Brushing Up On Children’s Oral Care Product Innovations

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You’re never fully dressed without a smile, right? And what’s the best way to achieve a winning smile? You guessed it, keeping up with oral hygiene. In this article, a member of our established hygiene product marketing department takes an in-depth look at children’s oral care product innovations.

Many of us nowadays understand the importance of looking after our teeth. But often, as many parents or caregivers will tell you, it’s a struggle to get kids to understand the importance of oral hygiene. 70% of parents reported that one of the most stressful parts of parenting in the modern-day world is getting their child to brush their teeth regularly (Oral B, 2019). The average person should brush their teeth about 728 times a year. Which for parents or caregivers of a children adverse to teeth brushing, is a lot. With worries over plaque build-up and tooth decay, as well as just wanting a more peaceful morning and evening, many parents would welcome with open arms anything which may make teeth-brushing time less of a kick in the teeth.

What’s The Current Guidance?

The British Dental Association’s (BDA) guidance is that children should start brushing their teeth as soon as their first baby tooth comes through. Brushing should then continue twice a day for 2 minutes from then on, using either a manual or an electric toothbrush with fluoride toothpaste recommended as the most effective at preventing tooth decay.

The guidance is fairly standard, however the growing demand for toothbrushing innovations proves that parents are willing to try new products if it means a pearlier whites for their little ones. So, what are these innovations?

The Smart Toothbrush

There’s the smart phone, the smart TV, the smart watch, well now I present the smart toothbrush.

The Smart Toothbrush connects to an app via Bluetooth, which then allows the child to play games while brushing their teeth. Not only does this turn teeth-brushing into a video game but can alsotrack how well the teeth are being brushed, giving feedback and advice on how brushing can be improved.

Major players include: Oral-B with the Junior Smart Electric Toothbrush, Philips Sonicare for Kids Electric toothbrush with Bluetooth and PlayBrush with a whole range of smart brushes.

The Flavoured Toothpaste

For many kids, the strong taste of minty toothpaste is often too ‘spicy’ or too ‘stingy’ for them, creating space for a whole array of different flavoured toothpaste to make the toothbrushing experience more appealing.

Flavours currently on the market include, bubble-gum, strawberry, watermelon, banana, raspberry, orange, apple, the list goes on. There’s even a bacon flavoured toothpaste for those real meat loving children out there. Alongside this, many brands have created toothpaste which still has the flavour of mint but is considerably less minty than the typical toothpaste, appeasing the taste buds of younger consumers.

The #Campaign

Oral care brands have been trying to re-invent the toothbrushing experience for all by starting nationwide campaigns. One of the key players involved in this has been Oral-B. As part of their #StrongTeethStrongKids campaign they challenged families across the UK to take part in their #BedtimeBrushChallenge.

This campaign encouraged educating children about the importance of oral hygiene. They compiled a list of top tips for families to try to make the experience fun for all. They also entered anyone who shared pictures or videos on social media of themselves brushing their teeth into a prize draw.

So, What Does This All Mean For The FMCG Industry?

It means that children need to be educated on the importance of oral hygiene, while making the experience of toothbrushing enjoyable and appealing. If a brand is able to address these consumer needs, they’ll be leaving the parents as well as children nationwide with more reasons to flash their minty-fresh smiles.

If you want our help to make your brand achieve this with HRA Global’s expertise , please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing [email protected] or [email protected]