Refinement (aligners)

Refinements in Align Technology’s words

Align Technology, the company behind Invisalign® treatment, defines refinements on its patient page about treatable cases as “additional aligner sets that fine-tune the final result”. Align also tells patients how to read them: “Think of them as a planned adjustment, not a setback.” The definition on this page follows Align, since the Glossary of Orthodontic Terms of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) has no entry for refinement.

What the orthodontist checks before a refinement

Whether more aligners are needed is the orthodontist’s judgment, made by checking how treatment is going. The AAO’s FAQ describes that check: “Your orthodontist can evaluate how your aligners fit and whether your teeth are moving as planned.” The same answer says aligner wear may be among the factors the orthodontist considers when treatment is not tracking.

A randomized trial published in The Angle Orthodontist wrote the next step into its method: “If correction of malocclusion was deemed to be unsatisfactory, patients were brought in for a refinement scan to fabricate additional aligners.”

Refinements during clear aligner treatment

Refinements come up during clear aligner treatment, once aligners have been worn and progress has been checked, and the everyday name for them is simply additional aligners. The clear aligners page explains how a series of aligners moves teeth and what published research says about refinements, and whether your own plan would call for more aligners is a question for the orthodontist at a consultation. Attachments and interproximal reduction, other words from aligner treatment, are defined in this glossary as well.