Is it effective to tweak the last aligner to make final adjustments to the teeth? Will this produce results?

I started wearing my last aligner in September. My teeth weren't completely straight at the end. In the past ten weeks, my treatment has consisted of tweaks to the last aligner. My visits for these adjustments have been spaced at 6 weeks, then 4 weeks. My next appointment is another 6 weeks. Is this a usual approach? I expected that a new impression would be taken and a new set of aligners made. By the time of my next appointment, 4 months will have passed from last aligner being used. Thank you for any comments. Joe

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2 Doctor Answers | Asked by Joe1999

Doctor Answers (2)
Community Comments (2)

Invisalign tweaks

I hesitate to judge another dentist's treatment plan, not knowing everything about the case. There are times where tweaking existing aligners can be a great approach. If the corrections are relatively minor, tweaking an existing aligner may save you time waiting for Invisalign to manufacture more aligners. It may also save you expense if you are responsible for more aligners than Align allows you. I don't know if it was the best approach in your case or not, not... more

Tweaking the last aligner

Why not ask the dentist to make a "mid-course correction" or use refinement aligners, which can be ordered from Invisalign? There might be an additional charge. Aligners lose their "rigidity" after wearing for a few weeks and become less effective.

Comments (2)

Joe1999 10 Dec 2012

Thank you for the replies. I realize another dentist or orthodontist can't comment on my personal treatment. I was trying to find out if adjustments to aligners are a standard practice. As noted in my question, my current aligner is now 3 months old, I do not believe that adjustments will be successful. The practice doesn't want to absorb the cost of new aligners. This isn't cynicism; there's little to no progress over the past 10 weeks.

Joe1999 7 Dec 2012

The orthodontist has said that he might do the refinement, which would be at no cost to me, but would cost him. My feeling is he's stalling to avoid the expense. Is adjusting an aligner an accepted procedure?

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