‘I watched them edit my teeth’ HiSmile ex-intern, whistleblower comes forward to tell all

A former intern at a Gold Coast dental product juggernaut is making claims about “teeth editing” for social media ads. Read the response from HiSmile.

An ex-intern at a decorated Gold Coast dental products juggernaut claims the company - famous for using A-listers to endorse its range - heavily edits social media ad before and afters.

The then-university student who interned briefly at Burleigh-based HiSmile last year alleges images of her own teeth were yellowed and whitened in post-production by staff for social media ads made while she was there.

Gold Coast company HiSmile moved from Mermaid Beach to new premises in Burleigh formerly occupied by SurfStitch. . Picture: Jerad Williams

HiSmile, founded 10 years ago on a $20,000 investment and now a wildly successful billion-dollar company, rejects the claims as well as doing anything that “could be considered misleading practices”.

The whistleblower who was doing a social media internship said she was asked to appear in some social media ads.

“They put me in front of the camera as an actor so I had to pretend to be a random shopper and they got me to try the whitening strips on camera.

“They gave me the whitening strips and made it look like we waited half an hour but in reality it was 10 seconds,” she claimed.

“Then I had to peel it off and act really surprised - and that’s all fine, whatever. But then later I was watching them editing the video, and they yellowed my teeth in the ‘before’ clips so it looked like I has super yellow teeth,” she claimed. “Then they ‘whitened’ them a lot in the after clips too.

“I did another [social media] video too and I watched them, again, severely yellow my teeth in the post production editing, and then whiten them as well,” she claimed.

It is unknown whether these videos ever made it on HiSmile’s social media pages where the company has huge followings. Known for their energetic TikTok ads, HiSmile boasts over five million followers on the platform and has been lauded for its early use of social media identities with huge followers to promote their products.

Screenshots taken from HiSmile social media video featuring the former intern.

The former intern claimed she suggested HiSmile incorporate real testimonials and results into their social media campaigns but was shutdown and her time at the company ended soon after.

“They called me up the following week and told me we were going to finish up now. They said ‘Don’t worry about coming back, we want people who will want to stay on after uni finishes’.

“I told them I did want to stay after university and they were like ‘We’ve just got heaps of other people interested, so we’re just going to finish up with you’,” she said.

“Maybe their products do work over time, but they’ve set that expectation that it’s going to work immediately so then people end up disappointed,” she claimed.

“Maybe it does work, maybe it doesn’t but they’ve just set everyone’s expectations to think that it’s going to work like the ads show it.

“I feel passionately about that. I believed the ads for a while,” she claimed.

The Bulletin put to HiSmile her claims of edited ‘before’ and ‘after’ ads, and her speedy departure after she suggested posting real results and testimonials.

In response a HiSmile statement said: “We reject the below allegations and narrative.

“We deny any advertising activities which could be considered misleading practices. We do not have any record of dismissing, or letting someone go, for the reasons claimed.”

HiSmile, considered a Gold Coast successful story, was awarded Best Product: Health and Beauty at the Licensing International’s 2024 Excellence Awards. It won Greatest Creative Campaign at the 2024 Australian TikTok awards.

HiSmile has famously used Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Connor McGregor to promote its products to their millions of social media followers.

Kylie Jenner Instagram post for HiSmile teeth whitening

MMA champ Connor McGregor is among those spruiking HiSmile. Photo: Instagram

Competition and consumer regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states: “Businesses shouldn’t try to gain an unfair advantage by making misleading claims about their products or services.”

It also states any information or claim a business makes about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds, including via advertising and social media.

When asked by the Bulletin about HiSmile, an ACCC spokeswoman said it did not “generally comment on individual businesses”.

“Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses must not mislead or deceive consumers in their advertising or marketing.

“Any information or claim that a business provides about its products or services must be accurate, truthful, and based on reasonable grounds. This includes images and descriptions of what is offered and applies to any communication by a business, including through social media,” she said.

HISMILE PRODUCT FANS: ‘I LIKE THE MANGO ONE’

Loyal HiSmile product users are getting behind the brand, telling the Bulletin what exactly it is that makes them love the products of the Gold Coast-based dental juggernaut.

One Gold Coaster said initially she thought its innovative toothpaste flavours were a bit interesting, but she quickly changed her tune.

“Since then, I’ve sort of worked out that in terms of the value for money with how long it lasts versus conventional sortof toothpaste brands, I was really quite surprised how little you need to get the job done, so therefore how long it lasts.

“I’m not going through as much toothpaste, so I suppose it just came down to that,” she said.

EMBARGO FOR TWAM 26 AUG 2023. FEE MAY APPLY. HiSmile, teeth whitening. Source: Instagram

The local HiSmile fan, who wished to remain anonymous, said she used the flavoured toothpastes.

“I like the mango one and whatever, the one in the pink is, I think it might be a raspberry type one.

“It’s not as sweet. Initially when they said flavoured toothpaste, I actually didn’t want to even try it because I just thought that was ridiculous.

“If you brush your teeth, [the toothpaste] has to be fresh and not taste like food, but that’s not what it actually ended up being.

“I was actually quite surprised that while you do get that flavour, it’s still really fresh,” she said.

Another HiSmile user, a 23-year-old university student, said he hadn’t tried it until getting a free sample in one of his classes.

“I like their watermelon toothpaste and I also like their gummy bear toothpaste as well.

“It’s a different type of flavour that’s quite unique and different so I just enjoy that aspect of bringing some fun to a task that usually isn’t fun,” he said.

Another fan said the teeth whitening strips do work and make teeth whiter over time.