Suwanee, GA Orthodontist Shares Top Reasons for Invisalign Mid-Course Correction or Refinement

Atlanta- Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Suwanee, GA – For those of you undergoing Invisalign treatment, “Mid-Course Correction” (MCC) and/or “Refinement” are terms you have probably heard before. No doubt, your doctor has probably said something to the effect that a MCC or Refinement stage of aligners will probably be required to correct what the first series (second series or more) of aligners could not. First of all, lets define these terms.

A Mid-Course Correction (MCC) is defined by Align Technology (Parent company of Invisalign) “as an option to order new aligners during treatment if clinical results have deviated to such an extent that the aligner(s) no longer fit“.

This essentially takes into account anything that could possibly happen in the course of treatment (or one’s personal situation) that might cause the aligners to stop fitting or prevent the teeth from moving to the desired position. MCC’s are usually initiated during the early to mid-stages of treatment where there is still a significant amount of treatment to complete as opposed to the fine tuning or “tweaking” of individual teeth that generally occurs at the end of treatment. Below are the most common reasons for a Mid-Course Correction:

1. Any situation that would cause a patient to STOP or PREVENT them from wearing their aligners as instructed for a period of time (can be highly variable from as little as a few days to weeks) i.e. major sickness, loss, accidents, new dental work which alters shape of teeth, personal reasons, etc
2. Improper treatment planning
3. Non-compliance or intermittent wear of aligners by patient
4. Improper placement of attachments
5. Attempting tooth movements too complex for aligners to achieve

Note that three (#’s 2, 4, and 5) of the five reasons are doctor related causes as the other two are patient related causes. As for Refinement, Align technology defines this term as follows:

“Refinement is an option to order additional aligners typically during the final few stages of treatment if further tooth movement is needed in order to meet the original treatment goals.”

As mentioned above, this option is used most at the end of treatment for minor correctional movements or fine tuning (“tweaking”). The causes or reasons for Refinement aligners are the exact same as the those for mid-course correction perhaps to a lesser extent. Both Refinement and Mid-Course Correction options are available for Invisalign’s comprehensive treatment products, Invisalign Full and Invisalign Teen. Refinement are also available for Invisalign Express 10 and Express 5 for an additional fee.

Matt T. Walton, DMD – Walton Orthodontics

Invisalign Specialist