NAD Finds Certain Invisalign Product Performance Claims Substantiated; Recommends Clear & Conspicuous Disclosures and Discontinuation of Some Claims

New York, NY – May 19, 2020 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that Align Technology, Inc. (“Align”) substantiated certain product performance claims for Invisalign clear aligners as challenged by SmileDirectClub, LLC (“SDC”), maker of Smile Direct Club clear aligners, but recommended modification to the accompanying disclosures. In addition, NAD determined that Align’s description of its SmartForce attachments and the challenged social media posts were not misleading. However, NAD recommended that Align:  

• Discontinue challenged comparative claims “with results up to 2x faster” and “treatment times up to 50% faster,”  

• Discontinue a challenged YouTube video, 

• Modify its Provider Locator tool, and  

• Either discontinue an “Invisalign Teen Guarantee” claim or modify it to disclose the guarantee’s limited availability and that dentists are not able to participate. 

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is a division of the BBB National Programs’ self-regulatory and dispute resolution programs. 

The following are representative of the challenged claims: 

Express Claims 

• “More Comfortable and Better-Fitting”; “Easier to Put on and Take Off”; “Easier to Insert and Remove.” 

• “Straightens Your Teeth with 75% More Predictability.” 

• “With Results Up To 2x Faster”; “Treatment Times Up to 50% Faster.” 

• “Backed by the Invisalign Teen Guarantee: if you’re unsatisfied with treatment within the first six months, you can switch to braces at no additional cost.” 

Implied Claims 

• The “Tier” designations used in Align’s Provider Locator tool indicate the practitioner’s level of skill and/or medical expertise. 

• Align’s SmartForce attachments pose undisclosed harms to consumers. 

• Invisalign treatment can be completed in as little as three months. 

NAD determined that the advertiser substantiated the claims that Invisalign clear aligners are “more comfortable and better-fitting,” “easier to put on and take off,” and “easier to insert and remove” as compared to the previous version of Invisalign brand clear aligners made with the older EX30 material. However, because Align’s footnote disclosures regarding the basis of the comparison were ineffective to properly limit the consumer takeaway and avoid an unsupported broad comparative superiority message versus the entire aligner market, NAD recommended that the claims be modified to disclose that the object of comparison is limited to the previous version of Invisalign brand clear aligners made with the new ST30 material, either within the express claim or via a clear and conspicuous disclosure. 

Further, with regard to the claim “straightens your teeth with 75% more predictability,” which was based on a study comparing tooth movement for Invisalign customers treated with the new ST30 material and those treated with the older EX30 material, NAD had similar concerns regarding an overly broad consumer takeaway. NAD noted that neither the express claim nor the advertiser’s disclosure effectively clarifies the basis of comparison and it would be reasonable for a consumer to believe that the object of the comparison was other competing aligner brands. NAD had additional concerns about whether “75% predictability” is a consumer-relevant benefit and whether the evidence is a close fit to the message conveyed. Therefore, NAD recommended that the advertiser modify the claim to (1) better reflect the benefit a 75% increase in predictability provides to consumers; (2) ensure the claim closely matches the underlying clinical evidence; and (2) clearly and conspicuously disclose that the claim is based on a comparison of the current Invisalign product to its predecessor.