National Advertising Division Refers Comparative Efficacy Claims for HiSmile Toothbrushes to Regulatory Authorities for Further Review

New York, NY – August 29, 2024 – BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division has referred advertising claims made by HiSmile PTY for its toothbrushes to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulatory authorities for review after HiSmile declined to participate in the industry self-regulation process.

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), manufacturer of competitor Oral-B brand power toothbrushes, challenged claims made by HiSmile in two videos posted by the company on TikTok. In the videos, HiSmile made unsupported comparative efficacy claims and claims that falsely disparaged its Oral-B power toothbrushes including:

• “[other brushes have] 1 million useless extras that you don’t need” 
• “You’re not going to hear about rotations on [our] brush head,”
• “[HiSmile] is here to replace your dodgy electric toothbrush”
• “You don’t need the features from the big boy brands…selling you like a used car salesman for features you don’t need”

While HiSmile advised the National Advertising Division (NAD) that one of the TikTok videos had been taken down, the other video remains on the platform and HiSmile has not represented that the claims at issue had been permanently discontinued.

As HiSmile decided not to participate in the NAD self-regulatory process concerning these claims, NAD will refer the matter to the FTC and other regulatory authorities for review and possible enforcement action. NAD will also refer this matter to platforms on which HiSmile’s advertising appeared.

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