Invisalign refinement trays versus Invisalign additional aligners?

Question

What is the difference between refinement trays versus additional alingers from Invisalign. I've just finished my first round of Invisalign treatment and my dentist went ahead and started the refinement process. After a month a waiting, I've finally received my new trays and they are labeled Additional Aligners rather than Refinement. Is it basically the same thing? To my surprise, my refinement round has 27 trays whereas my first round only has 17 trays. How can this be?

Tanya Vaysman, DMD · Answer

Those terms are referring to the same thing, all this means
is that more treatment is needed beyond the initial set of trays. The number of
new aligners can be very different and can certainly be more then initial aligner
depending on how your dentist times the movement and what they are trying to achieve.

Supriya Verma, DMD, FAGD · Answer

The additional aligner refers to the extra aligners after the initial set was sent.They could be part of a mid-course correction or part of the refinement process.  Teeth sometimes don't always move the way we expect or forsee. Some movements require additional time to achieve. You can ask your dentist what teeth didn't move as expected and what the refinement process will do.  This should make it clear what your dentist is trying to achieve and account for the longer treatment. Hope this helps.  Good Luck!

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