New Jersey Suboxone Dental Injury Claims

The Hidden Dental Dangers of Suboxone Treatment

Suboxone sublingual strips were introduced as a breakthrough treatment for opioid dependency, combining buprenorphine (a partial opioid agonist) and naloxone (an opioid antagonist) in a dissolving film placed under the tongue. This medication has helped many patients manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce opioid cravings, making it an important tool in addiction treatment across New Jersey and nationwide.

However, medical research has revealed a serious problem with the sublingual strip formulation. When Suboxone dissolves under the tongue, it creates a highly acidic environment in the mouth. With regular, long-term use, this acidity gradually erodes tooth enamel and damages oral tissues, leading to severe dental complications. Many patients report extensive tooth decay, painful infections, and tooth loss despite maintaining good oral hygiene practices.

The FDA finally acknowledged these risks in January 2022, issuing a Drug Safety Communication that warned about serious dental problems associated with buprenorphine-containing medications that dissolve in the mouth. According to the FDA’s adverse event reporting system, hundreds of cases of dental problems have been linked to these medications, with many patients requiring extensive dental work including:

• Root canals
• Tooth extractions
• Crown replacements
• Full-mouth reconstructions

What’s particularly alarming is that many affected patients had no history of dental problems before starting Suboxone treatment. A 2022 study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that patients using sublingual buprenorphine products were nearly twice as likely to experience severe dental problems compared to the general population.

Understanding Your Legal Rights Against Suboxone Manufacturers

Individuals harmed by Suboxone strips have strong legal grounds to seek compensation based on well-established principles of product liability law. Our Suboxone injury attorneys are building cases based on several compelling legal theories:

• Failure to Warn: Pharmaceutical companies have a legal duty to provide adequate warnings about known risks associated with their products. Despite evidence suggesting that Indivior (the manufacturer of Suboxone) knew or should have known about the dental risks, they failed to include proper warnings on their product labeling until forced to do so by the FDA in 2022. This failure to warn left patients and healthcare providers unable to make informed decisions or take preventive measures.
• Defective Product Design: These lawsuits also allege that Suboxone strips have an inherently dangerous design flaw, specifically, the highly acidic formulation that causes dental damage with prolonged use. Manufacturers have a responsibility to design medications that are reasonably safe when used as directed.
• Breach of Implied Warranty: When a pharmaceutical company markets a medication, there is an implied warranty that the product is reasonably safe for its intended use. The severe dental damage associated with Suboxone strips represents a breach of this warranty.

The legal landscape for Suboxone litigation continues to evolve. Several bellwether cases are currently moving through federal courts, including Johnson v. Indivior (2023), where the court denied the manufacturer’s motion to dismiss, finding sufficient evidence that they had knowledge of dental risks before adding warnings. Similarly, in Martinez v. Indivior (2022), the court ruled that the plaintiffs had adequately alleged that the company concealed known risks from both patients and healthcare providers.

While each case is unique, Suboxone lawsuits typically seek compensation for:

• Past and future dental treatment costs
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Lost wages
• Diminished quality of life