Fifty years ago, oral hygiene meant cavity prevention and natural tooth protection. Today, the market is designed to provide cleansing, disinfecting, breath freshening and whitening, and is worth more than $3.2 billion a year, excluding Wal-Mart sales.
The latest oral hygiene innovations have brought new formulas and updated forms. New formulas with combined benefits provide products that are almost customized to each consumers needs. New forms include dissolving strips and finger slips. But consumers will only repeat purchases if the product offers long-term lifestyle benefits. Products seeing the most growth are those that have quantified their benefits (i.e., 30% whiter), simplified a process, or been constructed to last longer. For example, sales of Colgate manual toothbrushes have increased 75% in the past two years with a promise to clean teeth 30% better than other brushes.
Mintels report includes an intense examination of the overall market, covering important issues such as the migration of sales to Wal-Mart, product line broadening through acquisitions, and market size, segmentation, and trends. A thorough analysis of the oral hygiene consumer includes an evaluation of top concerns and priorities when choosing oral hygiene products, a breakdown of preferences by demographic characteristics, and statistics of purchasing location and frequency. A five-year market forecast estimates the future of the market, with a statistical forecast of market performance until 2009 and an outline of demographic and product trends.
For the purposes of this report, oral hygiene is defined as the procedures used for basic teeth, gum and tongue care. This report covers the consumer market for oral hygiene products in the following categories:
- toothbrushes, including manual and electric/battery-powered, and other tools such as brushpicks
- toothpaste, including pastes and gels
- dental floss
- mouthwashes
- breath freshening sprays and drops
- portable oral care products, including breath strips and whitening gum
- denture cleaners, fixatives and cushions
- oral pain relievers
This report excludes products used solely by the dental profession or products that are available only by prescription. It also excludes treatments for sore throats. This report does not include products such as Crest Whitestrips or Colgate Whitening Gel, which are included in the Dental Accessories report. Yet, whitening toothpastes are included, as are whitening gums (e.g., AquaFresh Whitening Gum).
As listed above, powered toothbrushes are included in this report. However, they are covered in greater detail in the Dental Accessories report. The same is true for dental tools such as brushpicks and oral irrigators.
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