Refinements
Refinements and additional aligners
A refinement is a short extra set of aligners that fine-tunes any tooth that hasn’t quite reached its planned position. Teeth respond differently from person to person, so refinements are a normal part of Invisalign, not a sign that anything has gone wrong.
Your Express plan includes one refinement if you need it. Any further refinements are charged separately.
How a refinement works
- When you reach your last aligner, your clinician checks how closely each tooth has followed your plan.
- If anything needs fine-tuning, we take a new 3D scan and create an updated ClinCheck plan for you to approve.
- Your new aligners are made, usually within 2–3 weeks. You keep wearing your last aligner until they arrive, so your teeth hold their position.
- You wear your refinement aligners in the same way, one each week, until you reach your final result.
Your plan is chosen from your 3D scan before you start, so it’s designed around the movement your teeth need. Once your ClinCheck plan is approved, it can’t be changed to a different plan, which is why we take care to get it right at your consultation.
The best way to avoid extra refinements is simple: wear your aligners for 22 hours a day, press them fully into place each time, change them on schedule and come to your reviews.