Suboxone Tooth Decay Lawsuit Guide (November 2025)
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Reviewed By Adam Ramirez, J.D.
Editor
Summary
- Suboxone is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder
- The medication is administered via a tablet that dissolves under the tongue
- Exposure to suboxone allegedly injures the teeth, gums, and tongue
Doctors use Suboxone to treat opioid use disorder and reduce the number of fentanyl deaths per year.
Suboxone combines two medications. One is a weak opioid called buprenorphine that fits into the brain’s opioid receptors, producing weak opioid effects. The other is naloxone, which is used to counteract opioid overdoses and reduce the risk of Suboxone abuse.
The medication was originally given to patients as an ingestible pill. However, its manufacturers, Indivior, Inc. and Reckitt Benckiser LLC, switched to a film similar to breath strips that the patient dissolves under their tongue. Unfortunately, this delivery system is highly acidic, leading to potential dental injuries.
Injured users can file a Suboxone lawsuit for losses caused by the product. ConsumerShield helps consumers understand their options and find qualified legal representation. Contact us for a free case review and product liability attorney referral.
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Latest Suboxone Lawsuit Updates
As of September 2025, there have been some significant updates to the Suboxone dental lawsuit. The MDL currently accounts for 1,871 cases. This is despite a drop of four cases in September, which occurred because they failed to meet the deadline. Also in September, plaintiffs filed 132 responses to show cause orders.
Cause orders in this case must prove why the plaintiffs’ claims should not be dismissed because of procedural gaps. Any claimants who fail to provide this paperwork will be excluded from the MDL. This has led to a flurry of activity from attorneys to ensure that their clients get the fair chance they need to state their case.
The lawsuits filed in federal court are against Suboxone’s manufacturers. Consumers had suffered the following injuries:
- Enamel erosion
- Tooth decay
- Cracked teeth
- Cavities
- Loose crowns
- Tooth loss
- Tongue or cheek pain
The lawsuits were transferred to the Northern District of Ohio by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). This panel can order cases to be handled in a single court by a single judge to make the cases more efficient and less burdensome for the parties.
The MDL is not a Suboxone class action lawsuit — these procedures are different in several respects.
A class action lawsuit is a single lawsuit with multiple plaintiffs. A class action lawyer files the suit on behalf of a group of representative plaintiffs and seeks class certification.
As a result, the claims of all class members stand or fall together. In other words, if the class loses, all of its members lose. If it wins, the class members must share the compensation awarded.
By contrast, an MDL is a litigation procedure allowing separate lawsuits to maintain their individual identities while sharing resources. Specifically, the plaintiffs work together to recover evidence from the defendants, hire experts to testify in their cases, and file motions to determine what they can introduce in their trials.
However, since the lawsuits retain their separate identities, they have separate trials and verdicts. Additionally, a successful plaintiff doesn’t have to share their compensation with other plaintiffs.
Because the MDL was initiated in 2024, most cases aren’t yet ready for trial yet, even in 2025. The manufacturers probably won’t offer a global Suboxone settlement until at least a few of the cases reach juries. Key bellwether proceedings are scheduled for 2026, which is when both plaintiffs and defendants will get a better sense of the lay of the legal land.
Alleged Injuries From Suboxone
Suboxone has many side effects. As an opioid, it can produce euphoria and depressed respiration. It can also cause addiction and relapse in some users.
However, the drug’s manufacturers knew of and warned consumers of these side effects, and doctors presumably consider and discuss them with patients when prescribing Suboxone.
However, the manufacturers failed to warn of potential dental injuries until 2022. This oversight allegedly had two important effects. First, patients were unaware of the risk to their oral tissues and didn’t have enough information to decide whether Suboxone was worth the potential side effects.
Second and more importantly, doctors couldn’t monitor or suggest preventive measures to patients to minimize the side effects. Had they been aware of the high acid content, they could have suggested brushing and flossing, gum chewing, and regular cleanings and checkups to reduce the risk of dental injuries.
Claims You Can Assert in a Suboxone Tooth Decay Lawsuit
The Suboxone cases fall under product liability law. Manufacturers have strict liability for injuries caused by dangerously defective products. To win a case, your lawyer must prove that the product featured a defect that harmed you in some way. Similar concerns have been raised in the Valsartan lawsuit, where contaminated batches of the blood pressure medication were found to contain carcinogenic impurities, leading to legal claims over increased cancer risks.
The plaintiffs in the Suboxone MDL have asserted two distinct defects.
The first is a design defect. The manufacturers knew that their product was acidic and nonetheless designed the product to be held next to the teeth without reducing the acidity or adding a buffer to counteract it. As a result, consumers’ teeth were made vulnerable to erosion.
The plaintiffs also allege a warning defect. The FDA identified tooth decay as a significant side effect of Suboxone in 2022. The plaintiffs have suggested that the manufacturers knew about this risk even earlier and failed to notify the FDA or consumers. They claim the lack of a warning made the product dangerous.
When plaintiffs succeed in proving a manufacturer’s liability, they can seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses, such as medical bills, lost income, diminished quality of life, and pain and suffering.
Since Suboxone is prescribed for opioid use disorder, the manufacturers may try to shift blame for any dental injuries to the plaintiff, arguing that they were pre-existing conditions from other problems related to their addictions. They could also allege comparative or contributory negligence if the victim waited to have their teeth examined.
Average Suboxone Lawsuit Settlement Amounts
Lawsuit settlements for these cases are not yet available because there haven’t been any decisions, but the average Suboxone tooth decay lawsuit settlement could be between $10,000 and $500,000 per claimant. This is an estimate that considers other comparable product liability claims, though that number could vary considerably.
Numerous factors could impact your actual settlement. The severity of your injuries is one of these, as is the extent of the impact those injuries have had on your life. The type of medical care you need is a factor, too.
An attorney can help you account for all of your potential losses, including future care costs and the pain and suffering you have experienced. You will want to ensure you receive enough damages to cover these losses.
The quality of any evidence you have that establishes liability will also play a significant role in determining your settlement. Additionally, whether you have an attorney or not can also impact the winnings. With a lawyer’s help, you have a much better chance of obtaining a large settlement.
Eligibility Criteria to File a Suboxone Lawsuit
To be eligible to participate in the Suboxone lawsuit, you will need to demonstrate that you used sublingual Suboxone for at least six months and that it resulted in tooth decay, tongue issues or gum disease of some sort. You must also show that you used the medication as prescribed, which is often one of the most challenging criteria.
To ensure that you are able to start the lawsuit and that you can gather the most appropriate evidence, you will need an attorney. These cases are too complex to tackle alone.
Contact ConsumerShield for Help Finding a Suboxone Lawsuit Attorney
Suboxone has allegedly caused serious injuries that required expensive dental care and led to pain and suffering. At ConsumerShield, our mission is to educate vulnerable consumers and connect them with quality legal representation. Contact us today for a free case review and attorney referral.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The biggest roadblock to new cases is the statute of limitations. Every state has a time limit for filing lawsuits. Since Suboxone has carried a warning about tooth injuries since 2022, your deadline may have passed. Consult an attorney to determine whether you still have time to file.
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There is no global settlement yet. The next steps in the Suboxone MDL will include hearings to determine whether the plaintiffs’ experts can testify and bellwether trials. These trials will help both sides determine the strength and value of the cases so they can negotiate a settlement.
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You can become part of the Suboxone MDL by filing a lawsuit. In other words, you can’t join an existing proceeding. Instead, you should find a lawyer to explain which injuries qualify and what evidence you need to support your case. Your lawyer will then file your lawsuit in Ohio.
