LaTeX: Avoid the increase of text row height due to inline math

Question

In the following example code the height of the second row of text increases due to the presence of the inline math formula:

\documentclass{article}
\linespread{0.9}
\begin{document}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. 
Ut purus elit, vestibulum ut, placerat ac, adipiscing vitae, 
felis. $A_n^{\{x\}}$ Curabitur dictum gravida mauris. Nam arcu 
libero, nonummy eget, consectetuer id, vulputate a, magna. 
\end{document}

How can this be avoided without changing the general linespread, so that the height of the second row is identical to that of the other rows?

Answer 1

You can \smash the inline math formula:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}

% Default layout/spacing
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. 
Ut purus elit, vestibulum ut, placerat ac, adipiscing vitae, 
felis. $A_n^{\{x\}}$ Curabitur dictum gravida mauris. Nam arcu 
libero, nonummy eget, consectetuer id, vulputate a, magna. 

% Smashed inline math
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. 
Ut purus elit, vestibulum ut, placerat ac, adipiscing vitae, 
felis. \smash{$A_n^{\{x\}}$} Curabitur dictum gravida mauris. Nam arcu 
libero, nonummy eget, consectetuer id, vulputate a, magna. 

\end{document}

However, it's obvious that tall [deep] inline expressions may butt into descenders [ascenders] of the line above [below].