Suboxone Lawsuit

As of December 2024, there were 716 Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits pending in multidistrict litigation (MDL) within the Northern District of Ohio.

So far, there have not been any court-approved settlements announced publicly for Suboxone cases related to dental problems, nor have any trials been scheduled. There is a separate pending antitrust MDL related to Suboxone.

“As warned by the FDA on Jan. 12, 2022, serious dental issues are being reported following use of the sublingual Suboxone delivery system, a strip that contains buprenorphine and dissolves in the mouth. This Suboxone film looks and dissolves much like breath freshening strips you would buy at a gas station or a grocery store,” mass torts and product liability attorney Trent B. Miracle told Drugwatch.

People are filing Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits because they developed serious dental problems after using Suboxone Sublingual Film, a brand-name medication used to treat opiate addiction that contains the active ingredients buprenorphine and naloxone. Lawsuits claim Indivior knew or should have known the risks but failed to warn medical providers and consumers.

“Unfortunately, the delivery system has a very high acidic content. And when you use it — which is typically three times a day — you’ve got to keep it in your mouth for about 10 minutes each time to get the full benefit of the dosage. Studies are reflecting that that amount of acidic content that many times a day is resulting in tooth breakage, tooth loss, tooth decay and all sorts of serious dental issues. And that’s the underlying reason for the lawsuits,” Miracle told us.

We’ve heard from countless people who have shared emotional stories about how dental problems after Suboxone use have affected them. These people have worked hard to fight opioid addiction and get their lives back only to suffer from the loss of their teeth and self-esteem. Many have had to pay tens of thousands of dollars in dental bills. And worse yet, others can’t afford to fix their teeth.

“I was known for my smile, and now I’m having these dental issues [after I used Suboxone]. It went from having a few cavities to my whole mouth is cavities. I lost six teeth, so far,” one Suboxone user, D.S., told us. “It’s so embarrassing. It takes away from my general happiness, my comfort and my self-esteem. I don’t go out anymore with my friends. If I’m not working, I’m home.” 

If you have had dental problems following the use of prescription Suboxone film, you may qualify to file a Suboxone tooth decay lawsuit.

Only a licensed Suboxone lawyer can tell you if you qualify to join a Suboxone lawsuit. However, our partners have given us information on qualifying that we can provide.

“People should contact a lawyer if they have noticed any serious dental issues following the use of Suboxone sublingual strips. These dental problems range from cavities to tooth decay to broken or lost teeth,” Miracle told Drugwatch.

Injuries accepted in lawsuits include cavities, at least two teeth lost, tooth fractures, tooth decay, tongue injuries and gum injuries.

From what we understand, depending on how long it has been since your diagnosis, you may not qualify even if your state is listed in the table above. Our legal partners or another Suboxone lawyer can tell you for sure.

Contact a law firm right away to avoid losing your right to file a claim. According to our legal partners, the statutes of limitations are very tight in this litigation. If your diagnosis was more than 10 years ago, you must be able to get your own dental records.

A lawyer can help you gather the correct evidence of tooth decay or other injuries for your Suboxone case. Your attorney will also file your lawsuit and then negotiate a Suboxone settlement or prepare your case for jury trial.

“As with any case, people should carefully research who they hire to represent them,” Miracle said. “In complex cases such as this, it is especially important to retain counsel with resources and years of experience litigating against multinational pharmaceutical companies.”

Like with most product liability injury claims, lawyers offer free case evaluations for Suboxone teeth lawsuits. Law firms don’t collect their fees unless they recover a settlement or jury verdict on your behalf.

Prior to people filing Suboxone lawsuits for dental problems, Indivior and Reckitt Benckiser faced an antitrust Suboxone class-action lawsuit that claimed limited competition caused consumers to overpay for the drug. In 2019 and 2020, the FTC reached settlements totaling $60 million.

Consumers received the first payments in May 2021 and the remaining class members received payments in April 2023.

FTC sent about 51,875 class-action settlement payments to consumers. These people allegedly overpaid for Suboxone because of a “deceptive scheme by Reckitt Benckiser Group and Indivior, Inc. to thwart lower-proved generic competition with the branded drug Suboxone.”

Deceptive Marketing Settlement

In deceptive marketing claims unrelated to the tooth damage lawsuits, Indivior pleaded guilty to felony charges associated with Suboxone’s deceptive marketing and agreed to pay $600 million to resolve criminal and civil liability in July 2019. Allegedly, the company deceived doctors and health plans, claiming Suboxone was safer and less susceptible to abuse than similar drugs.

Indivior “admitted to an aspect of the scheme alleged in the indictment. Specifically, Indivior Solutions admitted that, in October 2012, it sought to convince MassHealth to expand Medicaid coverage of Suboxone Film in Massachusetts and sent MassHealth false data indicating that Suboxone Film had the lowest rate of accidental pediatric exposure (i.e., children taking medication by accident) of all buprenorphine drugs in Massachusetts, when in fact, it did not,” according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ also reached a $1.4 billion resolution with Reckitt Benckiser, Indivior’s former parent company. Then in October 2019, Reckitt Benckiser reached a $700 million settlement deal with six states for improper marketing.

In October 2023, Indivior settled an antitrust case for $385 million. The settlement resolved claims from direct purchasers of the drug claiming the drug maker illegally tried to monopolize opioid addiction treatment.