Revenge of the Nerds: Invisalign 'Invisible Braces' Potentially Bad for You

By Myles Tanzer Fri., Dec. 3 2010 at 2:50 PM

It's a good day for dorks! Everyone knows that one preppy girl in their lives whose parents had enough money to buy her Invisalign, the plastic dentures that spare you the embarrassment of walking around with a mouth full of metal while making your teeth perfect over time. But those of us traumatized metalmouth has-beens, there's a victory for us. Invisalign received a warning today from the FDA for not disclosing information about the potentially fatal allergic reactions customers sometimes get from their products.

Whoops. Everyone's favorite porn-for-hypochondriacs website WebMD reports:

On Nov. 2, 2007, a patient reported "swollen, irritated, and sore" lips and gums. Similar incidents previously reported to the FDA required hospitalization of the patient. On May 11, 2010, a patient reported "a burning tongue sensation, sore throat, ulcerations in the mouth, and swollen lymph nodes."

One can only imagine the embarrassment! It's a healthy dose of schadenfreude. For those of you "plastics" who are now panicking, however, there's no need to really worry. If you put in the braces and didn't have an immediate reaction/are still alive, you shouldn't have a problem. Invisalign is now working to correct the problem and is probably way more willing to tell the FDA about problems their customers are having after this bit of bad press.

[Mtanzer]

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Bassoongirl

Um, I got them because they were cheaper because I didn't need too much done to my teeth. I am myself a nerd!

maia dobson

I think invisalign are effective because my friend told me so. She had invisalign for 1 year with her dentist in Myrtle Beach and now her teeth are so beautiful and straight.

invisalign London

Thanks for a nice post ...you write very clean...

invisalign in chicago

Agree with Dr Lawrence. Not every treatment is universal.

Ed Hochhalter

As Dr. Lawrence Spindel said, there has to be a small percent of people who would have adverse reactions to certain stuff. My friends over at Tucson who have used Invisalign braces are saying that Invisalign has done a lot more good than bad for their teeth. I'm actually thinking of having those invisible braces. I hope that the dentist I'll be going to offers Invisalign braces.

Dr Lawrence Spindel

As with any product or medicine in use by potentially millions of patients, there are bound to be some reported 'adverse reactions'. This doesn't imply that Invisalign is 'unsafe'. I am sure you know that. I am a practicing dentist in NYC with over thirty years experience and so far I have found Invisalign to be a wonderful alternative to traditional braces.