Class Action Lawsuit Claims Efficacy of HiSmile Teeth-Whitening Products Based on Junk Science, Widespread Fraud Marketing

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges HiSmile has built its entire brand of teeth whitening products based on fraudulent marketing, including by pushing “junk science” and fake reviews to claim the purported clinically proven items are effective at whitening teeth.

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The 77-page HiSmile lawsuit alleges the “self-declared billion-dollar company” has wielded an aggressive, fraudulent social media marketing scheme, false before-and-after ads, misleading celebrity endorsements, and fake customer reviews to create the appearance that its V34 Colour Corrector Serum, Glostik Tooth Gloss, PAP+ Whitening Strips and PAP+ Whitening Pen are effective at whitening teeth. The suit charges that HiSmile also uses junk science to espouse the purported science of “color theory,” “color correction technology,” “light interference technology,” “reflective pigments” and other pseudoscientific explanations for the promised “instant whitening” results of its products.

Further, the complaint alleges HiSmile goes so far as to remove critical, negative product reviews and claim certain products are “clinically proven” when they have not even been clinically tested. The case adds that HiSmile allegedly has employees pose as dental professionals, scientists and customers in its social media posts.

Overall, HiSmile’s marketing efforts are geared toward creating “a façade of success through manipulation and deception,” the case claims.

“The reason for HiSmile’s deceptive marketing ploys, i.e., the fake reviews, fake customers, fake before-and-after photos/videos, misleading celebrity and influencer endorsements, and fake ‘clinically proven’ claims, is to mask the inefficacy of its products,” the proposed class action lawsuit summarizes. “Yet, HiSmile has sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of its teeth whitening products to unsuspecting customers based on this fraud campaign.”

According to the lawsuit, HiSmile spends tens of millions each year on social media posts targeted primarily at women and girls between the ages of 15 and 24. Among the high volume of videos HiSmile posts to social media is content featuring Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and other celebrities who have been paid to appear in ads that show up in users’ feeds, the filing says. 

Per the suit, HiSmile has amassed more than five million TikTok followers and typically posts 15 or more videos per day advertising its products.

“For context, even multi-billion-dollar and well-established dental care brands have not attained anywhere near this size of a social media audience. Colgate has only 186 thousand followers on Instagram (user @colgate), and Crest has only 91.4 thousand followers on Instagram (user @crest).”

In one advertisement, HiSmile artificially stained a model’s teeth with brown solution to “create a more dramatic before-and-after effect,” the case claims, noting that consumers who have actual discoloration of their teeth “cannot achieve the same results” shown by the company online. More broadly, when the actors in HiSmile’s videos use the company’s products, the purported whitening effects are “more pronounced,” the suit contends.

For HiSmile’s whitening strips, the before-and-after results “look dramatic, but they are not attainable,” the lawsuit continues, alleging the company similarly uses “unnaturally bright lighting, misleading editing, and models who already have very white teeth” to exaggerate the before-and-after effects of its Glostik Tooth Gloss.

The case asks the court to force HiSmile to stop its “unlawful and fraudulent advertising, marketing, and sale” of its teeth whitening products and to change its business practices such that it stops the conduct complained about in the lawsuit.

The HiSmile false advertising lawsuit looks to cover all United States residents who, during the applicable statute of limitations period, bought any of the HiSmile products listed on this page for purposes other than resale.

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