In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by oral care competitor GuruNanda LLC, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that Oral Essentials, Inc. discontinue the claim that its Lumineux Whitening Mouthwash is enamel safe.

Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process designed for single-issue advertising cases brought to the NAD, which took issue with whether Oral Essentials had a reasonable basis to claim that its Lumineux Whitening Mouthwash is “enamel safe.”

The challenged claim appeared on the Lumineux Whitening Mouthwash label and in other advertising. In some iterations, the “enamel safe” claim appears close to a “clinically proven” claim, unconnected to any specific claim in the advertising. Oral Essentials relied on the results of a Scanning Electron Microsopy study on the effects of the use of Lumineux Whitening Mouthwash on enamel tooth chips after being treated in the manner instructed on the packaging.

NAD found that Oral Essentials’ evidence did not support the unqualified safety claim and noted that while the 30-day SEM study has a number of hallmarks of a well-controlled study and did not indicate any negative effect on the enamel samples studied, it was not a good fit for the challenged unqualified “enamel safe” claim, which NAD found reasonably conveys a message that daily use of the product will have no negative impact on enamel.

In its advertiser statement, Oral Essentials said it “strongly disagreed” with NAD’s decision, but would comply with its recommendation.

NAD noted that nothing in its decision precludes Oral Essentials from making other truthful and non-misleading claims regarding the safety of its Lumineux Whitening Mouthwash, including claims relating to the product’s effect on enamel.