Suboxone Tooth Decay Lawsuit in North Carolina

MDL 3092 — N.D. Ohio (Cleveland): All federal Suboxone tooth decay cases are consolidated in MDL 3092 before Judge Dan Polster in the Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland. Defendants include Indivior Inc., Aquestive Therapeutics (formerly MonoSol Rx), and Reckitt Benckiser. The FDA issued a safety communication on January 12, 2022 warning of serious dental problems — including tooth decay, cracking, and loss — associated with buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film products. Judge Polster has extensive MDL experience as the presiding judge of the national opioid MDL (MDL 2804), making this court a favorable venue for complex pharmaceutical litigation.

Statute of Limitations — NC: 3 years for personal injury (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16)), with a 4-year outside limit for some product liability claims. North Carolina's discovery rule for latent injury runs from when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and its probable cause. A dental diagnosis attributing tooth loss or severe erosion to Suboxone is the discovery trigger. Note: N.C. has a 10-year statute of repose for products (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-50(a)(6)) that may bar very old exposures.

Dental Board & Malpractice Considerations — NC: North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners. North Carolina prescribers operating through SAMHSA-certified opioid treatment programs (OTPs) or office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) who failed to warn patients about dental risks after January 2022 may face board complaints and malpractice exposure. North Carolina applies modified Daubert standards in state court.

Transfer to MDL 3092 — NC: Cases filed in North Carolina federal courts (E.D.N.C. Raleigh, M.D.N.C. Greensboro, W.D.N.C. Charlotte) are eligible for JPML transfer to MDL 3092 in the N.D. Ohio (Cleveland). The Charlotte and Raleigh metro areas have significant opioid treatment infrastructure contributing to the plaintiff pool.