Maker of Lumineux Whitening Strips Facing Class Action Over Alleged False Advertising, Poor Design

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A proposed class action alleges Lumineux Whitening Strips are falsely advertised in that they “systematically” fail to adhere to consumers’ teeth for the recommended 30-minute treatment and do not achieve any meaningful teeth whitening within that period.

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The 19-page lawsuit says that despite the prominent statement “30 [m]inutes to whiter teeth” featured on the products’ packaging, the whitening strips—which are manufactured and sold by defendant Oral Essentials, Inc.—fail to live up to consumer expectations “by large margins.”

“In fact, the scant scientific studies that [Oral Essentials] possesses, as well as ample feedback from dissatisfied consumers, demonstrate that the Products fail to noticeably whiten teeth after a single 30-minute application,” the suit charges. “To make matters worse, the Products’ poor design makes them fall off consumers’ teeth well before the recommended 30-minute treatment.”

According to the case, the manufacturer does not provide adequate disclaimers about the whitening strips’ advertised application period and fails to explain that customers must regularly use the products for at least a week or two in order to achieve full results.

Contrary to its representations, Oral Essentials “does not possess a single reliable scientific study that has measured or concluded that the Products are able to whiten teeth within a 30-minute single-use application,” the complaint argues, adding that “the sole study that supports [the defendant’s] efficacy was based on observations taken on a weekly basis for a total of two weeks.”

The company knew that by marketing the products as effective within 30 minutes, shoppers would be misled into believing that the whitening strips worked more efficiently than competing items, the filing contends.

Likewise, the lawsuit alleges that Oral Essentials was also aware of the products’ poor adhesion, not least because of hundreds of complaints posted online by consumers.

Like other buyers, the plaintiff—a New York resident who ordered the whitening strips in November 2023—had difficulty keeping the strips from peeling off his teeth a few minutes after applying them and ultimately threw most away because of their “defective design,” the suit claims.

When a competing company recently challenged Oral Essentials’ products in a dispute before the National Advertising Division’s (NAD) self-regulatory department of the Better Business Bureau, the agency found that the claims about the whitening strips at issue could indeed be misleading and recommended the representations be removed from all packaging, the case relays.

Despite agreeing to modify the challenged claims per the NAD’s conclusion, the defendant continues to sell the whitening strips “in complete disregard of the NAD’s findings,” the complaint contests.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased Oral Essentials’ Lumineux Whitening Strips for personal or household purposes and not for resale.

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