Getting a Handle on Dental Innovations : Toothbrushes: Our best weapon against gingivitis is going high-tech--with flexible necks, non-slip grips and neon colors--and America loves it.
Cheryl Ryan maneuvered her grocery cart up the aisle of a West Hollywood supermarket toward a red, white and blue promotional stand loaded with toothbrushes and discount coupons.
“Try New Crest Complete: The Gets Between Brush,” proclaimed the sign. “Save 55 cents on one toothbrush.”
“I’ve been waiting for these,” said Ryan, a writer, as she swept up new brushes for herself, her husband and their daughter. “No, my dentist didn’t tell me to buy them, but I’ve seen the Crest promotions and they make sense--look, the brush is shaped just like your teeth. It looks smart to me.”
Ryan wasn’t alone. By midafternoon the new toothbrushes were sold out.
The notion of waiting for a particular model of toothbrush to appear on the market might sound far-fetched. But toothbrushes are the latest Cinderella story in the field of health and beauty care, reports Gary Andrechak of Towne-Oiler & Associates, which measures supermarket and drugstore sales.
At a time when consumers are belt-tightening, they’re paying more for just the right toothbrush. The average price has gone up from $1.71 to $1.90--and some are even more pricey. Tooth-conscious Americans spent more than $368 million for adult and children’s toothbrushes in the past 12 months, a jump of 28% over the preceding year.
Why the boom? One explanation, Andrechak says, is innovation in toothbrush design. Another is a big promotional push by the major manufacturers.
The result is a medley of new variations on the old theme of plastic handle and tuft of bristles.
The once-humble toothbrush is getting as much designer attention as the new fall collections. Today’s shopper must sort through models with such features as “shock absorber” flexible necks, end-rounded bristles, non-slip grips and glow-in-the-dark neon colors. There are brushes for very young children and brushes designed to fit under a bridge.
Is all this really necessary?
“The word gimmick comes to mind,” acknowledges Glenn Archibald, president of Oral B. Laboratories, North America, which 18 months ago launched its Indicator, a toothbrush with a blue band of bristles that fades to white as the toothbrush wears out.
But, he adds, Oral B. doesn’t believe in gimmicks. “It’s our philosophy to offer a new product only if it has a true benefit to the consumer. We see toothbrush design as a continual evolution.”
He attributes the boom to a combination of new entries and education about the benefits of oral care. “This is a profitable category for the retail trade,” he adds. “There are good margins on toothbrushes.”
And the American Dental Assn.’s recommendation that toothbrushes be replaced every three months is just (sugarless) icing on the cake.
“It’s competitive, it’s erupting and it’s exciting!” declares Sandor Katz, director of oral-care brand management for SmithKline Beecham, which recently unveiled its first toothbrush, the Aquafresh Flex. The brush’s flexible neck is designed to absorb brushing pressures and help protect gums, he says. The bristles and handle also come in fall colors.
“It’s a very big deal. We researched the brush clinically and also in respect to consumer preference. We had to enhance our factories in certain ways for production purposes, and we’ve committed millions of dollars to an advertising campaign that includes television, print and point-of-purchase displays.”
They’re in toothbrushes to stay, he says. “It’s a category that has just caught fire.”
Although consumers in general are better educated these days about oral health, the real impetus for the toothbrush renaissance, experts say, is a generation of aging baby boomers who are finding themselves having conversations about plaque and gingivitis with their dentists.
“My generation grew up with fluoride and we’re used to having healthy teeth,” says Chris Martin, of the ADA. (Half the nation’s schoolchildren now have no cavities).
“As you get into your 30s and 40s, you think about your parents having false teeth and it’s not a pleasant image. Especially when you realize you’ll probably live to be 90.”
The ADA welcomes the boom of new toothpastes, toothbrushes and mouthwashes, he says, and has bestowed its seal of approval on more than 45 toothbrush types.
While most brushes are purchased on impulse in the supermarket, surveys show, an increasing number of dentists hand them out to encourage behavior modification.
“I give a toothbrush for every cleaning,” says Westside dentist Andrew Frank, who sends his patients home with little shopping bags of tooth-care products. “I also give floss and any special brushes that are needed. It’s my contribution to stopping disease.”
He believes teeth are getting much better care these days. “We’ve finally educated people to brush several times a day and get the plaque out from between their teeth with flossing. It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s a cheap investment as opposed to periodontal surgery.”
