has distributed products worldwide for over 30 years and operates FORESTADENT USA (St. Louis, MO), serving orthodontists, labs, and universities since 1995.
In 2023, FORESTADENT was recognized as a socially committed company by Caritas, Diakonie and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg as part of the LEA Award for Medium-Sized Companies.
Ideas that could help Forestadent
- FatigueGuard Cap: Wear-Resistant Sliding-Cap Redesign for Self-Ligating Brackets
A redesigned sliding-cap locking mechanism using fatigue-resistant alloys/coatings engineered to hold its closing force and stiffness over the full 2–3 year treatment, addressing the measured drop-off after the first handful of open/close cycles.
Why it helps: Identified as a potential customer for this idea.
- AutoMargin Planner
A planning-software add-on that automatically adds a data-driven safety buffer around virtually planned TAD positions so clinicians avoid critical anatomy despite guide deviation.
Why it helps: A specialist supplier of orthodontic TADs and anchorage systems that benefits from planning tools improving safe placement of its devices.