P&G underlines oral care link with wellness

By Simon Pitman

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Oral care products Periodontitis Medicine

Procter & Gamble, makers of Crest and Oral-B, has partnered
with Scientific American magazine in a move that underlines its aim
to emphasize the growing link between oral care products and
improved health and wellness.

The move aims to publicize current research and expert opinion regarding the relationship between oral health and wellness, and even stresses the potential implications good health care can have for future health care models.

In line with the increasing interest in health and wellness, research into the area between oral health and systematic health is emerging at a significant rate. The bottom line is that healthy gums and teeth can actually have a significant effect on individual's long-term health.

In line with the significant volume of research, the US Surgeon General and global health organizations, including the World Health Organization, have made it known that they are following the research with the long-term goal of optimizing oral health in the general population.

"The emerging research presented in Scientific American has not changed that mission, but has simply reinforced oral health as a key component of overall well-being,"​ said Dr. Paul Warren, vice president of global professional and scientific relations, P&G.

"While we may not know the exact nature of the relationship between oral health and systemic health, we do know that oral health is more important to consumers now than ever. In this new environment, P&G is the only oral healthcare company that can provide consumers with a full range of Crest and Oral-B products offering solutions to these oral healthcare needs."

In recent years, increasing awareness of health and wellbeing has led to a blurring of the lines between products marketed on the basis of their health-giving properties and those marketed as cosmetics and toiletries.

This has led to an increasing number of products with natural ingredients - focusing on consumer demands to avoid harsh chemicals - as well as the incorporation of increasingly effective active ingredients that often focus on wellbeing.

In skin care products such as every day moisturizers, for example, this has led to the incorporation of sunscreens, aimed at providing protection against the damaging effects of sun and other environmental influences.

This primarily focuses on the link between exposure to sun and the association with the skin cancer.

Likewise, many cosmetic and toiletry products, including skin care, hair care and oral care manufacturers, increasingly formulate their products with vitamins and minerals, in an effort to increase both the efficacy of the products and as a means of 'upping the wellness factor'.

In line with these issues, P&G is stressing the fact that its oral care products can help provide key defenses against a list of oral-related diseases known to have long-term implications on general health.

Among the Issues covered in the current publication from the Scientific American, which the company is drawing attention to, are gingivitis and periodontal disease. The number one enemy in the fight against oral infections, gingivitus is said to currently affect 50 per cent of the US adult population, and if left untreated, it can develop into periodontis, which can eventually spread from the mouth to result in tissue damage, loss of bone and teeth.

In turn periodontal disease can trigger a series of even more serious diseases that have other longer-term affects on health, including the onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, together with adverse general health implications for both the elderly and pregnant women.

In turn P&G is claiming that, when properly and regularly used, its oral care products can help minimize the risk of gingivitis and the resulting other diseases it can trigger.

In particular the company says that its recently launched Crest Pro-Health toothpaste has been proved to help reduce gingivitis by 21 per cent and reduced bleeding by 57 per cent, when compared to a regular cavity toothpaste.

The company is now linking these claims to the quest for improved longer-term health and the fight against diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Although it is nothing new for oral care players to claim that their products can help maintain and improve oral hygiene, the fact that scientific research now suggests that these products can have a significant impact on a wider range of more serious diseases, is significant.

Could we be one step away from seeing oral hygiene products marketed as potential life savers?

Related topics Market Trends Colour Cosmetics

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