Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Colgate-Palmolive are among the defendants in six lawsuits targeting the sale of toothpaste and mouth rinse for young children.
The class action complaints accuse major dental product manufacturers of deceptively marketing products containing fluoride to young children, and misleading parents to believe the products are safe for toddlers.
Parents filed complaints on 13 January in federal courts in California and Illinois.
Products under fire include P&G’s Kids Crest Fluoride Anticavity Toothpaste, as well as toothpastes sold under Colgate-Palmolive’s Colgate and Tom’s of Maine brands.
Challenged mouth rinse products included ones from Colgate’s brands, plus Perigo’s Firefly brand, Chattem’s ACT Rinse, and ones from the Hello oral care label.
Fluoride helps prevent cavities when applied topically to the teeth.
However, the complaints highlighted risks to children’s health from ingesting excess fluoride.
These include flu-like symptoms from acute toxicity, dental fluorosis, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption and even death.
The plaintiffs said they were misled by the products’ marketing and, as a result, didn’t follow public health guidelines when using the products.
The lawsuits also allege the companies fail to adequately flag instructions for proper use, as mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to the complaints, the companies design their product labels with candy and fruit juice flavours and images and cartoon characters to appeal to young children.
This, they said, could mislead them to think the products are meant to be consumed as food.
ACT Rinse children’s products come in flavours like Groovy Grape and Wild Watermelon, while Firefly ones boast a toy-like appearance.
The lawsuits seek restitution, compensatory damages and triple or punitive damages for violations of various consumer protection laws.